Introduction to Philemon

 "Introduction to Philemon"    Dec. 28, 2011
Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ, and Timothy our brother, unto Philemon our dearly beloved, and fellowlaborer, And to our beloved Apphia, and Archippus our fellowsoldier, and to the church in thy house: Grace to you, and peace, from God our Father and Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God, making mention of thee always in my prayers.  Verses 1-3

Background:

The Letter:
Paul's handwritten letter to Philemon is the shortest of his 13 canonical books. It only has 25 verses, as you will notice. In our Bible, it is placed last in the collection of Pauline Epistles. It was written and sent at the same time as the letter to the Colossians, around A.D. 62, while Paul was under guard in Rome awaiting trial before Caesar. (See Acts 25:12; 28:16,30) Therefore, the book of Philemon is one of the Prison Epistles, along with Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians.

This letter was carried from Paul to Philemon by way of Tychicus when he returned to Colosse with the epistle of Colossian
(Col. 4:7-9).

This beautifu personal letter urged Philemon to forgive Onesimus, 
his runaway slave, and welcome him back to serve Christ as a believing brother.

 The City:
Colosse was a city in Phrygia, which was in the Roman province of Asia, modern Turkey. It was located about 100 miles east of Ephesus.
This was a thriving city in the fifth century when Persian king Xerxes marched through its region. Colosse was situated at the junction of the main north-south route and the east-west route. Important products were black wool and dyes, as well as chalk deposits. However, by Paul's day, the main road was rerouted through Laodicea, bypassing Colosse, thus leading to its decline. 
The main population of Colosse was Gentile, with a large Jewish settlement dating back to 223-187 B.C. So one could expect a combination of Jewish legalism and pagan mysticism there.

The Church
When did the church at Colosse begin? I was during Paul's three-year ministry at Ephesus (Acts 19). After Epaphras was saved during a visit to Ephesus, he most likely started this church in Colosse when he returned home. So Paul wasn't its founder.
The Colossians encountered the threat of heresy in the form of Gnosticism, a belief that God is good, but matter is evil, that Jesus was one of a series of emanations descending from God and being less than God, denying Jesus' humanity, too; Jewish legalism which taught circumcision was necessary for salvation, observed ceremonial rituals of the OT law, called for the worship of angels and mystical experience.

The Theme
Forgiveness is the dominating theme in this letter. Paul doesn't use the word "forgive" but provides its biblical definition.

[Resources: Liberty Bible Commentary, The MacArthur Handbook]


LET IT GLOW

I wanted to write our study on Philemon a little differently. We will be looking at the three main characters instead of going verse by verse for discussion. Paul, Philemon, and Onesimus are the three people we'll look at. So I challenge you to read through these 25 verses with that perspective before our next lesson.

Do overs. I like do overs. I'm talking about the time when I was in elementary school, playing on the playground, and jumping rope with my little girlfriends. If I messed up" running in" to jump rope while two girls turned it, which stopped the whole procedure, they would let me have "do overs." I could start again, have a fresh start, try again. I can still see my head bobbing around following the rope up and down in a circle, my hands going in the same circular motion. Sometimes two of us would run in together and jump to a rhyme. We got rather good at it.
Yes, I am glad the Lord allows me "do overs." Friends,  I mess up every day, sin, and need a chance to do it over. Because of God's grace, I can do just that.

Paul was asking Philemon to let Onesimus have "do overs." Onesimus had taken some money and ran away. He was a slave owned by Philemon. Forgiveness was involved in this story. Philemon couldn't fake it, but had to completely forgive Onesimus for his wrong doing.

Do I forgive others when they do me wrong?


LET IT GROW


Not only was Philemon confronted with the forgiveness issue, but he was given a chance to show Christian love.
Christ forgives me when I ask. In fact, He ask the Father to forgive me while hanging on the cross, dying. Such love! How can I do any less of others?


LET IT GO

Be like Jesus and forgive and love others.