Philemon Day 2 Fellow Ones: Digging Deeper
February 14, 2023
Discover the original intent of Scripture. Make good application to our everyday lives.
Become equipped to correctly handle the Word of Truth!
Philemon 1:1-2
The Original Intent
1) Who is writing this letter? (verse 1)
In the greeting of this letter, the co-authors are identified as Paul and Timothy. Paul, a pharisaical radical turned Christ-following radical (Acts 22:1-21), was a missionary and church planter. Timothy was the son of a Greek father and a Jewish mother. (Acts 16:1-3)
Paul referred to Timothy as his “true son in the faith“. (1 Timothy 1:2) Though he was young when he joined Paul in his travels, Timothy was a mature and devoted spiritual leader early in his life. He had been greatly influenced by the faith of his mother and grandmother. (2 Timothy 1:5)
Unlike the other prison epistles of Paul, this letter to Philemon is brief and deals with a single issue. It’s as if Paul jotted down a quick personal note to encourage Philemon regarding a situation with a friend, while including others who would be affected by his request.
Evidenced by the fact there are certain details left out of the letter that appear to be mutually known (verses 10-16), we can conclude there is a previous relationship and a familiarity which existed between the writers and recipient.
Bible scholars are uncertain about Paul’s location, though most believe he was imprisoned in Rome when he wrote to Philemon. Although there is no specific account of Paul being imprisoned in Ephesus, he mentions numerous unnamed imprisonments. (2 Corinthians 11:22-23) So, it is possible he could have been writing from somewhere other than Rome.
I agree with the reasons commentator Malick provides about his location being Rome. (bible.org) Since the themes and language used in his letters to the Ephesians and Colossians are similar, it was probably written between AD 60-62.
The Everyday Application
1) Who is writing this letter? (verse 1)
He has been given the titles “greatest missionary” and “greatest Christian” by many people through the years, but Paul’s transformation was humbling if it was anything at all.
Struck blind, he was forced to run straight forward into the grace of God Whose brilliant light pierced the darkness of his sin-wrecked soul! After his conversion, Paul was transformed into a man who would spend his life pointing to the One he became convinced was indeed the greatest, the only Savior, the Lord of all. (Acts 9:18-22)
One day, this very Paul who was a former legalistic Jew, found himself in Jerusalem where he was falsely accused of breaking Jewish law. As a hush fell on the angry mob who wanted him dead, Paul began to share his testimony of the Lord who brought him out of darkness and into light. What a sermon it was! (Acts 22:1-21)
Whether or not he was the greatest saint to ever live, we don’t know, but we do know he lived his life in surrender to the Lord who redeems all who call on Him for rescue. There have been many who have lived a life like Paul, even giving themselves as martyrs for the gospel of Jesus Christ. His example has inspired many to follow hard after Jesus with the same passion.
The Original Intent
2) Who is specifically addressed? (verses 1-2)
Philemon is personally addressed in verse 1 of the greeting. While he is not mentioned outside of this letter, because his slave, Onesimus, is mentioned in Colossians 4:9, we can build a bridge to evidence the relationship between Philemon and Paul.
In verse 2, we are introduced to other recipients: Apphia, Archippus, as well as the entire gathering of people meeting in the home of Philemon. Likely, Philemon was the leader of a house church in the city of Colossae. There is no direct reference to location, but a comparison of Paul’s letter to the Colossians with the Philemon letter gives us good reason to conclude this. Paul mentions he is with Timothy in both of his letters. (Compare verse 1 with Colossians 1:1-2)
Another similarity is found at the end of Colossians where Paul mentions several of the same people he addresses in Philemon. (Onesimus and Archippus are mentioned in Colossians 4:9, 17) It is interesting to note how Paul writes to Philemon with a personal touch not evidenced in all of his letters.
Of the 13 letters Paul wrote, he called himself an “apostle” in 9 of them. Even when he wrote to the entire church at Colossae, he had a more formal approach, mentioning his apostleship and calling. Most Bible scholars leave little room for doubting that Apphia was Philemon’s wife and Archippus was also a member of the family. Many have good reason to believe Archippus was their son. (bible.hub, precepts.wordpress)
It makes sense to understand this letter was a personal plea from Paul to a friend and his family. Knowing that a church gathered regularly in their home, he extends his greeting and request to the church in their home. Paul had a deep love for all those in the situation, and he is hoping this very personal letter will bring about restoration if needed. (verses 9-16)
The Everyday Application
2) Who is specifically addressed? (verses 1-2)
Paul was writing with his friend to his other friends about another friend. These were all genuine friends in the faith.
The lyrics of an old song speak to his relationship with them, “And friends are friends forever if the Lord’s the Lord of them. And a friend will not say never ‘cause the welcome will not end.” (“Friends” by Deborah D. Smith / Michael W Smith) Paul had a request for some of his dearly beloved friends to welcome another friend he had come to appreciate and care about.
He greeted Philemon, Apphia, and Archippus with deep affection because he loved them and desired reconciliation and restoration to bloom. The church is a place where individuals are molded into one people, one family, and one Body through the Spirit of God by the blood of the Son of God. Where the Spirit of God dwells, there is a shared desire for harmony, unity, and shalom, an old Hebrew word meaning ‘nothing out of place, all is well, at peace’.
Once we enter into a relationship with God through His Son, Jesus, we gain brothers and sisters from all over the world. It’s a relationship intended to run even deeper than the one we share with blood relatives. Paul wrote about it in Philippians 2:1-5 and Ephesians 2:16-22.
Sister, aren’t you thankful for this example of sweet relationships formed because of Jesus? And it’s all found in a 2-phrase greeting in a letter to Philemon.
The Original Intent
3) What can we learn from the identifying words in this greeting? (verses 1-2)
Paul identifies himself as a “prisoner of Christ Jesus” in verse 1. While it’s true that the Jews had falsely accused him to the Romans in Jerusalem and had him arrested (Acts 21:27-32), Paul explains in other passages that he considers himself a prisoner for the cause of the gospel of Christ. (2 Timothy 2:8-10, Ephesians 3:1-2)
Paul had always been willing to suffer for the message he was called to proclaim regarding the death and resurrection of Jesus because he knew he was blind to truth and dead in his sins without it!
He gladly wore physical chains while he prayed his imprisonment would mean salvation to those near him. He also desired his message to spread through the entire Roman imperial guard and throughout the Roman world! (Philippians 1:12-14, Philippians 4:22)
Paul’s faithful companion was “Timothy, our brother“. Since Timothy had come to understand the salvation of Jesus through being taught the scriptures from childhood (2 Timothy 3:15), he was identified as a brother. He was a brother to Paul in the family of God. He was also a son. Paul had mentored him and been an example to him of faith and love; through this familial growth, he had become like a son. (2 Timothy 1:13)
Philemon was “a dear friend and coworker“ to Paul and Timothy. Noting that Paul requested a guest room at Philemon’s home (verse 22) and he previously had a slave (verses 15-16), it is probable he was more wealthy than most Christians in the day. He had become a valued partner with Paul in his gospel ministry.
As mentioned previously, Apphia “our sister” and Archippus “our fellow soldier“ were possibly members of Philemon’s family, or perhaps leaders in the gathered church who acted like family. (biblehub.com) Regardless of their blood relation, they were partners with Paul in the gospel, making them all part of a family in the “household of faith”. (Galatians 6:10-11)
The Everyday Application
3) What can we learn from the identifying words in this greeting? (verses 1-2)
Paul identified the people in his letter by using kind descriptions like “brother”, “dear friend”, and “sister”. Paul’s greeting identified the beautiful relationships we find in the family of God’s people. Those brought into the family of God through faith in Jesus are our “brothers” and “sisters” in Christ, our spiritual siblings.
Paul urges us to “love one another deeply as brothers and sisters.” (Romans 12:10) His note of encouragement to Philemon acknowledged his love for his friends and challenged them to demonstrate grace to a brother.
When you think of Paul identifying as a “prisoner of Christ Jesus” maybe you have some people come to mind who live by faith and submission to Jesus. I’m reminded of missionary and martyr Jim Elliot who may have been a modern-day Paul. Though he wasn’t jotting down a note for anyone but himself, his journal entry has made its way into the hearts of many who have figuratively chained themselves to Jesus to serve others. “One of the great blessings of heaven is the appreciation of heaven on earth – Ephesians truth. He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.”
So my Sister, sharing Paul’s words, I pray for us,
“For this reason I kneel before the Father from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named. I pray that He may grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power in your inner being through His Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. I pray that you, being rooted and firmly established in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the length and width, height and depth of God’s love, and to know Christ’s love that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” (Ephesians 3:14-19)
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