The following is a sermon transcript from our Sunday Service at The Rock Church in Mount Laurel, New Jersey. Each week, we gather to worship, learn from God’s Word, and grow together. This transcript is provided as a free resource to encourage and equip you in your walk with Christ. While you’re welcome to read and share this content for personal use, we kindly ask that it not be redistributed or published elsewhere without prior written consent from The Rock Church.
Introduction: What Is Christian Fellowship?
Christian fellowship. Why so important? Better yet, what is Christian fellowship? Certainly it’s a shared bond among the people of God, but is it simply that we all have the same goals and interests? Are we just a social club that likes to get together, encourage each other? Or is there more to it than that?
Well, of course there is. Christian fellowship is not just a place where we meet in this large hall to drink a cup of coffee together and talk about our week. No, it’s mutual participation in the body of Christ. Now that might sound a bit odd, but when we understand that Christ is the head of the church, then things start to make a little bit more sense. We’re part of His body. He is the head. Amen.
You see, the bond that we have as Christians is deep, is significant. It’s sacrifice and commitment. It’s being willing to lay down our lives for one another. Certainly, a good illustration of that is the combat unit composed of soldiers who share a common bond to defeat the enemy and to protect one another. But better than an army infantry or a naval squadron is the church of the living God with Christ as her commander.
We are standing together in spiritual battle. Knowing that what? We wrestle not against flesh and blood, against one another, but principalities and powers and rulers of darkness and spiritual wickedness in high places. Whoa, that is intense, brother. Yes, it is. And sometimes we forget that.
A brother or sister might offend you and instead of confessing your hurt, you keep it inside. At other times, we might lack the confidence that the Lord will work powerfully through us.
It’s common in the American church to keep things at a surface level. Pastor, I’ll come to church. I’ll hear the word. I’ll sing with all my heart. I’ll lift my hands. But this whole concept of Christian fellowship—you mean like doing life together? Bearing one another’s burdens, confessing my sins to another… yeah, no thanks, I’ll pass. That’s a little scary for me. That’s a little terrifying for me.
Naturally, we’re afraid to share our weaknesses and sins. Why? Because we’re afraid that others will judge us. They might say, man, I can’t believe that you struggle like that. Or worse yet, I really thought that you’d be a lot farther along in your faith than you are.
You see, therefore we suffer in silence. We struggle in seclusion. We haven’t realized that fellowship is a means of grace. It’s how God powerfully works in and through the church. We can’t reduce it to a meeting place. Oh, I’m going to have fellowship now for a couple hours over coffee. No, it’s a connection of our very souls.
It’s this love that Jesus has for us knitting our hearts together in the power of the Holy Spirit. You see, it’s the very means of demonstrating to the world that we, in fact, love one another. They will know that we are Christians by our love. It’s a love in action. It’s a love in service. It’s a love that is trusting, forgiving, and long-suffering. And it’s all of these things in the context of the grace and the power of Christ.
Fellowship serves to keep us from falling into false teaching and from isolating ourselves. The local church, it’s not just an optional activity on a Sunday morning. It’s doing life together, being accountable to one another, and being there for one another in the good and in the bad.
But this doesn’t mean that there aren’t challenges along the way. We live in a culture where this whole concept of community… it doesn’t exist. It’s cheap imitations. I’m part of an online community. Oh really? How’s that working out? I mean, I know that it can help in some ways. Don’t get me wrong. Zooming and connecting. But we’re still isolated. Few of us even know who our neighbors are.
You know, there was a time when the church was the center of the community. But sadly, those days are over. Now many churches are disconnected from the communities in which they exist. They become insular and exclusive. You might have even visited a church and you walked in and looked around. Everybody’s staring at you and wondering, who’s this guy? Felt very much like an outsider.
The early church would be aghast at this witness to what’s happening in our context. How do we know that? Well, we could consider Acts 2:42. They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to doctrine, to the Word of God, and the fellowship. The fellowship to the breaking of bread, to the eating together, to the prayers together.
It was meals, it was prayer, it was sharing the word together. A devotion so sweet, clearly understood to be indispensable in the Christian life.
So what’s happened? What’s gone wrong over these past two millennia? Well, that’s a complex subject. We’re not going to get into it. But the point is clear. We need each other. We need God’s grace. We need Christian fellowship.
And so what we’re going to see in the text this morning centers around the power of fellowship. True Christian fellowship displays both the grace and the power of Christ for the benefit of the church and for the glory of God.
I’m going to give you four imperatives. I’m going to tell you to do these things. Don’t do them in your strength. Don’t feel burdened by them. Do them in the grace and power of Christ.
The first one: support one another. Overlooking each other’s faults and not expecting anything in return.
The second one: trust that the Lord is working, that He’s working through you to bring joy, to bring rest to another believer.
The third: expect that the Lord, in the context of Christian fellowship, will accomplish far more than we can imagine through the powerful working of prayer.
And the last thing is serving together in unity by the grace of God and His glory.
1. Support One Another
Philemon 17–19
Overlooking each other’s faults and not expecting anything in return
We’ll look at the first: support one another, overlooking each other’s faults, not expecting anything in return.
We’re going to look at verses 17 to 19. We’ve already read it. We’re going to do it again.
So Philemon, Paul is speaking to his dear brother Philemon. He says, “If you consider me your partner, receive him, that is Onesimus, as you would receive me. If he has wronged you at all or owes you anything, charge it to my account. I, Paul, write this with my own hand.” This is significant, because in Colossians he only writes the farewell. “I will repay it—to say nothing of your owing me even your own self.”
It was last week that we talked about love’s appeal. It’s making appeals, making requests in love rather than the force of a human command. The Apostle Paul provided the substance of his appeal. He provided what that result should look like. And now in verse 17, we’re seeing some conditional statements.
For any of you that love Microsoft Excel, you know exactly what the if-then statement is. In fact, right now you’re in your mind going to cell B1 and moving quite along to B2, carrying out your formula. But for most of you, you have no idea what I’m talking about, and that’s plain and good.
The point is that once again Paul does not resort to his apostolic authority over Philemon. Notice he could quite easily command him. He could say to him, Brother Philemon, receive Onesimus. You better receive him as you would receive me. Charge all his sins to my account.
No—instead it’s, Brother Philemon, since you regard me as your partner, would you please receive him? Would you please receive him back as you would receive me?
Now, so we have to ask the question: What is Philemon a partner in?
Well, we consider verse 1—Paul refers to him as a beloved fellow worker. But a beloved fellow worker in what? Certainly you could say in the gospel ministry, in the advancement of the kingdom, in the furtherance of the glory of God as the waters cover the sea.
But here specifically, it refers to the fact that he is a partner in the Christian fellowship of faith, of hope, and love. You may recall 1 Corinthians 13, which says, “So now faith, hope, love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”
And then of course we look back to verse 6 in reference to Paul’s prayer to Philemon. What was that? Well, he prays that the sharing of his faith would be effective. Now, most commentators agree that this has more to do with Christian fellowship than it does with evangelism—which is to say sharing the gospel with lost people. He’s saying sharing of the faith together. Sharing of the mutual benefits that you have in Christ.
So what’s that have to do with you? What’s that have to do with our church? What are we to learn about Christ?
Well, you don’t have to look too deeply before you realize that the gospel message is rich in this letter. It’s richly displayed in our text.
How so, pastor? I’m not quite seeing it.
No problem. Let me show you. And let me do so by asking what is an obvious answer to a rather simple question:
On what basis does the Father receive you as His dear child?
As His dear child in the faith, why does He receive you? Is it based on all your good works? Or is it even because you prayed a prayer at one time in your life and “Here it is in my Bible, I received Christ on that date”?
Well, it’s more important that God knows you than that you know Him.
Pastor, what was that?
Yeah, let me explain that to you.
Matthew 7:23—Jesus says, “I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.” He’s saying this to the people that did all these wonderful things in the name of Jesus, cast out demons, healed the sick.
Notice what he didn’t say. He didn’t say that you never knew me, that you never asked Jesus to come into your heart, that you never made a decision to follow Jesus.
Now obviously, Jesus didn’t choose everyone to be saved. That would mean that we believe in no hell and everybody goes to heaven. No faithful Bible-believing Christian thinks like that.
Instead, it’s what we see in John 6:44 and 6:65—no one can come to Christ unless God the Father draws them and grants it to them.
It’s quite simple:
The Father and the Son agreed on this covenant, on this covenant of redemption before the foundations of the world. And the Father gave to the Son those whom He would call and predestine and justify and glorify—Romans 8:29–30. And even in Ephesians 1:11, Paul says that the church has an inheritance in Christ, having been predestined. I know some people get nervous with that word, but it’s very biblical.
Coming back to the point here:
Since the Father has received us through Christ, having predestined us to be conformed into the image of His Son… how shall we receive others?
What do you mean, pastor?
In other words, we can almost hear Jesus saying to the Father:
“Father, receive these dear children as You received my once-and-for-all sacrifice to save the world from their sins.”
Once again, it’s the gospel fuel that drives the faithful obedience to His law. I’ve said this many times—this idea of the indicative and the imperative. Are you getting that one yet? The indicative and the imperative?
The indicative is what is true, what God has done.
The imperative is what we do in the power and the truth, in the wonder and glory of what God has done.
All of this richness in the gospel—now I want to obey.
If we don’t understand what God has graciously done for us, we will never be effective in what we are to do for Him.
Think about that for a second.
Consider the Old Testament. Many of us look at it as, man, that’s all the law. We’re in the age of grace now. If the Israelites obeyed, they would be saved. But in fact, that’s a misinterpretation of Scripture.
It’s more like this:
God is a covenant-keeping God. In other words, when He makes a promise, He keeps it.
Now, He also asks the people of God to follow the law. Why? Why would He do that?
To reflect the love of their covenant-keeping God.
They didn’t do it to be saved.
Did you hear me?
They didn’t do it to be saved.
It went more like this:
- Obey the law and you’ll be blessed.
- Disobey the law and you’ll be cursed.
It’s not that they would lose their salvation. It’s that they would lose their blessing.
And through all, God offers grace, then law, then grace. It’s a sandwich.
And the same is true for us today.
The law of God has an important role in our lives as a guide. But the law in itself has no power. We need the power of the Holy Spirit and the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
And that is, in fact, how we’re able to overlook the faults of each other—not expecting anything in return.
Is there any way that we could possibly pay back our Lord and God for what He has done for us? Well, of course not. But that doesn’t change our desire to do as much as we can to serve the Lord faithfully according to what He’s prescribed in His Word.
You see, just like Paul was willing to take on Onesimus’ sin, we have a faithful Savior who is not only willing but actually made good on that promise. Jesus finished the work on the cross to satisfy the wrath of a holy God.
Galatians 3:13 says this: “Christ redeemed us”—He bought us back—“from the curse of the law.” The law is good, but we’re cursed when we reflect ourselves in it. “Having become a curse for us, for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone that hangs on a tree.’”
You see, Paul was willing to take the punishment for all of Onesimus’ sin. Now, what was the extent of that sin? It’s not clear whether he stole from Philemon or owed him money. It didn’t matter.
Notice what Paul also says in Romans 9, verse 3. Take note of this one: “For I could wish…” Imagine praying like this. I never would do it—I’ll just be honest with you.
“For I could wish that I myself were accursed”—sent to hell—“cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh.”
He’s praying for the Jews. He loves them so deeply, he was willing to take even hell and death for the Jews to be saved.
Some deep and significant Christian fellowship that exists here among Onesimus, among Philemon, among Paul. And it’s all rooted in the gospel of Jesus Christ.
You know Paul’s life before he got saved. You remember, right, how that went down? You think he would be willing to do something like this for the sake of his cause? To kill Christians? That’s what he did.
No—see, now it’s the love of God that’s been poured out into our hearts. It’s the love of Christ that controls us, that compels us. That’s the power source. That’s how we can say or do something like being said here.
But notice what Paul could have done by way of command—end of verse 19. In other words, Paul could have said this:
“You owe me, Philemon.”
If it wasn’t for my ministry, for my faithfulness in presenting the gospel to you, you would not be saved today. Philemon owed Paul his very life—not just his possessions, but his life.
And yet again, Paul expects nothing in return.
That’s a difficult thing in our culture. It’s this concept of quid pro quo. You know, this for that, something for something. You do me a favor, I’ll do you a favor. Hey, if I do you a favor, I’m going to cash in on that at just the right time. Politicians love that one.
If we want to see the grace and power of Christ benefit the church and glorify God, we’re going to have to be willing to bear one another’s burdens. In fact, Galatians 6:2 says:
“Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”
The law of Christ:
- Love your neighbor as yourself.
- Love God with all your heart.
- Love your neighbor as yourself.
It means we have to share the weight of each other’s sins, and that’s how we love God and love each other.
It’s easy to say, Man, I’m so sorry you struggle with that sin. It’s quite another to weep with your brother.
You see, Paul was willing not only to take the full responsibility for all that Onesimus had done, but he was also willing to repay it. What a picture of what Christ has done for us.
He not only took the full responsibility for our sin, but He also made full payment for our sin. You see that?
Jesus paid it all. All to Him we owe.
The great exchange—2 Corinthians 5:21:
“For our sake, God made Jesus to be sin.”
He didn’t know any sin, but He made Him to be sin.
Why?
“So that we in Him might become the righteousness of God.”
That’s the best I could get right there.
That’s it. I’m done. Good night.
So in response to the gospel, it certainly should enable us to overlook the faults of others. But what I’m not saying is that we should overlook someone’s pattern of regular, habitual sin and rebellion against God. Hear me correctly here.
There’s certainly not a very loving thing to do—to see another brother or sister trapped in sin and snared in sin, and nothing to do. Do nothing about it.
Now Jude would say in the New Testament:
We need to rescue a brother who’s caught in the fire.
Snatch him out.
What do you mean caught in the fire?
Yeah—it’s like a fire. Sin. Consuming. Destructive.
James would say we need to pray for one another to save each other.
Save them? What do you mean? We’re talking to Christians.
Yeah—save them out of it. Get them out. So they can walk in the richness of Christ and not in the snare of sin.
Jesus has rescued us.
Now we are rescuing one another.
We’re trying to rescue lost people sharing the gospel, but we’re rescuing one another as we look to one another and say:
Man, I’m concerned. I’ve got to pull you out. You’re hanging in the fire. Get out of there.
Sin is a complicated thing. It presents itself in very different ways. It’s so deceptive. It’s so self-justifying. Am I the only one here in the room? It’s so deceptive.
No—no. We are to overlook each other’s faults, knowing that we all have weaknesses, though. We all need loving people around us.
Now, are we going to take it to the extreme as Paul did? Are we going to say, Man, I know my brother did wrong. Charge it to me. I’ll repay it. That’s another powerful demonstration of the gospel.
We see that example in the well-known story, Les Misérables.
You’re familiar with that one? This great work—actually, I’ve seen some signs around for Les Misérables the play. In this work, richly supplying themes of redemption and forgiveness, there’s this bishop that famously treats this escaped prisoner, Jean Valjean. He welcomes him into his home, gives him a wonderful meal, a nice place to sleep, a warm bed.
And how does this prisoner respond to his kindness?
He steals all his stuff. Right?
And then he gets caught. And the authorities grab him by the neck and bring him back into the house. They say, “Mr. Bishop, this man has stolen from you.”
Amazingly, he responds quite differently. The bishop says:
“Surely something slipped your mind, Jean Valjean. You forgot these.”
Oh, there’s more you forgot. I know you got the gold and the silver and all the good stuff.
I got this over here. Take this too.
What?!
Stole from him, took all of his prized possessions—and then he gives him more?
He doesn’t turn him over for punishment. And Jean Valjean is in utter awe that a man would do something like this. As a result of that, he’s changed.
The Bible has another story there in the opposite direction.
It’s Matthew 18:28—when the master forgives his servant of all his debts. What does that servant do? He looks to his fellow servant.
He’s just been forgiven all of his debts—all his student loans, all his credit cards, all of it. He steps over, sees his servant, fellow servant, co-laborer, whatever. He says:
“Man, you owe me.
Pay up right now.
Pay up everything you owe me.”
The master finds out about this and is angry.
“I cannot believe it—that you would do that!
I have forgiven you of all your debts, and now you turn around and hold an offense of another?”
Matthew 18:35 says it perfectly:
“So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”
We’re not talking about losing salvation. We’re talking about the importance of forgiveness.
Since God has forgiven us in Christ for all of our sins, surely we can forgive others who have wronged us.
So that’s the first point. We’re talking about Christian fellowship.
- Supporting one another
- Overlooking our faults
- Not expecting anything in return
2. Trust That the Lord Will Work Through Us to Bring Joy and Rest to One Another
Philemon 20
Verse 20 — “Yes, brother, I want some benefit from you in the Lord. Refresh my heart in Christ.”
Now, at first glance, we might be thinking to ourselves, How can I, this flesh, bring joy and rest to another believer?
I’m just not understanding that, Pastor. That’s a work of God. God brings joy—that joy and rest—by His Spirit.
I’ve mentioned this before: God uses means to accomplish His ends.
And it can be very easy for us as American Christians to retreat.
Oh, I’ll find rest and joy in my prayer closet alone. Nobody bothering me. It’s nice there. Quiet music. Meditation on the Word. Pastor, I can’t be joyful and restful around people. Don’t you know I’m an introvert? Do you know how hard it is for me on a Sunday morning, that third Sunday? I have anxiety every Saturday night on that third Sunday when I know that Duncan is going to say you have five minutes to speak to others. Terrified.
That’s understandable, but from a Christian perspective, we’re talking about something deeper than a five-minute conversation.
We’re talking about the means of grace that God uses—
the power and the grace of Christ—
to benefit the church, to glorify God.
It looks like this:
At first, it seems like Paul here looks a little selfish, doesn’t it? It looks like he’s saying:
Serve me.
Love me.
Encourage me.
No—no—no. That’s sort of true, but what I want you to notice is the way he describes the benefit. Notice these two things:
- The benefit
- The refreshment
First, he says the spiritual benefit can only come from Philemon in the Lord.
Second, he says that any spiritual refreshment can only happen through Christ.
There it is.
He’s really just saying the same thing twice.
He’s pointing to the source of all spiritual benefits
and the source of all spiritual rest.
The theme of rest is all over Scripture. All over.
As you consider the Word of God progressing to Christ—starting in seed form in Genesis, and then full-blossomed tree in Christ. The tree is now formed—we have Christ. There’s amazing fruit growing on it. But there’s also the fullness of that tree expressed in the kingdom of God in consummation: new heavens, new earth.
So how do we trust that the Lord will work through us to bring joy and rest to fellow believers?
Well, it’s quite simple—as Duncan says, not simplistic.
In other words, the answer, of course, is found in Christ.
Is it such that we just need to tell others, Hey man, just look to Christ—that’s it?
Well—yes. But it’s more than that.
We need the reminders. And that’s, in fact, part of God’s command.
Consider in Sabbath-keeping—He sets the pattern.
Genesis 2:2.
Then He develops it into fuller application.
As I’ve said, He sets up an indicative:
Since I have rested, since I have set this apart as holy…
Now here’s the imperative:
Observe. Keep the Sabbath day.
Why?
Because He wants the Israelites to remember all that God has done for them—how He delivered them from Egypt with power and an outstretched arm.
You see, we can become very busy Christians with no rest.
I’m having trouble sleeping at night. I need rest.
Because we stop remembering all that the Lord has done by delivering us from the power and reign of sin.
We begin finding our identity in what we do
rather than who we are in Christ.
The more we remind each other:
Hey man, you’re a new creation. The old has passed. Rest in Christ. Don’t be anxious. The new has come.
The more joy we will have.
You see, there’s a correlation between remembering and resting.
If all we do is think about:
- moving into a new building
- doing seminary
- the challenges of life
…we find ourselves anxious and restless.
Lord, how can I possibly get done all these things You’re asking me to do?
What if I don’t deliver on my promises?
What if I look bad?
What if I fail?
No—no—no. All of these things make us restless and forgetful.
You may think:
I’ve been saved a long time—or I haven’t been saved a long time—how could I possibly benefit another believer?
You may think:
I don’t have the gifting or skills of others. How could the Lord use me?
The reality is—as I shared last week—the Lord makes us worthy vessels, useful to Him, ready for every good work.
In other words, God qualifies our usefulness by placing us in union with Christ.
Apart from Christ, we can offer no spiritual benefit to others.
But in Christ, man—we can spur one another on to love and good works.
We can remind one another:
- The Lord is our Shepherd
- We have everything we need in Christ
- The Lord gives us rest
- He provides for us
- He leads us in paths of righteousness for His namesake (Psalm 23)
And we can look back to what Christ has done,
what He is doing, and
what He will do for us.
We have a present and future hope that we will never be put to shame because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit.
We serve one another in love, and the result is a culture of joy.
We can either promote that culture of joy, or detract from it.
We can complain about others for who they’re not and what they don’t do…
…or we can let love cover a multitude of sins.
Knowing that true Christian fellowship displays the grace and power of Christ for the benefit of His church and the glory of God.
It’s Christ in us, the hope of glory.
It’s the same power that raised Jesus from the dead alive in us.
Now you can see how that starts to change things—how you think, how you live.
I’m going to trust the Lord a little bit more because it’s not me who’s working.
And He’ll use me to bring joy and rest to another believer.
The problem is that the spirit is willing, the flesh is weak.
We have to continue to put to death the deeds of the flesh and walk in love in the Lord, hoping the best in others, overlooking their offenses.
We either do that, or we seek our only worldly gain:
- Status
- Wealth
- Comfort
Or—we seek an increase in the graces of the Lord distributed among us as believers:
- Grace upon grace
- Blessing upon blessing
- The fullness of Christ
- The richness of the gospel
We don’t trust in the flesh—
“If we try harder to be more joyful, it’ll work.”
No, because it won’t.
We will be left tired and weary and burdened.
That’s why Jesus said in Matthew 11:28:
“Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
Who wants rest?
All we have to do is come to Christ.
Jesus promised it.
We come to Him and we cease striving, and we’re going to find rest for our souls.
We’ll renew our strength.
We’ll mount up on wings like eagles.
We’ll run and not grow tired.
We’ll walk and not grow faint.
Isaiah said that—40:31.
This is the promise for all who trust in the Lord.
The problem is that trusting is hard.
It’s hard to do.
It’s much easier to do.
I’m going to make this happen.
I’m going to set my strategy.
I’m going to assemble my business plan.
It’s much easier to trust in our own wisdom and strength.
That was the challenge for the Israelites.
God was their King—but that wasn’t enough.
“I want a king!”
They insisted on an earthly king.
Why? Because that’s what everybody else was doing.
They got kings. I want a king.
They got standing armies. We need a standing army.
We need someone to lead us, God. I know You’re our King, but that’s not really working out so well.
I don’t want to pray every time we need help. Let’s just have a king. It’ll make it much easier.
I’d rather trust what I can see than what I can’t.”
You see how that works?
As with the Israelites, so we are.
Not trusting the Lord, looking for worldly strength:
- in the health of our bank account
- in our position of influence
- in the platform we exercise to do our will
Paul would say otherwise.
Just like Onesimus was once useless but now useful, we too are useful in the Lord to one another.
We’re useful because we have the Spirit of Christ to point to each other to.
Because we’re in Christ, we’ll naturally be able to refresh others in the Lord.
That’s the first point.
Support one another. Grace and power of Christ, Christian fellowship—support others, overlook their faults, don’t expect anything in return.
Second, trust the Lord is going to work powerfully through us to bring rest and joy.
Third, we’re moving along:
3. Expect That the Lord Will Accomplish Far More Than We Can Ask or Imagine Through the Powerful Working of Prayer
Philemon 21–22
Verses 21 to 22:
“Confident”—who’s confident? Paul is confident—“Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say. At the same time, prepare a guest room for me, for I’m hoping that through your prayers I will be graciously given to you.”
It’s an incredibly powerful demonstration of love toward your fellow believers when you are confident in them.
Now, we might hear that phrase today, which is common:
“Man, I believe in you. You can do it, man. Anything you put your mind or your heart to.”
Now—that’s not what we’re talking about.
We have confidence in others’ obedience because our confidence is in the Lord to work through them.
You see the difference?
There’s a big difference between confident in self and confident in the Lord.
If we’re honest with ourselves, we know that we’re weak people—that we’re prone to sin, to leave the God we love.
But the reality is that God will never leave us nor forsake us.
And even though we stumble, even though we fall, God is gracious to pick us up, to lift us up, to give us more grace.
And that’s, in fact, the theme of all of Scripture—more grace.
Look at the Old Testament. As I said, the sandwich—grace, then law, then grace.
How so?
Well, every time God gives the law, He first gives grace.
So many places God says:
“This is what I’ve done for you. Now—here’s what I’m asking you to do.”
I’ve done so much.
Is He a taskmaster in that request?
“Oh, God wants you to eat certain foods and be clean and do all these rituals—such a taskmaster.”
That comes from Satan.
Said that to Adam and Eve in the garden.
No—He’s asking that because He wants us to reflect a covenant-keeping God who never fails.
The world hates seeing another Christian who gives no regard to the law and looks like a fool for Christ.
No different today.
Since you’ve been delivered—since I’ve been delivered—from sin and death in the person and work of Christ, here’s how I want you to live:
- Abstain from sexual immorality.
- Walk uprightly.
- Be honest.
- Be men and women of faith.
- Trust God to work far more than you can expect through the powerful working of prayer.
Notice what Paul says in verse 21:
“Brother Philemon, I know that you’re going to do even more than I ask.”
What does he mean by that?
Is Paul saying that once Philemon receives Onesimus, he will release him from slavery?
Some commentators think so.
But the text doesn’t tell us. And it’s dangerous to insert what is not there.
The point is this: he knows Philemon.
He knows he’s not a “yes man.”
He knows he’s going to do anything that Paul says—
well, more than that.
It goes beyond that.
It goes beyond, as you might have heard it said, the letter of the law versus the spirit of the law.
Paul trusts that Philemon will remain faithful to the Lord and will not limit his obedience to merely outward signs.
You know what I’m talking about?
In so many cases in the Old Testament, there is a test of the heart.
Saul disobeys the law of God—
makes the sacrifice—
can’t wait for the priest.
“We’re going to war—where are you? Alright, I’ll just do it. I’m the king.”
Couldn’t wait.
Had to do it himself.
Consider Cain and Abel.
How come Abel’s sacrifice was accepted and Cain’s was not?
It has everything to do with the heart.
Do we obey because we have to or because we want to?
That’s the issue at the heart of every believer.
But now that we’re in Christ, our sacrifices are not physical—they’re spiritual.
Isn’t this cool?
You offer a sacrifice of praise.
When you came in today and you were tired and weary and didn’t feel like singing—and you sang—
you offered a sacrifice of praise.
When you woke up in the morning and you say:
“Lord, I’m tired. I’m hungry. Here’s my body.”
This is your spiritual sacrifice.
Your offering.
This is acceptable to God.
You’re saying:
“Lord, do with me as You will. I’ve been bought at a price. I want to glorify God with my body.”
Paul’s confidence was in the Lord—
and in the Lord to work powerfully in and through Philemon.
That’s why he reminded Philemon that he was hoping—notice this—hoping through Philemon’s fervent, effective prayers, that through Philemon’s prayers, Paul might be released from prison and come to Colossae.
Even so, some commentators think this is because Paul wants to check it out—
to make sure Philemon received Onesimus properly.
That’s a stretch—but whatever.
Never underestimate the power of Christian fellowship as it relates to prayer.
It’s another means of grace that God uses within the church to do some pretty amazing things.
It may be through your prayers that a loved one comes to faith.
“I thought you were reformed, pastor.”
Yes—I am.
It may be through your prayers that another believer is released from the dangers of sin.
So much could be said about the powerful, effective, fervent prayers of righteous men and women accomplishing much.
You see, it’s the fact that we’re now in Christ
that we can have an impact for the kingdom—
because Jesus is working through us.
Romans 8:26 says:
“Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness, for we do not know what to pray for as we ought; but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.”
Amen.
We’ve got Jesus at the right hand of the Father interceding for us, and we’ve got the Holy Spirit interceding for us.
Man—that’s some awesome things.
This is incredible.
How awesome is all that?
There’s so much rich gospel in this—
not only what God has done.
We talk about the gospel—
we say:
“It’s great. Jesus died for you. He rose again. He’s at the right hand of the Father.”
It’s sort of past tense.
But He’s working.
There’s a present richness in the gospel—
what He’s doing now.
So much application.
Never underestimate the power of prayer in the context of Christian fellowship.
Why?
Because true Christian fellowship displays the grace and power of Christ for the benefit of His church and the glory of God.
So we’ve got some imperatives here:
- Support one another.
- Trust the Lord to work through us.
- Expect the Lord to accomplish more through the powerful working of prayer.
And lastly…
4. Serve Together in Unity by the Grace of God and for His Glory
Philemon 23–25
Verses 23 to 25:
“Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends greetings to you, and so do Mark and Aristarchus and Demas and Luke, my fellow workers. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.”
The first thing you’re going to notice is a really long list of names, and we’ve got to ask the question:
Why did you do that, Paul? Why are there so many people here?
Well, I think it’s fair to say that Paul understands that the ministry is not just about the Apostle Paul.
“I’m the man. Listen to me. I founded all these churches. I’m in charge.”
He doesn’t go on boasting about how important he is.
Remember—
in this book, he doesn’t even mention that he’s an apostle.
He’s a bondslave.
He’s in chains for Christ.
No—see, it’s all about the team.
The church is not healthy when all of its members work in isolation:
- “Oh, I do the sound.”
- “I do the greeting.”
- “I do the children.”
- “I do the worship.”
- “I do the preaching.”
No connection.
Just an example—but that’s exactly what I’m talking about.
“I just do my part. I don’t need anyone else’s help.”
You see that?
That’s not a good mindset.
Because we are the body of Christ—
with many members and one head, who is Christ.
Each member has a role—
but no member does the work alone.
Paul speaks to this in his letter to the church in Corinth.
1 Corinthians 12:14:
“For the body does not consist of one member, but of many.”
Then he goes on to talk about the foot and the hand and the ear and the eye.
Verse 15:
“Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body.”
No, no, no, no.
That wouldn’t make it any less part of the body.
Each part of the body is of equal value,
and each part relies on the other parts to be healthy.
Amen.
That’s how we serve together in unity.
Paul’s list shows us faithful workers:
- Epaphras — faithful minister.
- Luke — the physician who wrote the Gospel of Luke and the book of Acts.
But he also includes some men with whom he’s had challenges:
Remember Demas?
Remember that guy?
2 Timothy 4:10 tells us he deserted Paul because he was in love with this present world.
And of course, there’s Mark, the cousin of Barnabas.
You recall in the book of Acts—
Paul and Barnabas got into a big fight.
They went their separate ways.
Paul said:
“Take Mark? He’s useless. I don’t want him. Get out of here.”
But obviously, Paul doesn’t hold on to those past hurts.
He lets go of the offenses.
He trusts in the Lord’s power.
It’s not easy to serve together in unity.
I don’t know if you’ve noticed that.
You’ll be let down by others.
They won’t meet your expectations.
But that doesn’t mean there isn’t grace.
There isn’t forgiveness.
See, this is the power of Christian fellowship:
True Christian fellowship displays the grace and power of Christ for the benefit of His church and the glory of God.
How does that happen?
It’s when we realize that the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ is with us.
You see how he closes the letter?
“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.”
It’s a grace that is greater than all our sin.
It’s a grace that teaches us to forgive and forget.
It’s a grace that empowers us to support one another, not expecting anything in return.
It’s a grace that causes us to trust the Lord is working through us to bring joy and rest.
It’s a grace that causes us to expect the Lord to work powerfully through our prayers.
And lastly, it’s a grace that enables us to serve together in unity, by the grace of God and for His glory.
Closing Exhortation
So we’re going to close now.
Before we do—
well, after we do—
we’re going to come to the fellowship of the Lord’s table.
Very fitting for our message here.
Consider the concept, the power of fellowship.
I’ve said it before:
It’s hard to appreciate the depth of this at a surface level.
It’s hard to just do it on a Sunday morning and miss out on so much more of doing life together.
We’ve already announced it.
It’s rather fitting in God’s providence that we landed in Philemon just around the same time as small groups.
You would think that I planned Philemon to insert my agenda—
“I’ve had it! Not everybody’s part of one. I can’t have it.”
No, no, no, no.
They’re going to be available.
They’re going to be right here.
Small group leaders—just raise your hand if you’re leading a small group, okay?
These people—
these lovely saints—
who have sacrificed to serve by opening their home,
or opening some time here in the church,
to lead and facilitate discussion from Scripture,
and also time to pray, time to share, maybe even a meal…
All these things.
I want to encourage you—
don’t go rushing out those doors when you leave.
Come on up.
They’re going to stand right here.
I’m going to do it this way, guys—
sorry if you’re not comfortable with it, leaders—
but I’m going to ask that you all stand at the front.
You’re not going to regret taking that step.
I know it’s busy and schedules are burdensome—
but, man, I want us to experience…
We’re not going to get to the level of this kind of richness—
I mean the Philemon-level richness—
but we can get some of that.
We can support one another.
We can trust the Lord together.
We can expect the Lord to do great things.
We can serve together.
That’s all powerful stuff in Christian fellowship.
It’s mutual participation in the body of Christ.
It’s commitment.
It’s being willing to sacrifice, to lay down your lives.
It’s spiritual battle.
But it’s knowing that you’re not alone in your struggles.
The Lord has sovereignly and graciously given us the church.
It’s a gift.
It’s a family.
It’s deep bonds of mutual affection.
But it’s not easy.
Only by God’s grace can we grow together into the head, who is Christ.
Prayer
So let’s pause, consider this.
And we’ll have the group leaders at the close of service, obviously.
Before that, we’re going to have communion.
I’m going to pause now and give you this opportunity to think more deeply about this—
coming to Jesus, considering fellowship.
Let’s do that now.
And I’ll close in prayer.
Lord, we’re so grateful for the gift of fellowship. Most importantly, fellowship with You, because we were once enemies of You. You know this. But You reconciled us back to the Father. We’re so grateful, Jesus.
It’s our desire that we would be reconciled to one another. If there be any disunity in this body, if there be any unforgiveness in this body, that Your grace would be poured out and resolve it, so that we could serve together in love and joy in the good times and the bad.
We can know that we have brothers and sisters here for us—here to do life. Lord, it’s such a gift, the church. As messed up as we are, as broken as we are, as weak as we are—Your grace is enough.
And so we come to You now to give You thanks just for that—for all the grace that You have for us and all that You’re doing in our lives. We pray it in Jesus’ name. Amen.
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