Formerly he was useless to you, but now he has become useful both to you and to me.who once was useless to you, but now is useful to you and to me.Which in time past was to thee unprofitable, but now profitable to thee and to me:who once was unprofitable to thee, but now is profitable to thee and to me:
3 sermons cite this verse
… I, Paul, an old man, and now a prisoner also for Christ Jesus, I appeal to you for my child, Onesimus, whose father I became in my imprisonment. Formerly, he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful to you and to me. I am sending him back to you, sending my very heart. I would have been glad to keep him with me in order that he might serve me on your behalf during my imprisonment for the gospel. But I prefer to do nothing without your consent in order that your goodness might not be by compulsion, but of your own accord. For this, perhaps, is why he was parted from you for a while, that you might have him back 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. So if you consider me your partner, receive him as you would receive me. If he has wronged you at all or owes you anything, charge that to my account. I, Paul, write this with my own hand. I will repay it to say nothing of your owing me, even your own self. Yes, brother, I want some benefit from you in the Lord. …
… So it's likely that Onesimus was pretty young. Whom I have begotten while in my chains, who once was unprofitable to you, but now is profitable to you and to me. Note Paul's tone here. Very different from when Paul is confronting false teaching in Galatians. Oh foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you? His tone is very different to Philemon. He's not compelling Philemon to do anything. He's not ordering. He's not demanding. Though he could, he is the Apostle Paul. That's not the tone that he takes. And I would say this is a good lesson for any of us in leadership or you have influence or authority over other people. We ought to take a page out of Pastor Paul's handbook where he says, I appeal to you that your good deed might be done not by compulsion, but voluntary. he doesn't he doesn't steamroll philemon he doesn't coerce philemon into doing what philemon doesn't want to do he says no i want to win you over i want to convince you to do what's right paul also understands that what he's asking for the reconciliation between philemon and onesimus can't be forced it can't be forced this has to be real it has to be genuine right you probably remember when you were kids and maybe you and your friends got in a fight with somebody got a fight and your mom's forced you to basically, you know, figure out, hey, you say you're sorry. …
… I'm not much impressed by these quick conversions. Formally, he was useless to you. That's saying the least. But now he has become useful both to you and to me. The name Anesimus means useful. And so Paul's playing on the name. He said, before he wasn't Anesimus to you, but now he is Anesimus. Now he's useful to you and me. And I can imagine Philemon saying, well, that remains to be seen. But then he reads down the letter to verse 17. So if you consider me a partner, welcome Anesimus, you would welcome me. And if he's done you any wrong, and he has, or he owes you anything and he does, you charge that to me, to my account. I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand. So it was out, wasn't it? Paul knew all about what Onesimus had done. Yet he writes to Philemon and says, Philemon, I know he's wronged you. I know he's stolen from me, but whatever he owes, you put that on my account. …