Slave or Son?

June 17, 2023

Onesimus was an escaped slave, a man with a price on his head, a man always looking over his shoulder until apparently, he was caught and jailed. Things weren’t looking good for him, but while in prison, he met an extraordinary man, a fellow prisoner who was different from the others, someone who saw him as a human being instead of an object to be used up and thrown away. 

Paul befriended this slave, something that just didn’t happen to a man of his station. That friendship, coupled with Paul’s witness to the power of the risen Christ to transform one’s life, became the catalyst for Onesimus’ conversion. The slave who served out of obligation began to serve his fellow prisoner out of a grateful heart, but there was something that needed to be done, and it wouldn’t be easy.

Paul convinced Onesimus to return to his master, a man by the name of Philemon who was an old friend of Paul’s. To this end, Paul wrote an introductory letter for Onesimus to give to Philemon. It’s an intensely personal letter which by God’s grace, made its way into the Canon of Scripture.

Paul, a keen observer of human nature and of the grace of God, tells Philemon,

 “I appeal to you for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten while in my chains, who once was unprofitable to you, but now is profitable to you and to me…For perhaps he departed for a while for this purpose, that you might receive him forever, no longer as a slave but more than a slave—a beloved brother, especially to me but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.” —Philemon 1:10-11, 15-16 

“No longer a slave…but a brother.” The difference is stark in its contrast and significance. A slave is valued for what he can do. A brother is valued for who he is. In the Church, we often emphasize servanthood to the detriment of brotherhood. We are “servants of Jesus,” but Jesus himself said, “I no longer call you servants, but friends” (John 15:15). Elsewhere, he says of those gathered around him, “these are my mother and brother and sister.”

Seeing oneself only as a servant eventually leads to a performance based life which easily morphs into blatant legalism, supplanting our Sonship in Christ. It also affects our relationships with others; we see them as servants, too—people who can and should do things for us. When we see people in that manner, we have elected ourselves as God.

Brotherhood on the other hand, is all about intrinsic worth irrespective of performance. Both perspectives are needed, but I think this world could use more brotherhood and less servanthood. “Moses was faithful as a servant, but Christ is a Son over his house” (Hebrews 3:5-6). Who we are matters more to God than what we accomplish. It should matter more to us, too.