 Here, welcome back. Just before we went for a break, we studied the introduction to the Book of Philemon, and we read verses 1, 2 and 3, and we saw that Paul introduces or begins this letter in a very unusual way, compared to the 9 letters of the 13 letters that he has written, where he presents himself or writes about himself as an Apostle. So here, when he's writing this letter, he's telling his reader Philemon that he's not exerting his authority, but, you know, he's appealing to him on the grounds of sympathy and love, Christian love and sympathy and Christian fellowship, and more lack of friend, rather than coming to him with authority. And then we see that Paul says, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus. So here Paul is not just mindful of his outward circumstance, yes, outwardly he is a prisoner in Rome, by the Roman government, he's a prisoner of the Roman government, but in reality, you know, Paul is also saying that he is bound to Christ, he's a prisoner of Christ Jesus, which means he's dependent on Christ, he's bound to him and that he's a prisoner of Christ. And then he mentions, and Timothy, our brother, so it's most likely that Timothy was with Paul, when this letter was written, and Timothy and Philemon would have known each other, and hence Paul is mentioning his name here, and then Paul is saying, writing to Philemon, which means this letter is addressed to Philemon, who is Onesimus' master, and the name Philemon, the name is only found in the first verse of this episode, and we know nothing much about Philemon than what we read in this letter. So what are some of the things we know about him from what we read from this letter, is that Philemon lived in Colosse, and a church, you know, met or assembled in his house. In those days, you know, the Roman authorities did not allow churches to have church buildings, like we have today, but they met in homes, so it was home churches. So one of the churches met at Philemon's home. We also know this from verse one, and he was Paul's convert. How do we know that? That he was converted to Paul's ministry is when we read verse 19, where Paul says, not to mention that you owe me of very self, you know. So he must have been converted by Paul at either Ephesus or elsewhere, and it's most probably it was at Ephesus because in Acts, Luke mentions this timeframe, this period. In Acts chapter 19, verse 9, we read, but when somewhere hardened and did not believe but spoke evil of the way before the multitude, he departed, that's talking about Paul, Paul departed from them, ministering to the Jews in the synagogue, he departed with them, and withdrew with the disciples and reasoning daily in the school of tidiness. And we know that Paul taught for two complete years, and he continued for two years, so that all who dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks. So one of them would have been Philemon as well. Apart from this, we also know that Philemon was a very rich man, a very wealthy man, like Rebecca had mentioned, because he owned slaves, and his house was big enough or large enough to accommodate a church, you know, it served as a meeting place for the church. We read this about this in verse 2, and also in verse 22, we read that Philemon was a very kind and very generous person to the fellow Christian believers. It's mentioned about this in verses 5 and 5-7, Paul mentions about this. And also, you know, he would, you know, consider to be a rich man having a big house because, you know, Paul says, you know, prepare a place for me to stay with you in verse 22, because Paul is planning to go to the, and meet the church believers at the church at Colossae, and also stay at Philemon's house. That means Philemon was very welcoming of people, hosted people in his house, a very kind and generous person. And then he says, our beloved friend and fellow laborer, so Paul calls Philemon as his beloved friend and fellow laborer. This shows a deep connect, a deep personal relationship that Paul shares with his co-ministers, co-laborers and co-workers. Now this word fellow laborer would be reasonable to assume that Philemon was a leader at the Colossae church and not archipis as some scholars say. Verse 2, he says, he sends greetings to beloved Apia. Apia is Philemon's wife. So why is Paul sending greetings to his wife and mentioning his wife's name? Because she had a major role to play even as she, he's writing this letter because he's writing about this runaway slave, Onissimus. And in Paul's time, slaves were usually supervised by the master's wife. So Apia would have supervised the slaves in the household. And so this letter concerned her as well. So he's mentioning Apia. And then he mentions archipis. Some scholars say archipis is Philemon's son. But and some say archipis is the pastor of the church meeting at Philemon's house. But we find this name archipis in Colossians chapter four verse 17 where Paul is admonishing him concerning his work and says to archipis, take heed of the ministry which you have received in the Lord that you may fulfill it. So maybe he was one of the leaders or pastors in the churches at Colossae. And when Paul says to beloved Apia, archipis are fellow soldier into the church in your house. So fellow soldier, he may is referring to Philemon. He may have been a Christian teacher in Colossae. And that is why Paul calls him a fellow soldier. And probably, you know, he's saying archipis, you know, would have been a member of Philemon's family as well. Okay, so he's referring to archipis as his fellow soldier, you know, who is maybe a Christian teacher at Colossae. And that's why Paul is referring to him as a fellow soldier. And to the church that meets in your home, you know, so a church is to meet at the house of Philemon at Philemon's house. And so, you know, Philemon hosted a church in his, in this house. And then Paul says in verse three, grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. So, you know, again, in his greetings, he talks about grace and peace. We already, I've already talked about this. I've already, you know, elaborated on this part about what grace and peace and mercy, which he usually uses generally in his greetings. So I'm not going to talk about that, but he says grace and mercy grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Okay, so unlike other epistles that Paul writes here, he does not say God the Father, grace and grace, mercy and peace from God the Father. But here he just says grace and mercy, you know, from God our Father. Okay, so he doesn't say God the Father, but he says God our Father. So he's basically, you know, mentioning here or referring to God as a Father who is Fatherly to us. So this statement recognizes the Fatherhood of God, rather than just the title of God as God our, as God the Father. So when he, in other episodes, when he says God the Father, he's basically referring to God as the title of being a Father. But here when he says God our Father, you know, he recognizes the Fatherhood of God. So at the very beginning, Paul is setting the tone or setting the stage for this letter. He's telling Philemon, hey, I've not come to you in authority. So that's why he's not writing Paul an apostle. He's coming to him as a friend out of sympathy, out of love, and he's appealing to him. And he's also reminding Philemon that, you know, when he says God our Father that irrespective of our status, whether you are a leader in the church at Colosse and the church is meeting at your home, you're a rich man, you have slaves or me, whether I'm an apostle, you know, irrespective of our social standing and our calling in, our calling that the Lord has placed on our lives, or whether we are slave or free, Paul is saying we are all one in Christ. And why are we all one in Christ? Because God is our Father, and hence we are all our, we are all His children, we are the children of God. So see how beautifully Paul, you know, he's a good writer, setting the right stage, the right tone to, to write to Philemon. And on the basis of what he's writing, he's saying that, you know, I'm coming to you out of love and sympathy and friendship. So you would accept what I'm trying to say, accept the onus in his back, and also that, you know, we have God as our Father, and hence we're all His children, whether we are slave or free, irrespective of our social status. Okay. We'll move on to verses four to seven. Anyone has any questions, any doubts? If not, can one of you please read verses four to seven, please? I thank my God, making mention of you always in my prayers, hearing of your love and faith, which you have toward the Lord Jesus, and toward all saints, but the sharing, that the sharing of your faith may become effective by the acknowledgement of every good thing, which is in you, in Christ Jesus, for we have great joy and consolation in your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed by you. Thank you, Rosalind. So in verse four, Paul begins by saying, I thank my God. So Paul is saying that, you know, he often prays for Philemon, and even as he prays for Philemon, he thanks God for him. Philemon has been such a blessing, and that he is so grateful to God for Philemon for somebody like Philemon, and he often prays for him. And Paul says he makes mention of you always, making mention of you always in my prayers. So we see that Paul always prays for his co-workers. So, you know, it's a good reminder for us as well that, you know, there is a good reason for us to thank God for fellow pastors, fellow believers, fellow co-workers, even if there are still things in their lives that need to be worked on, they need correction, they need help, but, you know, we need to uphold each other in prayer. So, you know, here Paul is demonstrating genuine personal love, and also, you know, he's mentioning that he has such great respect for someone as Philemon, and mentioning this, he's trying to tell Philemon that what he's writing to him in this letter is not forcing him to make any decisions, but, you know, there are hints of suggestions that Paul is evidently leaning upon the Holy Spirit to show his friend Philemon what to do, because in this episode, there is, he's not writing about attitudes of people in the church, he's not talking about false doctrines, false teachers that need to be corrected, but, you know, Paul is demonstrating a very genuine personal love that is very tact, in a very tactful approach, and so even as he is mentioning all this, he's leaning on the Holy Spirit to, you know, to help Philemon to make the right decision about onusiness, okay? Sometimes, you know, when we want to pray for people, we overlook praying for people, for fellow believers, coworkers, pastors, teachers, because, you know, sometimes we think that we know better in how they should be living and how they should be acting than the person themselves, but, you know, in some cases, yes, it can be true, but it does not mean that, you know, we take to the task of going around and telling people how they need to live, how they need to, you know, walk their Christian life, how they need to run church, how they need to behave themselves, but all we need to do is we need to lift them up before God, we need to pray for them, uphold them before the throne of grace, and, you know, there is, you know, the work of the Holy Spirit is the one that will convict them, that will convince them of what they're doing wrong and will lead them to the truth. So Paul is here saying, hey, you know, Philemon, I've been praying for you, I've always been praying for you, in one sense he's, you know, praying for him as a fellow worker, but also maybe being praying that, you know, he will receive onusiness in the right spirit in the right way, but he's also leaning on the Holy Spirit because the Holy Spirit will ultimately convince and convict Philemon on what to do, okay. So that is verse 4, verse 5, hearing of your love and faith which you have toward the Lord Jesus and toward all the saints, okay. So in the epistle of Colossians, Paul mentioned that he had heard about the faith of the churches at Colossae and their love for the saints, and what he says to the church in general, he's saying to Philemon here more personally, you know, Paul had led Philemon to Christ, and his faith, the faith of Philemon is demonstrating itself in deep love for other fellow human beings, especially, you know, those who share in the love of Christ, he's very generous, kind, loving to those who are in the faith, who are in Christ Jesus, and the love of God in and through Philemon has served as a good message of the gospel to fellow believers. So, you know, Paul is saying and acknowledging the love and faith that the church, the believers, the saints at Colossae have, and also, you know, what Philemon exhibits and shows towards other saints as well. So, you know, and he's, Paul is acknowledging that here, Paul is affirming that here, and Paul is saying that, hey, your love and faith is going to, you know, serve as, you know, an important gospel message for people to be converted to become to the faith to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. So, yes, you know, when we portray the love of God, just like Jesus did when he walked on the earth, when Jesus walked on the earth, why did people, why were people so attracted to him, apart from him preaching and teaching about the kingdom of God, apart from him healing the sick is because he had love and he showed compassion and forgiveness for the people, towards the people. And so, you know, the love of God in and through us is the best proof of our conversion. So, if you you know, profess yourself as somebody who is accepted Jesus as a Lord and Savior, and if you are somebody who's going around spreading division, hatred, strife, jealousy, and indulging in every kind of evil, that is basically not talking about your conversion, because if you say you've accepted Jesus Christ and you've received him as your Savior, you know, okay, but by saying you received him as your Lord and Savior is not the truth, because if you receive him as your Lord and Savior, his nature becomes part of your nature and God is love and that's a dominant nature of who God is and love should flow out from us irrespective of what people do, say, how they react, how they treat us. So, the love of God in and through us is the best proof of our conversion and also recommendation of the gospel, okay, and love is not silent, it is shown through our deeds, in our actions, in our reactions, people can see it, and it's an evidence, it's a proof that, you know, we are children of of God, we are belonging to the family of God, because God is love and his nature flows through us and the first fruit of the Spirit is also love, right, such a dominant nature characteristic of God. So, if we say that, you know, we love God and we hate our brothers, then, you know, we are not living in the light like Jesus says, so we need to love like he loved us and love people and so, if you want people to accept the gospel, if you want people to listen to the gospel that you're sharing, you know, our life should be characterised by love, so I think it's a good time to pause and think about our own lives, you know, how are we living our lives is our lives filled with hatred, jealousy, pride, envy, slander, gossip, un-forgiveness, spreading hatred or are we ones who are, you know, going around just spreading love, able to love people, forgive them and, you know, that is what pleases the heart of God, again. So, he says, hearing of your love and faith, so Paul thank God for filiment because of his love and faith first towards Jesus Christ and towards all the saints. Verse 6, that the sharing of your faith may become effective by the acknowledgement of every good thing which is in you, in Christ Jesus. Now, this passage in this one verse is very difficult to translate and much is, you know, written about just this one verse, filiment chapter 1 verse 6 and the phrase, you know, which is, people find it very difficult to translate is sharing of your faith, okay. And the Greek word for sharing is kononia, which means sharing, fellowship, participation. So scholars say that there are three possible meanings to this phrase, sharing of your faith. So if we look at the word kononia, which can mean sharing, so this may mean that, you know, this may mean you are shared in the Christian faith and it might be a prayer that the faith which filiment and Paul share may lead filiment deeper and deeper into Christian truth. So that is one understanding that the faith which filiment and Paul share may lead filiment into deeper and deeper into the Christian truth. The second possible meaning can mean fellowship, kononia means fellowship as well. So this may be a prayer that Christian fellowship may lead filiment ever more deeply into the truth, okay. So the Christian fellowship that he shares with others will lead filiment even more deeply into the truth. And the third can mean the act of sharing because kononia means sharing, fellowship, participation. So the third mean possible meaning can mean act of sharing. In that case this verse will mean that it's Paul's prayer that your way of generously sharing all that you hung up will lead you more and more deeply into the knowledge of the good things which lead to Christ. So Paul is basically saying that it is his prayer that, you know, the generosity of filiment sharing all that he has will lead him more and more deeply into the knowledge of the good things which lead to Christ. So the third meaning probably is correct because it's obvious that Christian generosity was characteristic of filiment. It's a very generous kind, loving, accommodative person, hospitable. And he had love towards God's people, fellow saints in his home because when people come to their home they're very, very rested and refreshed. So the third possible meaning that it's Paul's prayer that your way of generously sharing all that you have will lead you more and more deeply into the knowledge of the good things which lead to Christ. So it's possible that Paul means that sharing of material things can also be prompted by faith, okay. Verse seven, for we have great joy and consolation in your love because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed by you, brother. So Paul has derived much joy and encouragement from filaments love and takes the time to affirm this fact. And Paul remembered how wonderfully, you know, filaments had met the needs of other Christians by refreshing their hearts. And this is not something that filaments does once in a while, but these are regular acts and have lasting effects. And Paul says, you know, the hearts of the saints. So Paul is saying that filaments has refreshed the inmost feelings, the very self of the saints who visited him and who stayed in his house, okay. So we see that, you know, acts of sharing whatever God has blessed us with leads us more and more deeply into the knowledge of the good things, which lead us to Christ, okay. We'll move on to verses eight to 16. Before that anyone has any questions? Any clarity that is required? Or we'll move on to verses eight to 16. So can there are no questions or any doubts? Can somebody read verses eight to verse 16 please? Therefore, though I might be very bold in Christ to command you what is fitting, yet for love is sake, I rather appeal to you. Being such one as Paul, the age, and now also a prisoner of Jesus Christ, I appeal to you for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten while in my chains, who once was unprofitable to you, but now is profitable to you and to me. I am sending him back. You therefore receive him that is my own heart. I'm sending him back to you therefore receive him that is my own heart, whom I wish to keep with me, whom I wish to keep with me, that on your behalf he might minister to me in my chains for the gospel. But without your consent, I wanted to do nothing that your good deed might not be by compulsion as it were but voluntarily. For perhaps he departed for a while for this purpose that you might receive him forever, no longer as a slave, but more than a slave as a beloved brother, especially to me. But how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord. Amen. Thank you Lou Bega. So Paul goes on to present his request to Philemon to receive his runaway slave and verse 80 says, therefore I therefore though I might be very bold in Christ to command you what is fitting. So Paul does not use his authority to command Philemon to receive his runaway slave with kindness rather than vengeance. Rather he prefers, Paul prefers to make his appeal on the basis of their Christian relationship and Christian love that binds them together in Christ and makes them part of his family of whom God is their father. And he says, you know, I might be very bold. The word bold means boldness or confidence, frankness, openness and plainly. So Paul is saying, I have much boldness and openness or I could be very bold to give you an authoritative command. But Paul bases his boldness because of who he is in Christ or he's basing his boldness that Christ gives him the boldness to tell Philemon what to do. The CEV version says, Christ gives me the courage to tell you what to do. So he's saying based on what Christ is telling me or Christ is giving me the boldness to tell you Philemon what to do. You know, he says, you know, in spite of that, you know, Bolin tries to command you what is fitting. Okay. So some versions say, what is fitting, they say what is required or what should be done. So Paul is telling Philemon that with the boldness that Christ gives him, he can command Philemon to do what is required or that which is required of him and fitting of him or what is proper for Philemon as a Christian to do in the circumstances concerning oneness. But in verse nine, he says, yet for love's sake, I rather appeal to you being such a one as Paul the aged and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus. Paul says, yet means a rather. So Paul means to say, I could be bold and order you and tell you what to do, but I would rather, you know, make my appeal out of love rather than use exercise my authority or my boldness. And he says in love, it means in the sense of brotherly love, because they belong to the family of God, and they have God as their father. And he says, being such a one as Paul, so he's reminding Philemon and laying the ground for Paul's right to command or rather tell Philemon what to do. And he says the aged. So Paul is saying that he's doing this as an elderly man, as an old man. What he means here as an old man is someone who is wise and experienced in carrying on the authority of the years. And also he mentions again here as a prisoner of Jesus Christ. So Paul is making his appeal as an old man, and also now as a prisoner who belongs to Jesus Christ. And what's then he says, I appeal to you for my son, Onesimus, whom I have begotten while in my chain. So he's saying, I appeal to you, I urge you, I beseech you. So the focus is on Paul's appeal to Philemon on behalf of Onesimus, an appeal that he's making on the grounds of love, brotherly love and sympathy and compassion and friendship. He says, for my son, Onesimus, who I have begotten while in my chain. So Paul often spoke of his converts as his children. We read that in Timothy. He mentions this about Titus as well. And in Corinthians, chapter four was 14 and to the church at Galatia. The Galatian Christians in verse four, chapter four was 19 Galatians, where Paul calls them as his children. So what joy it must have been for Paul that under these most difficult circumstances, while he was in house arrest, in prison, to lead this man to Christ, to lead someone to Christ. So, you know, we see here or we learn here that whether it's physical chains or whether we are free, you know, there's no limitations on spiritual fruitfulness. We can be fruitful anytime, anywhere, irrespective of the circumstances, irrespective of the situations, whether we're facing persecution, we're in prison, we've been tortured, you know, or whether we are free, you know, there is no limitations to spiritual fruitfulness. Even old age is not a limitation to spiritual fruitfulness. Remember Paul just called himself as an old man and also as a prisoner of Christ Jesus. So we do not know how many people Paul led when he was in prison, but from a Philippians, the book of Epistle of Philippians, we understand that no the guards who were chained to him in prison, whom Paul shared the Gospel, you know, he says, but I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the Gospel, so that it has become evident to the whole palace guard and to all the rest that my chains are in Christ. He writes this in Philippians 1, verses 12 and 13. So we see even when he was chained in prison with the guards around him, he uses that as an opportunity to share the Gospel. So, you know, we're in a time and age where, you know, the Gospel has to be reached quickly because we're nearing the end times and so, you know, whatever situation we are in, you know, let it not become a hindrance, our circumstances, our situations, but let's use every situation, every circumstance, every opportunity that we get to, you know, share the love of Christ to lead others to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Verse 11, he says, you know, who once, that means he's talking about Onissimus, who was unprofitable to you, but now is profitable to you and to me. So Paul states that Onissimus, now the meaning of the name Onissimus means profitable or useful. So see how Paul plays on words so smartly, you know, he says, Onissimus, you know, the meaning of the name Onissimus means profitable or useful, says yes, he was useless or not profitable for you at one time, but now is useful. So what Paul is basically saying is, you know, nowadays, you know, Onissimus has become more useful to both you and to me. In some way, Onissimus has become profitable to Paul. Perhaps he served as an assistant to Paul during his house arrest. And so Philemon's runaway slave, Onissimus, was not profitable to Philemon because he was not there serving in his house, but he was with Paul serving him and he was profitable to him. But you know, he's become profitable to Paul now, even as he's not profitable to Philemon. But since Philemon loved Paul, if Onissimus helped Paul, it was like he was helping Philemon also. So in one way, even as Philemon, Onissimus was helping out Paul, was profitable to him, was useful to him, you know, in the same sense, he was also useful and profitable to Philemon. So here, you know, by using these words profitable, useful, and all of that, Paul is basically telling Philemon, hey, you know, this Onissimus was a runaway slave, he was, you know, not profitable, he was useless because of what he had done, the decisions, the choices that he made. But now, since he has become part of the family of God, he's become a believer, he's accepted Jesus Christ as his personal savior, he could now live up to the meaning of his name, of being profitable and useful. So you're saying, see how he was useless and unprofitable, but once he became a believer, become a child of God, look at how he has become useful and profitable to me and how he's living up to his name. So by making this clear to Philemon, Paul is gently just hinting that he would like to retain the services of his escaped slave, though he would not command Philemon to, you know, allow him to do this, but he would appeal to him, to allow him to stay back and, you know, to continue to minister to Paul and to be useful to him. So, you know, he's making an appeal. But we see very clearly from this verse that it was not until Onissimus was found by Christ, he was in Christ that he really becomes useful or profitable, or he's able to live up to the identity of his name. Okay, so the same principle follows for us as well. Now, when we were in sin, you know, we were slaves of sin, slaves of devil, we were unprofitable to God, we were useless, you know, but when we have this new identity as new creatures in Christ Jesus, we are a new creation in Christ, we are sons and daughters of the Most High God, we have this nature running through us, it's only then that we can live up to our identity, it's only then can we live up to our calling, to our purpose for which God created us. Okay, so if you're living in sin after coming to the knowledge of the truth, if you continue to live in indulging in our sinful passions, feeding our lustful, sinful flesh and nature and not walking and living according to the Spirit or to God's leading, you know, we cannot pursue God's call, we cannot be living meaningful purposeful lives for the Kingdom. So if you're asking this question, you know, if you're looking at your life, examining your life sometime and saying, hey, you know, my life is, you know, no use, no purpose, you know, there's no outcome, there's no spiritual fruitfulness in my life, there's nothing God is doing with my life, what is happening, then you should realize that, you know, you're living according to your old sinful nature, the dictates of the flesh, your own sinful identity, you have accepted Christ Jesus but not come fully into recognizing who you are in Christ and living according to that plan and purpose. But if you're living according to the Spirit, living according to your new identity in Christ, walking and being led by the Spirit, you know, your life will be purposeful, meaningful, even if you're preaching a sermon, even if you are leading a prayer group, a cell group, a Bible study group, or you're sharing the gospel, you're distributing tracks, everything will bear spiritual fruit, it has to bear spiritual fruit, but if it's not, then you need to look at your lives and say, hey, where am I living in sin, indulging in sin, because only when we are living in our newfound identity is then we become useful in Christ and also we find our identity only in Christ Jesus. So Onesimus rediscovered that he was a slave of Philemon, this he knew, of course he knew this, you know, before as well, but he had denied this and because he had denied this reality that he was not a slave of Philemon, that's why he ran away. So this is a fundamental truth that being in Christ means that we start out by accepting what we are, where we are, and who we are. So knowing who we are in Christ helps us to accept what we are, you know, where we are and who we are. So Onesimus, you know, wanting to return to his master, even though he knows the repercussions, even though he knows the consequences, proves that he has accepted his position that, hey, he is a slave, though he's free in Christ Jesus, though they are all one in Christ, they are brothers and sisters in Christ, but he's finally come to accept his position that he is a slave, you know, and that he would, you know, even though he's set free in Christ, but he's still a slave, that is his earthly position and that he has to go back to his master. So Paul sends Onesimus back to the place from which he ran away and obviously we know that Onesimus accepts Paul's advice and if he did not accept Paul's advice, he could have run away again and the very fact that we have this letter in the Bible is the proof that he did not run away, he accepts his position, he goes back to his master by his own free will and in doing so, he's obeying God and not just Paul, but he's obeying God and faithful to what God has called him to do. Verse 12, Paul says, I'm sending him back, you therefore receive him, that is my own heart. So Paul is saying, I'm taking the initiative to send Onesimus back to you, Philemon, you therefore receive him, that is my own heart. So Onesimus had done something wrong, he had escaped, he had run away from his master and it was time to set things right. So Paul was willing to send Onesimus back, but yet Paul obviously wanted Philemon to deal very gently, graciously, kindly and loving with Onesimus because under the Roman law, the slave owner had complete and total control over his slave. So it wasn't unusual for slaves to be crucified for lesser offenses than escaping and we know that Rome had almost 60 million slaves and there were a constant fear of slave revolt. Therefore, the law against runaway slaves were very strict. So when they were captured, a runaway slave might be crucified or branded with a red hot iron on the forehead with the letter F, which means fugitive. So considering this, you know, we understand Paul's phrase, he's saying that is my own heart. So he's telling Philemon, Philemon, I know this man has done you wrong, I know that he deserves to be punished, but consider him as if to say, it's me, myself, my own heart, I am there standing before you and be merciful to him. So my heart testifies of Paul's genuine love for his new son in the faith, new son in Christ, that is Onesimus. Verse 13, he says, whom I wish to keep with me, that on your behalf he might minister to me in my chains for the gospel. So clearly Paul wanted to keep Onesimus back, but because he had become a great big help to Paul, but Paul sweetened his appeal in three ways. First, he's saying, if Onesimus stayed, he could serve Paul on your behalf, which means he's telling Philemon, Philemon, if you leave Onesimus with me, it's like you serving me because Onesimus is rightfully your slave or your servant. Secondly, if Onesimus stayed and helped a man in chains, it's like as if, you know, Paul is telling Philemon, Philemon, I know Onesimus might be of some use to you, yet I am in chains and I need all the help I can get. Thirdly, if Onesimus stayed, he helped a man in chains for the gospel. Okay, so Paul is telling Philemon in this sense, Philemon, please don't forget why I am here in chains. Remember that it's for the sake of the gospel. So if you allow Onesimus to stay back here, it's basically helping someone who is in chains for the gospel. Okay, so what's 14 he says, but without your consent, I wanted to do nothing that your good deeds might not be by compulsion as it were but voluntary. So Paul is making this appeal and making it strongly and skillfully. At the same time, he really did not leave the decision to Philemon. Yes, he would appeal in love but he would not trample on the rights of Philemon and that is why this explains why Paul did not force his decision on Paul. If Paul demands Philemon to leave Onesimus back with him, then Philemon's good deeds would have come by compulsion and not voluntarily on his own behalf and this would have made the whole affair unpleasant and rob Philemon of any rewards that he might otherwise have got. So essentially Paul gives Philemon the freedom to do what is right in love before the Lord and he gives him the freedom to do it on his own choice and not out of Paul's compulsion. Okay, what's 15 he says, perhaps he departed for a while for this purpose that you might receive him for ever. So Paul is telling Philemon, Onesimus is running away, made him a criminal. He could possibly receive a debt penalty yet in it all, Paul is saying, I can see the purpose of God that he wanted Philemon also to see the purpose of God also in this and he says once he sees that purpose he will be able to surely receive Onesimus for ever. Okay, we'll stop here at verse 15. We'll continue from verse 16 next Friday. We just have a few more verses till verse 25. So we'll study verses 16 to verse 25 next class. But since we have finished Titus, when do you want me to post the assessment for Titus? Any date? Can I post it next Wednesday and you can submit it on 20th or 21st? Is that fine? Is 17th April okay and you can submit it on the 20th Saturday? Is that fine all of you? Okay, thank you, Zealotoli. What about the others? Others are okay. Okay, thank you Rosalind. Thank you, Linden. Okay, thank you everyone for joining class. We'll post the assessment on Titus on 17th April. Thank you all for joining class. Have a blessed weekend and a refreshing weekend and see you next week. Thank you.