sermon 10 - the sovereignty of god in our friendship and fellowship - philemon 15-16

8/14/2019 Sermon 10 - The Sovereignty of God in Our Friendship and Fellowship - Philemon 15-16

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The Sovereignty of GodIn our Friendship and

FellowshipAugust 14 & 21, 2004

Philemon 15-16

For perhaps he was separated for this purpose, that youmight received him eternally, no longer as a slave butmore than a slave, as a beloved brother, especially tome but how much more to you, both in the flesh and inthe Lord (vv. 15-16).

Introduction

If there is ever a fitting life illustration for the sermonthis morning it is the current lawsuit in which we findourselves. Most of you were here long before I was. Youhad formed friendships with some of those who have left

us, and as some of you have expressed before, youthought more of those friendships than perhaps they did.

Several of you have expressed your sense of loss. Youmiss many of those who have left us. They had watchedsome of your children. You had fellowshipped withthem. You all had eaten together, every Sunday forseveral years. And there was a certain depth to those

relationships regardless of how shallow you now thinksome of those relationships might have actually been.

So when a trial, literal and spiritual, of this magnitudecomes along and breaks apart friendships what do we dowith it? We miss some of those who have left, but wealso realize that there is a very real offense thatseparates us, and until the offense is cleared up,resuming friendship is just not really possible.

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We also have waited for over a year, working andpraying toward reconciliation, only to see the prospect oflitigation lengthened, and it may yet be lengthened evenmore. Where is God in the midst of all this? I feel as if

we are at the bottom of the well or sitting in prison, likeJoseph some four plus millennia ago.

Well, again, if I couldnt think of a better illustration forour sermon this morning, I cant think of a better text forsuch a trial than Philemon 15-16. For in this text there isa grave offense between Philemon and his runawayslave Onesimus. Their relationship has been severed bysevere sin, namely the breaking of intimate trust andtheft of property, it appears. And until this offense canbe cleared up there was not a real prospect of resumingthe relationship.

Thats where the good ole apostle Paul comes in. Hesbeen appointed by God sovereignly and rather strangely,I might add, to be the mediator between these two men.And given Pauls view of the sovereignty of God, his

personal view on the conflict between them gave him aspecial insight that he felt he needed to share withPhilemon. That insight is found in these two verses.

It is from these two verses this morning that I want toshare with you a challenge and a comfort, twoencouragements and exhortations that will help us thismorning and in the coming weeks to get Gods

perspective on how we are to continue to live in themidst of our conflict, as well as how we are to thinkabout those who have offended us. They are achallenge and a comfort to me personally, and I preachthe challenge, in particular, to myself again this morningas I preach it to you.

1. Gods Sovereign Providence works in allrelationships to His glory and for our good.

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Paul begins verse 15 with the Greek word tacha (tah-kah) which is defined in one particular dictionary as,pertaining to a low probability of occurrence (Louw-Nida). Perhaps this is what it means in other texts!

That is certainly the intended understanding when theword is used its only other occurrence in the NT -Romans 5:7 - where Paul writes, though perhaps for agood person one would dare even die. But thatscertainly not the meaning here in verse 15 of Philemon.

There is no low probability to what Paul is suggesting inthe rest of the verse.

Further, when uses the word parted or separated,depending on your translation, this verb is the passive.

This means that someone else other than Philemon orOnesimus is doing the separating or parting here,doesnt it? Onesimus was parted or was separatedis not the same thing as Onesimus separated himself,is it?

But here in using the words perhaps with the passive of

the verb, Paul means to communicate a greater workinvolved here. Thus there are obvious overtones here toGods sovereign providence in the conflict betweenPhilemon and Onesimus. The overtones come acrossthrough the purpose phrase: that you might receivehim (as the NKJV renders it). (The phrase begins witha hina in the Greek.).

The tense and usage of the Greek verb for receive(present active subjunctive) points to the preferredtranslation as most other versions render it, that youmight keep on having him back forever. The pointbehind this phrase is to point Philemons attentiontoward the truth of their relationship despite Oneismuscrimes.

Perhaps God sovereignly designed the conflict in therelationship in order to bring Onesimus back to Philemon

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as a believer, a brother in Christ, and much more usefulthan ever before. And what is more, now Philemonwould have Onesimus as a brother both now and forevermore in heaven. A. T. Robertson believes that this

thought from Paul was, Surely a noble thing for Paul tosay and a word that would touch the best in Philemon(on Philemon 1:15).

Now, with this background in mind, there are severalimportant truths I want us to realize about Godssovereignty, our friendships, and the offenses and sinsothers commit against us. The first is from verse 15,which helps us come to realize that

A. God Desires us to Know that He isSovereign Over All Conflict inRelationships. His ultimate aim is tobring Himself glory through theconflict.

There are several stories here which will help us review

this truth, not the least of which is the very story we arelooking at here in Philemon.

Philemon and Onesimus

It did not take God by surprise that Onesimus stole fromPhilemon and took off running. It didnt take Him bysurprise when he ran away to Rome, in a probable

attempt at blending in and going unnoticed. It didnttake God by surprise when Epaphras happened to runinto Onesimus on the street one day, if in fact that iswhat really happened. And if that is not what happened,it didnt take God by surprise that Onesimus would fleefrom Philemon some 500 miles away to find Epaphras(his masters pastor) and Paul in prison in Rome to getsome help.

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All of this, including the pain, financial loss, emotionalsuffering, etc. were all no surprises to God. Hesovereignly worked in and through the conflict and all itssub-conflicts in order to bring glory to Himself. Consider

what happened. Ive told you about it before. Onesimusends up being converted to Christ. He is restored toPhilemon as a more useful slave than ever before nowa fellow believer in Christ. And if tradition serves usaccurately, Onesimus was freed to go back to work withPaul in prison to advance the kingdom. And what ismore, he seems to have ended up becoming the pastorof the church in Colosse. How awesome is that of oursovereign God!

Paul, Barnabas, and John Mark

While we are still on Paul, remember the deep friendshiphe had formed with Barnabas? Barnabas was the onewho tried to encourage the congregation in Jerusalem toaccept Paul and begin to trust him (Acts 9:27). Whenthe influx of Gentiles into the church happened after

Cornelius, the church sent Barnabas to investigate it(11:22). And who else did he go looking for to get somehelp, other than Paul (11:25)! Both of them werecommissioned by the Jerusalem church to go to Antiochand look into the matter (v. 30).

When they came back to Jerusalem they had broughtJohn Mark with them (12:25), evidently to help in their

future journeys and to help with the local church inJerusalem. When they went back to Antioch theprophetic team there was told by the Holy Spirit to sendPaul and Barnabas out for the work of missions (13:2).

Some months into the journey, it appears that John Markhad gotten scared and had withdrawn from the team,running away back home. When the journey was over,another was to be commissioned. Barnabas, being aman of such encouragement, wanted to take John Mark

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along again, to give it another try, and Paul disagreed.Their disagreement was so heated, it seems, that thetext records for us that they had a sharp disagreementso that they separated from each other (15:39).

But look what happened next. The text records for usthat Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away toCyprus (15:39). What did they do there? Presumablypreach the gospel and do the continuing work ofmissions. And what about Paul? Paul chose Silas anddepartedAnd he went through Syria and Cilicia,strengthening the churches (15:40). So a conflict in along and deep friendship was caused by God in hissovereignty to split the two thus advancing the work ofthe gospel even more.

Joseph and His Brothers

There are other stories which undoubtedly come to ourminds after these two, right? Josephs conflict with hisbrothers is perhaps the most famous. After endlessly

taunting him, they threw him in the bottom of a well, liedto their father saying he was dead. That resulted in hisbeing sold into slavery by traveling nomads. He thenmade his way to Egypt where he served in Potipharshouse but only until he was lied about again and throwin jail. In jail he sat and eventually served for manyyears, until finally being pulled out to serve as second incommand of all Egypt at Pharaohs right hand. And why

did god do all of this?

You remember the verse well, dont you? As for you,you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, tobring it about that many peopleshould be kept alive, asthey are today (Gen. 50:20). God meant it for good!God designed the conflict for a purpose, namely to endup saving His people from starving to death. He did it tosave His people to whom He had made so many

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promises. He did it to preserved both His glory and Hispeoples reputation and name in the earth.

Jesus and Judas

One more story would be fitting in line with these others.It is the friendship that existed for three years between

Jesus and Judas Iscariot. Judas was in fact a disciple andfollower of the Lord Jesus Christ. They preachedtogether, ministered together, cast out demonstogether, healed the sick together, and did so muchmore together.

But some kind of conflict arose in Judas heart with Jesus,I have to believe, such that the entrance of Satan intohis heart on the evening of the Last Supper was but acatalyst to do what he did in betraying Christ. What thatwas, many scholars have debated for years. But Ibelieve there was something there. And if there wasntup to that point, I think wed all agree that the act ofbetrayal itself initiated a conflict, huh?

Well, what resulted in that conflict? Salvation for us all.God in His sovereignty designed the betrayal of Christfrom eternity past, even prophesying about it throughthe mouth of David in Psalm 22. And that conflict wasdesigned by God for His glory and our good, for ourredemption. That may very well be the most supremeand glorious example of how God uses conflict for our

good and His glory.

Summary

The Lord ultimately brings good out of evil. It is simplyone of those things that has marked His testimony sincethe beginning of time. By designing the evil, andworking in it for our good, He continues to show His gloryand power, as well as how much we stand to gain and

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enjoy by casting ourselves into that goodness andpower.

This is why Paul was able to say to the Philippians that

despite his conflict with the Roman government, hisimprisonment in Rome had actually turned out for thefurtherance of the gospel (Phil. 1:12). God is interestedin growing His kingdom. He died for it. He stands themost to gain from it. Therefore He is the most interestedin it. This means that He will work in and through everysingle trial and conflict in order to further His gospel inthe world. That includes the trials and conflicts weexperience with each other in our relationships andfriendships. He has designed these trials and conflicts,and will use them to further His gospels. Most of thetime this will work in one of two ways. Returning to thePaul and Barnabas conflict as our source:

1. God will sovereignly use conflict inrelationships in order to split friends up tofurther the gospel.

Acts 13 to Acts 15 sees Paul and Barnabas unitedtogether by the Holy Spirit for the advancement of thegospel and planting of churches. Yet at the beginning oftheir second trip, they part ways over whether or not totake John Mark with them again. How weird is that? Yetbecause God did this, the gospel message was taken intwo different directions.

2. God will sovereignly use conflict inrelationships in order to draw thosebelievers in conflict back together again forthe furtherance of the gospel.

Take that same situation we just observed, and lookwhere we find John Mark at the end of Pauls life andministry. We find Paul asking Timothy to send John Markto Rome to minister to Paul in prison. This is John Mark,

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the one whom Paul wanted little to do with on his secondmissionary journey, now asking for John Mark to comeand minister to him in his final days.

And that brings us full circle to Philemon, Onesimus, andPaul. For this is just what God did in that relationship,isnt it? Philemon and Onesimus were split up to spreadthe gospel, because out of that split Onesimus ended upgetting saved, and eventually helping Paul advance thegospel in Rome. And eventually they were brought backtogether again so as to advance the gospel in Colosse,as the church there looked on the restored relationshipand grew from that. And that brings me to the secondpoint this morning.

B. Gods Desires us to Know that HisSovereignty in the Conflicts of OurRelationships is as much aboutChanging us as it is about Himchanging Them.

This point is obvious in the text. Perhaps Onesimus wasprovidentially separated to bring Him to Christ. Godworked with Onesimus sin in such a sovereign way as touse it to bring him to salvation, and to make him moreuseful to Philemon and to God. God planned forOnesimus to sin, and to run away, in order to meet Paul,get saved, and be used for the good of the kingdom ofGod.

And what is more, when Onesimus was restored toPhilemon, again, the whole church was watching thatdeal with great anticipation. As they watched gospelforgiveness in action, and as they watched the severedwork relationship turn into a Christian brother to brotherrelationship, they could not help but benefit by it andgrow in it.

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The application then is this: Do not despise or loathetrials and temptations and conflicts in relationships. Donot get too discouraged at conflicts. They are assignedand designed by God for the glory of His kingdom as

well as for your good.

How could Philemon have known that Onesimus sin wasactually going to end up benefiting himself more thanever? How can you know that the conflicts in yourrelationships right now will not end up actuallybenefiting you more than ever? You can know that theywill because God promises it. In Romans 8:28 He tells usthat He causes all things to work together for the goodof those who love Him and are called according to Hispurposes. He is in charge not only of the wonderfulrelationships you enjoy, but also of the bad ones.

Illustration

Further, too often, I believe, we ponder how God is goingto use the conflict in the other persons life more than

we do in our own lives. We think much on how theoffender in the situation will learn from God throughtheir sin.

But do we stop and think more on how God is using theiroffense to mature us? Do we stop to think about andthank God for the sins, blind spots, and dross in our liveswhich He is revealing to us in the midst of such conflict?

Do we thank God for the invisible and hard to perceivethings He is accomplishing in our lives and through ourlives? Beloved, the conflict we experience inrelationships is just as much about God maturing us the offended as it is about God changing and maturingothers the offenders.

Conflict in relationships is about growing us as much asit is growing them. And with us both growing, we canthelp but grow together and deepen in our love for one

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another. And thats where I want to finish up thismorning.

Conclusion

This brings me to the conclusion of part one of thismessage, this morning. The truths in this text are veryreal to me right now. Probably more real than at anyother time in my ministry here. I prepared for thissermon several weeks ago. And Gods good providencein placing this sermon where he did in my life and thelife of our church, this very morning, is truly astounding.

You see, the truths I presented to you from this texthave been enacted by God Himself in the last two weeksin our leadership team. The conflict we haveexperienced, in particular, over the last year has left usin a state of suspense, wondering what God in Hissovereignty is going to do next. And while we dontknow for sure what He is going to do with respect to aforthcoming decision from the Appeals Court, we do

seem to know for sure what He is going to do withrespect to my family.

This last point we just discussed, namely that ofunderstanding Gods sovereignty in the midst of conflictis as much about changing us as it is about changingothersthat particular point has been driven home inrecent months more than at any other time in my life.

God has used this lawsuit to magnify some areas in myown personal life, as He has all of us.

Perhaps the magnifying glass of the lawsuit has actuallymade a molehill to appear as a mountain. But eventhen, how foolish would it be to show ingratitude to Godfor pointing out molehills or mountains that needremoving. I know there are several of those in my ownlife, and in my pastoral ministry which need removing.And God made all of that clear enough so that just over

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a week ago, it seemed good to us and to the Holy Spiritthat I should resign my work here as your pastor.

In August of last year, the Lord established a friendship

with a pastor named Paul Cooke. Paul pastors in Athensat Crossway Church. Out of all the pastoral friends Ihave, none encouraged me more in this trial of a lifetimethan Paul, a new and quickly-becoming best friend. Asour friendship grew, his challenges and encouragementsand exhortations to me continued and deepened. Iveshared this friendship with many of you, and some ofyou have had the privilege of meeting Paul.

The deacons did this past Wednesday night. And I thinkwe are all unanimous that his church and ministry therein Athens seems to be Gods best for our family rightnow in terms of healing, growing, and maturing. In theunmistakable call God has put on my life to pastor, thistime of healing, growth, and maturity will be a muchneeded asset to this calling. God will greatly use, andalready has greatly used, Paul and his leaders there at

Crossway to mature and grow me in that calling. Andover time, when the Church Builder Himself sees fit, Hewill use me again. I entrust myself and my calling to thischurch which God has seemed to make a waterfall ofgoodness to my family over the last year.

So on August 28, Ill preach my last sermon to you.Thats just two weeks! And on September 4, Lord

willing, Paul himself will be here to encourage us all themore with respect to the transition we are about to enterinto again. I am stepping across that personal transitionfor me and my family this morning. And Paul will meetus all at the other end of that bridge in three weeks.

What kind of a pastor would I truly be if I didnt see theapplications and implications of my own sermons to myown life! This one is perhaps more clear than any other,as will be next weeks as well. I ask you now to commit

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yourself to praying harder than ever for us as we followwhat seems to be clear confirmations of this transitionwith reference to housing and possibly work. This pastweek has carried with it a multitude of confirmations,

great and small, that seem to make so clear that this isthe will of God for us in Christ Jesus.

And I pray for His will in Christ to be completed andfinished here at this church. I still remain very much apart of the litigation process, for that is unfinished. Thebusiness there is still very much a part of my life, for thevery gospel of Christ is at stake, along with His right torule what belongs to Him, namely His church. And if Ican be of any future service to Waverly Hall BaptistChurch as the closure to that long process comes to anend, I will be here for you, be sure of that. But morethan that, be sure of this, that God has always and willcontinue to keep His promise to be with you alwaysnot

just to the end of a lawsuit, but to the end of this age.

Entrust yourself to Him. I deliver you over to Him. He is

the builder and maker of this body, the church. He diedfor it. Never forget that. Because that necessarilymeans that He will always take care of that which Hegave His life for. How silly would it be to die for thechurch only to leave it and forget about it.

No, He is right now caring for you and His body inways I cannot, and in ways I cannot comprehend. So let

us return our vision to the Chief Shepherd, and discernHis hand in the life of this church through His Holy Spirit.And let us work diligently at being perceptive and opento His leading and guidance, whatever that may be.

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Sermon II

Introduction

Last week we observed how Gods sovereign providenceworks in and through the conflict of his childrensrelationships for His glory and our good. The badthings that happen in our relationships with each otherare not really bad at all. They are actually goodthings that have a bad taste. The conflicts are notpleasant at the time. But God is behind them. He isbehind every event and word and action, small andgreat, within that conflict.

When God separated Onesimus from Philemonshousehold, it was for the good of them both. Onesimusfound Paul and was led to Christ. Philemon found Christafresh and was led to forgiveness and emancipation.

Thats how Gods sovereignty worked in the midst oftheir conflict.

But it also worked in another way, according to verse 16.We get the picture there that Gods sovereignty workedin the conflict in order to produce and deepen their lovefor each other.

2. Gods Sovereign Providence Works in andThrough the Conflict of His ChildrensRelationships in order to Deepen their Love for

One Another.

Paul goes on to write to Philemon that Gods sovereignprovidence has designed the conflict in order to bring amuch deeper relationship between them than waspossible before. Before Onesimus sinned, ran away, andgot saved he was just a slave. But now, since hisconversion and discipleship under Paul, he is no longer

just a slave, but more than that. He is a belovedbrother. Look at verse 16.

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that you might have him back forever, nolonger as a slave, but more than a slave, asa beloved brother especially to me, but

now much more to you, both in the fleshand in the Lord.

The conflict has resulted in a new relationship andfriendship and fellowship, forged at the cross by ChristHimself. His purpose in the conflict was not just to unitethem to Himself and with Himself, but also with eachother. So the thing I see most clearly in this text isrestoration and reconciliation. The cross is about both ofthese things, first and foremost..

a. Gods Sovereignty is Working in ConflictToward Reconciliation and Redemption forBelievers

Colossians 1:20 teaches that Christ came to reconcile allthings to Himself.

and through him to reconcile to himself allthings, whether on earth or in heaven,making peace by the blood of his cross.

God in Christ, was reconciling the world to Himself,according to 2 Corinthians 5:19. Paul wrote there,

that is, in Christ God was reconciling theworld to himself, not counting theirtrespasses against them, and entrusting tous the message of reconciliation.

Do you see the flow there of that truth? God used HisSon on the cross to reconcile the world to Himself. Theeffect of that reconciliation was not counting our sinsagainst us. And when that effect comes upon us, wethen are entrusted with that same message. So God

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uses Christ on the cross in our message of the gospel tocontinue His work of reconciliation. We are an integralpart of that.

Reconciliation Between Believer and Believer

This means reconciliation and restoration to each otheris a most fundamental and essential feature of the localchurch, who is the pillar and support of the truth of thegospel. The local church is the expression of the gospel,the interpretation of it. We interpret the gospel by howact towards each other, first and foremost.

Do we reflect and manifest reconciliation and restorationas a church body? When there are conflicts between usand someone else, or among ourselves, do we stop atnothing to make sure that the reconciliationaccomplished by God on the cross is a reality in ourrelationships?

Or are we content to just let it go, not dealing with the

conflict in conciliatory terms, because we are non-confrontational type people? Do we allow our fear ofman to get in the way of resolving conflicts withreconciliation and forgiveness, regardless of who was atfault? I would venture to say that even those who thinkthey are right need to take a fresh look again at theirown depravity, realizing that even in our best intentionsthere are often times mixed motivations. Our depravity

touches everything, including our best intentions andactions.

We cant let ourselves rest until we resolve differencesand conflicts. This is part of how Gods sovereigntyworks in the midst of it all, driving us back to the crosswhich reminds us to deal with it through the cross. Thecross doesnt let offenses lie by the wayside. It demandsreconciliation and restoration of friendships andfellowship with other believers.

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Reconciliation Between Believer and Unbeliever

This is between believers now, not unbelievers. We

cant be reconciled to them until God has reconciledthem to Himself. So dont misunderstand me here.

That was the issue between Philemon and Onesimus.How could Onesimus be restored back to Philemonunless that offense was cleared up. Oh, sure Onesimuscould have returned and paid whatever penalty hisoffense had incurred against him. Then he could haveresumed his slave duties. But would the offense havereally been cleared up? Or would it still be lingeringaround.

The point of the cross is that a offense or sin or trespass,or whatever you want to call it, still exists until Godobliterates it forgiving it, wiping it away through HisSon. Until the cross and its gospel message is applied tothe sinner, the offense is still present. Yes, a believer

can forgive an unbeliever for the offense and not hold itagainst them. But my point here is that the sincommitted by an unbeliever remains in reality before thepresence of God because it has not been judged by thecross and forgiven by God.

Thats why a greater work of forgiveness andreconciliation needed to be done before Onesimus could

be completely restored and reconciled back to Philemon.Onesimus sins had to be forgiven, his own soul beingfirst restored to God by the cross.

It was not until after that happened that they could bothbe truly restored and reconciled to each other. You canonly go so far in reconciliation with unbelievers. But withbelievers, it should go all the way to completerestoration of fellowship and friendship, going deeperthan it existed before. Thats part of the point Paul is

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making here to Philemon. Onesimus, because of Christ,is now much more than a slave. Hes a beloved brotherto Philemon in and because of Jesus Christ. Therelationship with Christ changes everything for both of

them.

Again, God wants to reconcile people to Himself, and outof that reconciliation to Himself and with Himself grows areconciliation of His children with one another.

Now, when that restoration and reconciliation takesplace, relationships that existed before, in whateverform, are strengthened by the gospel. I think thatswhat we see in the next phrase when Paul writes thatOnesimus is now a beloved brother, both in the fleshand in the Lord.

b. Gods Sovereignty is Working in Conflictto Fill Relationships with Gospel-powerand Strength.

Paul is speaking of two planes of their relationship now.In the flesh refers to the physical relationship they hadtogether as master and slave. And in the Lord refers,of course, to the new spiritual relationship they havebecause of the gospel.

When Gods sovereignty works in conflict to restore andreconcile people, there is a new atmosphere, a new air

they breathe with respect to their relationships as theyknew them before. The vertical relationship with Godthrough the cross, affects the horizontal relationshipwith each other.

The horizontal relationship between them didntnecessarily change did it? Philemon was still a master,and Onesimus was still a slave. The gospel doesntcommand the breaking down of civil and culturalrelationships and duties. It merely redeems them by

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filling them with heavenly, cross-centered meaning. Itgives them a new desire and strength and power toglorify God. Heres how Matthew Henry described it.

There is a spiritual brotherhood between alltrue believers, however distinguished in civiland outward respects; they are all children ofthe same heavenly Father, have a right to thesame spiritual privileges and benefits, mustlove and do all good offices to and for oneanother as brethren, though still in the samerank, and degree, and station, wherein theywere called. Christianity does not annul norconfound the respective civil duties, butstrengthens the obligation to them, anddirects to a right discharge of them.

The fact that Onesimus was now a brother in Jesus Christonly heightened the relationship that existed betweenthem as master and slave. It gave new meaning to it. Itstrengthened Onesimus obligation as a slave, and

Philemons obligation as a master. It directed both ofthem to a gospel-centered discharge of their duties toeach other. Listen to Albert Barnes, who understoodthat Paul,

meant, whatever may have been hisformer relation, and whatever subsequentrelation he may have sustained, that he

should be regarded as a beloved Christianbrother; that the leading conception inregard to him should be that he was afellow-heir of salvation, a member of thesame redeemed church, a candidate for thesame heaven.

Now, again, we must not misunderstood what a few

commentators have, in that Paul is not at all suggesting

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that the master/slave relationship no longer exists. Itdoes. The gospel does not dissolve the nature of suchrelationships, unless they are illegal somehow. Andslavery was not illegal then, but was a very normal and

necessary part of the culture of that day and time. AsJohn Gill, predecessor to Charles Spurgeon, noted in hiscommentary on Philemon,

his call by grace had not dissolved thecivil relation that was between him and hismaster, though it had added to it somethingthat was above it, and greater than it

That something that was above it and greater than it,was Christ, of course. Though the physical relationshipof master/slave still existed between them, that naturalrelationship must now be ruled by the spiritual one, andnot the other way around. A. T. Robertson wrote,

Paul sends Onesimus, the convertedrunaway slave, back to his legal master, but

shows that he expects Philemon theChristian to treat Onesimus as a brother inChrist, not as a slave.

This happens all the time in the kingdom of God where,say, a husband or wife who was previously unconvertedhas come to Christ. The marriage relationship which wasformerly a natural one, held together and run by natural

laws, is now a spiritual one, held together and run by thegospel. The husband who is converted can now have atrue love for his wife that he was unable to have before the love of Christ for His church. And the wife who isconverted can now have a true love of submission to herhusband which she was unable to have before thesubmission of the church to Christ. The structure of therelationship does not change, just the essence andenjoyment of it.

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The same thing happens when employees come toChrist. They find new meaning in serving their company.

They have a new love for their employers and bossesand supervisors. They have a fresh desire to please God

through serving the company. Their vision for what theydo becomes much greater than before. They arent justpoking keys on a keyboard. Now, they are being used ofGod in an important way to accomplish His grand designfor His world.

And conversely with employers, when they areconverted. They no longer treat the employee as aslave, paying them minimum wage in order to save thecompany a buck or two. They pay them well, as theywould want to be paid, in order that they can take careof their families. And they do away with theirauthoritarian arrogance that enjoys telling people whatto do just because they can. They instead turn to arelationship of love and sincere care and servitude forthe employee, striking a balance in that relationship witha Christ-like mind and attitude that seeks their good as

much as they seek the good of the company.

The same thing happens in the home again betweenchildren and parents. When a parent is converted,parenting is converted also. The nature of therelationship stays the same, but the essence andenjoyment of it changes. And so also does the childsperception of the relationship change when they are

converted. No longer are they obeying and followingorders reluctantly. But now they enjoy pleasing Godthrough obeying their parents, and they seek to becomebetter cross-centered servants in that relationship.

The same thing happens when judges, lawyers, andpoliticians come to Christ. The relationship betweenthem doesnt change, but their desires and attitudesmost definitely change. So also when world leaders areconverted by Christ. And so also when church leaders

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are brought to Christ! Again, none of these relationshipschange as far as the structure is concerned. But thegospels presence there means a new fervor driven bythe Spirit of God to love and serve in a way that could

not have been there before.

The Sovereignty of God will Work Through theGospel to Change Culture Over Time.

Now, that said, where there are structures inrelationships that are, at the core, contradictory to thegospel message itself, those will be changed ultimatelywhere the gospel has more fruit and effects. Slavery is

just such a relationship. At its very core it contradictedthe gospel. Those who have been redeemed by theblood of Christ are free men in every sense, andtherefore ought not to be owned by any other humanbeing. And those masters who are redeemed,themselves being free, ought not to subject any otherperson to ownership as personal property. The gospelsimply will not allow this kind of structure to exist

forever.

And thats exactly what happened, right? It didntchange or demand or tear down cultural structures rightaway. It accepted cultural norms and imbued them withmeaning and redemption. But over time, over thecenturies, as meaning and redemption began gaininginfluence over culture, it eventually changed culture,

abolishing slavery on both sides of the Atlantic, andemancipating slaves everywhere. Yes, that did takedecades to become a reality for every slave. But you getthe overall point.

And the application here is despite the conflict within therelationship, live in it with the redemptive mindset thegospel implants within us. Live with in it and change theessence and enjoyment of it. Dont worry so much aboutthe structure. If that gains attention in the minds of

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others, then Christ does not. Christ should gain theirattention. So we must live in a way that pleases Him,glorifies Him, points to Him, and not to our issues withnatural, temporary things that are going to be done

away with anyway when we get to heaven.

As I have written before on my blog, the gospel redeemsculture for the sake of the gospel. It enters into theculture, redeeming what it can, and it does so for thesake of the gospel message itself. That is, in itsredemption process whatever it touches becomes a toolfor proclaiming it more and pointing to Christ more.

Thats the way to tackle these kinds of things.

Conclusion

Well, I think thats enough to chew on this morning. Ivegiven you quite a bit to consider. Theres so much tothink on when we are in conflict. But what we musnt dois get our eyes and minds and attentions and thoughtsso focused on external things that we miss whats really

going on behind the scenes! God is doing wonderfulthings!

Hes restoring friendships, reconciling enemies, repairingmarriages, redeeming parenting and leadership. Lookpast all the hurts, pains, and offenses (as much as theydo, in fact, hurt) to see the greater good that God isdoing. He is working in and through it all to reconcile

everything in heaven and earth even the world itself to Himself through the message of the cross of Christ.He cant be stopped. His sovereignty means that Hisfreedom will prevail. See it. Taste it in the midst ofconflict. Enjoy it. Hope in it. Love it.

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sermon 10 - the sovereignty of god in our friendship and fellowship - philemon 15-16

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