Purpose of the book of philemon

Philemon summary we have detailed a brief summary of the book of philemon for bible study or sunday school lessons. Though pauls letter to philemon is very brief, it is packed with rich nuggets of truth that truly reward the serious bible student. He began serving christ in the colossian community. Book of philemon overview insight for living ministries. Philemon intro to philemon biblica the international bible society. Onesimus, a slave belonging to philemon, had fled from his master, possibly stealing money in the process vv. The letter to philemon is the shortest of all pauls writings and deals with the practice of slavery. I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of christ unto another gospel. The letter suggests that paul was in prison at the time of the writing. This summary of the book of philemon provides information about the title, author s, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the book of philemon. Philemons love and faith 4 g i thank my god always when i remember you in my prayers, 5 because i h hear of your love and i of the faith that you have toward the lord jesus and for all the saints, 6 and i pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full j knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of christ. This epistle is the story of three main characters, onesimus, philemon and paul and their interaction.

Paul, the apostle of jesus christ 1,9,19 place of writing. Apparently philemon was welltodo, for his home was large enough to accommodate the church assemblies, and he was a slave owner. Philemon provides valuable historical insights into the early churchs relationship to the institution of slavery. Paul wrote this letter to philemon, a believer in colosse who, along with others, was a slave owner cf. It was written to philemon as a plea to request forgiveness for his runaway servant onesimus, who was a new believer in jesus christ. Paul writes that whatever philemon does for onesimus, it is as if he is doing it for paul verses 1517. The primary purpose of this letter is to manifest the love of jesus christ for each one of us as seen in what he did for us before god in pleading our case.

The two main characters in this story are philemon and onesimus, for the book itself is shaped around paul appealing to philemon to accept onesimus back as a beloved brother 16c. Its canonicity was widely recognized in the early church, particularly by ignatius, tertullian, origen, eusebius, marcion, and in the muratorian canon. Paul clearly writes as a prisoner in philemon 1,9,10,23. Pauls convert and fellowworker who lived in colossae and ministered to the saints.

The key personalities of philemon are paul, philemon, and onesimus. Rome, about the same time the epistle to the colossians was written. There is little doubt that paul wrote this epistle, since he refers to himself at least three times in verses 1, 9 and 19. It was in a certain way a letter of recommendation. Its purpose is to teach forgiveness and acceptance. 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. This book was written by paul while he was in prison around a. Philemon with book summary versebyverse bible commentary. Philemon paul, a prisoner for christ jesus, and timothy. It appears that he was a slave holder before he was saved. Home online bible commentaries online greek word study audio devotionals for christian women free sermon outlines an overview of the book of philemon.

The letter to philemon is the shortest of all paul s writings and deals with the practice of slavery. This certainly was true of the revered daoist book, the daodejing classic of the way of power, and of the wujing five classics and the sishu four books. The epistle of paul to philemon, known simply as philemon, is one of the books of the christian new testament. The main purpose of the book of galatians is to vindicate pauls call by god and the gospel of grace.

Epistle to philemon encyclopedia of the bible bible. After his dramatic conversion on the road to damascus, pauls singular purpose was to prove that jesus is the christ acts 9. He opened his home for a group of christians to meet there regularly. The book of philemon is as several authors have said, like looking over the shoulder of philemon as he reads his personal mail. The book of philemon demonstrates the gospel in action. The epistle of paul to the colossians, or simply colossians, is the twelfth book of the new testament. But as such it is extremely interesting and full of the most. Paul implies that all this is actually gods purpose being worked out and that onesimus should be treated more as a brother in the faith rather than as a slave.

Apparently, during pauls threeyear ministry in ephesus a. It was written, according to the text, by paul the apostle and timothy to the church in colossae, a small phrygian city near laodicea and approximately 100 miles 160 km from ephesus in asia minor scholars have increasingly questioned pauls authorship and attributed the letter to an. It deals with the themes of forgiveness and reconciliation. Paul and philemon, one that would serve a significant purpose in light of the. Philemon is actually the average length of ancient letters. Further, to show his sincerity, paul vows to pay back whatever onesimus owes vv. Intro to philemon biblica the international bible society. Recipient, background and purpose paul wrote this letter to philemon, a believer in colosse who, along with others, was a slave owner cf. The author of the book of philemon was the apostle paul philemon 1. Whatever onesimus took from philemon, paul says he will repay verses 1819. Sadly, many misconstrue this to say that paul condones slavery but that is not even in the context of the book of philemon.

Philemon 1 niv paul, a prisoner of christ jesus, and. The apostles joy and praise for philemons steady faith in the lord jesus, and love to all the saints. Although paul could command philemon to do so, he urges him instead, hoping that philemon will be willing without coercion. What is the major purpose for the book of galatians. Paul helps his friend philemon to reconcile with his escaped former slave onesimus, and shows that they are equals because of jesus.

The book of philemon is one of the most interesting, yet neglected books of the bible. In the bible book that bears philemons name, paul addressed his beloved. At some point, onesimus, one of philemon s bondservants, fled to rome. Philemon is the shortest letter of the pauline corpus, consisting of 335 words in the original. State the purpose of the book of philemon introduction pauls letter to philemon deals with a runaway slave named onesimus, who apparently emerged from his hiding place in romes twisting alleys to begin a new life by embracing the gospel. The purpose of the letter was a request regarding onesimus.

Quick summary of the book of philemon with pictures pdf file. Paul is sending onesimus back to philemon not to be his slave, but to assist him in his work to spread faith in the protagonist. The letter of paul to philemon epistle by saint paul britannica. Study in philemon by edgar pierce exposing the word.

A summary of the book of philemon what is the purpose of. Paul, the principal, who calls himself a prisoner of jesus christ, that is, for jesus christ. The epistle of paul to philemon, known simply as philemon, is one of the books of the christian. The book of philemon was written by the apostle paul on about 62 a. The book of philemon is a prison epistle letter written while in prison, which paul wrote circa 61 a.

The letters paul writes like romans and corinthians are extremely long for ancient letters. The title of this letter is the name of the addressee, taken from verse 1. Paul was writing philemon as a brother in christ and now that onesimus had trusted in christ, paul wanted philemon to consider him as a brother in christ too. Watch our overview video on the book of philemon, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. Verse 15 15 for perhaps he departed for a while for this purpose, that you might receive him forever, philemons brief loss of a slave is repaid by a permanent gain of a brother. Walter martin, founder of the christian research institute and writer of the bestselling book kingdom of the cults, quipped in his usual tongueincheek manner that the book of hebrews was written by a hebrew to other hebrews telling the hebrews to stop acting like hebrews. The book of philemon illustrates that principles like these can and should profoundly affect the lives of believers. The letter to philemon tells us that onesimus was the slave of a christian named philemon philem. Philemon bible study lesson 1 historical backgrounds of.

In this letter, paul helps his friend philemon to reconcile with his. Its written to philemon whose slave onesimus ran away and became a believer under pauls teaching. But the mention of the church in philemons house shows that the personal circumstances of the christian are not to be separated from the fellowship of the believers, as they are members of one body. Hopefully with these three things being understood from the beginning we will be able to understand philemon in. This would lead one to think that such a personal issue would only be brought up between the two parties, philemon and onesimus. The book of philemon was written in approximately a. Paul was imprisoned in rome when he wrote this personal.

One of his slaves, onesimus, had apparently stolen from him cf. In colossians, paul mentions the faithful and beloved brother, onesimus col. It is a prison letter, coauthored by paul the apostle with timothy, to philemon, a leader in the colossian church. The book is a very personal letter sent from the apostle paul see philemon 1,9,19 to his friend and son in the faith philemon. This is the finest illustration of the doctrine of substitution. 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.