Wise Men Among You

In I Corinthians 6:5, Paul asked this question: "Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you? no, not one that shall judge between his brethren?" Paul was asking the Corinthian believers why they were getting legal council from the world instead of Godly men. In First Corinthians, Paul calls on the church to have this practice. In Philemon, we see him demonstrate this principle.

If you have read the previous to devotions, you know that the slave Onesimus wronged Philemon (his owner) by running away from him. This was a financial loss for Philemon. God ordained for Onesimus to encounter Paul while he (Paul) was in prison. During that encounter, Paul led Onesimus to a saving faith in Jesus Christ. Then, Paul discipled Onesimus.

While we all rejoice in the fact that Onesimus came to Christ, and that he would spend eternity in heaven, there was still a wrong that had to be made right. Jesus said in Matthew 5:23-24, ”Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you,24 leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift." Before Onesimus could truly live a life of service to God, he had to right this wrong with Philemon.

This was both a legal issue and a financial issue. As such, there was the potential for much harm, or even death to come to Onesimus because of his crime as a non-believer. This is where Paul stepped in. He became a mediator between these two Christian brothers. He wrote a letter to Philemon and also sent Tychicus with Onesimus to deliver the letter and provide further explanation. The letter to Philemon encouraged him to receive Onesimus, not as a slave, but as a brother (16). In other words, he encouraged these to men to settle their differences and to be reconciled to one another for the sake of the Gospel.

As Christians, we should do the same when we know two Christians are at odds. We need to provide Godly council and not base our advice on favoritism. Paul told Timothy, "I charge you before God and the Lord Jesus Christ and the elect angels that you observe these things without prejudice, doing nothing with partiality (favoritism)" (I Timothy 5:21). Paul didn't simply tell us what to do, he exemplified this precept!