WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:21.600 The fellowship of believers in Jesus Christ is remarkably powerful. Remarkably powerful for 00:00:21.600 --> 00:00:27.600 ! Good! I wonder whether you are aware of that. It may well not be the case without you being 00:00:27.600 --> 00:00:29.980 ! entirely aware of the fact that you are aware of the fact that you are aware of the fact 00:00:29.980 --> 00:00:36.980 that it is also possible for the fellowship of believers to be less in our experience 00:00:36.980 --> 00:00:45.980 than it ought to be. And what we call fellowship may be no more than a loose association of 00:00:45.980 --> 00:00:51.980 people who assemble or something we just call church. Or maybe we think of fellowship just 00:00:51.980 --> 00:00:58.980 as human friendship which in itself is a wonderful thing. But it is not the same as the fellowship 00:00:58.979 --> 00:01:06.979 of believers. In fact I have a hunch that the concept of Christian fellowship is being forgotten 00:01:06.979 --> 00:01:19.979 by us and many churches in this city. What is a Christian fellowship? What is so good about it? 00:01:19.980 --> 00:01:27.980 It is not the same as we rightly focus on the ministry of the word and on training as churches. 00:01:27.980 --> 00:01:37.980 That actually we lose the basic wonder and power of the fellowship of believers. It is one of the reasons 00:01:37.980 --> 00:01:43.980 that I am such a big fan of Sunday evening worship. And I am kind of having services at both ends 00:01:43.980 --> 00:01:47.980 of the Lord's Day. I don't think the Bible commands people to come on Sunday night. I wish it did but it 00:01:47.980 --> 00:01:51.980 doesn't. And I am preaching with the converted a little bit aren't I? Because you are all here. 00:01:51.980 --> 00:01:57.980 But it is because I think that the fellowship of believers in Jesus Christ is remarkably powerful. 00:01:57.980 --> 00:02:03.980 And I think we live in an isolated city. And then we live in a city where churches are kind of 00:02:03.980 --> 00:02:07.980 bought into that where they say come for an hour on Sunday morning, maybe an hour in midweek. 00:02:07.980 --> 00:02:13.980 And I don't think that builds strong enough fellowship of believers. And if you are wondering what I am 00:02:13.979 --> 00:02:19.979 talking about, I suspect that that is evidence that my concerns have some basis. In the corner of the New 00:02:19.979 --> 00:02:25.979 Testament, and there is a short little letter, it is not the shortest letter in the New Testament, 00:02:25.979 --> 00:02:30.979 but in most Bibles it fits on one page and it is a gem. And the Book of Fighting I have 00:02:30.979 --> 00:02:38.979 already grappled with this letter. And I think the big theme is the power of the fellowship of believers. 00:02:38.979 --> 00:02:44.979 The power of the fellowship of believers. Because behind the letter is a remarkable back 00:02:44.979 --> 00:02:52.979 story. It is a story of the power of the fellowship of believers. And I think it is true to say that 00:02:52.979 --> 00:02:58.979 the letter itself, the preservation of this letter, its very existence on the pages of the New 00:02:58.979 --> 00:03:07.979 Testament is an eloquent testimony to why the fellowship of believers is so, so powerful and vital. 00:03:07.979 --> 00:03:17.979 As we read through this letter, we hear a deeply moving call to know and to experience, to taste, 00:03:17.979 --> 00:03:23.979 can I say, the power of this fellowship. And to appreciate the power of the letter, I think 00:03:23.979 --> 00:03:28.979 we need to hear the back story. So here it is, some of the details are unclear to us, and there 00:03:28.979 --> 00:03:32.979 are some gaps in the evidence, but the main lines of the back story have been enough that I am 00:03:32.979 --> 00:03:36.979 going to take the liberty of filling in some of the gaps myself. So the story begins with a 00:03:36.979 --> 00:03:41.979 rather wealthy businessman who lived in the town of Colossae, his name was Philemon. It 00:03:41.979 --> 00:03:48.979 may be that his business took him in the year around about AD 53 down from Colossae to the 00:03:48.979 --> 00:03:53.979 coastal town of Ephesus, it wasn't that funny. And I am sure that he had visited Ephesus many, 00:03:53.979 --> 00:03:57.979 many times. But on this occasion when he gets down to the success of the fire, it is 00:03:57.979 --> 00:04:04.979 quite a stir because there is a Jewish man named Paul who would gather crowds in a hall in 00:04:04.979 --> 00:04:14.979 the town kind of Ephesus lunchtime talks, ELT. And he was arguing about a man called Jesus. 00:04:14.979 --> 00:04:23.980 And Paul claimed that he was not only the Lord and Messiah, but he was the Lord and the 00:04:23.980 --> 00:04:31.980 Judge of all people in every place at every time. And other remarkable things were happening 00:04:31.980 --> 00:04:37.980 around Paul. People were being healed, evil spirits were leaving people. And like many 00:04:37.980 --> 00:04:44.980 others in Ephesus at that time, Philemon goes along to hear it. And he is persuaded. He is 00:04:44.980 --> 00:04:50.980 persuaded by this astonishing message. And in fact Philemon came to faith in Jesus, the 00:04:50.980 --> 00:04:58.980 Messiah Lord. Philemon actually got involved in some way with Paul and his work. It's likely 00:04:58.980 --> 00:05:02.980 that he returned to Ephesus a number of times over the coming years. And he supported and he helped 00:05:02.980 --> 00:05:08.980 Paul and his missionary labors there. And then about the same time as the first visit we 00:05:08.980 --> 00:05:14.980 mentioned, another citizen of Colossae had much the same experience as Philemon. His name is 00:05:14.980 --> 00:05:21.980 Epaphras. Now unfortunately the details are sketchy, but both of these men, Epaphras and 00:05:21.980 --> 00:05:29.980 Philemon, returned to Colossae. And we know that Epaphras told many of his fellow citizens the 00:05:29.980 --> 00:05:36.980 message that he had heard. What had become to him, and known to him as the word of truth. 00:05:36.980 --> 00:05:44.980 The gospel as he had learned it from Paul, he passed it on to others. And a number of them 00:05:44.980 --> 00:05:50.980 understood the grace of God in truth and they came to faith in Jesus the Messiah, the Lord. 00:05:50.980 --> 00:05:56.980 Epaphras was so excited with the news he went on to other towns. He went on to Heropolis 00:05:56.980 --> 00:06:02.980 and Naedicea, which were near to Colossae and there were similar results. And in Colossae, 00:06:02.980 --> 00:06:08.980 the new believers in Christ Jesus began meeting together in Philemon's house. And no doubt 00:06:08.980 --> 00:06:12.980 Philemon from his time with Paul was able to provide some kind of leadership and encouragement 00:06:12.980 --> 00:06:18.980 to the growing gathering of new believers that met under his roof. But our sense we must 00:06:18.980 --> 00:06:24.980 turn to one member of Philemon's household. He was a slave. And he was called Onesimus. 00:06:24.980 --> 00:06:31.980 Onesimus was not caught up with whatever strange ideas his master had brought back with him from 00:06:31.980 --> 00:06:38.980 Ephesus. And no doubt as the gatherings had started to take place in the house, as he heard 00:06:38.980 --> 00:06:46.980 the Colossae believers sing hymns, psalms and spiritual songs. They were perplexing to him. 00:06:46.980 --> 00:06:51.980 And again, we wish we had more details but we don't. But apparently for some reason Onesimus 00:06:51.980 --> 00:06:57.980 chose to run away from his master. And in the process it appears that he may have in fact robbed him. 00:06:57.980 --> 00:07:04.980 For slaves to run away from their masters was not unusual, but it was dangerous. It seems Onesimus 00:07:04.980 --> 00:07:09.980 couldn't hang around Colossae for obvious reasons. But he found his way eventually to 00:07:09.980 --> 00:07:15.980 far off Rome, the capital of the then known world. Now some years have passed since Paul had been 00:07:15.980 --> 00:07:20.980 preaching in Exodus. It's now about the year 60 or 61 AD. And much had happened to Paul through 00:07:20.980 --> 00:07:26.980 those years. We cannot follow that now. But by the time Onesimus came to Rome, by remarkable 00:07:26.980 --> 00:07:34.980 providence to Paul was in Rome. Paul was there as a prisoner. He lived in his own rented flat 00:07:34.980 --> 00:07:39.980 with a soldier guarding him. The Book of Galactics tells us that he lived there two whole years 00:07:39.980 --> 00:07:46.980 at his own expense. And that he welcomed whoever came to him. And he proclaimed the kingdom of 00:07:46.980 --> 00:07:51.980 the Lord Jesus Christ. And he taught about the Lord Jesus with boldness and without hindrance. 00:07:51.980 --> 00:07:57.980 And we're tantalised, aren't we, by the lack of answers to the many questions. But among 00:07:57.980 --> 00:08:03.980 those who came to him was apparently a man called Onesimus. And what drew Onesimus to the 00:08:03.980 --> 00:08:12.980 friend of his former master we can only guess at. The fact is that Paul led Onesimus to Jesus. 00:08:12.980 --> 00:08:22.980 Onesimus, the runaway slave, became a believer. And as we will see in a moment, deep affection 00:08:22.980 --> 00:08:29.980 grew between Onesimus and Paul. And Onesimus assisted Paul in a number of ways. Well, some 00:08:29.980 --> 00:08:35.980 time passed, and then one day there was another surprise for Paul. There was a familiar face. 00:08:35.980 --> 00:08:42.980 From those days back in Ephesus, it was Epaphras. And here the lack of details gets really frustrating. 00:08:42.980 --> 00:08:47.980 The circumstances of Epaphras coming to Rome are unknown to us. We don't know why. 00:08:47.980 --> 00:08:55.980 Well, in the way, as is the way he came into contact with Paul. But it seems that he, Epaphras, 00:08:55.980 --> 00:09:00.980 was like Paul, a prisoner of the authorities at some point. He was a prisoner somehow in connection 00:09:00.980 --> 00:09:04.980 with his faith in Christ. But what we know is that Epaphras, when he came into contact 00:09:04.980 --> 00:09:09.980 with Paul, shared with Paul the news of what was going on back in Colossae and Hierophilus 00:09:09.980 --> 00:09:15.980 and Laodicea. We know from the book of Colossians, don't we, that Epaphras told Paul the news 00:09:15.980 --> 00:09:24.980 of their solid faith. The news of their extravagant love. News of their confident hope. News of their 00:09:24.980 --> 00:09:31.980 reordered lives under the headship of King Jesus. And Paul, of course, was overjoyed, 00:09:31.980 --> 00:09:36.980 you can see, and he was so thankful to God. However, two things needed to be done. First 00:09:36.980 --> 00:09:42.980 of all, Paul needed to make contact with this group of believers that met in his old friend 00:09:42.980 --> 00:09:49.980 Philemon's house back in Colossae. And Paul needed to reassure them that they were firmly established 00:09:49.980 --> 00:09:55.980 the faith. And that they continued to walk in Christ Jesus the Lord. So he wrote a letter to confirm 00:09:55.980 --> 00:10:02.980 and strengthen and stabilise the faith of the Colossae believers, which is what we've just studied 00:10:02.980 --> 00:10:12.980 for the last number of weeks. But secondly, what was now to be done about Onesimus? The slave who's been 00:10:12.980 --> 00:10:19.980 converted, who had run away from Paul's dear friend and brother Philemon, in whose house 00:10:19.980 --> 00:10:28.980 the Colossae believers now met. And who himself, like Onesimus, had faith in Christ. 00:10:28.980 --> 00:10:38.980 Well, Paul carefully wrote another letter, and he sent off the two letters to Colossae, by the 00:10:38.980 --> 00:10:44.980 hand of his long-trusted colleague Tychicus. But along with Tychicus, he sent to Onesimus 00:10:44.980 --> 00:10:51.980 and Onesimus. And when Tychicus and Onesimus reached Colossae, words would soon spread that 00:10:51.980 --> 00:10:59.980 a letter had arrived from Paul. The man who taught Epaphras and Philemon the news about the Lord Jesus. 00:10:59.980 --> 00:11:07.980 The news that they'd all come to believe in. And they'd all gathered, as I imagine it, in Philemon's 00:11:07.980 --> 00:11:12.980 house. It was their custom to do so, but this time they gathered to hear the letter read. 00:11:12.980 --> 00:11:22.980 I tried to imagine what was happening with Onesimus. We don't know, do we? And of course I'm only guessing. 00:11:22.980 --> 00:11:30.980 But I asked the question, did Onesimus join the gathering at that point? Was Onesimus 00:11:30.980 --> 00:11:37.980 kept out of sight for the time being? Did he slink into the back row during the third hymn? 00:11:37.980 --> 00:11:43.980 We don't know, do we? But when Tychicus finished reading the longer letter, the letters of the 00:11:43.980 --> 00:11:52.980 Colossians. I picture Epaphras saying, brothers, I have another letter from Paul that he wants 00:11:52.980 --> 00:11:59.980 you all to hear. It's brief, but it's very important. And the assembly waited in silence and he began 00:11:59.980 --> 00:12:10.980 to read, he read this, Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus and Timothy, our brother. To Philemon, our 00:12:10.980 --> 00:12:16.980 beloved fellow worker. And Atvia, our sister. And Archippus, our fellow soldier. And the 00:12:16.980 --> 00:12:27.980 church in your house. Grace to you. And peace from God our Father. And the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:12:27.980 --> 00:12:33.980 He kept reading, but there's a change of tone. And we miss it in English, so I'm not telling 00:12:33.980 --> 00:12:40.980 you what it is, but it's very, very important. It is the you's from verse 4 onwards down to 00:12:40.980 --> 00:12:50.980 verse 21, our singular. And as Kitchick had read, he might have lifted his eyes occasionally 00:12:50.980 --> 00:13:01.980 to look directly at his host Philemon. These words were directly for him. So he read on, Philemon, 00:13:01.980 --> 00:13:12.980 Philemon, I thank my God always when I remember you in my prayers. Because I hear of your love 00:13:12.980 --> 00:13:17.980 and of the faith that you have towards the Lord Jesus and for all the saints. And I pray 00:13:17.980 --> 00:13:22.980 that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that 00:13:22.980 --> 00:13:32.980 is in us for the sake of Christ. For I have derived much joy and comfort from your love, Philemon, 00:13:32.980 --> 00:13:38.980 my brother, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you. And I suspect 00:13:38.980 --> 00:13:44.980 everyone in the room is listening very, very carefully, aren't they? What was it that Paul 00:13:44.980 --> 00:13:49.980 was going to say to their esteemed host? What was so important that a separate letter 00:13:49.980 --> 00:13:55.980 had to be written to him? And I have no doubt that Philemon was listening very carefully too. 00:13:55.980 --> 00:14:01.980 Well, I'm not going to wait actually until the next time to answer those questions. Because 00:14:01.980 --> 00:14:09.980 I want to spend a few moments just noticing the profound importance to the careful way Paul introduces 00:14:09.980 --> 00:14:14.980 this letter and what it teaches us about the fellowship of believers. And how it compares us 00:14:14.980 --> 00:14:19.980 as a prepared philemon between the rest. So in verses 1 to 3 we see the introduction. 00:14:19.980 --> 00:14:24.980 Now it's no surprise that if you've read the New Testament or all of you've read the letters 00:14:24.980 --> 00:14:30.980 that it's a standard opening of an ancient letter. You have the sender, you have the recipients 00:14:30.980 --> 00:14:36.980 and you have a word of greeting. It's very simple to email isn't it? You have the to, you have the from 00:14:36.980 --> 00:14:43.980 and then you have the subject. And that is how ancient letters began. You can see that in 00:14:43.980 --> 00:14:49.980 the difference of Paul's New Testament letters. But as in John Paul puts a little twist on it 00:14:49.980 --> 00:14:54.980 there are some small surprises of how Paul employs this form in the particular letter. 00:14:54.980 --> 00:15:00.980 So he introduces himself, doesn't he, in verse 1 can you see it? Paul, a prisoner for Christ 00:15:00.980 --> 00:15:05.980 Christ Jesus, he's the writer. Now notice he does not introduce himself as an apostle of Christ 00:15:05.980 --> 00:15:14.980 Jesus by the will of God like he did in Colossians. Paul draws attention this time in his letter 00:15:14.980 --> 00:15:21.980 not to his apostolic authority but to his bondage. Paul writes at the start of the letter and draws 00:15:21.980 --> 00:15:28.980 attention to his suffering and to his humiliation. We can translate it a prisoner of Christ Jesus. 00:15:28.980 --> 00:15:34.980 And from the very first words of this letter there is a hint of what is to come. Christ Jesus 00:15:34.980 --> 00:15:42.980 changes all human situations. Christ Jesus changes all relationships. And you might think that 00:15:42.980 --> 00:15:48.980 Paul was in bondage for offending the Roman authorities in some way but he says no. He is there 00:15:48.980 --> 00:15:54.980 because he's been proclaiming Christ. 00:15:54.980 --> 00:15:58.980 You might think he was there because he's been punished for some wrong. But no, he says 00:15:58.980 --> 00:16:02.980 he is there for the sake of Christ and his gospel. 00:16:02.980 --> 00:16:08.980 You might think he was under the power of the soldier who was guarding him in his flat. 00:16:08.980 --> 00:16:15.980 No, he was a prisoner who belonged to Christ. Well as with the longer letter he adds it's 00:16:15.980 --> 00:16:21.980 with Timothy our brother. And Timothy would be known to some in Philemon, almost certainly 00:16:21.980 --> 00:16:26.980 known to Philemon himself. And Timothy joins in the sending of the letter. So it's quite 00:16:26.980 --> 00:16:33.980 clear that Paul is the writer. So let's see the recipients. The next surprise is that Paul signals 00:16:33.980 --> 00:16:42.980 out a particular person to Philemon. He is the main person addressed by the letter. And then he adds 00:16:42.980 --> 00:16:48.980 some others. The letter is addressed through verse 1 to Philemon our beloved fellow worker. Most of the 00:16:48.980 --> 00:16:52.980 Christians that were meeting in Philemon's house they'd never seen Paul, they'd never met him in the flesh. 00:16:52.980 --> 00:16:57.980 But of course Philemon has. And if you've got the story right, they worked together in 00:16:57.980 --> 00:17:04.980 Ephraim after several years kind of on and off after Philemon himself became a believer. And 00:17:04.980 --> 00:17:10.980 how good it must have been as Philemon heard those words, to hear this affirmation of Paul's 00:17:10.980 --> 00:17:22.980 love for him after all the years that had passed. Second name is answered, Aphthia our sister. 00:17:22.980 --> 00:17:30.980 It's a reasonable guess that Aphthia was Philemon's wife. The letter was to address, wasn't it, Philemon's 00:17:30.980 --> 00:17:37.980 household. And so the inclusion of Aphthia, well of course that is understandable. And right. 00:17:37.980 --> 00:17:43.980 And the third name is Archippus, our fellow soldier. He'd been singled out at me in the longer 00:17:43.980 --> 00:17:47.980 letter. We saw that last week where Paul had encouraged the believers to go and say to him, 00:17:47.980 --> 00:17:52.980 see to it that you fulfill the ministry that you've received from the Lord. Chapter 4, where 00:17:52.980 --> 00:17:57.980 he's indeed. He may well be the son of Philemon and Aphthia. And for that reason he's included 00:17:57.980 --> 00:18:02.980 here, it would make sense. He may have had some leadership in the gathering, and that may 00:18:02.980 --> 00:18:08.980 be why his name appears. But certainly he and whatever ministry he had was well known to 00:18:08.980 --> 00:18:19.980 all. But perhaps the biggest surprise so far is the next group of people addressed. Who 00:18:19.980 --> 00:18:28.980 is the next group of people? It's the church. The whole assembly of believers in Philemon's 00:18:28.980 --> 00:18:34.980 house are addressed into what is going to turn out to be a very, very personal letter to Philemon. 00:18:34.980 --> 00:18:44.980 It's quite shocking. So at the end of verse 2, and the church in your house. Of course, 00:18:44.980 --> 00:18:50.980 Philemon's house. Now I think that is strange particularly from our point of view, because 00:18:50.980 --> 00:18:59.980 we have a very hard and fast distinction between public and private matters. And when we get 00:18:59.980 --> 00:19:03.980 to the main part of the letter next time, we will see that this is a particular word 00:19:03.980 --> 00:19:12.980 to Philemon. And yet it seems that it's deliberative in the hearing of the whole assembly. The greeting 00:19:12.980 --> 00:19:19.980 in verse 3, if we just get technical for a moment, is plural. So it's the hollow gathering, 00:19:19.980 --> 00:19:28.980 and it is the same at the end of the letter in verse 22. It's plural. Paul will refer to 00:19:28.980 --> 00:19:34.980 you and your prayers, plural, referring to all the believers there. And also the closing 00:19:34.980 --> 00:19:40.980 greeting in verse 25 is directed to them all. So this letter is addressed to the individual 00:19:40.980 --> 00:19:49.980 Philemon, but he addresses him in the whole presence of the gathering of believers. Now 00:19:49.980 --> 00:19:54.980 I don't think that that should be regarded as a tactic to increase the pressure on Philemon 00:19:54.980 --> 00:20:02.980 to do what Paul is proposing in due course. It's certainly not a public rebuke or anything 00:20:02.980 --> 00:20:07.980 that nature. Philemon has done nothing wrong. There's no criticism on all of Philemon in 00:20:07.980 --> 00:20:15.980 this letter. But rather I think, let's recognise the corporate nature of the Christian fellowship. 00:20:15.980 --> 00:20:21.980 You see, if Philemon's wife, and his wife should rightly be included in the matter that he's 00:20:21.980 --> 00:20:30.980 going to be raised with Philemon, then so should the whole household of God in that place. 00:20:30.980 --> 00:20:36.980 The matter that Paul will raise with Philemon was not, despite our first impressions, a private 00:20:36.980 --> 00:20:48.980 matter. And I want to argue with you that we, much that we tend to think of as private matters, 00:20:48.980 --> 00:20:54.980 perhaps should be recognised, should be recognised to be far less so than we're inclined to think. 00:20:54.980 --> 00:20:58.980 If we take the fellowship of believers seriously. 00:20:58.980 --> 00:21:00.980 I'll talk to you about that later. 00:21:00.980 --> 00:21:04.980 Let's just look at the greeting briefly. 00:21:04.980 --> 00:21:08.980 It echoes the greeting in the longer letter. It says, 00:21:08.980 --> 00:21:14.980 Grace to you, and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:21:14.980 --> 00:21:22.980 This is what God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ mean to those who believe, grace and peace. 00:21:22.980 --> 00:21:25.980 But it's at this point that the letter becomes a word to Philemon. 00:21:25.980 --> 00:21:31.980 So we've seen the greeting there, let's see in verses 4-5 of Thanksgiving. 00:21:31.980 --> 00:21:43.980 It's addressed to Philemon, as we've seen in the hearing of the gathering in his house, but it is to him, verse 4. 00:21:43.980 --> 00:21:47.980 I thank my God always when I remember you in my prayers. 00:21:47.980 --> 00:21:51.980 It's another glimpse, isn't it, to the Apostle Paul, it was a serious prayer. 00:21:51.980 --> 00:21:55.980 And we saw that in the longer letter, but we get a glimpse into it here. 00:21:55.980 --> 00:21:58.980 Philemon was on his prayer list. 00:21:58.980 --> 00:22:02.980 He may have been there for some, he may not have seen him for some years, 00:22:02.980 --> 00:22:06.980 but now news of Philemon came to Paul in Rome via Epaphras, if you remember. 00:22:06.980 --> 00:22:14.980 And Paul thanks God, no doubt, because his prayers for Philemon over the years have been graciously answered. 00:22:14.980 --> 00:22:18.980 So what news that Epaphras brought about this precious brother Philemon? 00:22:18.980 --> 00:22:24.980 Because I hear of your love and of the faith that you've had towards the Lord Jesus and for all the saints. 00:22:24.980 --> 00:22:26.980 How brilliant is that? 00:22:26.980 --> 00:22:33.980 The man who'd come to faith in Christ in Paul's company in Ephesus is continuing strong in faith. 00:22:33.980 --> 00:22:36.980 And it is love for God's people. 00:22:36.980 --> 00:22:38.980 And Paul is thrilled. 00:22:38.980 --> 00:22:42.980 We'll look at the prayer in verse 6. 00:22:42.980 --> 00:22:47.980 As we learned in the longer letter, Paul gives thanks, but that doesn't mean he stops praying. 00:22:47.980 --> 00:22:50.980 He stops asking, what did Paul pray for Philemon? 00:22:50.980 --> 00:22:56.980 I assume that what Paul prayed in Colossians, for all the Colossian believers, he prayed for this man. 00:22:56.980 --> 00:22:59.980 And we can go back to the start of Colossians and flesh that out of it. 00:22:59.980 --> 00:23:16.980 But he prayed particularly for this man, verse 6, that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ. 00:23:16.980 --> 00:23:32.980 It's difficult to listen to. It's difficult to take in. It's very difficult to kind of translate. 00:23:32.980 --> 00:23:38.980 But what it says is magnificent. The best translation that I've found is the Holman translation. 00:23:38.980 --> 00:23:42.980 It says this, your participation in the faith. 00:23:42.980 --> 00:23:46.980 Your participation in the faith. 00:23:46.980 --> 00:23:50.980 He's referring, listening, to the reality of Christian fellowship. 00:23:50.980 --> 00:24:00.980 What Christian fellowship is, is it is sharing in faith in Christ Jesus. 00:24:00.980 --> 00:24:04.980 That is what we have, that is what we believers have in common tonight. 00:24:04.980 --> 00:24:06.980 Our faith in the Father of Jesus Christ. 00:24:06.980 --> 00:24:08.980 And our sharing in this faith. 00:24:08.980 --> 00:24:10.980 Our participation together in this faith. 00:24:10.980 --> 00:24:12.980 That is fellowship. 00:24:12.980 --> 00:24:19.980 Well I began tonight by saying that the fellowship of believers in Jesus Christ is very, very powerful. 00:24:19.980 --> 00:24:21.980 Remarkably powerful. 00:24:21.980 --> 00:24:29.980 And the whole story behind this letter to Philemon is the story of the power of that fellowship. 00:24:29.980 --> 00:24:31.980 The fellowship between Paul and Philemon. 00:24:31.980 --> 00:24:34.980 All those years back in Ephesus. 00:24:34.980 --> 00:24:38.980 The fellowship between Paul and Epaphras when he became a believer. 00:24:38.980 --> 00:24:42.980 The fellowship between Paul and Onesimus when he came to Rome. 00:24:42.980 --> 00:24:45.980 The fellowship between Epaphras and the believers back in Colossae. 00:24:45.980 --> 00:24:49.980 And what Paul prayed for Philemon was that his fellowship in the faith. 00:24:49.980 --> 00:24:52.980 His participation in the faith. 00:24:52.980 --> 00:24:55.980 His sharing in the faith with Paul. 00:24:55.980 --> 00:24:58.980 With his brothers and sisters in Colossae. 00:24:58.980 --> 00:25:01.980 And very importantly, as we'll see in the rest of this letter. 00:25:01.980 --> 00:25:03.980 With Onesimus. 00:25:03.980 --> 00:25:07.980 That his participation in the faith. 00:25:07.980 --> 00:25:10.980 His fellowship in the faith may become effective. 00:25:10.980 --> 00:25:17.980 And this is going to turn out to be the test case of the power between believers. 00:25:17.980 --> 00:25:25.980 How will Philemon and Onesimus' participation in the faith affect what happens to them? 00:25:25.980 --> 00:25:28.980 This wronged master. 00:25:28.980 --> 00:25:31.980 And this returning runaway slave. 00:25:31.980 --> 00:25:33.980 Both of whom are now believers. 00:25:33.980 --> 00:25:36.980 I'm going ahead of myself. 00:25:36.980 --> 00:25:44.980 But here is Paul simply praying that your fellowship in the faith may become effective. 00:25:44.980 --> 00:25:51.980 His prayer. 00:25:51.980 --> 00:25:54.980 Is that the fellowship will become effective at the end. 00:25:54.980 --> 00:25:55.980 The rest of verse 6. 00:25:55.980 --> 00:25:58.980 Again, if I can over literally put it. 00:25:58.980 --> 00:26:00.980 If I can over kind of literalise it. 00:26:00.980 --> 00:26:02.980 Paul. 00:26:02.980 --> 00:26:05.980 In knowledge of every good thing. 00:26:05.980 --> 00:26:07.980 Which is a manus for Christ. 00:26:07.980 --> 00:26:09.980 Now that seems strange to our ears. 00:26:09.980 --> 00:26:14.980 But I suspect that Paul's meaning is very close. 00:26:14.980 --> 00:26:16.980 To what he prayed. 00:26:16.980 --> 00:26:18.980 For all the believers. 00:26:18.980 --> 00:26:21.980 Namely that they would be filled. 00:26:21.980 --> 00:26:22.980 Remember what he prayed? 00:26:22.980 --> 00:26:23.980 That they would be filled with knowledge. 00:26:23.980 --> 00:26:24.980 It's the same word here. 00:26:24.980 --> 00:26:25.980 Of God's will. 00:26:25.980 --> 00:26:28.980 That they'd bear fruit in every good word. 00:26:28.980 --> 00:26:30.980 And they would grow in the knowledge of God. 00:26:30.980 --> 00:26:34.980 And it's in the context of knowing and understanding the astonishing good. 00:26:34.980 --> 00:26:36.980 That God is doing among us. 00:26:36.980 --> 00:26:38.980 By uniting us with Christ. 00:26:38.980 --> 00:26:42.980 That Philemon's fellowship in the faith will become effective. 00:26:42.980 --> 00:26:44.980 That isn't to say that Paul. 00:26:44.980 --> 00:26:47.980 That Philemon's fellowship in the faith was not already powerfully effective. 00:26:47.980 --> 00:26:49.980 As far as Paul is concerned. 00:26:49.980 --> 00:26:50.980 In verse 7. 00:26:50.980 --> 00:26:51.980 He says. 00:26:51.980 --> 00:26:54.980 For I have derived much joy and comfort from your love my brother. 00:26:54.980 --> 00:26:57.980 Because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed for you. 00:26:57.980 --> 00:27:01.980 This fellowship had been working. 00:27:01.980 --> 00:27:07.980 And Paul was delighted and comforted by Philemon's love. 00:27:07.980 --> 00:27:11.980 And this was not simply his love for Paul. 00:27:11.980 --> 00:27:16.980 But his loving ministry to the believers who had met in his house. 00:27:16.980 --> 00:27:21.980 The news which Epaphras no doubt had brought to Paul. 00:27:21.980 --> 00:27:25.980 So here is fellowship of the work. 00:27:25.980 --> 00:27:32.980 He is delighted and comforted by Philemon's love. 00:27:32.980 --> 00:27:33.980 Not only for himself. 00:27:33.980 --> 00:27:36.980 But for the ministry of all the believers who had met in his house. 00:27:36.980 --> 00:27:39.980 But what is that going to mean? 00:27:39.980 --> 00:27:43.980 What is that going to mean in this particular situation? 00:27:43.980 --> 00:27:47.980 As they all sit and listen. 00:27:47.980 --> 00:27:51.980 To what is going to happen with the runaway slave. 00:27:51.980 --> 00:27:52.980 Who is returning? 00:27:52.980 --> 00:27:54.980 Well, come in two weeks time. 00:27:54.980 --> 00:27:56.980 And you will find out. 00:27:56.980 --> 00:27:57.980 Let's pray. 00:27:57.980 --> 00:27:58.980 Heavenly Father we have a great day.