Philemon 1-9 - I Expect Greatness from You!

Today we begin a 2 day study of the book of Philemon. Paul writes this letter as a prisoner in Rome to Philemon, a member of the Church in Colossae. Philemon had a slave, Onesimus, who had stolen from him and fled. On his journey to Rome, Onesimus met the Apostle Paul and was gloriously saved. Now, Paul is discipling Onesimus to do the right thing and make restoration, returning to his master. Paul is not condoning slavery in this book, he is rather discipling Christian men to apply the love of Christ within these evil confines. And remember, slavery in ancient times was not the same entirely as slavery in the 19th century.

In the first nine verses of the letter, Paul encourages the love and faith of Philemon and the whole church. He prays for the efficacy of "communication of the faith" (vs. 6). Basically, Paul was saying that he hoped many would be saved by the testimony and sharing of the Gospel in their city. Paul, two verses later refers to being refreshed in his bowels as a result of the love shown by Philemon. Have other's actions ever made you feel sick to your stomach? Now if they did the right thing, would you feel refreshed?

Paul is letting Philemon know that he has seen greatness in him and in his church. This is important because Paul is about to ask Philemon to show greatness in love again in the rest of the letter. We will see how tomorrow.