In this episode, we delve into the powerful book of Philemon, exploring its themes of transformation, conversion, and Christian brotherhood. We examine Paul’s heartfelt letter, urging Philemon to accept Onesimus not just as a slave, but as a beloved brother. Through reflections from decades of personal journals, we uncover the profound life applications drawn from Philemon’s story, challenging listeners to reflect on their own conversions and the impact of their faith on those around them. Join us as we discuss the timeless message of unity and renewal within the Christian community.
Welcome to Add Bible, an audio daily devotion from the Ezra Project. Allen J. Huth shares a Bible passage with comments from over 35 years of his personal Bible reading journals and applies the Word of God to our daily lives.
SPEAKER 02 :
Today we will look at the one-chapter book of Philemon. You’ll find it between Titus and Hebrews in the New Testament. My English Standard Version book introduction says this about Philemon. Philemon was a wealthy slave-holding Christian who lived in Colossae, about 100 miles inland from Ephesus. He may have heard the gospel while Paul was in Ephesus and was saved. One of his slaves, Onesimus, fled to Rome and somehow he comes in contact with the Apostle Paul in Rome. He too becomes a Christian and a helper to Paul. As much as Paul may have wanted to keep Onesimus around, he knew of the fugitive slave’s severed relationship to his master and it needed to be addressed. So Paul writes to Philemon to encourage him to understand the transformation Onesimus has been through and receive him back not just as a slave, but as a beloved brother. The elements in Paul’s letter help lay the foundation for the abolition of slavery. Paul wrote Philemon probably from Rome about the same time he wrote Colossians and Ephesians, around 62 A.D., All three letters were delivered by Tychicus and Onesimus. Philemon is only one chapter, 25 verses. So let’s listen in to Faith Comes by Hearing’s recording of the letter of Paul to Philemon.
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Philemon Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus, and Timothy, our brother. To Philemon, our beloved fellow worker, and Apphia, our sister, and Archippus, our fellow soldier, and the church in your house. Grace to you and peace from God, our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God always when I remember you in my prayers, because I hear of your love and of the faith that you have toward the Lord Jesus and for all the saints. And I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ. For I have derived much joy and comfort from your love, my brother, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you. Accordingly, though I am bold enough in Christ to command you to do what is required, yet for love’s sake I prefer to appeal to you. I, Paul, an old man and now a prisoner also for Christ Jesus, I appeal to you for my child Onesimus, whose father I became in my imprisonment. Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful to you and to me. I am sending him back to you, sending my very heart. I would have been glad to keep him with me in order that he might serve me on your behalf during my imprisonment for the gospel. But I preferred to do nothing without your consent in order that your goodness might not be by compulsion, but of your own accord. For this, perhaps, is why he was parted from you for a while, that you might have him back forever, no longer as a slave, but more than a slave, as a beloved brother, especially to me. But how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord! So if you consider me your partner, receive him as you would receive me. If he has wronged you at all or owes you anything, charge that to my account. I, Paul, write this with my own hand. I will repay it. To say nothing of your owing me, even your own self. Yes, brother, I want 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 say. At the same time, prepare a guest room for me, for I am hoping that through your prayers I will be graciously given to you. Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends greetings to you, and so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow workers. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.
SPEAKER 02 :
To guide us through this very short book, I will be using three journals, 10 years apart. My journal in 1986, one of the very first journals I ever wrote, and then on to 1996 and 2006. So let’s look at the journal entries on the Book of Philemon. In 1986, I wrote about this book, Refresh My Heart in Christ. And then I wrote the full verse is, Yes, brother, let me benefit from you and the Lord. Refresh my heart in Christ. Be a benefit to others. Be refreshing. Beautiful. I love it. That ends my journal entry in 1986. Ten years later, in 1996, I wrote, that the sharing of your faith may become effective, and that’s verse 6. And then I wrote, let me have joy from you in the Lord. Refresh my heart in the Lord, referring to verse 20. And that ends my journal entry in 1996. In 2006, I was reading both New Testament and Old Testament passages every day that year. And on that day, I read Philemon. I also read Jeremiah 36 and 37. So I wrote a whole lot about Jeremiah 36 and 37 and nothing about the book of Philemon. The conversion of Philemon has obviously taken root. Let’s look at what Paul has to say about this dear brother. Verse 4 begins with, “…I thank my God always when I remember you in my prayers, because I hear of your love and of the faith that you have toward the Lord Jesus and for all the saints. And I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the That is a powerful testimony of a new convert in Christ. One, Paul has heard about his conversion. Two, Philemon has been refreshing to the brothers and sisters around him. And so he’s been sharing his faith. And three, Paul encourages him to even do more sharing of his faith and become effective for the Lord. Is that what happened to you when you became a Christian? Did people recognize you as a Christ follower right off the bat? Were the hearts of those around you refreshed through you and your new testimony for the Lord? And did you start sharing your faith, your conversion, your love for the Lord for the sake of Christ? Hopefully, that’s what conversion looked like when it happened to you. Or if it hasn’t happened to you yet, hopefully that’s what it will look like when you do decide to receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Paul then encourages Philemon to accept Onesimus back as not only a slave, but as a brother in the Lord because of his conversion to Christ. Paul even says, well, maybe he left you so he could be converted. Let’s look at verse 15 and 16. For this perhaps is why he was parted from you for a while, that you might have him back forever, no longer as a slave, but more than a slave, as a beloved brother. Philemon was changed once he heard the gospel of Christ, and now Paul is letting him know that his slave was also changed when he heard the gospel of Christ. They now have a new relationship, and that’s brothers in the Lord, regardless of what your status has been, whether you’ve been rich or whether you’ve been poor. whether you’ve been a business owner or a worker. Once you’re in Christ, you’re a new creature. Old things pass away and all things become new. You are now a beloved brother, both in flesh and in the Lord. And as such, we should be a benefit to others now. We should be refreshing people’s hearts in Christ. That’s what Paul says he wants from Philemon in verse 20. He says, yes, brother, I want some benefit from you in the Lord. Refresh my spirit in Christ. Are you a refreshing spirit because you are in Christ? That can be our application out of this very short one chapter book in the New Testament. Your conversion to Christ should matter. People around you should know it, they should see it in how you live out your life. They should also receive joy and comfort and be refreshed in Christ in your presence. And you should be sharing your faith for the sake of Christ so that others can have what you have. Those are some pretty powerful life applications from this little book tucked between Titus and Hebrews in the New Testament. We’ve seen two people significantly affected by their conversion to Christ, both Philemon and Onesimus. What about you? Have you been significantly changed because of your conversion to Christ? Lord, we thank you that Paul wrote this book to Philemon. We thank you for the effect of conversions in this book on these two people, Philemon and Onesimus. It challenges us to think about our own conversion. First, thank you for converting me in you. May I be a testimony to those around me because I’ve been converted to Jesus Christ. Help me, Lord, to bring joy, comfort, and refreshment to those that you’ve put in my path. And Holy Spirit, help me be bold enough to share my conversion with others so that they can come to full knowledge of you, the Lord Jesus Christ. Please help me let the Jesus in me come out to those around me. In your name we ask it. Amen. Thanks for listening to AdBible today. Across our listening audience, more and more of you are supporting AdBible by visiting our website at EzraProject.net and purchasing resources like Club 365 subscriptions, Bible reading journals, and one or more of our day-by-day through the Bible devotional books. We thank you so much and encourage more of you to do the same. You will find helpful and inspirational tools to enhance your personal time in God’s Word. Today I want to review the three tools we see most listeners getting. First, Club 365. This is a monthly subscription opening our vault of all Add Bible audio recordings and all printed pages of the entire Day by Day through the Bible devotional series. By joining Club 365 for only $7 a month, you have access to both audio and written information on all 66 books of the Bible. 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