Philemon 1
1Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother,
To Philemon our dear friend and fellow worker, 2to Apphia our sister, to Archippus our fellow soldier and to the church that meets in your home:
3Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Thanksgiving and Prayer
4I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, 5because I hear about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints. 6I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ. 7Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the saints.
Paul's Plea for Onesimus
8Therefore, although in Christ I could be bold and order you to do what you ought to do, 9yet I appeal to you on the basis of love. I then, as Paul—an old man and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus— 10I appeal to you for my son Onesimus,[a] who became my son while I was in chains. 11Formerly he was useless to you, but now he has become useful both to you and to me.
12I am sending him—who is my very heart—back to you. 13I would have liked to keep him with me so that he could take your place in helping me while I am in chains for the gospel. 14But I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that any favor you do will be spontaneous and not forced. 15Perhaps the reason he was separated from you for a little while was that you might have him back for good— 16no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother. He is very dear to me but even dearer to you, both as a man and as a brother in the Lord.
17So if you consider me a partner, welcome him as you would welcome me. 18If he has done you any wrong or owes you anything, charge it to me. 19I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand. I will pay it back—not to mention that you owe me your very self. 20I do wish, brother, that I may have some benefit from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in Christ. 21Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I ask.
22And one thing more: Prepare a guest room for me, because I hope to be restored to you in answer to your prayers.
23Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends you greetings. 24And so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas and Luke, my fellow workers.
25The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.
Footnotes:
[a] Philemon 1:10 Onesimus means useful.
5 comments:
Phil 1
Intersting stuff. I love this part
a fellow soldier of the cross
Also pretty interesting to hear Paul's plea for Onesimus.
How cool is this. It reminds me of myself a little
NLT 15Perhaps you could think of it this way: Onesimus ran away for a little while so you could have him back forever.
That is how I see my relationship with Christ. It is also freeing to read how forgiving we should be against other transgressions. I know I can hold on for awhile.
Father, thanks for these guys and this Blog. Thank you for there fauith in you and the encouragement they give me. Watch over us all and our families. A special prayer for ncs and his cough.
In Christ,
cas
Yes this is some interesting stuff, CAS.
What catches my attention is how Paul remains humble and ask for their assistance versus demanding it, especially since they owe him alot.
vs. 8-9 Therefore, although in Christ I could be bold and order you to do what you ought to do, yet I appeal to you on the basis of love.
I can only pray that God touches my heart so that more and more I may ask for things out of love and not demand them because I think someone owe me a favor.
Jesus, I come to you this morning first giving thanks for all your blessins and ask that you continually watch over us as we go along our days.
Amen,
LT
this showed me a different side of paul. i see humbleness, love, and intellect in this passage. i like him not forcing his will on someone even if he could. i dont exactly know why, but i thought it was intriguing how he says "I will pay it back—not to mention that you owe me your very self". the second half of that statement just made me raise an eyebrow.
Father God, I pray for each of these men, that they/we are growing and meeting the spiritual, emotional, physical, and mental challenges that we are faced with and doing it with so much love that others can someone know you. Amen.
Phil 1
You guys pretty much hit it. It is very interesting to see the other human side of Paul, it reminds me of seeing my pastor outside of church.
Paul, one of the most amazing men on Earth simply asking for a favor, and willing to step in and take any of Onesimus' problems/sins essentially. This is what we all strive for, to be like Christ, and Paul is living it. Truly amazing.
Father, Continue to give us patience and loving acceptance of this waiting period you have given our family. Watch over these men and let this blog continue with the fellowship that has matured over the last year or so. Thank you for these men, and please watch over my wife today, and let her be comforted despite her physical discomfort.
Amen
crb
I agree. Paul's humility and deep love is so evident throughout this letter. A verse that really struck me freshly was vs. 6 I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ.
Why share our faith? So that we would have a FULL UNDERSTANDING of every good thing we have in Christ. I never thought about the benefit for me in participating in sharing Christ with others, but according to Paul it opens our eyes and hearts to ALL the GOOD we have in Christ.
Pretty amazing...
Also that Onesimus came to Christ while Paul was imprisoned continues to show me that my circumstances do not and should not limit impact in ministry. God can bring fruit to bear wherever we are planted.
God grant us fruitful lives of love and grace toward others. Continue to draw us closer to you through your word and spirit.
In Christ's name,
amen
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