Bible Overview: Philemon
Notes
Transcript
1 Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, To Philemon our beloved fellow worker,
2 to Apphia our sister, to Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the church that meets at your house:
3 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
4 I always thank my God, remembering you in my prayers,
5 because I hear about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints.
6 I pray that your partnership in the faith may become effective as you fully acknowledge every good thing that is ours in Christ.
7 I take great joy and encouragement in your love, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the saints.
8 So although in Christ I am bold enough to order you to do what is proper,
9 I prefer to appeal on the basis of love. For I, Paul, am now aged, and a prisoner of Christ Jesus as well.
10 I appeal to you for my child Onesimus, whose father I became while I was in chains.
11 Formerly he was useless to you, but now he has become useful both to you and to me.
12 I am sending back to you him who is my very heart.
13 I would have liked to keep him with me, so that on your behalf he could minister to me in my chains for the gospel.
14 But I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that your goodness will not be out of compulsion, but by your own free will.
15 For perhaps this is why he was separated from you for a while, so that you might have him back for good—
16 no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a beloved brother. He is especially beloved to me, but even more so to you, both in person and in the Lord.
17 So if you consider me a partner, receive him as you would receive me.
18 But if he has wronged you in any way or owes you anything, charge it to my account.
19 I, Paul, write this with my own hand. I will repay it—not to mention that you owe me your very self.
20 Yes, brother, let me have some benefit from you in the Lord. Refresh my heart in Christ.
21 Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I ask.
22 In the meantime, prepare a guest room for me, because I hope that through your prayers I will be restored to you.
23 Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends you greetings,
24 as do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow workers.
25 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.
What observations do you have about this short letter?
Author: Paul (1a)
Author: Paul (1a)
Philemon 1 (BSB)
1 Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother …
Philemon is quite different from Paul’s other letters. It is written to resolve a personal and practical matter between friends rather than to teach specific doctrines or practices in the church. We could maybe call it “Paul’s Postcard to Philemon.” Paul writes this letter as a friend rather than as an apostle. Rather than using his apostolic authority, he makes his appeal as a friend.
8 So although in Christ I am bold enough to order you to do what is proper, 9 I prefer to appeal on the basis of love. For I, Paul, am now aged, and a prisoner of Christ Jesus as well.
Recipient: Philemon (1b)
Recipient: Philemon (1b)
Philemon 1 (BSB)
1 … To Philemon our beloved fellow worker,
2 to Apphia our sister, to Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the church that meets at your house:
Most of the letter is directed only to Philemon, though Paul mentions Apphia and Archippus here. These are probably Philemon’s wife and son, and the church that meets in their house is probably the Colossian church.
9 With him I am sending Onesimus, our faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They will tell you about everything here.
17 Tell Archippus: “See to it that you complete the ministry you have received in the Lord.”
(From CSB Study Bible notes)
Philemon “had been converted through Paul’s ministry, perhaps by Paul himself.”
19 I, Paul, write this with my own hand. I will repay it—not to mention that you owe me your very self.
Philemon “had become Paul’s “dear friend and coworker” (v. 1) and “partner” (v. 17) in the gospel service.”
Philemon 1 (BSB)
1 … Philemon our beloved fellow worker,
17 So if you consider me a partner, receive him as you would receive me.
“Although the letter is basically Paul’s personal appeal to Philemon, the plural “you” (vv. 3; 22) and “your” (vv. 22; 25) indicate that the whole church would have listened to its reading and thus been witnesses of Philemon’s response to Paul’s requests.”
3 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
22 In the meantime, prepare a guest room for me, because I hope that through your prayers I will be restored to you.
25 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.
Date: A.D. 60-61
Date: A.D. 60-61
Multiple mentions of imprisonment lead us us to believe that Paul is writing this during his first imprisonment in Rome between A.D. 60-62, as recorded in Act 28. This is one of his “prison epistles” along with Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians. Similar to Philippians, Paul expresses the hope that through the prayers of other believers, he will be released from prison.
22 In the meantime, prepare a guest room for me, because I hope that through your prayers I will be restored to you.
19 because I know that through your prayers and the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, my distress will turn out for my deliverance.
Background of Philemon
Background of Philemon
“Onesimus had apparently run away and taken with him some of his master’s money or possessions (vv. 15; 18). Perhaps attracted by the anonymity of a large, distant city, he traveled to Rome seeking a life of freedom. His path crossed Paul’s, and he became a Christian (vv. 10; 16) and a useful helper to Paul (v. 11).” (From CSB Study Bible notes)
(Onesimus means useful or beneficial)
He had run away and stolen from Philemon:
15 For perhaps this is why he was separated from you for a while, so that you might have him back for good—
18 But if he has wronged you in any way or owes you anything, charge it to my account.
He had become a believer through Paul’s ministry:
10 I appeal to you for my child Onesimus, whose father I became while I was in chains.
16 no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a beloved brother. He is especially beloved to me, but even more so to you, both in person and in the Lord.
He now lives up to his name and is useful or beneficial to Paul and also to Philemon
11 Formerly he was useless to you, but now he has become useful both to you and to me.
Theme: Paul’s appeal for the liberation of Philemon’s slave Onesimus on the basis of love as a Christian brother.
10 I appeal to you for my child Onesimus, whose father I became while I was in chains.
11 Formerly he was useless to you, but now he has become useful both to you and to me.
12 I am sending back to you him who is my very heart.
13 I would have liked to keep him with me, so that on your behalf he could minister to me in my chains for the gospel.
14 But I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that your goodness will not be out of compulsion, but by your own free will.
15 For perhaps this is why he was separated from you for a while, so that you might have him back for good—
16 no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a beloved brother. He is especially beloved to me, but even more so to you, both in person and in the Lord.
17 So if you consider me a partner, receive him as you would receive me.
18 But if he has wronged you in any way or owes you anything, charge it to my account.
19 I, Paul, write this with my own hand. I will repay it—not to mention that you owe me your very self.
From CSB Study Bible notes
This letter has served as an inspiration for the liberation of slaves. Paul’s clear preference was to keep Onesimus with him (v. 13), but he recognized that Philemon was his legal owner and decided to send him back (v. 12) so Philemon could either reinstate him as a slave who was now also a Christian brother (vv. 15–16) or else set him free for further service to Paul back in Rome (vv. 13; 20–21). Onesimus returned to his master with this letter, knowing that Paul was confident of Philemon’s “obedience” (v. 21) but also knowing that neither forgiveness, reinstatement, nor emancipation was guaranteed.
Although it is the shortest and most personal of Paul’s letters, Philemon was included in the New Testament canon for several reasons.
First, it illustrates the breaking down of social and cultural barriers that occurred between Christians (see Gl 3:28). Paul, a highly educated Roman citizen, takes up the cause of a poor runaway slave whose life was in danger because of his theft and flight (Phm 18). Social and cultural barriers are eliminated in Christian fellowship.
Second, it reflects early Christian attitudes towards slavery. Although Paul accepts (but does not endorse) slavery as an existing social condition and as a legal fact (see v. 12), he emphasizes Onesimus’s higher identity as a Christian brother and sets the master-slave relationship on a new footing (v. 16) and so ultimately undermines the institution of slavery. This contrasts with dominant views of the ancient world. For instance, Aristotle defined a slave as “a living tool, just as a tool is an inanimate slave” (Nicomachean Ethics viii. 11. 6).
Third, it shows a skillful pastor at work: Paul gives up his apostolic right to issue commands (vv. 8–9) and prefers to appeal to Philemon’s free choice (vv. 10; 14) to follow his Christian conscience in deciding how his love should be expressed (vv. 5; 7); he identifies with Onesimus, his spiritual son (v. 10), calling him “my very own heart” (v. 12) and guaranteeing to repay his debts (vv. 18–19); and he gives his requests to Philemon in the hearing of the whole local church (vv. 1–3; 22–25).
Fourth, it pictures the heart of the gospel (vv. 16–19). When we come to God in repentance and faith, he gives us a new status and welcomes us as if we were Christ. What we owe God, he has debited to Christ’s account. Christ assumed personal responsibility for the full repayment of our debt to God.
Application:
Application:
The way that we view and treat other people should be based on the truths of the gospel rather than the divisions or structures of the world (men/women, old/young, rich/poor, black/white, or any other worldly distinction); we are all one in Christ, and our attitudes and actions toward others must reflect this reality.
The way that we view and treat other people should be based on the truths of the gospel rather than the divisions or structures of the world; we are all one in Christ, and our attitudes and actions toward others must reflect this reality.