Philemon
Philemon is believed to be written by Paul while he was in prison in Rome (around AD. 60-62) at the same time as his letters to the Ephesians, Philippians and Colossians. It is very likely that Philemon was a member of the Colossian church, and this letter was meant to convince him to take back his runaway slave by the name of Onesimus, who had run away as far as Rome and was converted by Paul while he was in prison. In fact, he became so close to Paul that he had become to Paul like a son and was ministering to him while he was in prison.
It is a very highly personal letter, and most believe that Philemon had heeded the appeal by Paul or this letter would not have been made public for all to read.
Vv. 1-3—Opening Address
(1) As the letters to the Ephesians, Philippians and Colossians are believed to be written at the same time from the prison in Rome by the Apostle Paul, compare how Paul addresses his recipients of the other letters and see how differently does he address himself to Philemon and why? (1:1 in all these letters)
Vv. 4-7—Thanksgiving
and Prayer
As the church meets in Philemon’s house, it is only natural to
assume that Philemon is a very important and
influential leader of the church (either of Ephesus or of Laodicea):
(2) From Paul’s prayer, can you tell what kind of a Christian Philemon is?
(3) What kind of influence does he have on the people around him as a church leader?
(4) If you are a church leader, can the same of said of
you? Why or why not?
Vv. 8-21—Petition on Onesimus’ behalf—The name “Onesimus” means useful in Greek
(5) What is the relationship between Paul and Philemon? (vv. 17, 19)
(6) Who is Onesimus to Philemon and what has he done? (vv. 16, 18)
(7) What happened to Onesimus after he had met Paul in Rome and what does he mean to Paul now? (vv. 10-13)
(8) Now that Paul is sending Onesimus back (likely together with this letter), what does he want Philemon to do? (vv. 16-17)
(9) Philemon has every right to punish Onesimus severely (see today’s Meditative Article): On what basis does Paul appeal to Philemon to do otherwise?
- V. 9—What is the basis of this appeal?
- V. 10—What is Onesimus now to Paul?
- V. 11—In what way does Paul use a play of the meaning of the name “Onesimus”?
- V. 12—What does Onesimus mean to Paul?
- Vv. 13-14—What does he want Philemon to do with Onesimus?
- V. 15—How might you apply this “perhaps” to your situation?
- V. 17—What is the basis of this appeal?
- V. 18—What if Philemon still wants to recover his loss?
- V. 19—Do you think this is or is not the most powerful reason for Philemon’s obedience?
- V.v. 20-21—What does Paul call Philemon?
Vv. 22-25—Final Words
(10) Given the above plea and these final words, do you think Philemon has any choice?
(11) Do you think Philemon would heed Paul’s plea? Why or why not?
(12) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
Filemom
Vv. 22-25—Palavras finais
- V. 9—Qual é a base deste apelo?
- V.10—O que representa Onésimo agora para Paulo?
- V.11—Qual é o trocadilho que Paulo faz com o nome “Onésimo”?
- V.12—O que Onésimo significa para Paulo?
- Vv.13-14—O que Paulo deseja que Filemom faça com Onésimo?
- V.15—Como você poderia aplicá-lo em sua situação?
- V.17—Qual é a base deste apelo?
- V.18—O que devia acontecer se Filêmon ainda quiser recuperar o prejuizo?
- V.19—Você acha que essa é a razão mais importante para Filêmon obedecer?
- Vv.20-21—Como Paulo chama Filemom?
(12) Qual é a principal mensagem para você hoje, e como você pode aplicá-la em sua vida?
“…no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother. He is very dear to me but even dearer to you, both as a fellow man and as a brother in the Lord.’’ (Phlm. 16)
It is true that the Apostle Paul has not pushed for the abolition of slavery in his society in general, but his letter to Philemon in urging him to receive his run-away slave Onesimus, not as a slave, “but better than a slave, as a dear brother” (v. 16) speaks volumes about the power of the gospel. If Philemon does not listen to Paul’s plea, he in fact is saying that the gospel does not work; but if he does (and we have every reason to believe that he did), he will demonstrate the power of the gospel in that “Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave of free, but Christ is all and is in all.” (Col. 3:11).
Allow me to share with you a letter from AD 298 by a certain Aurelius Sarapammon to show the authority the Philemon would have over such a runaway-slave. This will allow us to see how revolutionary the power of the gospel is in this respect:
“I appoint you by this my instruction as my representative to journey to the most illustrious Alexandria and search for my slave called …, aged about 35 years, with whom you too are acquainted… and when you find him you are to deliver him up, having the same powers as I should have myself, if present, to…, imprison him, chastise him, and to make an accusation before the proper authorities against those who harboured him and demand satisfaction.” (P. Oxy. 1643)
"Por meio desta instrução, eu o designo como meu representante para viajar para a ilustríssima cidade de Alexandria e procurar meu escravo, chamado ..., que tem cerca de 35 anos de idade, com quem você também está familiarizado ... e quando você o encontrar, você deve engregá-lo às autoridades, tendo a mesma autoridade que teria se eu estivesse presente, para ... aprisioná-lo, puni-lo, denunciar perante as autoridades competentes aqueles que o abrigaram e exigir uma indenização”. (P. Oxy. 1643)