“Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ, and Timothy our brother, unto Philemon our dearly beloved, and fellowlabourer, And to our beloved Apphia, and Archippus our fellowsoldier, and to the church in thy house:” (Philemon 1:1-2)
This is the greeting Paul wrote to Philemon. Not too much is known of Philemon except what Paul discloses in this letter. He was a fellow believer with Paul, His associates Apphia and Archippus were also believers and known by Paul. Evidently Philemon had a church in his house. Philemon’s slave, Onesimus, was with Paul and Paul was sending him back to Philemon. Onesimus, although a slave, must have been educated because at the end of Paul’s one-chapter letter to Philemon, we find out that Onesimus wrote the letter that Paul dictated. For some reason or another we find that some of the letters Paul sent out were written out by another. These were Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, 1 Thessalonians and Philemon. In this greeting we also see that Paul and Timothy collaborated in this letter, “Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ, and Timothy our brother, unto Philemon...” The sole purpose of this letter is to plead for Onesimus who had fled from Philemon. Paul was sending him back, but Paul was advising Philemon to treat him like a fellow believer and even as if he were Paul himself.
There are some titles that Paul ascribes to himself, to Timothy and to the ones he’s addressing the letter; Paul a prisoner of Jesus Christ, Timothy our brother, Philemon, our dearly beloved and fellow laborer, beloved Apphia, and Archippus our fellowsoldier. In giving these titles, Paul reminds them of their relationship in Jesus. To be recognized and esteemed as a fellow laborer and fellow soldier by Paul, he is not addressing them as an authority in the church. In other letters where he teaches doctrine, he opens the greeting with Paul, an apostle. Right away, he makes his authority known.
We learn from Paul how to entreat another brother. Paul humbled himself. He never mentions that he is an apostle and that he has authority but humbles himself as a fellow believer and places himself on the same level of authority as them. He could have demanded and given doctrine for the kind treatment of Onesimus on his return. But he doesn’t.
Leaders in the church may be intimidating. If they tell us to serve in certain capacity, we do it and many times don’t even question their authority. As servers, we sometimes feel humbled by a demand. Paul shows that placing his authority aside and placing himself as a fellow laborer, fellow servant and fellow soldier, a difficult situation can be made more palatable. Also, elevating our fellow believers as servants, workers and soldiers alongside leaders unites our relationship and purpose. We are called to be one, one fold and one family in Christ. Paul emphasis this to Philemon and the others that are with him by using the word “fellow.” When the Corinthians were debating among themselves implying having more authority or status depending on who brought them to the Lord, Paul rebukes them. “For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men? For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal? Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man? I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth anything, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase. Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour.” (1Corinthians 3:3-8) Paul ends their arguing by adding, “For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building.” (1Corinthians 3:9) Paul emphasized this in his letter to Philemon by using the titles fellow servant, fellow laborer and fellow soldier.
We can end envying, strife and divisions in the church remembering that we are one in Christ and that the only authority in the church is Christ. That ends all striving as we work together toward building up the church (people not the building) of Jesus.
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