By: Curtis Baker
In Galatians 5:22-23 Paul sets out for his readers a list of attributes he calls “the fruit of the Spirit.” For those who are long time readers of this article, you may recall that we studied our way through the fruit of the Spirit several years ago. But as Paul lists for us the attributes that should increasingly be found in the those who follow Christ, he reminds us that the Holy Spirit’s primary task in the life of a Christian is to remake them into a better kind of person. In a word, we would call this “holiness.” But at times we need specific examples so that we can see how this change looks in a real person.
A good example of how the Spirit of God works through the gospel to change lives is in the small letter of Philemon, written by the Apostle Paul. Philemon is one of those books of the Bible we don’t read very often, but that is all the more reason to take a few moments this week to pay some extra attention to it! The letter of Philemon is rich with examples of how the gospel changes lives.
The basic context of Philemon is centered on a run a way slave named Onesimus. Apparently, Onesimus had been a household slave to Philemon but had stolen something from him and ran away. Somewhere along the road Onesimus encountered Paul and was led to understand the good news of Jesus Christ. Onesimus becomes a great help to Paul while he was in prison and Paul is very grateful for his help and friendship. However, Paul feels like the right thing to do is send Onesimus back to Philemon in order to right the wrong that had been done. With this in mind Paul takes great care in crafting a letter to Philemon in his own hand (which was rare given Paul’s bad vision!) to ask Philemon to accept Onesimus back into his household—not just as a slave, but as a brother in Christ.
If you have a Bible nearby and a moment to read it, notice how carefully Paul words this letter to Philemon. In the opening seven verses Paul praises Philemon, and those in his household, for their love and faith that refreshes the hearts of the saints. Paul does not explain here how they refresh hearts, but we’ll get a better picture of this in a moment.
Now that Paul has laid this groundwork of love and faith he moves more boldly toward his main point. Paul has every right to use his apostolic authority toward his request, but he gives up that right in order to appeal to Philemon according to the gospel that has shaped both their lives. He asks Philemon to restore Onesimus in order that one of two things might happen: either Onesimus may once again live in Philemon’s household as a brother of Christ, or that he be sent back to Paul to help him while in prison. Paul justifies this request by explaining how helpful Onesimus has been to him while he is in prison, and even goes as far to say that maybe this whole unfortunate event happened in order that all this good might come from it.
This is not how the world would approach things. The punishment for a runaway slave in the ancient world is death, if the master wishes it to be so. However, in lives who have been shaped by the gospel and formed through the fruit of the Spirit you can glimpse how a different kind of life takes shape.
By the end of the letter it is clear Paul feels Philemon will do the right thing. “Refresh my heart in Christ,” Paul says to Philemon. Now we get a greater indication of how Philemon refreshes hearts. It is by his actions that are not formed by the world but by the gospel. This is what the fruit of the Spirit looks like in real life.
It is important for us to take note of this. How much of our actions are formed by the world as compared to being formed by the gospel through the Spirit? Let’s take our cue from Paul and Philemon and work hard to refresh each others hearts by giving our self to a life of love and faith. As Paul says in the final line of the letter: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.”
(Don’t forget to join me for A Message from the Heart radio program Sunday evening at 8:00pm on KJAK 92.7FM, or streaming live at www.kjak.com) (curtisbaker@hotmail.com)
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