The Letter to Philemon
A Lecture by David Pawson
Opening Prayer
Father, we cannot help but praise you for Jesus Christ. Even during this last week, we can look back and see how he has brought us through... We thank you that there is no need that he cannot meet, that there is no situation of which he is not master, that there is no sorrow too deep for the comfort of his love, that there is no temptation too great that it cannot be conquered in his strength, that there is no sin so great that it cannot be washed whiter than snow by his blood. Amen.
Introduction: The Bible's Unlikely Origins
Pawson approaches the letter at three different levels, showing that you can go deeper and deeper into the Word of God and find more and more in it.
One of the most surprising things about the Bible is that no one intended to write it. It is a collection of songs, poems, hymns, letters, and historical records — forty writers, writing in three languages over fourteen centuries — none of whom realised they were contributing to a single book.
This is especially true of the letters of the New Testament. Perhaps the majority of its pages are simply letters that someone wrote to someone else. And so we have this little letter, hastily scribbled by Paul and sent by runner to the town where Philemon lived.
Level 1: The Personal Approach
The first level is the personal — getting into the letter and seeing the people involved as real men and women of flesh and blood, with temptations, passions and weaknesses just like us.
There are three people at the heart of this letter: Paul the writer, Philemon the reader, and Onesimus — the man about whom the whole letter is written.
Paul the Writer
The man who wrote this letter is completely different from the man we first encounter in Acts — breathing threats and seeking the blood of Christians. Here is a man pleading that a runaway slave be let off; a man who was harsh and cruel, now loving, kind, gentle and peaceful. What happened?
The real answer is this: Paul has been a prisoner of the Lord Jesus Christ for thirty years. He has been chained to Jesus. And the thing is, if you live with someone at close quarters you will inevitably become like them. Paul, having been chained to Christ for thirty years, has taken on Christ's character.
Four notes sound clearly in this little letter: Gratitude — an old man in jail, full of thankfulness. Joy — vivid and exuberant despite imprisonment. Confidence — ‘Get your guest room ready,’ an old man who has not given in. Humility — ‘I could demand this, but I ask you instead.’
Onesimus the Runaway Slave
His name means ‘useful’ — a slave name, given by his owner in hope that he would prove a good servant. He ran away to Rome to lose himself in the crowd. Nobody knows how a runaway slave hiding in the back streets of Rome found his way into the jail where Paul lay in chains. But they met — and when Onesimus named his master, one of the most remarkable coincidences in the New Testament took place: Paul knew Philemon.
Philemon the Reader
Reading between the lines, Philemon was a wealthy man — a successful businessman with a large house and many slaves — the kind of person easily corrupted by possessions. And yet Jesus had made him a man of love, whose kindness thrilled people's hearts.
The conclusion of this first level: God can change anyone. Whether intellectual, runaway slave, or prosperous businessman — when Jesus gets hold of you, he turns you into someone attractive, helpful, and loving.
Level 2: The Social Approach
Going deeper, this letter speaks directly to the greatest social evil of its day: slavery. In the Roman Empire, one in every three people was a slave — sixty million human beings bought and sold like cattle, with no rights whatsoever.
How did Paul tackle this? He did two things that would ultimately crack the institution of slavery from the inside:
1. He loved the slave. You cannot go on ill-treating a person you love. Paul's love for Onesimus was the first thing that began to break open the situation.
2. He declared the slave a beloved brother. That is the new wine that would burst the old bottle. In Christ there is neither bond nor free. The early church was substantially made up of slaves — and there the distinction disappeared.
Centuries later, when the political opportunity and public opinion finally existed, it was this little letter that inspired William Wilberforce. The Christian way to attack social injustice is to get into the situation like leaven in the lump — and inject love until people begin to see people as people.
Level 3: The Spiritual Approach
Going even deeper: in the behaviour of these men we see the pattern of Christianity itself — the pattern of Christ. For the whole New Testament rests on the assumption that the pattern of Christ's ministry to us is to be reflected in our lives toward each other.
In this little letter, Pawson sees a perfect picture of sin and salvation.
A Picture of Sin
What is sin? It is to be a runaway slave. When God made us, he made us to serve him with our whole lives. Yet we are all in the position of runaway servants. We have not given God what he should have had from us. At our very best we are unprofitable servants.
The Debt Paid
Paul says: ‘If he owes you anything, charge it to me. I will pay it back — I sign it with my own hand.’ In the ancient world, a debt was made public by nailing a sheet of parchment in the marketplace. If a friend was prepared to pay, he would fold the bond over and sign his own name. The debt was cancelled.
Paul quotes this image in Colossians 2:14: Christ has taken the bond written against us and nailed it to the cross. Jesus has written his own name across our debt to God and said: paid.‘There was no other good enough to pay the price of sin; he only could unlock the gate of heaven and let us in.’
The Plea for Forgiveness
Paul does not only offer to pay — he pleads with Philemon to forgive. And so we not only have someone to pay our debt to God; we have someone to plead: someone to say to God on our behalf, ‘Father, forgive him.’
Receive Him as Myself
‘Welcome this man as if I were coming to you,’ Paul says to Philemon. And Jesus says to God about every believer: ‘Father, welcome them as if I were coming to you.’
Away for a Little While, Yours Forever
Pawson ends with the loveliest phrase in the letter: ‘Perhaps you could think of it this way — that he ran away from you for a little while, so that now he can be yours forever.’
He says personally: he left home at sixteen, wanting to get away and be himself. He says he is glad now that he did — it is worth getting away for a little while to come back forever. Sometimes, he reflects, he wishes more people had spent a little time in the far country, so that they might appreciate the Father's house more when they return to it.
Closing Prayer
Father, what a lovely little letter this is. How you speak to us through your word. We look forward to meeting Paul and Philemon and Onesimus one day in heaven — for we thank you that they are not dead but alive in the Lord. Help us to treat people as people for the sake of Jesus who died for them. May your word become reality in our lives and character. We ask it for the sake of the one who made us his slaves, and yet set us free and called us sons — even Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.