Philemon

Philemon

Dear people of God once again bringing blessings from the Almighty who lives forever. Indeed it is my great joy to share the word of God from the book of Philemon. In the last edition we have seen Philemon as A Man of Love and A Man Faith, hope that might have helped us to grow spiritually on Love and Faith. In this I would like to share the continuation of the sermon (A Man of Ministry, A Man of Refresher).

This is an epistle written by Apostle Paul, who is in prison; to a fellow Christian named Philemon. He was a wealthy Christian in Colosse. This letter is now generally regarded as one of the undisputed works of Paul. It is the shortest of Paul's extant letters. In his writing Apostle Paul exhibits the nature of Philemon as “A Man of Love, A Man of Faith, A Man of Ministry, and A Man of Refresher”.

A Man of Ministry: (Phil. 1:2, 5)

Philemon was not only a man of Love and Faith but also a man of Ministry. He was a man having passion to establish the Kingdom of God. In Phil. 1:2 we read that there was a church in the house (House Church) of Philemon at Colosse. At first he opened his heart for Jesus to come in and then he opened his house for the people of God to come in to worship the Lord. Philemon gave all that belonged to him to the Lord who saved him.

In verse 5 we read that he was having a lovable heart towards all the saints. He loved Jesus, His work and His people. He played a vital role in the growth of God’s Kingdom in the city of Colosse. His wealth never stopped him from the love of God. His status never stopped him to evangelizing the city. Though he was a wealthy citizen he humbled himself for the sake of Gospel. The Lord wants such kind of people to make this nation a Holy nation. Most of us are self concerned and sticking on to our status, never open our house for a prayer, we never come for a Gospel meeting, not even a single tract is being given by us. So sad. Dearly beloved ones let’s take a decision to be a man or woman of ministry. Let us do something for the one who called us to be His Children.

A Man of Refresh:   (Phil.1:7, 20)

We saw Philemon as a man of ministry, in this addition the Bible teaches us that Philemon is a Man of Refresh. In Verse 7 Apostle Paul says that the Bowels of the saints were refreshed by Him, literally means that he recharged the minds and hearts of the saints. In verse 20 Apostle Paul himself was asking Philemon to refresh his bowel. The hearts of the saints were comforted by Philemon. He brought joy to Paul and all the servants of God. When Paul asked him to take back the runaway slave called Onesimus, he simply accepted and did according to the word of God’s Servant. He honored and obeyed the servants of God.

In reading this let us examine ourselves. How are we living? Are we refreshing the bowels of God’s Servant or are we a trouble to them. Let’s ask God to fill us with a spirit to honor God and His servants. If we do so, the lord will bless us abundantly.

Conclusion:

There is much to be gleaned from reading and meditating on this very short epistle. Philemon was a model of Christian hospitality and a model of Christian Courtesy. If you have not ever carefully studied this epistle before, I hope that this brief lesson has whetted your desire to do so in the future. Give up for the Holy Spirit to work in us. May the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with our spirit.