8/3/26

Philemon 1:10 NASB95 I appeal to you for my child Onesimus, whom I have begotten in my imprisonment,

Paul writes to Philemon about the slave who had escaped and was now coming back of his own free will. God had made such a change in the new birth of Onesimus that now he was willing to pay the debt he had skipped out on. However, Paul desires to assure Philemon that the man he was receiving back was not the same man who had left.

What had changed? The answer is everything. When Onesimus had spent time in prison, he met a man named Paul. Paul, however, did not desire to be the only person Onesimus met in that jail. Paul, who was imprisoned for sharing Jesus, continued to do so while in prison. The bondage and punishment that came while being imprisoned was nothing compared to the desire to tell people about the Christ who had saved him from an eternal prison of torment in death. During this time, he met a man running from bondage, and he shared the freedom he now had in Jesus. Paul explained that He was more free in the bonds of prison because of Christ than he was when he was walking free but bound to death by the chains of sin. Onesimus wanted freedom, and he found it in Christ while in prison. When he was released, he knew that in his freedom he desired to do the righteous thing, so he would return to pay the debt of slavery to Philemon. However, this time he knew that he was free. Because he was now under the discipleship of Paul, who looked at him as a son. But not a son as in the case of Abraham and Isaac. No, this was a son in the way of Joseph and Jesus. Joseph loved Jesus and raised Him as his Son while knowing that He was the Son of God. Paul says I have begotten Onesimus while in jail, as he was born again in the power of the Holy Spirit. Now I am allowing him to return to you, knowing that his debt has been paid in full by Christ.

Have we poured into someone as if they were our child so we can see them become a child of the King? Have we ignored our predicament in this world and taken every opportunity to share the grace of God with others? Have we been part of a circumstance where we saw someone born again and we continued to encourage and disciple them?

This short letter from Paul to Philemon shows us how we should live our lives today. Are you ready to appeal to you for my child Onesimus, whom I have begotten in my imprisonment?

Let's get started.

Love Bro. Scott