A workplace application of the theme of mutuality is alluded to in colossians and discussed in pauls letter to philemon, the shortest book of the bible. Philippians is one of four epistles written during the first imprisonment of paul. Apparently philemon was welltodo, for his home was large enough to accommodate the church assemblies, and he was a slave owner. Bruces contribution to the nicnt is a substantial work that covers not only ephesians, but colossians and philemon as well. To philemon our dear friend and fellow worker 2also to apphia our sister and archippus our fellow soldierand to the church that meets in your home.
This document has been generated from xsl extensible stylesheet language source with renderx xep formatter, version 3. The epistle to philemon a model of christian courtesy 1. The merging of jews and gentiles into one new body, eph. A study on the unique letter from paul to philemon requesting the forgiveness of his returning runaway slave oneisimus. Slavery was widespread in the roman empire according to some estimates, slaves constituted one third, perhaps more, of the population and an accepted part of life. For this reason, this study guide commentary is designed to provide an introduction to. Entreats forgiveness for his servant onesimus, philemon 1. Most commentaries help us make the journey from the twentieth century back to the first cen. Paul, a prisoner of jesus christ, and timothy our brother, unto philemon our dearly beloved, and fellowlabourer, and to our beloved apphia, and archippus our fellowsoldier, and to the church in thy house.
Philemon 1 commentary matthew henry commentary on the. Philemon and work bible commentary theology of work. The traditional view is that the epistle was written from rome between a. Bible reading offers the widest scope for the enrichment of public worship, and it is a great pity. Philemon bible study lesson 1 historical backgrounds of philemon information useful to understand before a study of the letters contents slavery in the grecoroman world one of the most important things to understand about philemon is the. Introduction to the epistle to philemon pauls epistle to philemon is the shortest of all his letters and is one of the most personal of all his letters, if not the most personal. The letter to philemon tells us that onesimus was the slave of a christian named philemon philem. Some commentaries suggest that aristarchus was the pastor of the church there and that apphia was his wife. Most of the people mentioned in this letter for example, apphia, archipus, and others, including philemon and onesimus, are also mentioned in colossians, a fact which implies a close relationship between the two letters. Philemon bible study lesson 1 historical backgrounds of philemon information useful to understand before a study of the letters contents slavery in the grecoroman world one of the most important things to understand about philemon is the background of slavery in the ancient world. The occasion which gave rise to this letter was this. Philemon is a prison epistle and its date and location of writing is tied to this issue.
He is the new testament editor for the revised expositors bible commentary and the author of various books and commentaries, including mark and colossiansphilemon in the niv application commentary, and the article on mark in the zondervan illustrated bible backgrounds commentary. This is the only place in the new testament where philemon is mentioned by name, but we do know that he was a beloved friend to paul. Urges motives to induce philemon to forgive him, philemon 1. Text and commentary on philemon 377 scripture index 387 392 391 subject index share your thoughts about the publisher. Philemon christian forgiveness if then you regard me a partner, accept him as you would me. Book of philemon overview insight for living ministries. The new international greek testament commentary editors i. Paul wrote this letter to philemon, a believer in colosse who, along with others, was a slave owner cf. Interesting facts about philemon barnes bible charts author.
Grace to you, and peace, from god our father and the lord jesus christ. Moreover, it appears to deal with a personal matter between philemon, onesimus, and paul. Both of these would have been evident in his conduct. Paul, a prisoner of christ jesus, and timothy our brother, to philemon our dear friend and.
You can find the best commentary on philemon for you using the tools on the right side. From what i have read, there is a consider falloff in quality between the first three recommendations and those that follow, so this volume is probably more of a luxury than a necessity. Further, if indeed it is epaphras, the founder of the colossian church see commentary on col 1. Barth and blankes commentary is unique for its exhaustive study of the ancient world at the time philemon was written. The epistles to the colossians, to philemon, and to the. Paul and philemon may have had what is known as a patronclient relationship. Philemon, dictionary of the bible and western culture sheffield. In more formal biblical works such as the gospels or the epistle to the romans or even pauls letters to churches at philippi or colossae, it might be easy to get the impression that god does not care or have time for the trials and tribulations in a. It seems likely paul had gotten his information from onesimus. Philemon bible commentaries free online downloadable. Annual lesson commentary on bible school lessons 1956, pp.
Paul wrote to philemon, a christian brother living in colosse. This slave had run away from the household of philemon. G dunn, the epistles to the colossians and to philemon. Preachers could be excused for neglecting philemon when it emerges in the lectionary cycle. Onesimus originated from colosse,5 we may suppose that philemon lived there also. Zondervan illustrated bible backgrounds commentary, vol. As philemon forgave onesimus on pauls request, it was as if he was giving a drink of cold water in the name of a disciple and he shall be rewarded for it matthew 10. The letter to philemon reminds us that gods revelation to humanity is intensely personal. Commentary on timothy, titus, philemon by john calvin. Bible study lesson sheets these are lessons designed for either a class or personal study. One of his slaves, onesimus, had apparently stolen from him cf. David guzik commentary on pauls letter to philemon, which is a plea to his friend philemon.
The apostles joy and praise for philemons steady faith in the lord jesus, and love to all the saints. The letter to philemon is sandwiched in between titus and hebrews, it is one of a small group of personal letters that paul wrote. Classic commentaries and studies on colossians and. Intro to philemon biblica the international bible society. Philemon, one of note and probably a minister in the church of colosse, a city of phrygia, had a servant named onesimus, who, having purloined his goods. He extols his faith, love, and christian charity, philemon 1.
This is unfortunate, since his works contain priceless gems of information that are found nowhere except in the ancient writings of the jews. Jerome in his commentary on the epistle, mentions the. Philemon 1, new international version niv the bible app. The bible often is read poorly in our church services. Exegesis of philemon presented at the chicago conference at st. But onesimus met paul and through his ministry became a christian see v. In pauls day, slavery had virtually eclipsed free labor. Philippians was written, by the apostle paul from rome, 6263 a. An alternate view is that the actual master of the slave is archippus and that the one to whom the letter is addressed, philemon, is the most prominent christian there. Chapter 8 introduction to philemon authorship the book claims to be by paul vv. Of all the literature in the new testament, philemon is unique since it is the only personal or person to person. Philemon commentary john gills exposition of the bible. That book is pauls epistle to philemon, the shortest of all of pauls letters 3.
Philemon bible commentaries free online downloadable pdf. Unfortunately, in many churches public reading of the bible is little more than homiletical throat clearing before the sermon. The epistle of paul to philemon paul is writing to this individual called philemon. Since philippians, calossians, philemon, and ephesians were all written from rome, it is.
Colossians, ephesians, philippians and philemon ibiblio. It also seems probable that philemon was one of pauls converts from the time he spent in ephesus. Surely there were more of these but these are the ones in our bible. He took the disciples with him and had discussion daily in the lecture hall of tyrannus. Even harder is to prove, what some presume, that philemon was their son. Ive not seen the philippians and colossians commentary in the new american. This book is an example of a private letter, so common in the first century grecoroman world. Paul, a prisoner of christ jesus, and timothy our brother, to philemon our.
There is a book in the new testament which has been described as. Sometimes regarded as trivial because of its brevity, the letter to philemon remains valuable both for its insight into the social setting of the new testament and for its reiteration of a central component of the gospelbrotherly love. There is little debate that the author of philemon is the apostle paul. Study guide for philemon by david guzik blue letter bible. The others were ephesians, colossians, and philemon. The epistle to philemon chapter one objectives in studying philemon 1 to be impressed with the loving hospitality which characterized the christians in the early church 2 to learn lessons in the use of tact in dealing with others summary in this very short and personal epistle, paul addresses it to philemon, apphia, archippus and to the. The classic commentaries and studies on colossians and philemon 14 vols. Promises to repair any wrong he had done to his master, philemon 1.
A daily bible study in 7day sections with a summarycommentary, discussion questions, and daily application section introduction the prior section sunday philemon 1. Pauls friendship with philemon is shown by something significantly missing in his greeting. Commentary on timothy, titus, philemon bible study guide. Paul also reminds philemon that philemon was a sinner. Philemon was an inhabitant of colosse, a person of some note and wealth, and a convert under the ministry of st. Moule, the classic commentaries and studies on colossians and philemon 14 vols. It offers a blend, utterly characteristic of paul, of love, wisdom, humour. The letter to philemon eerdmans critical commentary ecc. In colossians, paul mentions the faithful and beloved brother, onesimus col. Philemon provides valuable historical insights into the early churchs relationship to the institution of slavery.
Philemon bible study lesson 1 historical backgrounds of. Pauls salutation to philemon, and the church at his house, philemon 1. Onesimus, a slave belonging to philemon, had fled from his master, possibly stealing money in. Yet most people today have never heard of john gill. Paul says this to persuade philemon to do the right thing. Paul had heard of philemon s love, for the lord and his saints, as well as his faith. Furthermore, it has close ties with colossians, where onesimus is mentioned as one of you col 4.
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