SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 7/11/2017 8:55 PM
My Worship Time Focus: Reception
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Philemon
10-14
Message of the verses: “10 I appeal to you for my child Onesimus, whom I have begotten in my imprisonment, 11 who formerly was useless to you, but now is useful both to you and to me. 12 I have sent him back to you in person, that is, sending my very heart, 13 whom I wished to keep with me, so that on your behalf he might minister to me in my imprisonment for the gospel; 14 but without your consent I did not want to do anything, so that your goodness would not be, in effect, by compulsion but of your own free will.”
We want to talk about reception in this SD because it is
important and is the first step in the process of forgiveness. MacArthur adds “It entails opening up one’s
life and taking back the person who offended.
Philemon needed to receive this slave back into his life, because
Onesimus did seek forgiveness, as shown by three things that were true of
him.” We will begin to look at three
things in this SD.
The first thing we can understand is that Onesimus was
repentant. I suppose that this happened
shortly after he came to known Christ as his personal Savior. Remember that once this happens all things
are new and so Onesimus’ conscience began to work as the Holy Spirit was
convicting him of running away from his master which he knew was wrong. Onesimus would have been standing there
looking at Philemon while he read this very letter that we are studying and
this in and of itself should have clued in Philemon that he was repentant. As Philemon was reading this letter he would
realize that Paul is appealing for his child Onesimus who he had begotten while
Paul was in prison. Being born again is
very similar to being born physically.
Think about your physical birth and answer the question “did I have
anything to do with it?” The answer is
no as humaningly speaking your parents had something to do with it, but
spiritually speaking God had everything to do with it. Onesimus came to know Christ while visiting
Paul in prison as this is where the Spirit of God gave him the effectual call
for salvation, a call he would accept because he understood his need for
salvation.
Next we realize that Onesimus was transformed. When he went back to Philemon, his master,
Philemon got a brand new believer in Jesus Christ, and that would have been
better than the slave that ran away from him.
Paul says that Philemon was formerly useless to him, but now is useful
to both Philemon and to Paul. Onesimus
was ready to serve Philemon in a way that he could never have served him in his
former lifestyle.
Lastly, Onesimus was proven faithful, as he had been
faithful to Paul while he was in prison.
I suggest a little irony in this situation we are looking at in this
letter. First of all Paul was completely
in the will of God in preaching the gospel and although there are human laws
against it Paul had to follow the Laws of God when the laws of men go against
the Laws of God, so Paul should not have been in prison when you look at it
that way. Onesimus was visiting Paul in
prison where actually that is where he should have been for his crime was
against the law of man but did not go against the Law of God as slavery was
seen throughout the world from early times.
Paul wrote that if one was a slave after they became a believer not to
try and get out of being a slave, but if the opportunity came along to take it.
We have written about the word “heart” in earlier SD’s
and found out it meant bowels, which speaks of the emotions of a person. Paul’s emotions ran strongly for Onesimus
that is for sure. Paul surely wanted to
have Onesimus by his side while he was in prison to help him out in the cause
for Christ. Paul then tells Philemon
that even though he wanted to keep Onesimus with him that had to be up to him
as he appeals to Philemon yet again, telling him some truthful things that Paul
knew about how Philemon lived his life in Christ.
7/11/2017 9:23 PM
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