Learning about My Christ-culture in the Introduction to Philemon
Philemon 1:1-3
(Children's Sheet for Sermon Interaction is at bottom. Notes are throughout sermon)Please turn to Paul's epistle to Philemon. Philemon is the epistle we are setting out to learn from over the following weeks. You will find it directly after Paul's epistles that start with "T." There is 1 and 2 Thessalonians, then 1 and 2 Timothy, then Titus, and right after Titus is Philemon. As you are turning there, I will get us acquainted with the general background of this letter.
The apostle Paul wrote Philemon while in his first imprisonment. Paul's location is overwhelmingly deduced by scholars to have been in Rome. Even though this is the case, there are some people who suggest that Paul was in Ephesus, or someplace else. The classic view since the early centuries is that Paul wrote Philemon from Rome. When all the details are taken into account, Rome fits the timeline of Paul's ministry activities. Something else that is in the Bible that tends to support that Paul was in Rome is that according to Colossians 4:14, and Philemon 1:24, Luke was with Paul during his imprisonment. Keeping the fact that Luke was with Paul in mind, we consider that when Luke wrote Acts, he recorded details in such a way as to support the fact that he was with Paul in Rome during Paul's first imprisonment, while suggesting that he was never with Paul in Ephesus. When Luke wrote Acts, he would refer to himself in the apostolic outreach teams by using the first person plural reference, "we," and "us" (as is found in Acts 16:10-11, 16, 20:5-7, 13, 21:1, 7, 12, 14, 17, 27:1, 7, 15, 18, with more through 27 and 28 to Acts 28:16). But when Luke gets to writing about the Ephesian outreach ministry, Luke does not refer, as was his consistent practice, to the first person plural reference, as if he was with Paul, by saying "we," or "us.' In other words, Luke gets to that part in Acts where he records Paul in Ephesus, and he does not refer to himself as being part of the group. With these things in mind, it is usually considered that the letter to Philemon was more than likely sent from Rome--not Ephesus.
The letter of Philemon was sent to a wealthy Christian man whose estate was around the Colossian area, in Asia minor. The man was evidently a friend of Paul, vv. 17-19. Tychicus, who was also part of the apostolic team, is the one who personally delivered the epistle. He delivered it at the same time that the Colossian epistle was delivered to the church in Colossae. Logistically, the delivery worked out well, because Philemon's place was in the general vicinity of the city.
The letter's main thrust is that Paul is trying to urge Philemon to receive back a man that Paul met in prison. The man's name is Onesimus. Onesimus was the slave of Philemon. The problem is that Onesimus had run away from his master. According to Colossians 4:9, Onesimus was originally from the Colossian area nearby Philemon's household.
The overall sense of the letter is that Paul is lovingly appealing to his Christian friend to receive back his slave with complete grace; but also with more. Paul wants to convince Philemon to lovingly receive back Onesimus now as a brother in Christ. There are not a lot of details about why Onesimus ran away, so we do not really know much about the original scenario that caused the drama. It is interesting to note that Paul does not apologize for Philemon's actions which is unusual for this kind of intercessory letter. Instead, Paul states that he will repay anything, if, in fact, Onesimus owes Philemon, or has wronged Philemon; but Paul's statements do not state that Onesimus actually stole anything, or that he actually transgressed against Philemon other than running away. There is something else for us to consider about the letter. It is a very important fact that under girds this thrust toward reconciliation--Philemon is now saved. This fact strongly suggests another reason why Paul does not want to send apologies from Philemon. Paul has a keen sense of what it means to be regenerated spiritually. He considers the miracle of salvation to be paramount to becoming a different person. This is the way we should all think. When you were saved you became someone else in Christ. This is the way Philemon should think too; especially in light of the fact (according to this epistle) Philemon has a famous love for all the saints. Now Philemon must consider that Onesimus is a saint too (someone set apart in Christ), which means that he is someone to love as a brother in Christ. Paul wants Philemon to view Onesimus as a new creation--a part of the family of God in the body of Christ. The main point is that we actually know that Paul is attempting to reconcile the two men in a sensitive, legal, relational, and spiritual, situation by doing so according to the Spirit of Christ, according to the culture of Christ, rather than according to the mores of the lost world culture. Consequently, we find a lot of interesting information for us to glean concerning the culture of Christ in Paul's appeal. As God's Christians in our own generation, we are both in the Christ-culture of our generation, and, in a sense, we are the Christ culture made manifest in our generation. This morning we are going to be studying to learn more about our Christ-culture from the introduction of Philemon. Please read verses 1-3 with me at this time,
"1 Paul, a prisoner of [ESV has for] Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, to Philemon our beloved [brother is not in the Greek] and fellow worker, 2 and to Apphia our sister, and to Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the church [that meets] in your house: 3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." Philemon 1:1-3
Please prepare your heart to learn, along with me, from the preaching of God's word in this sermon titled,
Learning about My Christ-culture in the Introduction to Philemon
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It is important for all of us to realize that we are in the culture of Christ. There are perhaps billions of cultural affinities that intersect and blend within the world to create colors, and shades of culture. The splash is seen in various pockets of society. Every time we try to identify an aspect of it, we typically refer to it as a part of a certain social tradition, look, or way of doing things. We even find references to cultures of people groups in various places. As the world becomes more interconnected, we notice that the cultural nuances begin to blend into one big melting pot. The blending is so intermixed that we can almost sense that everything in our age is becoming one giant world culture. As we consider this, I want us to think about what has always been there. It has always been there; but sometimes it is not identified as much as it should be. Underneath all of the colorful ambiance, there has always been a darkness that has defined an interconnection to everyone conceived into the image of Adam. It is the spiritual darkness of the lost. In this respect, a vast culture has always existed since the fall of Adam. Everyone is part of this particular giant world culture unless, and until, being rescued in salvation through Christ. The Scriptures refer to the lost world culture as the domain of darkness, Colossians 1:13. We can refer to it as the lost world culture of sin and death. It operates according to the futility of the unsaved mind, Ephesians 4:17. In the great rescue, salvation is to be transferred into the kingdom of God's Son, where we take on the eternal mind of Christ. In this kingdom, we are in the culture of Christ; and there, we exist as representing the culture of Christ. This morning we are going to learn some important principles concerning our culture of Christ. They are principles that have to do with who you are, and what you are, in respect to who others are, and what they are.
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The first principle that we can glean concerning our culture of Christ, in the introduction to Philemon, is that we have a certain exclusive family connection, with a certain type of love that binds us family members together.
"1 Paul ... and Timothy our brother, To Philemon our beloved ... and to the church ["that meets" NET] in your house:" Philemon 1:1-2
In the culture of Christ there is a certain family connection that is exclusive and unique; and in a very important way, it is closed. It is only opened to all whom God miraculously saves. The realization of it is what is so important for us to be mindful of from moment to moment. To preserve our culture, and to even understand it, we must be consciously aware that we Christians have a real, exclusive, family connection. We must also be consciously aware that our family connection to one another is spiritual. We must also be consciously aware that it is unbreakable. Our union with one another, as family, was made by Christ, in Himself, in our salvation. In one sense it is a spiritual re-conception. It is also a rebirth. In another sense it is an adoption. It is a re-conception as a spiritual change. It is a rebirth where we, as those who have been regenerated, walk in newness of life. It is an adoption that Father-God accomplished by taking you, and by His own work, He puts off your old self (the old you) and then He makes a new you in Christ. It is the new you in Christ that He has adopted into His true family. Because Christ is the only begotten Son (who is the eternal Son of the Triune yet One God Who is the firstborn out of the dead) we, who are in Christ, are all God's children in Him, whether male or female. In other words, one of the most important aspects of our familiness in the culture of Christ, is that it is rooted in Christ who is our all in all of us. This is necessary. If this has not happened, then you are not in the family of God. Whenever we say that we have been begotten in Christ, or born again, or regenerated, what we mean is that we are conceived into this relationship that began with Christ Jesus Himself. So to say that we are brothers and sisters in Christ, what we are doing is expressing an important reality of the culture of Christ that is exclusive to only certain people who are born into it. What we are doing is acknowledging the Holy Spirit in certain people. We are in Christ's family tree; so what began in your regeneration continues forever in your experience. Think about what this means: Whenever you call another Christian, "brother," or "sister," like Paul does in this introduction, where he says here "Timothy our brother," what you are doing is using more than a mere metaphor. You are stating a spiritual, experiential, reality. This reality is radically different from the world culture of the lost. The reality of existence for the lost is that they find their sole, and only, roots in fallen Adam. Everyone who is not born again is part of the family of Adam. Everyone was made from one man according to Acts 17:26--Adam. In him, as the father of all, means what?--It means, all are lost which means that all are separated from God in sin. This is a concise definition of the culture of the lost. I'll repeat it again:
It is the existence of being separated from God.
Or let me put it this way:
It is the existence of being separated from God which is to be void of the Spirit.
When we think about this, we recognize that the culture of the lost also has a certain exclusive family connection to one another too, don't we? Follow my on this, because it is exclusive from you, and me, and all who are in Christ. For example, the people you work with who are not saved, are connected to one another like one big family. The unsaved people in government have this same exclusive connection. The unsaved teachers, and professors of learning institutions, have exclusive membership in this family connection too. Everyone who is unsaved is in this family. It does not matter what the color of their skin is. It does not matter what part of the world they were born in. What matters is that they were conceived and born into this world as descendants from one man, and until re-conceived, reborn, and adopted, they are still there. The family connection of the lost world culture is spiritual, and it is very, very real. The reality is so intense that the spiritual aspect is recognized in physical manifestations of sin. It is an existence of spiritual death where people exist in the body of death, Romans 7:24. Because Eve submitted to the Serpent, and Adam followed her seductive leadership, Adam, in deception, turned his back on being in the image of God, over to reflecting the image of the serpent. All of Adam's descendants are all his children, with the spirit of the sons of disobedience working inside. The familiness of the world is real, and alive, and we all see it, and we know it very well. What we know, and what we see, is a sea of humanity in spiritual death. In a sense, the lost world culture is living death. Whenever we say that people are conceived in sin, we mean that they have inherited sin. Not only has everyone inherited this disease of sin, but everyone must sin. They have to, because it is their existence. In a sense, they are sin. They are physically alive, but they are spiritually dead. For the world to be brothers and sisters of one another outside of Christ, is exclusive to the culture of the lost.
I have been bringing these things to the forefront this morning because they are very important on so many levels. One reason they are important is because a lot of folks think that we are all one big happy family. But this is not true. Not only is it not true, but you and I and all of God's true children in Christ must act like it is not true. This is where Christians in our generation are dropping the ball. The fact is that you, and I, and all Christians everywhere are not brothers and sisters of the lost. Think about what this means: Whenever people who are not born again in Christ, call everyone in the world their "brothers," or "sisters" they are using more than a mere metaphor. They might base it on some kind of theory of evolution. They might base it on a false religious idea; or some political slogan. It doesn't matter. In all these respects, they are wrong. But in another sense they are correct. They are stating a spiritual, experiential, reality in respect to their connection to all other physical people born into the image of Adam. With these things in mind we Christians know that we really are brothers and sisters in Christ, in the culture of Christ. This truly does make us different. Since you and I are different, then we must manifest this difference. God does not want us to be confused with being part of the family of the lost. We want to be readily known as part of the family of God. Paul is using the reference to "our brother" in respect to Timothy, because Paul is using the language of the culture of Christ in our familiness of the church which is the body. Paul, in this introduction to his Christian friend, is not concerned with the people who are connected to each other in the lost world culture. The tension of the two families is what leaves them out of this. Consider what this means in living out the culture of Christ while we pass through the lost world culture. In respect to the lost, we are in the world, but not of the world. But here we are. So the question is,
"How do we deal with this tension?"
The Spirit tells us how. In 1 Corinthians 5, Paul explains that we can associate with the people of the lost world culture, but it is only to be an association. It is not meant to be a blending of the two spiritual cultures,
"9 I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people; 10 I did not at all mean with the immoral people of this world, or with the covetous and swindlers, or with idolaters, for then you would have to go out of the world. 11 But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler--not even to eat with such a one. 12 For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Do you not judge those who are within the church?" 1 Corinthians 5:9-12
@1 God does not want us to associate with any __________________________ brother or sister, in Christ, who is an immoral person. 1 Corinthians 5:9-12
In other words, in associating with people of the world, God is not saying that you can not do business. We can purchase things from people in the world. We can sell things to people in the world. We can ask for directions on how to get to a street on the other side of town. We can eat with the lost. We can plow a field with the lost. We can put our money in a bank that has lost people working in it. There are a lot of things you can do in association with the family of the lost. We must do these things, as associations, as Paul says, or we would have to go out of the world. What Paul is saying to not do, is do not associate on any level, with someone who is a so-called brother in the church who is immoral, covetous, or who worships other false gods in the form of idols, who is a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler. Though such people are so-called brothers or sisters, meaning they take on the name of brother or sister as the Greek word onomazo connotes, they are not demonstrating that they are what God calls a brother in His family; so do not associate with them while they make the claim that they are in our family while they are content in their sinfulness, which means to not even eat food in their presence. In context, it all started with a guy who was having immoral relationships with his stepmother and those in the culture of Christ were acting like it was not that big of enough problem to confront.
On the other hand, associating with the lost, who do not claim to be brothers and sisters, is also limited. One important thing we do when we associate with the family of the lost is that we witness the grace of Christ to them while being on guard and being aware that we are dealing with the lost world culture. The point is that if you are going to engage a lost person with the gospel, then you are going to have to associate with them in some manner. While we do, we need to be keeping our true relationship in mind in accordance to how God wants us to interact with them. But, when you encounter someone who already claims to be a so-called brother like a Jehovah Witness, or a Mormon; or someone who shows no desire for the things of God, then you have encountered someone who already thinks they know the gospel better than you do, and yet they are not even saved. Other than presenting the gospel to that kind of person, do not associate with such so-called brothers and sisters. Speak the truth of the good news in simple terms, then move on, and let them go. Let the Holy Spirit do His work of changing hearts, but do not allow such people to change your own convictions through their infecting ways. Remember, such people think they are so-called brothers and sisters already. They are adversaries who are tare plants in the wheat field. They are there as adversaries in disguise. They will choke the wheat plants in their ungodly association, so Paul says to ignore them and eat someplace else. This particular principle is so hard to teach because the culture of Christ, in our age, has been infected already by the culture of the lost, in the form of inclusivism, tolerance, and undiscerning friendship with the world. It also so hard to teach because of an incomplete teaching on how God wants us to meet out grace. But we Christians really must be aware of our exclusive difference. We must also be aware of their exclusive difference too. We really are not one big happy family--even though we may all be smiling. In our biblical understanding we need to act biblically in our relationships.
There are some other clear things that God says that He does not want us to do with the lost. He does not want us to be bound together with them, and He does not want us to fellowship with the lost. In 2 Corinthians, Paul says,
"14 Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? 15 Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever?" 2 Corinthians 6:14-15
@2 God does not want us to be bound together with ______________________________ in partnership, fellowship, harmony, and commonality. 2 Corinthians 6:14-15
Superficial association is different than being bound together, and being in fellowship. Fellowship is a word that means to share in commonality. We who have the light of Christ in us, have no business thinking we can share in spiritual commonality with the lost who are darkened in their hearts. Your discernment is different. Your wisdom is different. Your allegiance is different. So the Spirit asks you and I what we have in common with people who are living-lawlessness, dead-darkness, and belial-likeness, who do not believe. The answer is simple,
"We have no fellowship with unbelievers."
This means we do not share in common with unbelievers, other than superficial needs of life-associations. On the other hand, no matter what background we come from, whether from street gangs, or from a tribe in some remote wilderness, in Christ, we all have very much in common with one another in the family of God. We should already be knowing this, and we should be nurturing these things in our relationships. And it is easy to do too. Whenever you are around anyone, ask yourself whether you are recognizing the Holy Spirit inside them. Either they have the Holy Spirit, or they don't. Philemon needs to get it straight very quickly. Either Onesimus has the Holy Spirit, or he doesn't. This dictates the relationship. And then, acknowledge it. What we are doing is acknowledging the Holy Spirit in certain people and then proceeding to act like the Holy Spirit is there. The questions for us this morning is:
Is this what I do?
Do I discern whether the Holy Spirit is in someone, and then based upon that, I acknowledge the Spirit in my brother or sister?
Do I acknowledge that the unsaved friend that I know is void of the Spirit?
Do I treat him, or her like they are void of the Spirit?
If we discern that someone is void of the Spirit, then we approach those people that way in our relationship, don't we? I want us to notice that Paul calls Philemon, "our beloved." This word for beloved, is agapetos. It can be worded for more clarity in the sense where Paul is saying that Philemon is our loved one. In our Christ-culture the bond of love that we have with one another is important in our spiritual connection in our familiness. The world loves the things of the world, such as the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life, 1 John 2:16. People in the world love themselves. They love false religion. They love atheism. They love humanism, where humanity, and people's ideas about life, are exalted to the highest level. What they don't love is the real biblical Christ. If their fantasy Christ is a nice guy who tried to get some socialistic change to free the oppressed from corrupt government, then they love that kind of ideological Christ. If their fantasy Christ loves everyone, and saves everyone, and does not condemn anyone, then they love that fantasy Christ. If their fantasy Christ is not really God manifested in the flesh, then they love that kind of pseudo-Christ. If their fantasy Christ was merely a supposed fictional thing that evolved from apes, then they love that creature-Christ. But those fantasy Christ's are not the real Christ. Fantasy Christ's are the false Messiah's of the lost world culture. The real Christ is not a political reformer who was, or is, bent on human philosophies of right and wrong ways to govern. He is a Theocrat. He, as the God-king, dictates what right and wrong actually is. The real Christ does not love everyone in such a way as to save everyone from eternal destruction demonstrated in the fact that the lost are eternally destructed, 2 Thessalonians 1:9. According to God's will, there are consequences for not loving the real Christ. Eternal destruction is one. But there are other consequences too. People who don't love the true biblical Christ, also do not love God's true biblically defined family in Christ. This is important to recognize, because sometimes it can be confusing. What I mean is that sometimes we find unsaved people being nice to Christians in certain associations--right?
Haven't you experienced where non-Christians have treated you decently?
They can demonstrate manners. They can even show Christians favor in certain ways. But, there is a deep inner problem that is there, though it is not always starkly apparent: They do not have the love of God shed abroad in their hearts. Because they do not have this, then it is impossible for them to truly love Christians. Any sense of niceness, or manners, that they show, is based upon some form of carnal, self satisfying, affection, but is is an affection that has selfish demands for it to exist. It is contingent. On the other hand, we who are in Christ, love one another, because we can not do otherwise. Philemon is not only a loved one to the apostolic group. He and all Christians everywhere are our loved ones. Now think about this for a moment in intense introspection; If there is a Christian that you do not love, then you are not a Christian. Rather, you are a persecutor of Christians, and as such, you are manifesting the fruit of the lost world culture. You are void of the Spirit. You are not manifesting the fruit of the Spirit of the culture of Christ. You are lost in your sins, in need of the Savior, the re-conception, the rebirth, and the adoption. This leads to
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the second principle. Living the culture of Christ means persecution for Christ because we are in Christ.
"1 Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus, ..." Philemon 1:1
Once we enter into the culture of Christ, and then we live the culture, the lost world culture will take notice. This results in one of two things:
a) They will be drawn to Christ by the Holy Spirit in us;
or
b) they will be repulsed by Christ in you.
Both responses are part of God's process of separating the tares from the wheat. He is either making tares into becoming like the rest of us who are His family by turning them into wheat, or He is exposing them to be weeded out. In the meantime, the tares who are repulsed by our Christ culture are the ones who bring persecution to His wheat. The Spirit is clear on this fact over and over again.
"Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted." 2 Timothy 3:12
@3 All who desire to live _____________________ in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. 2 Timothy 3:12
Living godly in Christ Jesus is to live out the Christ culture. You will be abhorred for it. In fact it is like turning up the volume. The more you get excited about the things of the Lord, then the more the world manifests it persecution. The more you live for Christ in daily manifestations, the more you will be persecuted. The persecution may mean you will go to prison, but not necessarily. It may be that you will be mocked. The mocking may come behind your back. It may be subtle. It could be like the crocodile smile. A crocodile's mouth is shaped like it always has a smile. But the crocodile's intentions are deadly, no matter what expression seems to be on his face. At times, all may seem like is okay when we are among the lost world culture. But, the world loathes Christ; and Christ is the Creator and Lord of His culture--and Christ is in you. It may be something as small as your opinion being ignored, and ridiculed. It could be that you are delivered up to be burned alive. All of this happens because we are in Christ; and the volume is turned up as we are living out the life of Christ that is in us. When you show Christ in you, then tares are going to see who they hate, right? So this is the second principle: Living the culture of Christ means persecution for Christ because we are in Christ.
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This leads to the next principle. The culture of Christ means peace where we rest in the grace of Christ, while we work in our fight for the truth and allegiance to the great King of kings and Lord of lords.
"...To Philemon our ... fellow worker, 2 ... and to Archippus our fellow soldier, ... 3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." Philemon 1:1-3
When Paul makes this kind of statement of blessing, where he wishes grace and peace from God and the Lord (the Master) Jesus Christ, Paul is doing more than repeating a cliché. Paul defines the cliché in both its content and its purpose. Paul's wish for further grace and peace is a kind of prayer request that is based upon the grace and peace that we already have in salvation in Christ. When we enter into Christ, we have entered into our eternal Sabbath rest. In Christ, we are reconciled to God forever by grace through faith. This is the culture. We are saved in the true sense of the word. We are saved from the false religious tendencies to try and work, and sacrifice, and fret over trying to make God happy enough with us that He accepts us. In the Christ culture, we experience that grace and peace and we cease from working to try and attain meritorious acceptance from our Father like so many cults and humanistic religionists do. At the same time, our salvation also means work. The primary work we do, in the culture of Christ, is that of spiritual soldiers who are warring. We fight in opposition to the lost world culture. The big advance in our army is evangelism. Our military discipline is in "captivity-activity." In evangelism, we are the ones with the truth that changes lives and puts people on the right road. Our task is to proclaim Christ, His crucifixion, His resurrection, His salvation, as the Lord of lords, and King of kings who reigns over His Christ-culture forever. We are the ones who know the One true God of the universe. This is who we are fighting with, and for. In the lost world culture, people are trying to follow various fake roads to reach God, but they are only heading downward to eternal destruction. Some people believe all roads lead to God. But we are the ones who know that this is not true. The gospel road is the only road that leads to God. People who think that all roads eventually lead to God do not know the One true God of the universe. They are lost. The only way for people to get on track is through the work of the Spirit, and it is God who does this through His word through the gospel. I want us to notice how Paul explains the battle of the spiritual cultures in Romans 10, with the advance for God. Speaking of the lost who thought they were on the right road but really were not, Paul said,
"1 Brothers, my heart's desire and my prayer to God for them is for their salvation. 2 For I testify about them that they have a zeal for God, but not in accordance with knowledge." Romans 10:1-2
This is what it means to be on the wrong road, whether you believe all roads lead to God, or you believe in your own wrong road that you think gets you there. It is zeal, but it is not according to knowledge; so you are going somewhere, but you aren't getting anywhere in respect to the One true God of the universe.
"3 For not knowing about God's righteousness and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God. 4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes." Romans 10:3-4
On their religious road they are doing a lot of things that seem right, but their rightness is wrongness according to the One true God. They are on the wrong road, but the right road is near, and we are the ones who proclaim it in evangelism,
8 But what does it say? 'The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart'--that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, 9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. 13 for 'Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.'" Romans 10:8-13
@4 if you confess Jesus as ______________________, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; Romans 10:9
Right there is the right road. Now, notice what our job is. Our job, as soldiers of Christ, is to be His instruments of the Spirit to get people there. We are the proclaimers of the good news. Paul goes on with the details,
"14 How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? 15 How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, 'How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things!' ... 17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ." Romans 10:14-17
So, at the fundamental level, the church works as the body of Christ to spread the good news. Then there is also our discipline of capturing. Remember, it is "captivity-activity." This has to do with discipleship. It has to do with the endeavor of taking every thought captive to obey the same Lord;
"4 for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. 5 We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ," 2 Corinthians 10:4-5
@5 As disciples of Christ, we are taking every thought ________________________ to the obedience of Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:4-5
This is why basing our beliefs upon God's word is so important. Your doctrine will drive your actions. Discipling those who have been evangelized and have been saved, and are now in the culture of Christ, is necessary. Discipleship is on the road of the culture of Christ; and so we must destroy any old lost world culture thoughts that are outside the knowledge of the One true God and His true will. To do this, we must take every thought captive to the obedience of our Master. The only way we are going to do this is by being learners who are learning the word of God and directing our lives after it. The point is that we rest in Christ. At the same time, we are all fellow workers with all the saints, and fellow soldiers. This leads us to consider who we serve as our Commander.
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The next principle is that Christ is the Lord who created His culture.
"3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." Philemon 1:3
In Christ's existence, He is just as much Lord, which means Master, as He is Savior. Christ is not one without being the other. In other words, Christ is the ruler who saves as the Savior who rules.
What does this mean for the Christ culture?
It means that grace and peace goes along with love and obedience to the great focus of the universe. God wants us to rest in the full assurance of His grace and peace, and as we do this, we run with our Lord into the daily battle against the lost world culture. But you won't run with Christ if you think that Christ is merely a Savior figure alone. On the other hand, we will run with Christ, in obedience to Christ, when we honor Him for who His is, which is both the Savior and the Lord. This is not works for salvation. This is obedience <from> your salvation. You rest in God's grace, experiencing the peace of being reconciled to Him in Christ through faith, while you run with Him as Lord in service as a true servant. To avoid getting into empty religious activity where you are always doing things to try to make yourself acceptable to God, God wants you to get the grace and peace part cemented in your renewed mind immediately. Dwell on it. Understand it. Embrace it. Don't let go of it. My advice to all Christians is: Don't run, until you rest. If you are not resting in the grace place, then you will serve the Lord out of the wrong motivations, and God does not want you doing that. God would rather you do nothing in the Christ culture if you are going to do it to try to be acceptable by what you do; or you are serving the Lord because you are fearful that He will reject you; or you think you will lose blessings because you are not working to earn His favor. It is better to do nothing in the Spirit for a time, in a sense, than to continue fighting doing a whole lot of things in carnality. The main thing though, is don't go the other way either, and say something foolish like:
"It is not part of the good news that the Messiah is Lord,"
or that,
"He can be Savior and not Lord."
That kind of dribble is what we would expect from the lost world culture. This principle is that Christ is Lord. We need to recognize this fact; embrace it, honor it, proclaim it, and live it as the fact that it is. Finally,
/5/
The last principle is that Christians meet regularly in a weekly local church fellowship.
"2 ... and to Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the church ["that meets" amplified in NET] in your house:" Philemon 1:2-3
The church is the called out and gathered. In the Christian usage of the word, it means "the called out and gathered in Christ." In the Philemon context of who Paul is addressing, it means, the called out who gather together in Christian community. It is official church meeting, like we are doing now; and it is according to the same facts in 1 Timothy,
"but in case I am delayed, I write so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth." 1 Timothy 3:15
In the Philemon introduction, Archippus, who Paul mentions, was probably the pastor of the church group that met in the building that belonged to Philemon that Philemon lived in and was master of in his household. We induce this from this passage and the instructions that the Pastoral leadership of Colossae were to pass on to Archippus in Colossians,
"Say to Archippus, 'Take heed to the ministry which you have received in the Lord, that you may fulfill it.'" Colossians 4:17
This would make sense because all throughout the New Testament record, in respect to Paul's revelation and instruction for the churches, church groups were pastored by capable men who could teach and lead according to God's word. Paul greets the church that came to meet regularly in the walls of Philemon's estate. This was the church that Archippus shepherded. What the area looked like, or whether the meeting was in a house, is not something that God has mandated as a new Pharisaical requirement, like the unbiblical "house only" church meeting law-makers try to prove with their unscholarly diatribes and logical fallacies.
It is important to realize that God gives commands in the New Testament. in fact, in terms of law, we are all "under" the Law Of Christ (under as in jurisdiction, 1 Corinthians 9:21, from the Gk. ennomos, see Acts 19:39 for clarification of the term "under"). In all of God's New Testament commandments, and imperatives, building types are not prescribed anywhere. The place that people met was not as important as the people, the ministry, and the sense of community, that took place in the geographic space. James, in writing to Jewish Christians, mentioned the fact that they met in synagogues,
"For if a man comes into your synagogue [sunagoge] with a gold ring and dressed in fine clothes, and there also comes in a poor man in dirty clothes," James 2:2
Meeting in synagogues was common because those were the meeting buildings that the Jews had already been using for worship that were in every town in that day. When Jews would be saved by their Messiah, they simply continued to meet in the space that was there--the synagogue. It was just a space to meet. On the other hand, if a synagogue was dominated by unsaved, hostile Jews, wisdom and prudence would suggest that meeting in a more secure place, like on an estate, was a good decision. Or, they would meet in a built church, like the Church of the Apostles found on Mt. Zion. It was used within the first century as a church meeting facility. The main point we want to glean is that the regular, local, church meeting practice, is an aspect of the culture of Christ. The world may seek to imitate this mandate from God, such as is the practice of Jehovah-Witness-Cultists, Mormons, and others, but the only true church is the church that is made up of Christians who are indwelt by the person of the Holy Spirit. It does not matter what the world culture does; or even how good they mimic God's true family culture of Christ. What matters is that we, in the culture of our Christ, gather together in a biblically defined church, with qualified elders guiding the church according to the Word, in the legacy of officially coming together. We read about the expected practice being touched upon in 1 Corinthians,
"... because you come together ... when you come together as a church, ... when you meet together, ... when you come together ... 1 Corinthians 11:17, 18, 33 ... the whole church assembles together ... 1 Corinthians 14:23 ... 1 Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I directed the churches of Galatia, so do you also. On the first day of every week [Sunday] each one of you is to put aside and save, as he may prosper, so that no collections be made when I come." 1 Corinthians 16:1-2"
We also read about it in Hebrews,
"25 not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, ... Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you." Hebrews 10:25 & 13:17
We also read about it in Acts, and so many other places in the New Testament.
All these things are important in respect to the culture of Christ. Let's keep them in mind as we live our lives in the Lord, for the Lord. Let's remember the first thing. All of us who are in Christ, have a certain exclusive family connection. There is a certain type of love that binds us family members together. We must not be surprised by the second thing; The culture of Christ means persecution for Christ because we are in Christ. I urge you to be mindful of the third thing. The culture of Christ means peace. It is where we rest in the grace of Christ; but it also means what? It means work. We experience God's peace, while we work in our fight for the truth. We do not work to be saved. We work because we are saved. Christ is the Lord Whom we serve. Finally, let's be mindful of the last principle; God wants His people to meet regularly in a weekly local Biblical church fellowship comprised of Biblically qualified elders who preach and teach as they "take heed to the ministry which they have received in the Lord, that they may fulfill it."
@1 God does not want us to associate with any __________________________ brother or sister, in Christ, who is an immoral person. 1 Corinthians 5:9-12
@2 God does not want us to be bound together with ______________________________ in partnership, fellowship, harmony, and commonality. 2 Corinthians 6:14-15
@3 All who desire to live _____________________ in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. 2 Timothy 3:12
@4 if you confess Jesus as ______________________, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; Romans 10:9
@5 As disciples of Christ, we are taking every thought ________________________ to the obedience of Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:4-5
