This is the earliest known fragment of the epistle to philemon. Philemon stands as one piece of strong evidence to the contrary, revealing that lofty doctrines such as the love of god, forgiveness in christ, or the inherent dignity of humanity have real and pertinent impact in everyday life. It deals with the themes of forgiveness and reconciliation. There is little doubt that paul wrote this epistle, since he refers to himself at least three times in verses 1, 9 and 19. Though pauls letter to philemon is very brief, it is packed with rich nuggets of truth that truly reward the serious bible student. Philemon the slaveowner and onesimus the runaway slave or bondservant had both been reconciled to god through pauls ministry. Some commentators surmise that apphia may have been philemon s wife and archippus their son, but here at abarim publications we find it doubtful that paul would use his churchhosting. The name philemon occurs only once in the bible, namely in the opening line of the book that bears his name. Pauls letter to philemon is a plea that the slaveowner and the slave be reconciled with. The letter suggests that paul was in prison at the time of the writing.
Watch our overview video on the book of philemon, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. It was written to philemon as a plea to request forgiveness for his runaway servant onesimus, who was a new believer in jesus christ. The author of the book of philemon was the apostle paul philemon 1. One of pauls shortest and the most explosive letters, the book of philemon demonstrates the gospel through action. The book of philemon illustrates that principles like these can and should profoundly affect the lives of believers. Its written to philemon whose slave onesimus ran away and became a believer under pauls teaching. The book of philemon was written in approximately a. Issuu is a digital publishing platform that makes it simple to publish magazines, catalogs, newspapers, books, and more online. Its canonicity was widely recognized in the early church, particularly by ignatius, tertullian, origen, eusebius, marcion, and in the muratorian canon.
Pauls letter to philemon, apphia and archippus and the church in histheir house philemon 1. The letter to philemon is the shortest of all pauls writings and deals with the practice of slavery. This book was written by paul while he was in prison around a. The title of this letter is the name of the addressee, taken from verse 1. During the time of pauls ministry in ephesus, philemon had likely journeyed to the city, heard. Easily share your publications and get them in front of issuus. Paul does not identify himself as an apostle with authority, but as a prisoner of jesus christ, calling. The book of philemon is a prison epistle letter written while in prison, which paul wrote circa 61 a. Book of philemon overview insight for living ministries. The heart of pauls letter to philemon is the fellowship that comes from reconciliation. Letter from paul to philemon, paul, a prisoner of jesus christ, and timothy our. 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. Philemon was a slave owner who also hosted a church in his home.
The book of philemon demonstrates the gospel in action. Paul helps his friend philemon to reconcile with his escaped former slave onesimus, and shows that they are equals because of jesus. The key personalities of philemon are paul, philemon, and onesimus. Philemon chapter 1 is the first and only chapter of philemon, the shortest of the apostle pauls letters. A large portion of the letter addresses the roman practice of slavery, specifically in the life of a man named onesimus. In the bible book that bears philemons name, paul addressed his beloved brother as a fellow worker, a title given to those who served for a time alongside. The epistle of paul to philemon, known simply as philemon, is one of the books of the christian new testament.
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