Philemon
Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother,
To Philemon our beloved friend and fellow laborer,
2 to the beloved Apphia, Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the church in your house:
3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
4 I thank my God, making mention of you always in my prayers,
5 hearing of your love and faith which you have toward the Lord Jesus and toward all the saints,
6 that the sharing of your faith may become effective by the acknowledgement of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.
7 For we have great joy and consolation in your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed by you, brother.
8 Therefore, though I might be very bold in Christ to command you what is fitting,
9 yet for love's sake I rather appeal to you - being such a one as Paul, the aged, and now also a prisoner of Jesus Christ -
10 I appeal to you for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten while in my chains,
11 who once was unprofitable to you, but now is profitable to you and me.
12 I am sending him back. You therefore receive him, that is, my own heart,
13 whom I wished to keep with me, that on your behalf he might minister to me in my chains for the gospel.
14 But without your consent I wanted to do nothing, that your good deed might not be by compulsion, as it were, but voluntary.
15 For perhaps he departed for a while for this purpose, that you might receive him forever,
16 no longer as a slave but more than a slave, as a beloved brother, especially to me but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.
17 If then you count me as a partner, receive him as you would me.
18 But if he has wronged you or owes you anything, put that on my account.
19 I, Paul, am writing with my own hand, I will repay - not to mention to you that you owe me even your own self besides.
20 Yes, brother, let me have joy from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in the Lord.
21 Having confidence in your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say.
22 But, meanwhile, also prepare a guest room for me, for I trust that through your prayers I shall be granted to you.
23 Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, greets you,
24 as do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, Luke, my fellow laborers.
25 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.
posted by Andy at 7:46 PM
1 Comments:
Review of The Epistle to Philemon
The Epistle to Philemon was written around 61-63 AD, during one of Paul's imprisonments. This book can be summed up rather simply - Paul edifies and praises Philemon and company for their love and faith towards Christ Jesus and the saints. Paul then appeals to Philemon to take back Onesimus, not as his slave but rather like a brother, in Christ.
This letter is rather interesting as Paul mentions that he is a prisoner of Christ Jesus no less than 3 times (verse 1, 9 and 23). It was so subtly used that I would never have noticed it if I didn't chance upon of the commentaries while doing my research on this book. Of course the Lord is not a God of luck and chance but of divine appointment, and I believe that this phrase Paul used is of great significance in this letter. Why?
Onesimus used to be the slave of Philemon's household but now he has somehow ended up with Paul. Whether he ran away to him or was given by Philemon to Paul is an on-going debate by theologians. However the important point is Paul has now found Onesimus to be profitable to himself and Philemon, not because of his role as a slave, but now as a fellow brother-in-Christ.
This is where the phrase "prisoner in Christ" finally makes sense. Paul recognises himself as a prisoner in Christ and Onesimus once a prisoner to Philemon as a slave. He has managed to put into perspective their status not among men, but with regards to the Lord Jesus. This way, even though slavery was a common form of labour in his time, Paul attempts to convince Philemon to accept Onesimus back and treat him with the same respect of a fellow brother in the Lord (v16).
In addition, Paul also challenges Philemon to expand his capacity to love. He has already done so by his love which has greatly refreshed the saints (v7). However Paul desires for Philemon to also extend his love to his slave Onesimus, regardless of his past wrongdoings. (v18)
Paul doesn't use his position as a respected apostle of Jesus Christ to command Philemon to do so, even though he well could. Rather he appeals to him... Like how a brother would... ^_^
Finally Paul ends by reminding Philemon about the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ; His grace which transforms every believer who actively seeks to form a relationship with Him and brings salvation to all who believes in the Lord Jesus and His work on the cross.
Well I hope this review helps make sense of this letter.
The Lord's Blessing and Love be with you all. ^_^
9:57 PM
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