May 31, 2013
Philemon was a believer and a worker for the cause of Christ. A group of believers (church) met in his home. As was custom at that time, he owned a slave named Onesimus whose name meant "useful" or "profitable." Instead of being "useful" or "profitable" Onesimus betrayed his master, stole from him, and then fled to Rome. While in Rome he somehow encounters Paul, he accepts the truth of Christ, and it changed his heart and life. Paul understands that Onesimus has changed, but he also understands that he must go back and make amends for his evil actions. So Paul writes Philemon and tells him what has happened.
Forgiveness given is equally important as forgiveness asked. If Philemon would have refused to forgive, it would have had far reaching consequences. He would have lost his ability to be a worker for Christ; he would have lost his witness; and the church meeting in his home could not have survived. By forgiving, he modeled the way Paul lived his life and Christ's forgiveness of us. Philemon 1:18 - "If he has done anything wrong to you or if he owes you anything, charge that to me... I will pay it back, and I will say nothing about what you owe me for your own life."
Christ forgave us. We need to forgive others.
I've always said that forgiveness is a gift you give yourself. When you hold onto grudges and hurts it destroys you and harms those around you. Forgiveness can be given before it has been asked for, but it cannot be completed until there is a changed heart. We have forgiven my sister and brother-in-law and we hold no anger or resentment in our hearts. But it cannot be completed until they change their hearts and lives and seek forgiveness. The change has to be real and authentic—THEN— forgiveness can be completed. We experienced/modeled this with our daughter and son-in-law. When change was only "claimed," forgiveness could not be completed. When change was real, it was a done deal. It was over with and completed, with it never brought up or needed to be said again.
If a real change happens with my sister and brother-in-law the same thing will happen. If there ever is restoration, our relationship cannot (and should not) be the same as it was before. It was not based on truth and it was very unhealthy. But that does not mean a relationship cannot exist. When forgiveness is completed then a new relationship can be built on the foundation of Truth and upon God's principles. That's the only way.
Christ's death on the cross—forgiveness given. Surrendering our lives to his Lordship—forgiveness asked and completed.
It is interesting to think about what kind of person Onesimus was. His name meant "profitable" yet he was a servant. By his actions we can surmise that he hated being a servant and that he felt he should be in charge of his own life. So he took matters into his own hands and stole money and ran away to his independence—or so he thought. When we try to be in charge we mess things up. When his heart changed he changed. It was no longer all about him and Onesimus became profitable FOR the Lord.
Before you can move forward you must FIRST go back and repent.
Jane has the following notes written in her KJV:
Philemon – "the loving one"; Paul – "the little one"; Onesimus – "the profitable one"
Real imputation – "that which rightfully belongs to me" (Romans 5:12)
Judicial imputation – that which is reckoned unto one which is not rightfully his own (II Corinthians 5:21)
(a) God imputed to Christ the sin of the whole world
(b) God imputed to (?)* righteousness of God
*Jane often used shorthand symbols (which I can't duplicate here and don't understand) in her writing.
Addendum: 1/16/17 ~ As I was reading this morning a statement in the Introduction for Philemon caught my attention. "As you consider how to respond, consider a higher law. A law which sets all men, slave or nonslave, free."
That statement reminded me of what the judge said during the Settlement Conference. In his opening remarks he said he didn't know why he was assigned this case, but then he went on to say things that made it very clear why he was given the case. He made the statement that even if you think you have been wronged and even if you think you have the right to avenge, consider following the King's law, and grant forgiveness.
He was speaking to my sister and brother-in-law and expressing this very same concept. Consider a higher law. Consider doing things God's way. Consider forgiving (and therefore dropping this lawsuit) even if you have the American right to sue and even if you think you have a case.
As we all know, his plea did not work. It was an amazing thing to watch a judge invoke Biblical teaching. Amazing. Thank you, Lord, for once again speaking Truth to my sister and brother-in-law.
Next Entry: Hebrews 1:1–14
Philemon was a believer and a worker for the cause of Christ. A group of believers (church) met in his home. As was custom at that time, he owned a slave named Onesimus whose name meant "useful" or "profitable." Instead of being "useful" or "profitable" Onesimus betrayed his master, stole from him, and then fled to Rome. While in Rome he somehow encounters Paul, he accepts the truth of Christ, and it changed his heart and life. Paul understands that Onesimus has changed, but he also understands that he must go back and make amends for his evil actions. So Paul writes Philemon and tells him what has happened.
"In the past he was useless for you but now he has become useful for both you and me." (Philemon 1:11)His name meant useful, but until he found his purpose in life (by surrendering to God), he was useless. Our names may not all mean that, but until we accept God's plan for our lives we are all "useless." It is only through opening our hearts, lives, and hands to God that we become "useful." Paul understood a very important truth. Not only did Onesimus need to go back to seek forgiveness, Philemon needed to give forgiveness. The Bible doesn't record what happened, but by the words Paul wrote about the kind of person Philemon was, we can know what happened—he forgave.
Forgiveness given is equally important as forgiveness asked. If Philemon would have refused to forgive, it would have had far reaching consequences. He would have lost his ability to be a worker for Christ; he would have lost his witness; and the church meeting in his home could not have survived. By forgiving, he modeled the way Paul lived his life and Christ's forgiveness of us. Philemon 1:18 - "If he has done anything wrong to you or if he owes you anything, charge that to me... I will pay it back, and I will say nothing about what you owe me for your own life."
Christ forgave us. We need to forgive others.
I've always said that forgiveness is a gift you give yourself. When you hold onto grudges and hurts it destroys you and harms those around you. Forgiveness can be given before it has been asked for, but it cannot be completed until there is a changed heart. We have forgiven my sister and brother-in-law and we hold no anger or resentment in our hearts. But it cannot be completed until they change their hearts and lives and seek forgiveness. The change has to be real and authentic—THEN— forgiveness can be completed. We experienced/modeled this with our daughter and son-in-law. When change was only "claimed," forgiveness could not be completed. When change was real, it was a done deal. It was over with and completed, with it never brought up or needed to be said again.
If a real change happens with my sister and brother-in-law the same thing will happen. If there ever is restoration, our relationship cannot (and should not) be the same as it was before. It was not based on truth and it was very unhealthy. But that does not mean a relationship cannot exist. When forgiveness is completed then a new relationship can be built on the foundation of Truth and upon God's principles. That's the only way.
Christ's death on the cross—forgiveness given. Surrendering our lives to his Lordship—forgiveness asked and completed.
It is interesting to think about what kind of person Onesimus was. His name meant "profitable" yet he was a servant. By his actions we can surmise that he hated being a servant and that he felt he should be in charge of his own life. So he took matters into his own hands and stole money and ran away to his independence—or so he thought. When we try to be in charge we mess things up. When his heart changed he changed. It was no longer all about him and Onesimus became profitable FOR the Lord.
Before you can move forward you must FIRST go back and repent.
*****
Jane has the following notes written in her KJV:
Philemon – "the loving one"; Paul – "the little one"; Onesimus – "the profitable one"
Real imputation – "that which rightfully belongs to me" (Romans 5:12)
Judicial imputation – that which is reckoned unto one which is not rightfully his own (II Corinthians 5:21)
(a) God imputed to Christ the sin of the whole world
(b) God imputed to (?)* righteousness of God
*Jane often used shorthand symbols (which I can't duplicate here and don't understand) in her writing.
Addendum: 1/16/17 ~ As I was reading this morning a statement in the Introduction for Philemon caught my attention. "As you consider how to respond, consider a higher law. A law which sets all men, slave or nonslave, free."
That statement reminded me of what the judge said during the Settlement Conference. In his opening remarks he said he didn't know why he was assigned this case, but then he went on to say things that made it very clear why he was given the case. He made the statement that even if you think you have been wronged and even if you think you have the right to avenge, consider following the King's law, and grant forgiveness.
He was speaking to my sister and brother-in-law and expressing this very same concept. Consider a higher law. Consider doing things God's way. Consider forgiving (and therefore dropping this lawsuit) even if you have the American right to sue and even if you think you have a case.
As we all know, his plea did not work. It was an amazing thing to watch a judge invoke Biblical teaching. Amazing. Thank you, Lord, for once again speaking Truth to my sister and brother-in-law.
Next Entry: Hebrews 1:1–14
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