Dave asked me to teach a two-week series in the young adult Sunday school at church, and I had such fun doing so! I decided to walk through the little book of Philemon from the New Testament. It’s wedged between Titus and Hebrews; if you flip too fast, you’ll completely miss it! The book only has 25 verses, but they are so rich!

For your learning pleasure, here’s my notes. MUCH credit goes to other teachers and Bible commentators out there when it comes to these notes! Enjoy!

Overview: The Apostle Paul writes a personal letter to Philemon, a church leader in Colossae, asking him to forgive Onesimus, a runaway slave, and welcome him as a new brother in Christ.

THEMES

• Relationship
• Forgiveness & Reconciliation
• Transformation

Each of the three central figures in this book were saved by God in His mercy and grace through the Lord Jesus.

Read Philemon 1:1-11

BACKGROUND

• Written by the Apostle Paul in approximately 60 AD
• One of Paul’s four “Prison Epistles”
  1. Ephesians
  2. Philippians
  3. Colossians
  4. Philemon
• Paul, Timothy, and a few others, were imprisoned in Rome. Notice, however, that Paul calls himself in verse 1 a prisoner of Christ Jesus (as he also does in Ephesians). Correct understanding of God’s omnipotence.

WHO WAS PHILEMON? V 1-7

• A beloved friend and fellow worker
• A church leader in Colossae — believe to be wealthy, house large enough to host a church gathering
• Apphia, thought to be his wife
• Archippus, thought to be his son and possibly a preacher (“fellow soldier”)
• Known for his faith in Jesus, love for the brethren, as a refresher of hearts

COMING TO THE POINT V 8-9

• Therefore — so what’s it there for?
  • Jenni’s paraphrase: “Because this is who you are, Philemon, and we know and love one another, I’m going to ask you to do something that I actually could demand you do. BTW, don’t forget that you owe me your life because I shared the gospel with you. Just sayin’.”

• Instead of demanding Philemon do as Paul was getting ready to ask, Paul appeal to him on the basis of:
  • Love — their bond as well as Philemon’s love for God
  • Age — Paul as an elder/leader over Philemon
  • Imprisonment — Paul’s credibility

WHO WAS ONESIMUS? V 10-11

• Philemon’s runaway slave
• Most likely stole from Philemon (a capital offense under Roman law)
• Brought to faith in Christ through Paul (“my son”)
  • Somehow, Paul and Onesimus met while Paul was imprisoned in Rome (house arrest, scholars say). It’s unclear if the meeting was intentional on Onesimus’ part but either way, it was a divine appointment.
• Formerly “useless,” now “useful”
  • Play on words! Onesimus’ name has the same Greek root as the word for useful or beneficial.
  • Onesimus was helping Paul in ministry in some way, making him useful to the entire body of Christ which includes Philemon
  • Just like Onesimus, the truth is that before Jesus redeemed us, everyone was useless (lacking purpose). Ephesians 2:1-5

LEADING UP TO THE ASK

• • As we continue, we’ll see that Paul is asking Philemon to do something supremely Christ-like: forgive.
• Matthew 6:14-15
• Ephesians 4:32
• • Paul certainly knew about being changed and having an advocate
    • Acts 9 — Saul’s conversion, help from Annias first and then Barnabas
  • Paul understood the transforming power of forgiveness
• 1 Timothy 1:12-16

• • Show your love for God by loving others
• 1 John 4:9-12

Lessons from Philemon, Part Two

Read Philemon 1:12-25

SENDING ONESIMUS BACK, v 12

• Paul sends Onesimus back hoping that Philemon will allow Onesiums to return to Paul.
  • Onesimus was in the wrong: he ran away from his master. Needed to be made right.
  • Paul didn’t minimize or excuse Onesimus’s sin. God wants us to do what is right all the time, even though there will be hardship. In this story:
    • Hardship for Onesimus in humbling himself by going back
    • Hardship for Philemon in having to swallow his pride and forgive
    • Hardship for Paul in losing Onesimus who had proven to be a valuable helper
  • Yet Paul obviously wanted Philemon to deal gently with Onesimus.
    • Roman slave owners had complete control over slaves. Crucified for lesser offenses than escape! Recaptured fugitives were often branded on the forehead if not simply executed.
    • Why so harsh? Huge number of slaves in the Roman Empire (as many as 60 million). An example would be made of runaways; constant fears of a slave revolt.
  • Might be why Paul describes Onesimus as “my very heart.” In other words, Paul is saying, “Philemon, I know this man has wronged you and deserves to be punished. You would technically be within the law to punish him, but consider him as my own heart and please be merciful to him.”

WISH HE COULD HAVE STAYED, v 13

• Verse 13 is LOADED! It’s obvious that Paul wanted Onesimus to stay. Paul hopes Philemon will let Onesimus return to Rome to continue helping Paul.
  • “take your place” It’s like Paul saying, “Philemon, if you leave Onesimus with me, it’s like you serving me, because Onesimus is your rightful servant.”
  • “while I am in chains” Paul is more or less saying, “Philemon, I know Onesimus might be of use to you, yet I am in the one in chains and need all the help I can get.”
  • “for the gospel” Onesimus was helping to do the work of the ministry. Paul essentially saying,  “Philemon, please don’t forget why I am here in chains. Remember that it is for the sake of the gospel.”

THE DECISION NEEDS TO BE GENUINE, v 14

• Paul appealed in love, but did not trample over the rights of Philemon.
• Philemon had to do what was really in his heart. Same line of thinking as Matthew 12:34.

DIVINE APPOINTMENT & HEART CHANGE, v 15-16

• • God providential hand at work in Onesimus’ escape
    • “separated from you for a little while” instead of ran away or escaped, etc. Paul phrases this in a way to help Philemon see things in a different light.
      • On one hand, Onesimus was nothing but trouble: deprived Philemon of a worker, made Onesimus a criminal, put Paul in an awkward spot.
      • On the other hand, it gave Philemon the opportunity to see that God does things His own way, and we don’t always understand it.
• Isaiah 55:8-9
• Genesis 50:19-21

• • • “have him back forever” Paul “re-introduced” Onesimus. Philemon the master lost a slave, but Philemon the Christian gained a brother in the faith, and he gained that brother forever.
      • We are not to keep a “record of wrong” with new believers! They were lost acting like sinners, DUH.
      • Takes away the sting of the master-slave relationship and laid the foundation for the eventual legal abolition of slavery.
• Galatians 3:28

• • • • Revolution of the heart changes society — not laws. “What the letter to Philemon does is to bring the institution into an atmosphere where it could only wilt and die. Where master and slave were united in affection as brothers in Christ, formal emancipation would be but a matter of expediency, the legal confirmation of their new relationship.” (Bible Scholar F.F. Bruce)

AN I.O.U., v 17-19

• Paul’s personal promise of restitution towards Philemon
  • Put it on my account. Makes it clear that Onesimus stole from Philemon.
  • Paul did for Onesimus what Jesus did for us: taking our sins to His account.
    • “Here we see how Paul lays himself out for poor Onesimus, and with all his means pleads his cause with his master, and so sets himself as if he were Onesimus, and had himself done wrong to Philemon. Even as Christ did for us with God the Father, thus also does Paul for Onesimus with Philemon. We are all his Onesimi, to my thinking.” (Martin Luther)
  • P.S. You owe me, Philemon, so don’t be stingy.

CONFIDENCE IN PHILEMON, v 20-22

• Another play on words: benefit comes from ancient Greek word oninemi, the root word for the name Onesimus.
• Based on Paul’s description at the beginning of this letter, Paul had every reason to expect that Philemon would fulfill his Christian duty and do even more than asked.
• Coming to you soon, I hope. HIstory is not clear if Paul was ever able to return.

CONCLUSION, v 23-25

• • Greetings from fellow friends
    • Ephaphras, Mark, Aristachus, Luke: Each also mentioned in the conclusion of the letter to the Colossians (Colossians 4:10-17). Confirms that the two letters went to the same place.
      • Side note on Demas: In the last letter Paul wrote before being led to his execution (a later imprisonment), Paul urged Timothy to come to him quickly “because (Demas) loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica.” (2 Tim. 4:9-10).
    • The best for last: The grace of Jesus is the REAL lesson of the book of Philemon. A change of heart must occur.
      • When we do something wrong, we must do our best to set it right. Even more true of a Christ-follower!
• Matthew 5:23-24
• • • • Forgiveness is the key
        • Matthew 6:14-15
• Ephesians 4:32

• • • • Be an advocate for those turning to faith in Christ
• Acts 9
• • • • People know you belong to Christ if you love others
• John 15:12-14
• 1 John 4:9-12 (again!)