"Receive Much Joy"

Overview

Receive Much Joy: A Study in Philemon

Though only 335 words long, Paul's letter to Philemon carries a profound message about belonging, forgiveness, and the love of Christ at work in his people. Paul writes from house arrest in Rome, where he has met Onesimus, a runaway slave belonging to Philemon. Paul shared the gospel with Onesimus, who came to faith, and now Paul intercedes on his behalf, calling him "my child… whose father I have become during my imprisonment" Philemon 1:10. The relational warmth between Paul and Philemon is unmistakable—he is addressed as "our dear friend and co-worker"—and Paul uses that bond to advocate for a brother in Christ who once wronged him.

A key word in this letter is koinōnia—often rendered "sharing" or "fellowship," but carrying the deeper sense of belonging. Paul prays that "the sharing of your faith may become effective" Philemon 1:6—that is, powerful—as Philemon recognizes the good God is doing among his people. To forgive Onesimus and welcome him as a brother would be a powerful witness flowing out of the fellowship believers share in Christ. Paul then commends Philemon: "I have indeed received much joy and encouragement from your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, my brother" Philemon 1:7. Love that is genuine takes shape as service, and that service refreshes the saints.

The heart of the letter is in verses 17–18: "Welcome him as you would welcome me. If he has wronged you at all, or owes you anything, charge that to my account" Philemon 1:17-18. Paul stands between Onesimus and Philemon as a mediator—and in doing so, he gives us a picture of the gospel itself. We are Christ's Onesimus. Christ stands between us and the Father, taking our debt upon Himself, bearing our sin at the cross so that we are welcomed home. This is the same kind of advocacy we hear echoed elsewhere when Paul calls Timothy "my loyal child in the faith" 1 Timothy 1:2, and it is illustrated vividly in the friends who carried the paralyzed man to Jesus, tearing open the roof so love could be expressed in costly service Luke 5:17-26.

The pastoral application follows naturally: because we have been loved by Christ, we love. Because Christ has served us, we serve others. Give thanks today for those whose love, expressed in tangible service, has refreshed your heart and renewed your joy. Then ask the Lord to show you someone you can encourage this week—through a word, an act, a kindness offered freely. Who can you bring joy to today? Go forth and bring joy.

Transcript

So, let's open up our Bible, please, to the book of 2s

filemen for our study today, the book of filemen. 6s

All right, here's the question for you. 12s

What is the longest book in the Bible? 16s

Do you know? 22s

One would think it would be the Psalms, right, because there's 150 24s

Psalms, but in actuality, the Psalms is not the longest book in 27s

Holy Scripture. 34s

Know the longest book in Holy Scripture is the book of Jeremiah. 36s

It has 33,000 and two words. 42s

33,000, two words. 49s

Those are not English words, because sometimes in the original 54s

language of the Hebrew or the Greek, the Hebrew and the Old Testament and 57s

the Greek and the New Testament, sometimes one Hebrew word or Greek word, 62s

you have to take a couple of English words to describe it. 68s

Well, that's 33,000, two Hebrew words in the longest book of the Bible, 71s

Okay, when you go over to the New Testament, what's the longest book 81s

in the New Testament? 85s

What you have an idea? 86s

The longest is the gospel according to St. Luke. 88s

That has 19,482 words, the longest book in the New Testament. 93s

Let's go to the other end of the spectrum. 103s

What's the shortest book? 105s

The shortest one in all of Scripture. 108s

Well, that distinction belongs to third John. 112s

Third John has 219 words. 117s

Next in line is second John that has 245 words. 122s

And then number three on the list of the shortest books in Holy Scripture is 129s

fileneman. 138s

Fileneman. 139s

Fileneman has 335 words. 140s

Not many words, but incredibly important words. 149s

And when one studies those words in that little letter of fileneman, 156s

when one studies those words, 161s

one bumps into once again. 164s

When we turn to fileneman, we hear of one by the name of Onissimus. 174s

And of course, fileneman. 181s

Onissimus was a slave. 184s

And Onissimus ran away and he wound up in Rome. 187s

Well, the apostle Paul was there in Rome. 192s

He was under house arrest, but he was still able to do ministry. 195s

And in God's great guiding, Paul and Onissimus had opportunity to meet. 200s

Paul shared the gospel with Onissimus. 208s

And by God's grace, Onissimus became a believer. 211s

When it comes to fileneman, Paul and Fileneman had an incredibly warm relationship. 218s

Very close. 228s

For example, take a look, please, at verse one of fileneman about halfway through. 231s

The apostle Paul writes this, 238s

To fileneman, our dear friend and co-worker, dear friend, dear friend. 241s

And then the purpose of the writing is revealed later on in verse 10. 251s

Paul writes this, 257s

I am appealing to you for my child Onissimus, 259s

whose father I have become during my imprisonment. 264s

Remember, was Paul who shared the gospel with Onissimus, 270s

and God used that proclamation and brought Onissimus to faith. 275s

And so Paul was really the spiritual father of Onissimus. 279s

We hear very similar language over in 1 Timothy, the 1st chapter. 284s

We're Paul writes this, 290s

To Timothy, my loyal child in the faith. 291s

That's beautiful, relational language that is being shared. 295s

Once again, back into verse 10, 302s

we read, 304s

I am appealing to you for my child Onissimus. 305s

A peel here is a very interesting word. 311s

It says, if Paul was standing in the middle, 315s

you had fileneman and Onissimus. 320s

And there is Paul standing in the middle, 325s

interceding to fileneman on behalf of Onissimus. 330s

This affection, this closeness here, 359s

between Paul and fileneman is further expressed as we continue on in the text. 364s

For when I remember you in my prayers, 369s

I always thank my God, 375s

because I hear of your love for all the saints 378s

and your faith toward the Lord Jesus. 381s

Just the little aside to really understand these verses here. 388s

This is called a chiaism, a chiaism. 394s

In Greek there is a letter, chia, 397s

shaped like a letter X, 400s

we would have in the English language. 403s

Chiaism is used to make something memorable. 406s

It's a poetic form. 409s

It's used for emphasis. 412s

Now when you come to the English translations, 416s

that disappears, 418s

because in the English translations, 419s

there's smoothing it out, so you understand this verse of what relates to what. 421s

But the one who would be reading the original text, 427s

they would have seen this poetry. 431s

They would have seen this memorable expression, 433s

and they would have known exactly what Paul was doing. 439s

So the chiaism here, 445s

it expresses this relationship, 448s

so the reader can understand. 452s

So literally it is your love and your faith, 454s

which you have toward the Lord Jesus and for all the saints. 459s

So there's the grouping of love and faith toward the Lord Jesus and for all the saints. 464s

So if you put love, 472s

faith, 476s

Lord Jesus, 479s

saints, 482s

you go from love to saints, 484s

and from faith to the Lord Jesus, 489s

there's the chie, 494s

and it's used to lift up poetically. 498s

This memorable understanding of faith and love. 503s

It's a lovely way to make this point. 512s

Let's go on, verse 6. 517s

I pray that the sharing of your faith, 520s

let's pause there, 525s

that we're sharing in the Greek is coin and nia, coin and nia. 527s

That's one of those words that it really takes several different English words to get at coin and nia. 531s

You can translate coin and nia sharing, absolutely. 539s

You can translate it, 542s

fellowship, 544s

that's why some churches will call fellowship groups coin and nia, 545s

groups, their fellowship groups. 549s

It also has the sense of belonging. 551s

And so what Paul is saying in verse 6, 555s

I pray that the belonging of your faith, 557s

in other words, 562s

we belong to one another. 564s

We're family with one another. 567s

We're united with one another. 570s

We're in relationship with one another through the Lord Jesus Christ. 573s

And so what he highlights in the very beginning of verse 6, 579s

I pray that the belonging of your faith, 582s

and then he says, 585s

may become effective, 587s

may become effective. 592s

That word is a word for powerful. 595s

For the words with Paul here is encouraging filement. 600s

We all belong to each other. 604s

We're all part of this church, 606s

and it would be powerful for you. 609s

As an expression of that belonging, 613s

that fellowship that we have, 615s

that sharing that we have, 616s

it would be powerful for you. 618s

To forgive, 621s

onusimus. 623s

So back again, 625s

to verse 6, 627s

I pray that the sharing, 628s

the belonging of your faith, 629s

may become effective or powerful. 631s

When you perceive all the good, 635s

what would be the good, 638s

but forgiving, 640s

all the good that we may do for Christ. 642s

You see, all that we are about, 649s

is to bring glory to the Lord Jesus Christ and Paul says, 651s

as we belong together as we share this bond together, 656s

as we're in fellowship together, 660s

here's something powerful, 662s

and powerful, 665s

filement. 666s

It was so powerful and communicate so loudly 667s

to the body of which we all belong to, 670s

the church, 674s

it would communicate so loudly if you were to forgive, 674s

this runaway slave, 678s

and in so doing, 681s

that would bring glory to the Lord Jesus Christ. 682s

This is so beautiful. 689s

It's poetic with the chiasm, 691s

and how it is so heartfelt, 695s

with this understanding of belonging with each other. 698s

And then he goes on to say, 705s

in verse 7, 707s

I have indeed received much joy 709s

and encouragement from your love, 713s

because the hearts of the saints 718s

have been refreshed through you, 721s

my brother. 724s

His love then is expressed in service, 728s

and the service was that which refreshed 731s

the hearts of the fellow Christians. 735s

We've all been with those kind of people, right? 742s

Those kind of people, 745s

where you are refreshed when you're with them, 746s

refreshed for how they point to Christ, 751s

refreshed for how they minister to you, 755s

and you go away, 758s

and you're just blessed from having been with them. 759s

What a beautiful thing to say about filement. 765s

I've indeed received much joy 767s

and encouragement from your love, 770s

because the hearts of the saints 775s

have been refreshed through you, my brother. 777s

The love of filement 783s

expressed in service. 786s

Remind of the story, 793s

in that longest book in the New Testament, 796s

the book of St. Luke, 799s

in the fifth chapter, 803s

there's a story of a man who's paralyzed. 804s

Jesus was in a house, 808s

and he was teaching. 810s

And these people had carried their friend, 812s

the paralyzed man, 816s

they carried them on the mat, 817s

because they wanted to get him in front of Jesus, 819s

hoping that Jesus would heal him. 822s

When they came to the house, 825s

however, there was no way they could get inside. 826s

The crowd was just so large, 829s

so what they do. 833s

The Bible tells us that they went on the roof, 835s

that they hoisted the man up, 839s

they opened up the roof, 842s

and of course, in ancient day, 844s

there would have been a patch, 845s

so it would have been much more accessible 847s

than our roofing systems today. 848s

But they opened up the roof, 850s

and they lowered the man down before Jesus. 852s

It's such an incredible story. 859s

Jesus talks about forgiveness, 862s

and grants forgiveness, 865s

and heals, 867s

and it's just a lovely, lovely story. 867s

I've oftentimes wondered 874s

about what must have been going through that paralytic's mind, 876s

when his friends were going to that extent. 881s

They loved him to that extent, 886s

and that love was expressed in service 888s

that they get up on a roof, 890s

and lower him down before Jesus. 893s

What joy he must have felt, 901s

not only of course, 904s

because Jesus healed him, 905s

but what joy he must have felt, 907s

having experienced that expression of love, 911s

that was form then in service. 919s

What was the source of five leemins love? 926s

What was the source? 933s

Look back again, please, Ed. 7. 936s

Paul says, 939s

I've indeed received much joy and encouragement 939s

from your love, 943s

because the hearts of the saints 946s

have been refreshed through you, 948s

my brother. 950s

So what was the origin of the love 952s

that gave rise to the service from filament? 956s

Look over with me, please, 964s

to verse 17, verse 17, 966s

Paul writes this. 970s

So if you consider me, your partner, 973s

welcome him as you would welcome me. 977s

If he's wrong due in any way, 982s

or owes you anything, 985s

charge that to my account. 988s

You see, Paul put himself, 998s

Paul put himself between, 1002s

onissimus and the father. 1007s

He put himself between the two. 1011s

He put himself between onissimus 1018s

and rather, I should say, 1020s

filament. 1024s

He put himself between those two 1025s

and turns to filament and says, 1029s

if he's done anything, 1034s

charge it to my account. 1036s

Anything wrong? 1038s

Any debt? 1040s

Charge it then to me. 1042s

Here's the point. 1048s

filament was Christ's onissimus. 1052s

filament was Christ's onissimus. 1059s

There we have the picture of filament, 1066s

Christ in the middle, 1074s

and the father, 1077s

and Christ appealing to the father and say, 1081s

if filament has done anything wrong, 1088s

then charge that to my account. 1091s

I'll pay the debt. 1101s

Beloved, 1105s

we are Christ's onissimus. 1109s

Christ stands in the middle. 1116s

We are at one side, and the father is at the other. 1119s

And Christ turns to the father and says, 1125s

with regard to us, 1128s

whatever wrongs they've been done. 1132s

Whatever wrong, 1135s

he says to the father, 1138s

charge it to me. 1140s

Charge it to me. 1142s

Charge it to my account. 1144s

When the Lord Jesus Christ went to the cross and shed his blood 1146s

on the cross, 1150s

that sacrifice for sin was accepted. 1154s

And that sacrifice bore the sin of the entire world, 1156s

the entire world. 1161s

You see, the son intercedes to the father for us. 1164s

We are Christ's onissimus. 1170s

And having experienced that love, 1180s

having experienced that incredible love of Jesus Christ dying for us, 1184s

of affecting that incredible reconciliation, 1190s

having experienced that love, 1193s

we now love. 1198s

And that love is expressed in service. 1202s

And that service brings joy and encouragement to others. 1209s

Think of the person in your life. 1222s

Think of that person in your life. 1226s

That perhaps this past week has loved you, 1228s

and that love has been expressed in service. 1234s

And you experience such great joy and encouragement 1238s

because of that. 1242s

Think of the people. 1246s

And that's just this past month that have done that for you. 1247s

Where you have been filled with joy and encouragement 1252s

because of the love of others, 1255s

faithfully expressed in service. 1259s

Where you say, I'm so blessed by that. 1263s

Perhaps it was an aminst of just a terrible day. 1268s

And you received this encouragement and joy, 1273s

born out of the love and service of the other. 1275s

Paul writes, I have indeed received much joy 1282s

and encouragement from your love 1285s

because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed 1288s

through you, my brother. 1292s

And the source of loving is that we have been loved. 1295s

We are loved by God. 1302s

And that love then expresses itself in service to others. 1308s

Give thanks to day. 1319s

Give thanks to day for the people in your life. 1321s

Where you say, I've just received so much joy and encouragement 1325s

because of your love as you see their service and then ask yourself. 1328s

I wonder who I could express my love 1336s

in tangible service to. 1341s

Maybe a word, maybe an act, maybe just a kindness to them. 1345s

So that they will experience that joy, born 1352s

from a loving, faithful servant. 1360s

So who can you bring joy to today? 1370s

Who can you encourage today by your act 1376s

of loving service? 1382s

To someone come to mine? 1388s

Go forth and bring joy. 1394s