Learning from a Little Letter....Part II

A few weeks ago I had started to pass on the lessons from the little letter to Philemon we were studying in our midweek prayer meeting.

Here is the second part....

Paul's Commendation of Philemon's Christianity

A. His Gratitude:v4-5

Philemon's love and faith toward the Lord Jesus was seen to be genuine, what we might call his love vertically, and his love was also seen horizontally, for all the saints. v5 In other words Philemon's relationship with the Lord Jesus translated into a relationship with his church.

If Paul knew us would he be able to say the same about our Christianity?

B.His Desire:v6

In Greek 'sharing the faith' is the word 'koinonia' which means fellowship which includes serving, giving, sharing, partnering for the sake of Christ. Paul's desire is that Philemon's engagement in 'koinonia' will result in him growing in his experience of all good things Christ gives. What Paul challenges Philemon and us with is this...'it's great what you are doing - do more!' There's always more that can be done in the work of Christ. We can always love more, be more hospitable, pray more, read more, we must never think we have arrived.

C. His Delight:v7

Paul testifies of receiving much joy and comfort from Philemon's faithfulness and the fact that the church has benefitted from it. He was the kind of man you would want to be around, you would be refreshed by his presence.

Application:

So this leaves us with the a few questions...

What kind of testimony do I have..with my Pastors, with the church?

Is it clearly marked by the graces of love and faith?

Does it translate into ministering to the saints in the church?

In what ways does it manifest itself?

We serve a great omnipotent God who has sent his Holy Spirit. By His help we can open our mouths, our arms, our homes, and our bank accounts all to the Glory of God.

Philemon - 'the blessing of a good testimony'

Learning from a little letter....

Since we are finished schooling for the Summer, I get to go to Prayer Meeting regularly on a Wednesday night at church.Robert is leading them at the minute and started a series on the book of Philemon. It has been very helpful and I don't think I had ever heard it preached on before. It is one of those little books you read through and pass on. So I thought I would take this opportunity to share with you what I have benefitted from tonight and through the summer.

We could say that this book shows us the grace of the gospel in the lives of men.

Introduction: This first installment covered the basics of the book, who wrote it?, when?, and what are the main themes of the book.

So....

I. Author: Paul, we can take this from v1"Paul, a prisoner of Christ and Timothy our brother."

II. Date: c AD 60-62 during Paul's imprisonment for the sake of the gospel, at the same time he wrote Colossians and Ephesians, cf Colossians:4 v 7-9

III. Theme: The reconciling power of the gospel.

IV. Outline:
a) Purpose and Greetings v1-3
b) Thankfulness and Prayer v4-7
c) Persuasive Appeal v8-20
d) Closing Remarks v21-25

V. Context of the Letter: Philemon lived in Colosse, was converted as a result of Paul's ministry ( most likely during his third missionary journey and his work in esus) and was a personal friend of the apostle. He was well known for his christian love; observe v1,2,5,7,19.

First, we will briefly consider

a) The Purpose and Greeting ....

Philemon was obviously a beloved friend and brother. The church met in his house v2. At some point, Onesimus, one of Philemon's slaves had fled as a fugitive to Rome. In God's sovereignty he had come into contact with Paul and become a Christian. Although Paul would have liked him to stay, Paul knew he had to return to sort out the wrongdoing with his Master, Philemon. Therefore, Paul writes this letter as an appeal to Philemon to appreciate the transformation that has occurred in Onesimus's life and to recieve him back not merely as a slave but as a "beloved brother" v16.
The beginning of this letter follows Pauls typical style, but it is addressed to a person, namely Philemon rather than a community.

v2 Apphia may have been Philemon's wife; Archippus may have been Philemon's son and may have had a significant ministry in Colosse (see Col 4:17) the church in your house...

Next week we will get into the letter proper and look at b) Thankfulness and Prayer v4-7