Philemon 1:1-3 – A Gospel Picture
This week we will be looking at the book of Philemon using notes by Rev. Stephen McCollum. This is a short book, written to an individual who is a leader in the church at Colossae. Paul writes three letters from prison and gives them all to a man named Tychicus to deliver. One letter goes to Colossae which we have in Scripture- the book of Colossians, another letter goes to a neighbouring church in Laodicea which is around 10 miles away from Colossae- we don’t have access to this letter, and the last of the three letters is the book of Philemon, a personal letter to Philemon who is in Colossae. Paul writes to Philemon about a runaway slave called Onesimus. Onesimus perhaps has stolen from his master Philemon and fled. Somehow Onesimus meets Paul, and by the grace of God Onesimus is converted. Paul writes this letter to encourage Philemon to accept him back into his household, to recognise God’s gracious working in Onesimus’ life.
This letter is important because it gives us a Gospel picture and a glimpse of the glory of Christ. In those days a slave has very few rights. By running away he can be killed or at the least put in prison. Onesimus therefore will be scared to go back to Philemon. Just because he knows that God has worked in his life, and because he has a Christian master, Onesimus can not be sure that Philemon will waive the punishment. But the right thing to do is for Onesimus to go back to his rightful master, even though it is a big risk. This is where we get to the Gospel picture. Paul writes this letter to intercede on the behalf of Onesimus to Philemon. Paul acts as the go-between or the mediator. We will look more at this intercession tomorrow.
Questions
- Who is Philemon?
- Who is Onesimus?
Prayer Points
- Give thanks for God’s grace in salvation.
- Use prayer points from your congregation.
- Pray for family matters.