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Volume 69,
Issue 1
Meditation Departed to be Received Rev. Bruinsma is pastor of First Protestant Reformed Church in Holland, Michigan. For perhaps he therefore departed for a season, that thou shouldst receive him forever. Philemon was a Grecian convert who, together with his wife, Apphia, and his son, Archippus, were close personal friends of the apostle Paul. For years the church of Colosse had met in Philemon's house, and it was during this time that he and Paul had become close to one another. Now Paul, in this letter to his friend and fellow saint, addresses a difficult personal problem that had arisen in Philemon's household. It was a matter of a runaway slave named Onesimus. Evidently Onesimus had fled the house of his master, only to end up in the city of Rome, a place to which many a runaway resorted. While in Rome Onesimus became acquainted with Paul and heard the Gospel proclaimed. God had then worked mightily in his heart and brought him to repentance and faith. Now a humbled and submissive Onesimus returned to his master carrying with him this letter from Paul. And in it Paul writes, "...he therefore departed for a season." Surely the word "departure" was a very delicate way of describing the sinful flight of this servant. It seems almost to be a euphemism. Philemon had not hired Onesimus as a paid laborer who could leave if he would so choose. Neither was Onesimus an indentured servant in the household of Philemon. Onesimus was a slave - a bondman. As such he stood in a permanent relationship of servitude to Philemon: Philemon owned him! But from this letter we learn that Onesimus had forsaken his master and had run from him in rebellion. He had disobeyed the command of God to servants as given, for example, in I Peter 2:18: "Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear...." So the flight of Onesimus was not simply a departure; it was rebellion against God-ordained authority and therefore sin against the fifth commandment. Besides this, Onesimus had stolen something of value from Philemon's house before running (vss. 18, 19),thus adding sin to sin! The explanation for his sinful behavior is obvious too. Although Onesimus had from eternity been chosen by God as one of His elect children, nevertheless God had not as yet brought him to repentance and faith. Onesimus was as yet lost in the darkness and hopelessness of sin and unbelief. He was given over to a corrupt mind and sinful desires, being characterized by selfishness and pride. For that reason Onesimus had not thought twice about stealing or running away from his master. He did not care that he was disobeying God's commandments. He simply followed after his sinful desires. So in sin and rebellion he had taken his flight. Yet we cannot overlook the wording of the apostle Paul in this verse. Paul speaks of "departure" rather than of "sinful flight." He does this, not because he condoned this sin of Onesimus, nor because he was trying to make light of it in order to convince Philemon it was not all that serious. Paul uses this word because he saw the flight of Onesimus from a different point of view: that of God's sovereign control over all things. Paul looks at this sin of Onesimus as guided and directed by the very providence of God. Consider the beauty of this truth in connection with the sin of Philemon's runaway slave. Before time began, in eternity, God carried with Him His divine counsel or plan for all things. In that counsel God has conceived of all things in their minutest detail. Nothing escapes that all comprehensive will of God -neither the acts of nature nor the events of history and of our own lives. Even the eternal destiny of every person is predetermined by God. God's providence is that power of God by which He makes sure that every detail of His divine will and counsel is worked out in time. God through His providential power keeps, as it were, His almighty hand on His creation, and controls everything that takes place. He guides the rivers in their courses. He directs the sparrow to find a nest. He numbers the very hairs of our heads, that not one can fall out save by His own divine guidance. Through this same power God controls the very thoughts, words, and actions of a man. This does not mean, of course, that God does not hold man responsible for his sinful deeds. God is not the author of sin! God always deals with man as a rational, moral creature who is responsible for what he does or does not do. God does not conceive sin in us; but when we sin we both conceive of that sin and carry it out in our words' or actions. We desire sin and are therefore responsible. Yet, that does not change the fact that God controls the thoughts and intents of our hearts, even when they are sinful! He must, if He is indeed God. Either all stands within His control or there are certain things He does not control. If this latter is true, then God is no longer God! It is from this point of view that Paul considers the sinful flight of Onesimus. On the part of Onesimus his flight was a deliberate and willful act of sin and disobedience for which he was held responsible - by his master and by God. But from the point of view of God's providential control, this was but a planned departure. God had eternally purposed something for the life of Onesimus that neither he nor Philemon had ever dreamed of. God brought about this sinful flight of this elect child in order to fulfill His own sovereign good pleasure! What beauty and comfort such knowledge is to the child of God! We are so quick to forget that we, like Philemon, are those chosen by God to life eternal. We belong to God, and therefore we can be assured that all things in our lives are for our spiritual good and salvation. Yet, how quickly we forget this when events in our lives, or in the lives of one of our household, become adverse. Is this not true especially when we see a loved one stray from the paths of God's Word and walk in open sin and rebellion? Parents can experience such pain when they struggle with a child who walks in unbelief and sin. It hurts so much to see that child or sibling turn his back on all he has been taught and perhaps even leave the church. How we can sorrow over that! And rightfully so! But at these times we need not despair! To us this is a sinful flight, but according to God's sovereign good pleasure this is but a planned departure. God holds all things in His mighty hands, and He uses all these things in some way for the good of His people - even if that means that the disobedient loved one never returns. God's will is always perfect for us, and for that one who departs. How necessary it is for us to rest in the will of our heavenly Father. Who knows His almighty will? Is it not true that many times God leads a loved one away into sinful paths only to lead them back again into the folds of the church? May we ever despair of God's mercy? It never ceases to amaze me when I witness the various ways God leads His people to faith and repentance. It is true that according to His eternal decree of election God has chosen a certain number unto Himself. But this does not mean that God regenerates or saves them all in the same way or at any one certain time in their lives. It is true that where God establishes His covenant with believers and their seed, there He often saves and regenerates in infancy. But this certainly is not exclusively true. There are others, even born into the church, who can be and are brought to faith and repentance later in their lives. God is never limited in the way He saves His people! God guides the various circumstances in the lives of His chosen children in order to bring them to that point of salvation. And after that point too He continues to guide their lives to preserve and nurture them in their salvation. Such we learn in this account too. Paul explains to Philemon that Onesimus was directed by God's providence to depart for a short season only in order that Philemon could receive him forever. Not simply once more as a servant - although it is likely that Onesimus returned to his present status as servant in Philemon's household. But now Philemon could receive Onesimus as a fellow brother in Christ (vs. 16), who together with him was an heir of eternal glory. Onesimus had left his home in Colosse and sinfully fled to Rome, only to be directed by God to the doorstep of Paul. There, Onesimus learned of the seriousness of his sin against his master and against God. There, by the grace of God and the work of His Spirit in his heart, he was brought to his knees in sorrow and repentance. There, Onesimus learned of the good news of salvation in the blood of Christ. There, he was brought to the knowledge that for the sake of Christ even his heinous sin of theft and rebellion was forgiven him. And there, through the work of sanctification he also came to know that, in order to make matters right, his sin must be confessed to his master. When one is truly sorry for his sin, then he must also cease from his sin and confess such sin to those against whom he has sinned. This Onesimus now does. Paul writes this letter to Philemon only to explain that God had used all the affairs of Onesimus' life to bring him to the same knowledge and assurance that Philemon himself experienced as a child of God. What reason there is to rejoice - for us too! So often God leads His chosen children through this deep way of sin in order to work in their hearts a true knowledge of what sin is, and a hearty confidence that our sins are forgiven only in the cross of Jesus Christ. We ought never to despair! Instead, we must sing of the mercies of the Lord - forever! |
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