For the last seven verses of Philemon, we have observed the manner in which Paul the apostle greeted Philemon, spoke well of Philemon, and was thankful and prayerful for Philemon because of his love toward God and people. Philemon was spoken of as being a wonderful example of the way we should be in our lives, and his attitude and behavior was a benefit rather than a deterrent to the gospel of Jesus Christ. All of these words were used as Paul the apostle became the intercessor for one we shall soon meet in the verses ahead. Paul now turns his attention to the primary purpose for writing this letter in verse eight where he wrote:
Wherefore, though I might be much bold in Christ to enjoin you in that which is convenient,
He begins this verse with the word, “wherefore”, or “therefore” as we use today. Whenever we see a “wherefore” or a “therefore” in the Bible, we must look at the verses preceding it to see what it is “There” “for”. In other words, when we see the words wherefore or therefore, these are conclusion words. A final judgment or decision is being made, and a transition toward a reasoned judgment is promoted. Paul basically is saying, because all the preceding words about Philemon being an example of love and faith, commitment toward the saints, the manner in which Philemon refreshed the deepest parts of the saints, etc. are true, Paul knows that the request he will make of Philemon will be easy for Philemon to keep.
Paul continues, “though I might be much bold in Christ to enjoin you in that which is convenient”, and basically appeals to Philemon according to Paul's authority within the church. Paul was an apostle, and apostles had a certain position of authority. In other words, they could tell people what to do. They could give orders so to speak. However, Paul doesn't order Philemon. Paul makes a note that he could order him, and he says it would be a lot easier that way – convenient, but he does not use his apostolic authority for this situation.
Authority is an interesting part of human interaction. Without authority there is chaos and disorder. For example, suppose there was no authority from parents. What kind of children would we have in the world? Suppose there was no law and anyone could do anything they liked at any time. What would life be like? In other words, authority is a good thing. There was also order in the church, and although Paul could have used his authority which would have made this situation much easier for Paul, Paul doesn't engage his right to use it. Paul could have been “bold in Christ to enjoin” or order, command or charge Philemon with what he is about to ask of him, but he chooses rather to request it.
How are we with authority? How do engage others when we enjoy the position of authority? How do we respond when others have authority over us? Much of our reaction to these questions will tell us a lot about ourselves. There seems to be a natural resistance to any sort of authority, however, these things must be, and the sooner we understand that we are all under the authority of God the better off we shall be. In this wonderful book of Philemon we see the example of Jesus the ultimate authority who intercedes for us as Paul the apostle did for our upcoming person, and as we watch Paul's example of authoritative intercession perhaps we all shall gain from his method and use of authority.
Next time we shall look more into the request of Paul, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow..there is more...
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