“The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.” ~ Philemon 25 

Last Sunday, we spent both messages in this marvelous little Book of the Bible. Paul had led a young runaway servant named Onesimus to faith in Christ. That young man was indebted to Paul’s friend, Philemon, who lived 1,300 miles away from Rome in Colosse. Philemon had been deeply wronged by Onesimus in the past and now that same young man was on his doorstep with a letter from Paul encouraging him to forgive the young man and to receive him, not just as a servant, but as a brother in Christ. In verse 2 we learn that this letter was not only addressed to Philemon, but to two other men and by extension to the entire church. 

 Philemon was on the spot. All eyes were fastened on him as he found himself in the position of being encouraged, if not commanded, to forgive the one who had wronged him. Sadly, forgiveness does not come as easily to us as it should. In Philemon’s case, Paul’s letter gave him very little opportunity to do anything but obey. Paul already knew that Philemon was a spiritual man who would do more than he was asked (v21), but Paul also knew that the devil has a way of messing with our spirit when we find ourselves in such situations. 

 The word “spirit” here means “disposition or attitude”, and it is with our spirits that we love and glorify God. Thus, Paul adds a final prayer to this letter, that Philemon’s spirit would be strengthened by the grace of the Lord Jesus. “Grace” is “God doing for us that which we cannot do for ourselves”. It is God supplying His strength to enable us to do the perfect will of God and to do so with a humble heart. 

For many years, I have added this little prayer to my daily prayer list. I find that I need God’s grace on a constant basis to keep my spirit right in the face of the many trials life has to offer. It is with joy that I can say, His grace truly is sufficient! 

Pastor Bish