Freedom to Thrive


The book of Philemon is a letter from Paul and Timothy to a house church in Colossae (modern southwest Turkey). Paul addresses the letter to three influential believers who had some leading role in the church: Philemon, the wealthy homeowner, Apphia, believed by some to be his wife while other scholars/historians believe she was more likely to be a deacon like Phoebe (Mowczko, 2016) , and Archippus was a minister of some sort within the body of believers there. Colossae was a city known for its syncretism (HarperChristian Resources, 2022), which is the blending of incompatible religious beliefs or worldviews.

Verse 6 of Philemon states that Paul and Timothy are eager for the believers in that church to have “fellowship that would lead to quote faith [becoming] effective through the knowledge of every good thing which is in [them] for Christ's sake” (NASB, 1995). This letter to Philemon has some background history. Onesimus had stolen from his master Philemon and then had run away to Rome where he met Paul and is believed to have become a believer during that time. Paul writes to Philemon urging him to set aside the right given to him by both Rome and Jewish law to severely punish or kill Onesimus for what he had done to him. In fact, Paul states that because Philemon was faithfully loving people well, he had the confidence to order him to free Onesimus, but still he entreats him in love instead. Paul tells Philemon that there is “no longer a slave, but more than a slave, a beloved brother” (NASB, 1995, Philemon 1:16). Galatians 3:28 reaffirms that there is “no Jew or Greek, slave or free, male and female; since you are all one in Christ Jesus” (NASB, 1995). Slaves have no permanent place in a family (1 John 8:35-36 NASB), but a child of that family is permanently established as an integral part. When we are forgiven and raised up by the Father as daughters and sons to be coheirs with Christ, we have a new status and identity. We are to be known for our deep love for one another (Wilham, 2024), and we are to have koinonia (Wilham, 2024), or a deep fellowship with one another in which we disciple, encourage, rejoice, mourn, and serve each other.

Paul reminds Philemon that he still owes him, but that Paul himself will reimburse him for everything that Onesimus stole from him. Similarly, God upheld justice and Jesus paid our debt so we could be free to grow in our new identity (NASB, 1995. Romans 3:25-26). “The fool will find any excuse to stay the same…the wise man will be different by the end of the day” (Kang, 2022). So how do we humble ourselves so that we can leave our foolishness and embrace growth and put on our new identity which should always lead us into more freedom, not into more oppression or keep us stuck in bondage to sin or stagnancy?

The prodigal son from Luke 15 (NASB, 1995) is shown compassion in place of shame and his just desserts. The father embraced and kissed him first…while he was broken, filthy, starving, and messy…and then he put a robe and ring on his son, symbols of identity and authority, respectively. We are freed from the debt we owe, and then need good, healthy fellowship (NASB, 1995, Philemon 1:6) to mature and walk out our freedom that we find in the Spirit (NASB, 1995, 2 Corinthians 3:16-18). If we apply beliefs or teachings to our lives and they produce good fruits (of the Spirit), then they are from the Father (NASB, 1995, Matthew 7:17-20).

We can therefore find our true identity by speaking the Truth of what God has said about us over and into our situation to combat the lies that short circuit our brains rather than fully processing the experiences or hurt through the lens of Truth. Romans 12:2 tells us that we should renew our minds so that we can “discern what is the will of God [and] what is good and acceptable and perfect” (NASB, 1995). In his book Spiritual Intelligence, Kris Valleton makes several really provocative points about the renewing of the mind mentioned in Romans 12:2 from a neurological standpoint. He discusses how there is a principle called "the principle of first mention" (Valleton, 2020, p. 26) in which the viewpoint from which we first encounter a new thought, action, or viewpoint becomes the lens through which we perceive that particular topic. When we encounter something in life first through Truth, then we will re-encounter it through the lens of Truth, and our brain pathways for that topic or habit will be life-giving and healthy for us. However, many times, we encounter new experiences or thoughts or topics through a lens that is not based on Truth, and it therefore requires a very intentional re-carving of a new neural pathway to realign to Truth.

Valleton (2020) then goes on to unpack the biblical understanding of “meditat[ing] on [the Word] day and night” (NASB, 1995, Joshua 1:8).

"The word meditate in this passage is the Hebrew word hagah, and it means 'to growl and declare. [...] The point of meditation in God is not sitting in a corner humming to ourselves; it is proactively bulldozing new neural pathways into our brains. This is God's formula for a renewed mind! [...] The Word of God is like a machete in your hand, and every verse you speak like a growling lion is hewing a pathway into a new way of thinking. The more often you abandon the six-lane freeway of destructive thinking and take the new walking trail of God-thoughts, the faster you will transform your mind. Soon, figuratively speaking, the six-lane freeway will be overgrown with vegetation, and the walking trail will become a Highway! The symptoms of a transformed mind will become natural" (Valleton, 2020, p. 31-32).

This sort of transformation (metamorphoo in Greek=complete transformation through a process of change, also found in 2 Corinthians 3:16-18) (NASB, 1995), therefore, is connected to intentionally declaring the Truth of God into our space...and believing who He says we are, what we are called to, what our future and hope will be, etc. over what our circumstances feel like our reality is (Valleton, 2020, p. 34). It is choosing to speak life and truth over ourselves, our loved ones, our students, etc. and not letting unhealthy, untruthful lenses dictate how we walk through life.

Since we were redeemed by Christ into freedom and authority (NASB, 1995, Galatians 5:1) in order for us to bring light into the corrupted, dark spaces that we were once enslaved in, then we are free forever. We are empowered to stay free, but our metamorphoo is a journey. We are called to not use our freedom to sin; we are free to grow and let God’s glory shine as He gives us “crowns of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair” (NASB, 1995, Isaiah 61). He will establish us as oaks of righteousness with an inheritance as His children of healing, abundance, and light. “For as the earth produces its sprouts, and as a garden causes the things sown in it to spring up, so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise” (NASB, 1995, Isaiah 61:11). When we keep our eyes up and focused on what He has spoken over us and called us to in our sphere of influence, He causes growth and light to drive out the darkness in our hearts and lives. He is the one who helps us to not only get free from the snares that so easily entangle us (NASB, 1995, Hebrews 12:1), but He is also the one who restores and helps us grow in the fruits of His Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, [and] self-control” (NASB, 1995, Galatians 5:22). So, go forth in peace and love and kindness into your daily lives and thrive.


References

HarperChristian Resources. (2022, August 4). The Colossian heresy and syncretism today | Colossians 

        Bible Study by Jay Kim - Clip [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/cjIPbCJAMAQ?feature=shared


Kang, S. (2022, February 5). Experience the Supernatural [Conference]. Butte, Montana, U.S.A.

Mowczko, M. (2016). Apphia: Philemon’s wife or another Phoebe? Marg Mowczko: Exploring the      

           biblical theology of Christian egalitarianism. https://margmowczko.com/apphia/

The New American Standard Bible. (1995). The Lockman Foundation. (Original work published 1960).

Valleton, K. (2020). Spiritual intelligence. Bloomington, MN: Chosen Books.

Wilham, J. (2024, June 9). The Colossal Exchange [Sermon]. Compassion Church, Butte, Montana.


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