v.6: Apostle Paul’s exhortation to be active in sharing the faith so that Philemon will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ makes so much sense.  Especially during this unique season where our whole church is mobilizing to maximize the amazing opportunity we have to reach out to thousands of students flooding our campuses this fall, as we have been preparing our hearts through prayer walks, praying through names of incoming students, recalling our own pasts and how God has saved us, it has deepened my understanding and reminded me of how much I have been given in Christ.  These acts of imagining and praying against the distractions, traps, and lies of this world that the students face, recalling my own journey and the journeys of my brothers and sisters as college students, has forced me to be in awe again that I have been called out of darkness into God’s light, where there is forgiveness, knowledge, truth, love, hope, and freedom.  The blessings of what Christ has saved me from and what He has blessed me with are untapped, if I just sit on my faith and do not make any effort to share it with others.  As I try to share my faith and pray and imagine what people are going through, where they are spiritually, what lies they have bought into, and the truth that will save them, what they really need—Christ, I see more clearly what I myself have gained in Christ.  No wonder it is part of God’s plan to not only save us, but to call us to partner with Him in bringing the gospel to others.  

What does Apostle Paul’s offer reveal about the effect of outstanding wrongs or issues to burden and strain relationships?
Apostle Paul’s offer to pay back what Onesimus owes Philemon reflects how outstanding wrongs or issues can really strain all relationships, even those in Christ.  Just because Onesimus was now a brother in Christ with Philemon, and because it was right for Philemon to forgive him any wrongs, does not mean that Onesimus’ acts against Philemon would be automatically, easily erased and forgotten.  A. Paul knows human nature so well, and realistically anticipates further cause for hesitation or strain in the relationship between Philemon and Onesimus by addressing Onesimus’ wrongs and offering to pay for them. I see this in myself as well, that although often I want to be bigger than the issue and just swallow it, there are times when unspoken issues linger and strain my relationships with others, resulting in awkwardness, insecurity of where we stand or how someone will react to me or how I should react to them, etc.  Further, it is normal in any relationship for there to be a strain or tension when one has wronged another, and there is no address of the wrong.

What outstanding wrongs and issues do I have that burden or strain my relationships?  What can I do about this today?
I think rather than outright specific acts, my relationships are more strained by histories, patterns of neglect and self-absorption, and lack of self-control with my feelings of irritation, stress, or just not feeling well.  When I commit these kinds of acts (shortness, harshness of tone, impatience) against my brothers and sisters, I need to be quick to recognize, repent, and apologize.  Today though, I can take to heart that my behavior and omissions, self-absorption, burden and strain my relationships, and make more effort to be thinking of others instead of myself, to notice and ask and try to meet others’ needs instead of being absorbed in my own little world.  I should not take for granted the precious relationships I have been granted in Christ and the forgiveness and mercy and grace I have been given by my brothers and sisters.

vv.8-10 “The situation of both Paul and Onesimus is all-important to the understanding of this section of the Epistle. Paul’s circumstances are just as significant as those of Onesimus–a fact often overlooked by commentators. Because he is in prison, he cannot do the things a free man might do to help the slave. He can do little more than write a letter asking for clemency for his new-found brother and he can suggest that he hopes to visit the Lycus Valley soon to put additional pressure on Philemon. Under more usual circumstances, a free man could have assumed custody of a runaway slave after he had given guarantees of his return to the public officials, and he could have suggested that the slave be formally assigned to him for a time. This was not uncommon. […]

“Onesimus’s status was the lowest that one could reach in the ancient world. Because he was a runaway slave, he was protected by no laws and he was subject to all manner of abuse. Fugitive slaves usually went to large cities, remote parts of the Roman state, or into unsettled areas. At this time, their capture and return was largely an informal arrangement between the owner and a provincial administrator. They were frequently beaten unmercifully or put to tasks in which their life expectancy was very short. […]

“Paul must have put Philemon in a precarious position indeed. In pleading for forgiveness and restitution for Onesimus without a punishment that was obvious to all, he was confronting the social and economic order head on. While he does not ask for manumission, even his request for clemency for Onesimus and hint of his assignment to Paul defied Roman tradition. By this plea Paul is also giving new dignity to the slave class. [2]

v.11: “Paul then eases the tense situation further with a play on the name of Onesimus, which means ‘useful’ in Greek. Slaves bore the names that either slave dealers gave them to extol their wares or that their masters gave them to express their hopes. ‘Formerly he was useless to you, but now he has become useful both to you and to me’ (v. 11) contains a wordplay that can be found in other writers, but it becomes more poignant and memorable in this situation.

Paul takes the wordplay to still another level. The word achrestos (‘useless’) and achristos (‘Christless’) would have been pronounced exactly the same. Onesimus was not useful before because he was without Christ! When he became a Christian, however, he became useful, euchrestos. Onesimus was not useful before because he was without Christ. But now that he is in Christ, he has become truly Onesimus, useful. Philemon’s slave returns as the slave of Christ, having found his true identity.”[3]

vv.12-16 “Paul would have liked to keep Onesimus but he sends him back to Philemon, for he will do nothing without his consent. Here again is a significant thing. Christianity is not out to help a man escape his past and run away from it; it is out to enable him face his past and rise above it. Onesimus had run away. Well, then, he must go back, face up to the consequences of what he did, accept them and rise above them. Christianity is never escape; it is always conquest.

“But Onesimus comes back with a difference. He went away as a heathen slave; he comes back as a brother in Christ. It is going to be hard for Philemon to regard a runaway slave as a brother; but that is exactly what Paul demands. ‘If you agree,’ says Paul, ‘that I am your partner in the work of Christ and that Onesimus is my son in the faith, you must receive him as you would receive myself.’

“Here again is something very significant. The Christian must always welcome back the man who has made a mistake. Too often we regard the man who has taken the wrong turning with suspicion and show that we are never prepared to trust him again. We believe that God can forgive him but we, ourselves, find it too difficult. It has been said that the most uplifting thing about Jesus Christ is that he trust us on the very field of our defeat. When a man has made a mistake, the way back can be very hard, and God cannot readily forgive the man who, in his self-righteousness or lack of sympathy, makes it harder.”^[4]

v.18 “It is one of the laws of life that someone has to pay the price of sin. God can and does forgive, but not even he can free a man from the consequences of what he has done. It is the glory of the Christian faith that, just as Jesus Christ shouldered the sins of all men, so there are those who in love are prepared to help pay for the consequences of the sins of those who are dear to them. Christianity never entitled a man to default on his debts. Onesimus must have stolen from Philemon, as well as run away from him. If he had not helped himself to Philemon’s money, it is difficult to see how he could ever have covered the long road to Rome. Paul writes with his own hand that he will be responsible and will repay in full.”^[5]

^[1] Carson, D. A. (1994). New Bible commentary : 21st century edition (4th ed.) (Phm 4–7). Leicester, England; Downers Grove, Ill., USA: Inter-Varsity Press.

[2] Frank E. Gaebelein, Gen. Ed. Expositors Bible Commentary CD, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1992) notes for Philemon

[3] David E. Garland, The NIV Application Commentary. Colossians and Philemon, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1998)

^[4]The letters to Timothy, Titus, and Philemon. 2000, c1975 (W. Barclay, lecturer in the University of Glasgow, Ed.). The Daily Study Bible series, Rev. ed. (Phm 18). Philadelphia: The Westminster Press.

^[5]The letters to Timothy, Titus, and Philemon. 2000, c1975 (W. Barclay, lecturer in the University of Glasgow, Ed.). The Daily Study Bible series, Rev. ed. (Phm 25). Philadelphia: The Westminster Press.

UPDATE (Aug 24, 2010, 11:50pm): Memory Verse in Titus 3 is Titus 3:4-5

Starting from August 9, 2010, we are going to focus on memory verses.  So, we provided reflection questions, and a memory verse for each chapter.  Please read the assigned passage, memorize the given memory verse for each day and answer the reflection question provided.

Daily Devotion and Bible Reading Plan

Monday              8/16            Titus 1
Tuesday              8/17            Titus 2
Wednesday        8/18           Titus 3
Thursday            8/19           Philemon
Fri-Sun               8/20-22     Jeremiah 1-10

Memory Verses and Reflection Questions