Recently, I taught about the topic of Forgiveness primarily using the short book of Philemon, which speaks exclusively about this subject. Rather than reprint the entire recap of my message, I chose instead to give some notes that I made about Philemon when teaching through the New Testament last year. This should give an appropriate overview of the topic and the book.
SURVEY OF THE LETTER OF PAUL TO PHILEMON
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION TO THE BOOK
Section 1: The Human Author of the Book of Philemon – Paul (vv. 1, 9, 19)
Section 2: The Date and Setting of the Book of Philemon
Philemon lived in Colosse (Philemon 1-2; Colossians 4:9). He had trusted Christ as a result of Paul’s ministry (Philemon 19). Philemon’s house served as a meeting place for the church in Colosse (vv. 2, 5-7).
A servant of Philemon named Onesimus had apparently stolen from Philemon. Onesimus fled to Rome, thinking he could hide there. In Rome, however, Onesimus met Paul, who led him to Christ (v. 10). Onesimus then became a valuable helper to Paul (vv. 11, 13). Paul grew to love Onesimus (vv. 12, 16) and wanted him to stay in Rome (v. 13). However, by stealing and running away from Philemon, Onesimus had sinned against his master and broken Roman law, and Paul knew those issues had to be dealt with. Paul therefore decided that Onesimus should return to his master Philemon in Colosse (vv. 12-14).
Paul therefore wrote to Philemon on behalf of Onesimus—formerly a thief and a runaway slave—but now Philemon’s brother in Christ. Paul sent Onesimus (and the letter to Philemon) with Tychicus, who was returning to Colosse with the letter Paul wrote to the Colossians (see Colossians 4:7-9). Therefore, the original letters to the Colossians and Philemon were carried by the same person at the same time. Paul probably wrote the book of Philemon around A. D. 60-61 while he was under house arrest in Rome (see Philemon 1, 9-10, 13, 23).
Section 3: The Key Word in the Book of Philemon – Forgiveness
Section 4: The Theme and Purpose of the Book of Philemon:
The theme of the book of Philemon is the transition from bondage to brotherhood that is brought about by Christian love and forgiveness.
The purpose of the book of Philemon is to explain the current situation to Philemon and to instruct him as to how the runaway slave Onesimus, who had become a Christian, should be received back home.
Section 5: Outline of the Book of Philemon:
1. Paul’s Prayer of Thanksgiving for Philemon (vv. 1-7)
2. Paul’s Petition on Behalf of Onesimus (vv. 8-16)
3. Paul’s Promise to Philemon (vv. 17-25)
CHAPTER 2: CONTENT OF THE BOOK
Philemon 1-25
1. Paul’s Prayer of Thanksgiving for Philemon (vv. 1-7)
a. Introduction (1-3)
i. Author: Paul (1a)
ii. Recipient: Philemon and the church that met in his home (1b-2)
iii. Greeting: “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” (3).
b. Paul praises Philemon’s good character (4-7).
i. His faith in the Lord Jesus
ii. His love for all the saints
2. Paul’s Petition on Behalf of Onesimus (vv. 8-16)
a. Paul appeals to Philemon regarding Onesimus (8-11).
b. Paul declares that Onesimus is now a brother, not just a servant (12-16).
3. Paul’s Promise to Philemon (vv. 17-25)
a. Paul urges Philemon to welcome Onesimus back (17).
b. Paul promises to repay any debt that Onesimus owes to Philemon (18-21).
c. Paul declares his intention to visit Philemon soon (22).
d. Conclusion (23-25)
i. Greetings from Others (23-24)
ii. Greeting from Paul – “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit” (25).
CHAPTER 3: CONCLUSION TO THE BOOK
Section 1: Interesting Features from Philemon
1. The book of Philemon is Paul’s shortest letter recorded in the New Testament.
2. Paul wrote the book of Philemon in his own handwriting rather than his frequent custom of using a secretary (v. 19), perhaps due to the personal nature of the contents.
3. Paul used a great deal of tact in asking Philemon to forgive Onesimus.
4. Slavery was widespread in the Roman Empire, and an accepted part of life in that day.
5. Paul used an interesting play on words involving the name of Onesimus, which means “useful” or “profitable” (vv. 10-11).
Section 2: Truths to Apply from Philemon
1. God sovereignly brings people into contact with the gospel, the way that he did with Onesimus and Paul in Rome.
2. God changes the minds and hearts of those who have been sinned against, in addition to the minds and hearts of those who have sinned.
3. Forgiven people ought to be forgiving people.
Monday, April 16, 2012
Monday, January 9, 2012
Can an offering to the Lord be too big?
Imagine you are in your Sunday morning church service, and the pastor makes the following statement: “Our recent offerings have been so large that we will not take up a collection for this week. Thank you for your generosity.”
What would your first reaction be? Surprise? Confusion? Happiness? So many questions would probably come into your mind because a scene like this would be so unfamiliar.
The reason I propose this parable is because of the reaction that Moses received when he asked the congregation of Israel to help him gather items for the building of the tabernacle. Moses passed along the Lord’s request, “Take from among you an offering to the LORD. Whoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it as an offering to the LORD” (Exodus 35:5).
So the people responded by bringing building materials, furnishings, wood, animal skins, linen, thread, oil, incense, stones, gold, silver, bronze, and so forth. Not only did the people donate their material items, some of them even volunteered their time and skills to contribute in the construction of the tabernacle. Read the following account from later in the same chapter:
“And all the congregation of the children of Israel departed from the presence of Moses. Then everyone came whose heart was stirred, and everyone whose spirit was willing, and they brought the LORD’s offering for the work of the tabernacle of meeting, for all its service, and for the holy garments” (Exodus 35:20-21).
Obviously the people took great pleasure in participating with God’s people to do God’s work. No one wanted to be left out, even if it meant a sacrifice of time and goods. The participation eventually became overwhelming.
“So they continued bringing to [Moses] freewill offerings every morning. Then all the craftsmen who were doing all the work of the sanctuary came, each from the work he was doing, and they spoke to Moses, saying, ‘The people bring in much more than enough for the service of the work which the LORD commanded us to do’” (Exodus 36:3-5).
Can’t you just see Moses, who was previously reluctant to lead this group of people, standing with mouth agape as he hears this? It would be like a church contributing to a project that needed to be funded and operated, and then going far above what was asked of them.
“So Moses gave a commandment, and they caused it to be proclaimed throughout the whole camp, saying, ‘Let neither man nor woman do any more work for the offering of the sanctuary.’ And the people were restrained from bringing, for the material they had was sufficient for all the work to be done—indeed too much” (Exodus 36:6-7).
Oh that God’s people today would be willingly generous to the point of abundance. So much in our world needs our attention, and most of us have the means and skills to accomplish much to do the Lord’s work. But will we?
What would your first reaction be? Surprise? Confusion? Happiness? So many questions would probably come into your mind because a scene like this would be so unfamiliar.
The reason I propose this parable is because of the reaction that Moses received when he asked the congregation of Israel to help him gather items for the building of the tabernacle. Moses passed along the Lord’s request, “Take from among you an offering to the LORD. Whoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it as an offering to the LORD” (Exodus 35:5).
So the people responded by bringing building materials, furnishings, wood, animal skins, linen, thread, oil, incense, stones, gold, silver, bronze, and so forth. Not only did the people donate their material items, some of them even volunteered their time and skills to contribute in the construction of the tabernacle. Read the following account from later in the same chapter:
“And all the congregation of the children of Israel departed from the presence of Moses. Then everyone came whose heart was stirred, and everyone whose spirit was willing, and they brought the LORD’s offering for the work of the tabernacle of meeting, for all its service, and for the holy garments” (Exodus 35:20-21).
Obviously the people took great pleasure in participating with God’s people to do God’s work. No one wanted to be left out, even if it meant a sacrifice of time and goods. The participation eventually became overwhelming.
“So they continued bringing to [Moses] freewill offerings every morning. Then all the craftsmen who were doing all the work of the sanctuary came, each from the work he was doing, and they spoke to Moses, saying, ‘The people bring in much more than enough for the service of the work which the LORD commanded us to do’” (Exodus 36:3-5).
Can’t you just see Moses, who was previously reluctant to lead this group of people, standing with mouth agape as he hears this? It would be like a church contributing to a project that needed to be funded and operated, and then going far above what was asked of them.
“So Moses gave a commandment, and they caused it to be proclaimed throughout the whole camp, saying, ‘Let neither man nor woman do any more work for the offering of the sanctuary.’ And the people were restrained from bringing, for the material they had was sufficient for all the work to be done—indeed too much” (Exodus 36:6-7).
Oh that God’s people today would be willingly generous to the point of abundance. So much in our world needs our attention, and most of us have the means and skills to accomplish much to do the Lord’s work. But will we?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)