Men of the Bible Series - Onesimus (Philemon 11-12)
Philemon 11-12, Which in time past was to thee unprofitable, but now profitable to thee and to me: 12 Whom I have sent again: thou therefore receive him, that is, mine own bowels: Philemon is one of Paul’s four prison letters. The other prison epistles are Ephesians, Philippians and Colossians. It’s one of four personal letters to individuals written by Paul. The others are I Timothy, II Timothy and Titus. Philemon is the shortest of Paul’s epistles, but in just 25 short verses, Philemon mentions 11 people and makes many spiritual applications and is filled with numerous doctrines, particularly, the doctrine of imputation. In Philemon we see a slave named Onesimus. He was owned by Philemon. Philemon was a wealthy Colossian believer and a longtime friend of Paul. Onesimus left Philemon and fled to Rome. Perhaps he fled to Rome because of its population, he probably believed he would never be found. On his way to Rome he crossed paths with Paul and this resulted in him being saved. We do not know exactly how their paths crossed. This we do know, that at some time Onesimus accepts Jesus Christ as his personal Saviour (Philemon 10). Upon hearing his testimony, Paul knew his master and decided to send him back to Philemon. By all rights Philemon could have had Onesimus put to death. But first Paul would write a letter to Philemon explaining what had happened to Onesimus, so that upon Onesimus’s return there would be no hostility. Onesimus then took this letter and journeyed back to Colossae, to the home of Philemon. Before Onesimus became a Christian, he was unprofitable (Philemon 11). He was inefficient and unfavorable to Philemon. After Onesimus’ conversion and transformation he was highly beneficial (Colossians 4:9). Onesimus became fit for the Master’s use (II Timothy 2:21). Onesimus’ name means profitable. God can save that person and make them into something great for His glory and use. That person is very profitable for the ministry. God did not save us to sit, but to serve. But Paul was writing Philemon to let him know that Onesimus was profitable for him. Onesimus’ transformation was so powerful that Paul stated in his letter that he desired to keep Onesimus with him to serve with him in the ministry (Philemon 13). Paul mentioned to Philemon asking him to receive Onesimus back, not as a servant, but as a brother beloved (Philemon 16). Paul requested Philemon to treat Onesimus as he would treat Paul himself (Philemon 12). Not only because of what Christ had done for the both of Philemon and Onesimus, but because of what Paul had done Philemon. If Onesimus still owed Philemon anything that he couldn’t work out, Paul told Philemon to put it on Paul’s account. In this epistle we see Jesus as the payer of our sin-debt. How undeserving we are of God’s grace and mercy. Through this epistle we see what God has done for us in Jesus Christ. We had a debt that we owed to God that we could not pay (Romans 5:12). Because Jesus never sinned, He could pay it and did pay it. Impute means to put on someone's account; to charge something to another’s account. Imputation is the act of God whereby our sins are put on Christ’s account and His righteousness is put on our account. When a person trusts Jesus for salvation, Jesu takes their sins upon His record and then places His righteousness upon their record. Just as it is with our sins, they have been charged to the life of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is a beautiful picture of Jesus Christ taking our sins and allowing our sins to be charged to Him. If we take it for what it means it can affect our lives in understanding how much the Lord Jesus Christ loves us. Jesus placed your sins on His account. If you go to the LORD, He will take Christ’s righteousness, which is perfect, and He will accredit it to your account. Because Christ’s righteousness is placed on your account, you’ll never stand before God at the Great White Throne Judgment (Revelation 20:11-15). Not because you’re sinless, but because of your account. If you will receive Jesus Christ (the Gospel), He will credit your account with perfection because He has already accredited your sin onto Jesus Christ. If you have never accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Saviour, call upon Him right now. Jesus earnestly wants to impute your sin to His record and impute His righteousness to your record. PRAYER: Father in Heaven, thank You for sending Jesus to pay for our sins that we would be made righteous in Your sight. Please help me to be profitable to You and Your people as I do Your work, In Jesus name, AMEN! If this post in any way, has blessed you, please share this website and its articles with others: www.fellowshipbaptistcarrabelle.com
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AuthorDr. Blackman is passionate about helping others grow in the grace of the Lord. His devotions are centered on how to grow closer to the Lord through a personal relationship with Christ. Archives
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