Philemon Chapter 1
MSB Book Notes on Philemon:
This letter is specifically to an individual, named Philemon. The church at Colosse met in his house. So how big could it have been???
Very little controversy over who wrote this book. There is nothing in the book that a forger could have profited by, so why would it be a forgery? Early church fathers recognized it as a letter from Paul. These "fathers" are different than what I am used to seeing. Their names are Jerome, Chrysostom, and Theodore of Mopsuestia. I've heard of Jerome, but the others not at all.
Much of what is said about this letter has already been covered in the intro to Colossians. There is this statement in the MSB which is very striking:
"The NT nowhere directly attacks slavery; had it done so, the resulting slave insurrections would have been brutally suppressed and the message of the gospel hopelessly confused with that of social reform. Instead, Christianity undermined the evils of slavery by changing the hearts of slaves and masters. By stressing the spiritual equality of master and slave (long list of references), the Bible did away with slavery's abuses.
Turning to the book...
In addition to Philemon as a recipient, Apphia, Archippus, and "the church in your house" are named. (2021 - Here is that phrase again! In your house. Where exactly does Philemon live? Are there multiple churches in Colossi or are they well outside the city??? There is a short note in MSB about it, and it helps not one bit.) So Paul's appeal for Philemon to forgive Onesimus was to be seen and read by others. A little peer pressure for him to set a good example, as it was in his own home that the church was meeting. Since this church met in Philemon's house, was he the preacher? If so, was Nympha the preacher in her house back in Col 4:15?
In Paul's words, though he could order Philemon to forgive Onesimus, he chooses instead to appeal on behalf of Onesimus, and leave the final decision to Philemon. Under Roman law, technically, Philemon could do about whatever he cared to do to Onesimus. Paul calls Onesimus "his very heart". Apparently Onesimus had become almost indispensable to Paul.
Paul says that whatever Onesimus stole from Philemon when he ran away, he, Paul, will repay in full. Paul also says he wants to come and spend time with Philemon, should he be released from imprisonment in Rome. This is interesting, because I don't believe the two had met. Epaphrus was from Colosse, and it seems he was saved in Ephesus under Paul's preaching. Epaphrus took the gospel back to Colosse, and there Philemon was apparently saved, and offered his house as a meeting place for the young church there.
And that's it. The MSB notes are longer than the book itself...
2021-2 - Everything below is from 2021-2.
Vs 1: 1 Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, To Philemon our beloved fellow worker [Phm 1:1 ESV]. So Paul is in prison and Timothy is with him. That would seem to indicate that this is written on Paul's second imprisonment, and not that last one from which he is never freed. Timothy, so far as we know, did not go to see Paul that last time, though Paul pleaded for him to come. So this is before that. The MSB intro refers us to the introductions of other books to see when Philemon was written, but basically, it was during the same imprisonment that Paul wrote Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians. So not that last one where he wrote to Timothy. The date given is somewhere between AD 60-62.
We say this is written to an individual, and the content certainly makes it a personal letter. But in his "address line", Paul includes not only two other people, but also the whole church there in Philemon's house.
2023 - I am not sure the church is in Philemon's home. As I read it today, in 2023, it looks like the church was in Archippus' home. The Greek may indicate otherwise in ways not obvious in English, but in English, it is quite easy to say that the church is not in Philemon's home at all.
This verse:
12 I am sending him back to you, sending my very heart. [Phm 1:1, 12 ESV]. His very heart. Surely Onesimus had become a great supporter of Paul. In what way? Was Paul saying Onesimus was the best slave ever? Surly not that. I think more likely Onesimus had shown himself to be a gifted student of Paul's teaching, a quick learner, and with great discernment. I think that because of that, Paul saw great potential in Onesimus as a teacher in the church...but not until he cleared up the problem of his past that was hanging over his head. Philemon could rightly prevent Onesimus' even going to church, much less teaching. And imagine the change of attitude Philemon would need to have. This slave stole from Philemon's house to finance his escape. He's been gone for some time. And Paul is asking Philemon not only to take him back without repercussions, but to embrace him as a brother and fellow Christian.
The book closes without us knowing how all this turned out...