Philemon Day 15 Friends & Neighbors: Digging Deeper
March 3, 2023
Discover the original intent of Scripture. Make good application to our everyday lives.
Become equipped to correctly handle the Word of Truth!
Philemon 1:23-25
The Original Intent
1) Why did Paul include the names and greetings of others in his closing sentiments in this particular letter? (verses 23-24)
When we consider Paul’s sermons, travels, and many contributions to the canon of Scripture, it’s easy to forget Paul was only one member of the body of Christ. But Paul didn’t forget. In every letter, Paul’s words pulse with humble love and compassion for the whole church.
To understand why Paul included personal greetings to others in his letter to Philemon, we must remember Paul’s overall purpose was to champion unity between Philemon and his runaway slave-turned-brother in Jesus, Onesimus.
Paul intentionally highlights relationships within the family of God as he mentions Timothy writing with him, and extends greetings to Philemon, Apphia, a woman believer, and Archippus, who all serve a house church. With respect, Paul lovingly refers to Philemon, Apphia and Archippus as beloved fellow worker, sister, and fellow soldier highlighting the unique, counter-cultural relationships of those who serve Christ.
There is no blood relationship between these individuals, but the fondness and love communicate a strong bond between these fellow believers. From this foundation of love, Paul compels Philemon to embrace his slave who is now a brother alongside him. Paul’s brotherly love for both men is clearly felt.
As Paul closes, he widens his lens to greet Epaphras, Mark, Aristarchus, Demas and Luke. Just as he opened his appeal to Philemon with an emphasis on relationships between believers, he closes the same way.
Paul deliberately mentioned several believers Philemon would recognize or personally know. This is likely two-fold. First, calling out specific names of others who knew about this letter placed an additional layer of accountability for Philemon to forgive Onesimus. Second, Paul illustrated God’s design for close-knit relationships to be shared between believers. He wanted Philemon to recognize that Paul counted Onesimus as one such brother in Christ, and to encourage Philemon to forgive Onesimus and consider him the same way.
The Everyday Application
1) Why did Paul include the names and greetings of others in his closing sentiments in this particular letter? (verses 23-24)
We don’t have a clear picture of whether Philemon was a believer when Onesimus left his household, but regardless, Paul used his letter to remind Philemon of what it means to be a follower of Christ. Regardless of where Philemon was in his journey with Jesus, it would have been a cultural offense to his position, person, and authority to have a slave run away. By law, he held the right to exact punishment, even death, from Onesimus.
But Paul wanted Philemon to see a fuller picture. Just a few lines prior to his closing sentence, he had offered to pay whatever debt Philemon felt Onesimus owed him, knowing full well the debt might include death. Paul may not have experienced the same thing Philemon experienced when Onesimus ran away, but he did experience a parting with Mark when Barnabas split from his company. Yet, Paul was purposeful to include Mark in his closing, illustrating Christ’s reconciliation and restoration at work in himself.
We need reminding about the big picture sometimes, too, don’t we? When we feel hurt by the words, actions, or even betrayal of a brother or sister in Christ, forgiveness doesn’t always come easily. The pain of the wound can prevent us from seeing the whole picture. In those moments, we need to remember we are not only people in relationships, we are ambassadors of Christ Jesus, co-laborers in the Kingdom of God, and ministers of the gospel of reconciliation. (2 Corinthians 5:20, 1 Corinthians 3:5-17, 2 Corinthians 5:16-21)
Unforgiveness and offense are contrary to our redeemed lives. Instead of focusing on ourselves, we are called to follow Christ, die to self and allow the forgiveness and redemptive work of His death and resurrection to foster reconciliation in our relationships. (John 12:26, Ephesians 4:25-32)
The Original Intent
2) What relationships are represented in these verses? (verses 23-24)
Epaphras was an evangelist from the same area as Philemon. (Colossians 4:12) It’s possible he was the first to evangelize there, and he would have been known either personally or in name by Philemon. Paul wrote that Epaphras was a fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, indicating Epaphras was imprisoned not for committing a crime, but for his work to spread the gospel. Paul considered Epaphras a co-laborer who was also a worker for the gospel. (Colossians 1:7) The relationship between the two was undoubtedly strengthened by their shared imprisonment and suffering for Christ.
Mark and Paul were co-laborers in ministry and mission together. At one point, Mark and Paul parted ways when Barnabas and Paul disagreed (Acts 15:36-41), but Paul includes Mark among a list of faithful servants, evidencing their relationship has been repaired. Aristarchus accompanied Paul on some of his missionary journeys, and was imprisoned with Paul at one point. (Colossians 4:10) Their relationship was cemented in their shared work as evangelists and workers in the Church, and furthered by shared suffering for the sake of the gospel.
At this time, Paul considered Demas a fellow worker for the spread of the gospel. (Colossians 4:14) Later in 2 Timothy, we hear more about Demas, but at the writing of this letter he was a fellow worker in ministry with Paul.
Luke was the “beloved physician” (Colossians 4:14) and intentional co-laborer with Paul. He accompanied Paul on many missionary journeys, and remained with him in his imprisonment (2 Timothy 4:11). Brothers in Christ, Paul and Luke were close partners in the spread of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
The Everyday Application
2) What relationships are represented in these verses? (verses 23-24)
Each relationship represented in these verses is rooted in Christ and the spread of His gospel. The language used implies close, family love and respect, and appreciation for each person’s role.
These relationships portray God’s design for His family, for all His adopted sons and daughters by faith in Christ Jesus. Brothers and sisters in Christ, working together to serve His people and spread His gospel. Working and serving in their individual roles, but all needed, respected, loved and appreciated for who God created them to be in the body of believers. (Romans 12:4-8)
Paul was a high-profile member of the body of Christ, but Christ’s church is filled with men, women, and youth who answered Christ’s call and served faithfully, whether their names were ever known beyond their small circle or not. We may only hear about Epaphras and Archippus a few times in Scripture, but we know from what is shared that they were faithful men of God who served Jesus and their respective mission fields well.
There is a very real temptation every believer may experience when we see the work Christ does in and through another Christian, to question whether or not we “measure up.” Whether we’re doing enough or being enough in comparison to others. When our eyes and thoughts begin to focus on these questions, we’ve lost sight of who we are, why we’re here, and what our mission is: Christ and His gospel. When we find ourselves struggling, we can take encouragement from Paul’s words to Philemon and remember that the Lord Jesus Christ is our ruler and Savior; all glory belongs to Him alone.
The Original Intent
3) Why did Paul close by praying, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit”? (verse 25)
Paul had just finished a very specific letter to Philemon and extolled the relationships between believers and fellow workers in the body of Christ. He highlighted what a blessing Onesimus was to him and emphasized how Onesimus was now a brother in Christ. Paul wrote all these things while being fully aware of the challenging circumstances surrounding the way Onesimus left Philemon.
He knew Philemon had every right to extract punishment from Onesimus; at that point Philemon could have legally killed Onesimus for running away. Paul knew Philemon would only be able to forgive and receive Onesimus by the grace of his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and his prayer echoes this understanding. Paul prays that Philemon will be granted grace through Jesus Christ to not only forgive and receive Onesimus, but also to receive him as a brother and fellow worker for the gospel.
The Everyday Application
3) Why did Paul close by praying, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit”? (verse 25)
Paul knew it would only be by the supernatural grace of Jesus Christ that Philemon would be enabled to forgive and receive Onesimus after his crime. Paul also knew Philemon had chosen to make Jesus Christ the Lord of his life. He prayed for grace to rule in this matter, and that Philemon would respond through the reality of that grace in his spirit.
The same is true for us if we’ve surrendered our sinner-souls to the God who offers to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness, even though we don’t deserve such rich grace. (1 John 1:9) We are all sinners, saved only by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 2:8-9)
We may think otherwise, but the reality is that in our flesh, we are utterly unable to forgive and release the debt we feel others owe us for any sin, wound or infraction. It is only by the power of God’s redemptive and sanctifying work in our spirits and lives, and the grace we have access to in Christ Jesus that we can forgive others. Thank God for His gift of grace through Christ Jesus!
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