So at least Philemon had a home Bible study going in Colossi and there was a letter sent to the entire church of Colossi, but Paul here greets the church that is in his house. And so the greeting probably to the household of Philemon, his wife Apphia, and his son Archippus.Īnd to the church that is in your house ( Phm 1:2): Paul speaks of Archippus as beingĪnd that was a phrase that was used of those who were also ministering together in the Gospel. Now there are some commentaries that suggest that Archippus was the son of Philemon and that he was in the ministry. It is a feminine name and so it is probably the wife of Philemon that Paul is also greeting here at the beginning of the epistle. Unto Philemon our dearly beloved, and fellowlabourer, and to our beloved Apphia ( Phm 1:1-2), So he joins Timothy in the beginning as a greeting from Paul, and then also in the final salutation joins the same ones that he joins in the Colossian epistle. So here with the epistle to Colossi, the same name that Paul joins with his in the closing salutation are joined in this epistle to Philemon. So we know that they were both written at the same time.īy the time Paul wrote his second letter to Timothy in his second imprisonment, he said, "All of those from Asia have forsaken me" ( 2 Timothy 1:15), "Demas has forsaken me, having loved the present world" ( 2 Timothy 4:10), and so forth. These are the same men that Paul joins in his salutation in the Colossian epistle. It is also interesting as we complete the letter, Marcus, Aristarchus, Demas, Lucas, Paul said, "My fellow laborers". Now when Paul wrote the Colossian epistle, he also joined Timothy's name with his, for Timothy was well known to the church in Colossi. Whatever befalls us, befalls us for His sake and for His glory and that really we are His servants, and thus the results of our service are also because of that service. And we need to realize that the Lord is our Master, we are serving Him. Paul when he talked to the Ephesians there at Miletus there on the beach, he spoke to them how that he was with them serving the Lord. I can endure I can accept it when I realize that it is for the Lord and in His name and for His cause that I am experiencing these things. "I'm a prisoner of Jesus Christ." And when you see things that way, it puts a whole different light on our experiences. Rome can't hold Paul nor can it hold back the work of the Spirit of God in Paul's life. So here he sees himself, interestingly enough, not as a prisoner of Rome. And Paul talks about the many sufferings that he endured as filling up the afflictions of Christ. So that when in the early church they were beaten and told not to preach anymore in the name of Jesus, they rejoiced that they were counted worthy to suffer for Jesus Christ. And I think that it's important that we make that distinction in our mind, that so oftentimes the reproach we bear is the reproach of Christ. If while I am sharing my faith in Jesus Christ, or my love for the Lord with someone and they get upset with me and tell me that I'm a nut and things of this nature, I am prone to personalize the remarks, rather than realize that the animosity that they feel is not really directed towards me, it's directed towards the Lord that I represent. I think a lot of times we Christians get out of sorts because we are prone to personalize the reproach that comes on us for the cause of Jesus Christ. So whatever happened to him, he did not look upon it personally but as unto the Lord and for the Lord's sake. As a servant of Jesus Christ, his life was totally committed to the cause of Jesus Christ. Paul in his service was a servant of Jesus Christ. The Bible tells us "whatsoever we do in word or deed, we should do all to the glory of God" ( I Corinthians 10:31). Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ ( Phm 1:1), And in it Paul not only asks Philemon to be merciful and gracious unto Onesimus, but also to be preparing a place for Paul to stay, for Paul is expecting to be released soon from prison, which he was released from that first imprisonment, later re-arrested and then executed. Now Paul is returning him with this epistle in which Paul is interceding for Onesimus, that Philemon might receive him no longer as a slave but as a brother in Christ. The letter of Philemon involves this man Onesimus, for Onesimus was at one time a slave of Philemon, who had evidently stolen some money and had run away. When Paul wrote the Colossian epistle, he made mention that he was sending the letter with Tychicus, and that also Onesimus, who was one of their own, would be coming with Tychicus with the epistle. This letter was written at the same time that Paul wrote the Colossian epistle. Philemon was written by Paul the apostle unto the man whose name is Philemon who lived in Colossi. Click here for the correlating audio message
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