Introduction

What is the Book of Philemon About?

Read this 4-minute introduction to help you find your bearings in the Bible story, and be inspired to read Philemon!

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Historical Context

This is a personal letter from the apostle Paul to Philemon, a wealthy Christian from Colossae. It was also intended for reading to the entire church that met in Philemon’s home.

From Bibles.net: Remember that the ultimate author of every book of the Bible is the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:21). He has written this book to equip you for life, to help you know the true God, and to give you hope (2 Timothy 3:16; Romans 15:4). The Holy Spirit wrote Philemon for your good and to lead you into joy.

It was probably written c. AD 62, while Paul was in prison following his voyage to Rome (Acts 27–28).

In his letter to Philemon, Paul is attempting to navigate an extremely sensitive situation. Onesimus, a runaway slave, has found the imprisoned Paul in Rome. Onesimus has fled from his master Philemon, a Gentile Christian and house church leader in Colossae. (Onesimus apparently has also stolen money or property; see Philemon 18–19.) During his time with Paul, Onesimus has converted to the Christian faith and has become useful to the apostle in ministry. But Paul knows that estrangement between Christian brothers is contrary to the gospel, since God himself had effected reconciliation between himself and his “runaway” people in Christ. Indeed, God had entrusted Paul with the message of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18–20). Paul therefore sends Onesimus back to Philemon with this letter. 

—Christopher A. Beetham 

Source: Content taken from Colossians and Philemon: A 12-Week Study © 2015 by Christopher A. Beetham. All rights reserved. Used by permission of Crossway Books, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. 

Unless otherwise indicated, this content is adapted from the ESV Global Study Bible® (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright ©2012 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Books
Message Series

The Road of Reconciliation by Alistair Begg

This is a warm and challenging 3-part message series by Alistair Begg. These messages will lead you to worship Jesus for his forgiveness and grace. You’ll be inspired by God’s beautiful design for Christian relationships as revealed in Philemon. You may even, by God’s grace, be motivated to pursue countercultural reconciliation in your own relationships.  

Philemon Dictionary

As you read through Philemon, you might come across words and ideas that are foreign to you. Here are a few definitions you will want to know! Note that this dictionary was created for the New International Version (NIV) translation of the Bible.

The Greek word that means “God’s Chosen One.” “Messiah” is the Hebrew word meaning the same thing. Jesus was the Christ.

An assembly or gathering. The word church is used to refer both to local groups of believers in Christ (church) as well as to all believers (Church).

(1) To be certain about the things we cannot see or to trust someone because of who he or she is. For example, a Christian has faith that Jesus is God’s Son. (2) The whole message about Jesus Christ—that He is God’s Son and that He came to take the punishment for our sin so that we may become members of God’s family. This describes the faith of a Christian.

(1) Literally, “good news.” The good news of the Bible is that God sent His Son, Jesus, to take the punishment for sin and then raised Him from the dead so that any person who believes may have new life. (2) The story of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ told in the first four books of the New Testament. The books are also called the four Gospels.

Love and kindness shown to someone who does not deserve it—especially the forgiveness God shows to us. We don’t deserve God’s grace because we sin against Him. God showed grace to all people by sending His Son, Jesus, to be our Savior. God’s grace allows us to become members of His family (see Ephesians 2:8). God’s grace also helps us live as God wants us to (see Acts 20:32). A person cannot earn God’s grace by trying to be good; it is God’s free gift.

Pure; set apart; belonging to God. God is holy. He is perfect and without sin. Jesus is holy too. He is without sin and dedicated to doing what God wants. Because Jesus died to take the punishment for sin and then rose again, people who believe in him have the power to be holy too. God helps them to become more and more pure and loving, like Jesus.

A servant who is owned by his or her master and who could be bought or sold like property. People became slaves if they were defeated in battle by an enemy or if they were unable to pay their debts. A slave had to do whatever the master ordered.

What the Bible Is All About NIV Henrietta Mears

Dictionary Source

This content is from What the Bible Is All About, written by Henrietta Mears. Copyright © 1953, 2011 by Gospel Light. Copyright assigned to Tyndale House Publishers, 2015. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, a division of Tyndale House Ministries, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. 

Tough Questions

We have found answers to some tough questions that we anticipate may arise as you read this book of the Bible. We know we can’t answer every question you will have; therefore, we have written this article, so you know how to find answers for your kids: How Do I Answer Tough Questions About the Bible?

Insights

The following insights are from pastors and scholars who have spent significant time studying the book of Philemon.

The letter to Philemon was the most brilliantly nuanced, compelling letter of reconciliation in ancient history. It is a model of grace and charm. As such, it can be a great help to us all if we care to enhance our human relationships—especially those in the body of Christ, where we have special stake in each other’s lives.   

. . .

Paul’s masterful approach to Philemon provides us with needed wisdom in dealing with our own relational problems. His example teaches us that fundamental to human reconciliation is taking the time to reflect on where people are: how they are feeling, how they perceive the problem, how they think we perceive them. We, above all people, ought to understand the secrets of human personality. Christian sensitivity is fundamental to reconciliation in human relationships…Also, we must learn to choose our words carefully. Some people never give a compliment without a negative barb—“backhanded compliments.” But Solomon says, “Like apples of gold in settings of silver is a word spoken in right circumstances” (Proverbs 25:11 NASB). Human reconciliation runs on loving tact, something every Christian should master regardless of personality or position.  

—R. Kent Hughes  

Source: Content taken from Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon: The Fellowship of the Gospel and the Supremacy of Christ by R. Kent Hughes, ©2013. Used by permission of Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. 

The theme of Paul’s letter is the power of the gospel to transform individual lives (Philemon 1:11) and human relationships (Philemon 1:16). Onesimus had experienced that transforming power in his life (“formerly he was useless” but “now he is indeed useful”; Philemon 1:11). Paul therefore urged his friend Philemon to form a new relationship with Onesimus, his runaway slave. 

—ESV Global Study Bible 

Source: This content is adapted from the ESV Global Study Bible® (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright ©2012 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Read more about the background of Philemon here. 

We should not view the public nature of the letter [of Philemon] as simply a lawyer’s tactic to win his case; it rather reflects the corporate nature of early Christianity, in which no matter was “private” but inevitably affected, and was affected by, one’s brothers and sisters in the new family of God.

—Douglas J. Moo

Source: Moo, Douglas J. The Letters to the Colossians and to Philemon. The Pillar New Testament Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2008. Retrieved from goodreads.com here.

When people believe in Christ, they become identified with one another in an intimate association and incur both the benefits and responsibilities of that communion. Philemon is fundamentally all about those responsibilities, as Paul, Onesimus, and Philemon, bound together in faith, are forced by circumstances to think through the radical implications of their koinnia [fellowship because of Jesus]. 

—Douglas J. Moo  

Source: Moo, Douglas J. The Letters to the Colossians and to Philemon. The Pillar New Testament Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2008. Retrieved from goodreads.com here.

Paul’s action with regard to Onesimus is an illustration of the Lord’s work on behalf of the sinner. Paul does not minimize the sin, but he pleads for forgiveness for the sinner on the grounds of his own merit in the eyes of Philemon, his friend. More than that, he makes himself personally responsible for the debts of Onesimus: “Charge it to me” (Philemon 18). This is the message of the gospel, for Christ took on our sins when he was crucified.  

—Henrietta Mears  

Source: This content is from What the Bible Is All About, written by Henrietta Mears. Copyright © 1953, 2011 by Gospel Light. Copyright assigned to Tyndale House Publishers, 2015. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, a division of Tyndale House Ministries, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. 

In Philemon, we see the essence of the gospel reflected in Paul’s life as he imitates his Lord in offering himself as a righteous substitution for Onesimus before the wronged Philemon (vv. 17-19). 

—Christopher Beetham 

Source: Content adapted from Colossians and Philemon by Christopher Beetham. This article first appeared on Crossway.org; used with permission.

Now, think about this…Paul had asked Philemon for a superhuman task, a task that involved heartfelt reconciliation, a task that involved forgiveness that was at the very core of his being. He asked him to do something which is not natural to do. He had asked Onesimus to do something which, as a runaway slave, he would be by nature afraid to do and unwilling to do. So both of the parties in the reconciliation have only one hope, and that is the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, enabling the one to go back and say, “I’m sorry,” and enabling the one to whom he returns to say, “In the Lord Jesus Christ, I forgive you.” 

—Alistair Begg  

Source: Alistair Begg, “Refresh My Heart” (sermon, May 25, 2008), https://www.truthforlife.org/resources/sermon/refresh-heart/. Copyright Truth For Life. Used with Permission. www.truthforlife.org.

Think of what God did to secure Onesimus’s reconciliation. Paul alluded to it in verse 15: “For this perhaps is why he was parted from you for a while, that you might have him back forever.” Paul recognized that Philemon’s whole story was ultimately woven by God’s hand. Onesimus’s crime and flight were made to become, by God’s grace, part of the plan for bringing Onesimus to himself—much as Joseph’s being sold into Egypt by his brothers eventually brought their salvation. The more we study the story, the more we see that it transcends “chance.” Onesimus fled the length of the world to escape his master and lose himself in the bowels of Rome, only to meet the very man to whom his master owed his spiritual life—and thus found spiritual life himself! How he must have marveled at God’s tapestry.  

The most confused, twisted life can ultimately come to be seen as a marvelous tapestry of God’s grace. The evil that you did, or has been done to you, can be turned into the very thing that brings you to Christ. Onesimus is indeed “profitable,” for from his life we learn the anatomy of reconciliation.  

—R. Kent Hughes  

Source: Content taken from Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon: The Fellowship of the Gospel and the Supremacy of Christ by R. Kent Hughes, ©2013. Used by permission of Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. 

When reading Paul’s letter to Philemon this week I saw a theme I hadn’t really seen before. This letter is an instruction on how to refresh the saints…Oh the precious, priceless ministry of refreshment. And oh how desperately needed it is. All around us are weary brothers and sisters who are slogging it out in a spiritual war (Ephesians 6:12) on a battlefield of a futile world (Romans 8:20). Yes, there are times for reproofs and corrections (2 Timothy 3:16). But most of the time what our brothers and sisters need are encouragements. 

So let’s make it our aim to refresh the saints and choose one practical way to do that today. 

—Jon Bloom  

Source: By Jon Bloom. © Desiring God Foundation. Source: desiringGod.org We strongly encourage you to read this article as a family!    

Philemon Playlist

Discover music inspired by the message and content of the book of Philemon.

When It Was Over
by Sara Groves | Praise & Worship
Put That On My Account
by The Ruppes | 70s 80s 90s 
All My Hope
by Crowder feat. Tauren Wells  | Contemporary
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