Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, to Philemon our dear friend and fellow worker — also to Apphia our sister and Archippus our fellow soldier — and to the church that meets in your home: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, because I hear about your love for all his holy people and your faith in the Lord Jesus. I pray that your partnership with us in the faith may be effective in deepening your understanding of every good thing we share for the sake of Christ. Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the Lord’s people.
Therefore, although in Christ I could be bold and order you to do what you ought to do, yet I prefer to appeal to you on the basis of love. It is as none other than Paul — an old man and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus — that I appeal to you for my son Onesimus, who became my son while I was in chains. Formerly he was useless to you, but now he has become useful both to you and to me.
I am sending him — who is my very heart — back to you. I would have liked to keep him with me so that he could take your place in helping me while I am in chains for the gospel. But I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that any favor you do would not seem forced but would be voluntary. Perhaps the reason he was separated from you for a little while was that you might have him back forever — no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother. He is very dear to me but even dearer to you, both as a fellow man and as a brother in the Lord.
So if you consider me a partner, welcome him as you would welcome me. If he has done you any wrong or owes you anything, charge it to me. I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand. I will pay it back — not to mention that you owe me your very self. I do wish, brother, that I may have some benefit from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in Christ. Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I ask.
And one thing more: Prepare a guest room for me, because I hope to be restored to you in answer to your prayers. Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends you greetings. And so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas and Luke, my fellow workers. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Philemon 1-25
“This short letter provides a useful study on stewardship and responding to God, cutting through our embarrassment about mixing religion and financial concerns. According to Paul’s model, believers respond to God’s generosity by using whatever God has given to meet the needs of others in the body, just as God has lavished God’s generosity on us in Christ and in supplying the Spirit, and God will continue to act favorably as the time of inheritance draws near. This is how, for Paul, faith becomes effective, meeting real needs within the community of the believers. Paul also removes a major obstacle to unbegrudging generosity, namely, the excuse that we may have been injured in some way by the person in need. Paul tells Philemon not to withhold kindness from Onesimus because of any loss he may have suffered on Onesimus’s account, but rather to symbolically charge that to Paul’s own account. Similarly, we are challenged to measure other people’s “debts” to us against our debt to God, to forgive as freely as we have been forgiven, to share and help as generously as we have been helped and sustained.”
David DeSilva in An Introduction to the New Testament: Contexts, Methods, and Ministry Formation (Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2004) 1581.
I felt today’s text and post challenge me to go to a deeper level in my stewardship.
It’s one thing to live, give, serve, and love generously. But it’s a much deeper level of generosity to remove major obstacles to unbegrudging generosity by challenging people who have been injured by people in need to charge the debts of others to our own account.
I am curious how you feel about this. It’s radical but makes total sense.
When we remove major obstacles we behave like Christ. It challenges me to think of how I can motivate people who I think should give more to charge wrongs to me. I need to ponder this further as I want to remove major obstacles to generosity.
Sit in this place with me. Ask yourself what it might look like for you to remove major obstacles. For me, this week, it links to teaching.
The biblical governance sessions are going well. Thanks for your prayers. The participants have come from all over India. It’s humbling and exciting to serve them. As they flourish, the gospel goes forth with power across this densely populated country to the glory of God.