{"id":4191,"date":"2019-08-08T20:00:13","date_gmt":"2019-08-09T03:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/?p=4191"},"modified":"2019-08-04T17:46:42","modified_gmt":"2019-08-05T00:46:42","slug":"philemon_1_8-16","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/philemon_1_8-16\/","title":{"rendered":"Your Gentle Mediator is Jesus"},"content":{"rendered":"

Philemon 1:8-16 \u00a0Click here for Bible Verses<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Philemon 1:8-16.\u00a0\u00a0Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Philemon 1:8-11 (NIV)\u00a0<\/strong>
\n8\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Therefore, although in Christ I could be bold and order you to do what you ought to do,
\n9\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0yet I appeal to you on the basis of love. I then, as Paul–an old man and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus–<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 8-9:\u00a0\u00a0Paul had a special role in Philemon\u2019s life.\u00a0\u00a0For one, Paul was the one whom God used to lead Philemon to Christ (v19).\u00a0\u00a0In this way Paul was like a spiritual father to Philemon.\u00a0\u00a0Not only that, Paul\u2019s disciple Epaphras was the one who started the church in Colosse that met in Philemon\u2019s home and so, like a spiritual grandfather to the Colossian Christians, Paul\u2019s words carried special weight.\u00a0\u00a0Yet instead of throwing his weight around and using his rights and authority to order Philemon to do what he should do (v8), Paul appeals to Philemon gently and meekly \u201con the basis of love\u201d (v9) \u2013 not as an authoritarian apostle, but as \u201can old man\u201d and as \u201ca prisoner of Christ Jesus\u201d (v9).\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0From this I learn an important lesson:<\/p>\n

Paul\u2019s gentle approach with Philemon resembles God\u2019s gentle approach with you and me.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0God could easily throw His weight around and force His will upon us, pushing us to obey Him and punishing us when we don\u2019t.\u00a0\u00a0Instead, God through Jesus Christ came humbly, gently like a servant.\u00a0\u00a0To borrow imagery from the day Jesus entered Jerusalem, Jesus did not enter our lives like a conquering king on a warhorse; rather he came peacefully, gently, riding on a donkey.\u00a0\u00a0Instead of barging into our lives like a home invader, He stands at the door and knocks like a gentleman.\u00a0\u00a0Even though He holds all the power to press His foot against us and coerce us to do what He wants, God would rather woo us so that we willingly and happily submit to Him.\u00a0\u00a0Likewise, I find that\u00a0great, loving leaders are secure, in control of their power and only use as much force and pressure as necessary \u2013 nothing more \u2013 to lead people in the right way.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Philemon 1:10-14 (NIV)\u00a0<\/strong>
\n10\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0I appeal to you for my son Onesimus, who became my son while I was in chains.
\n11\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Formerly he was useless to you, but now he has become useful both to you and to me.
\n12\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0I am sending him–who is my very heart–back to you.
\n13\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0I would have liked to keep him with me so that he could take your place in helping me while I am in chains for the gospel.
\n14\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0But I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that any favor you do will be spontaneous and not forced.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 10-14:\u00a0\u00a0Earlier in verses 4-7 Paul, through numerous affirmations, made it clear that Paul was on Philemon\u2019s side.\u00a0\u00a0Here in verses 10-14, Paul, through encouraging words about Onesimus, makes it clear that he is also on Onesimus\u2019 side.\u00a0\u00a0For example:<\/p>\n

– Paul calls Onesimus \u201cmy son\u201d (v10).\u00a0\u00a0When Paul says that Onesimus \u201cbecame my son while I was in chains\u201d, he means that Onesimus became a Christian through Paul\u2019s ministry while Paul was in prison.<\/p>\n

– Paul acknowledges that Onesimus was \u201cuseless\u201d to Philemon because of the damage Onesimus had done to Philemon, but tells Philemon that Onesimus is now \u201cuseful both to you and me\u201d (v11).<\/p>\n

– Paul also calls Onesimus \u201cmy very heart\u201d (v12).<\/p>\n

– Paul says that he thought about keeping Onesimus with him so that Onesimus could help him in his ministry (v13).\u00a0\u00a0But at the same time Paul did not want to make Philemon feel uncomfortable by doing that without Philemon\u2019s consent (v14).<\/p>\n

– Paul then suggests that maybe the reason why God allowed Onesimus to leave Philemon for a while is so that Onesimus could come back one day and be not just Philemon\u2019s slave, but also his dear brother in Christ (v15).<\/p>\n

What is Paul doing?\u00a0\u00a0Paul has spoken about both Philemon and Onesimus in glowing terms.\u00a0\u00a0In so doing, Paul makes it clear that he is not favoring one person over another.\u00a0\u00a0Paul is also casting a vision of reconciliation between Philemon and Onesimus.\u00a0\u00a0That is what a mediator does.\u00a0\u00a0A mediator brings two previously opposing and distant parties together, not standing exclusively on one side or the other, but being there for the both of them in hopes that they can reach an agreement.<\/p>\n

Just as Paul acted as a mediator between Philemon and Onesimus, Christ acts as the mediator between God and us.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0When we had sinned against God and were separated from Him, Jesus stood in the middle and became the bridge that connects God and us back together.\u00a0\u00a0As 1 Timothy 2:5-6 says, \u201cFor there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Lord Jesus, thank You that when we had run away from God and were separated from our Heavenly Father, you stepped in and became the gentle mediator between us and the Father.\u00a0\u00a0Thank You for speaking on our behalf so that we could be brought back to the Father.\u00a0\u00a0And thank You for being so gentle in the way You exercise Your power and discipline.\u00a0\u00a0In Jesus\u2019 name, AMEN!<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Philemon 1:8-16.\u00a0\u00a0Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Philemon 1:8-11 (NIV)\u00a0
\n8\u00a0\u00a0Therefore, although in Christ I could be bold and order you to do what you ought to do,
\n9\u00a0\u00a0yet I appeal to you on the basis of love. I then, as Paul–an old man and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus–<\/p>\n

On verses 8-9:\u00a0\u00a0Paul had a special role in Philemon\u2019s life.\u00a0\u00a0For one, Paul was the one whom God used to lead Philemon to Christ (v19).\u00a0\u00a0In this way Paul was like a spiritual father to Philemon.\u00a0\u00a0Not only that, Paul\u2019s disciple Epaphras was the one who started the church in Colosse that met in Philemon\u2019s home and so, like a spiritual grandfather to the Colossian Christians, Paul\u2019s words carried special weight.\u00a0\u00a0Yet instead of throwing his weight around and using his rights and authority to order Philemon to do what he should do (v8), Paul appeals to Philemon gently and meekly \u201con the basis of love\u201d (v9) \u2013 not as an authoritarian apostle, but as \u201can old man\u201d and as \u201ca prisoner of Christ Jesus\u201d (v9).\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0From this I learn an important lesson:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4192,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4191","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4191","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4191"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4191\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4193,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4191\/revisions\/4193"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4192"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4191"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4191"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4191"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}