With a heart to minister to those on the outside.Ĭ.This suggests to believers that their homes should also be a church, and that each home can have the characteristics of a healthy church: Spurgeon points out that apparently, Philemon had a church that met in his house. In Rome several of the oldest churches appear to have been built on the sites of houses used for Christian worship.” (Oesterley) “Up to the third century we have no certain evidence of the existence of church buildings for the purpose of worship all references point to private houses for this. House churches are also mentioned in Romans 16:5 and Colossians 4:15. The Christians of a city would be gathered into different “house churches” with a city “bishop” overseeing the different house churches. The Jews had their synagogues, but Christians met in the homes of their members. The earliest Christians had no property of their own for church buildings. To the church in your house: This means that the church – or a portion of the church – in Colosse met in the house of Philemon. Regarding the escaped slave, “She is as much a party to the decision as her husband, because according to the custom of the time, she had day-to-day responsibility for the slaves.” (Rupprecht)ī. In the customs of that day, Philemon’s wife Apphia was the supervisor of the slaves in the household, so the letter concerned her also. In this letter Paul will appeal to Philemon regarding a runaway slave who has met Jesus and found refuge with Paul. This address to family members is unique among the letters of Paul, but it makes sense considering the content of the letter to Philemon. To the beloved Apphia: Apphia was probably the wife of Philemon, and Archippus was probably his son. To the beloved Apphia, Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the church in your house: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.Ī. (2-3) Greetings to the household of Philemon. In this letter (along with Philippians and 1 and 2 Thessalonians), Paul appealed to his reader more as a friend and less an apostle. Of the 13 letters Paul wrote to churches or individuals, in 9 of them he called himself an apostle in the opening verse. Paul’s friendship with Philemon is shown by something significantly missing in his greeting. This is the only place in the New Testament where Philemon is mentioned by name, but we do know that he was a beloved friend to Paul. To Philemon our beloved friend: Paul wrote to Philemon, a Christian brother living in Colosse. “They were not shackles which self had riveted, but a chain with which Christ had invested him thus they were a badge of office.” (Lightfoot, cited by Oesterley)Ĭ. A prisoner of Christ Jesus: As always, Paul did not consider himself a prisoner of Rome, of circumstances, or of the religious leaders who started his legal troubles (Acts 23-24). There are some that believe he wrote it from time of imprisonment in Ephesus, but this is an unlikely possibility.ī. Paul, a prisoner: This brief letter was written by Paul during his Roman imprisonment described in Acts 28:30-31. Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, To Philemon our beloved friend and fellow laborer,Ī. Paul soars like a heavenly eagle, and flies a high pitch of heavenly discourse.” (John Trapp) A. From an abject subject, the receiving of a runaway servant, St. “This is a notable Epistle, and full of worth each word having its weight, each syllable its substance.
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