Lesson Seven
Paul’s Letter to Philemon

A.  The Epistle to Philemon:
•		•It was a private letter that was concerned with a personal problem
•	Gives us a deep insight of the apostle's dealings with his converts
•	Here we find Paul's devoted love to individual souls, which was one of the reasons for his success as a missionary
•	Philemon was a wealthy man and a resident of Colosse
•	He was a respected and faithful lay member of the church
•	He and Paul were intimate friends and he had been converted under Paul's ministry
•	The city of Colosse was located a few miles from Laodicea
•	On the trade route between Ephesus and the Euphrates
•	Some of the church in Colosse met in the home of Philemon
•	This showed that Philemon was a man of means, owning a house sufficiently large enough to accommodate the church
•	He also was a slave owner
•	In his days, slavery was commonly accepted and would seem no different than having hired domestic servants
•	Sometimes both master and slaves were Christians (I Timothy 6:1-2)
•	For this reason Paul gave instructions for Christian slaves as well as their masters
•	Onesimus was a slave who belonged to Philemon
•	He was a clever young man
•	Several years after Paul had left Asia and was imprisoned at Rome, Onesimus stole some money from his master, Philemon and ran away to Rome
•	Undoubtedly he had met Paul in Philemon's home at an earlier date
•	At Rome, he found Paul in prison and was converted under Paul's ministry
•	This epistle was written while Paul was imprisoned the first time, at about the same time as his letter to the Colossians, possibly 62 AD
•	It was a beautiful letter interceding for the runaway slave and appealing to Philemon to receive him back as a Christian Brother

B.  Introduction: 
•	Philemon 1-3
•	Paul introduced himself as a prisoner of Jesus Christ
•	He assumed the position of a supplicant; as the Lord's bondsman, he was going to plead for another bondsman
•	Six times in this letter, Paul made reference to his imprisonment
•	Timothy is mentioned in the salutation, he stood in complete agreement with Paul on the matter in which the letter contained
•	Timothy is called "our brother" 
•	He was well known to Philemon and that Timothy was keenly interested in Onesimus
•	Apphia was Philemon's wife
•	She would definitely have an interest in the return of Onesimus and would influence the position of her husband
•	It is suggested that Archippus was Philemon's son

Thanksgiving For Philemon: 
•	Philemon 4-7
•	Paul wisely did not immediately introduce the purpose of his letter but expressed his love for Philemon
•	Paul expressed the grateful thanksgiving for the nobleman in Philemon's character
•	His love for Philemon is expressed by one word, “brother”
•	The position of this at the close of the expression of thanksgiving lays great emphasis upon Paul's love and appreciation for Philemon
•	With this expression of Christian love, Paul was now ready to make his appeal.

The Appeal For Onesimus:
•	Philemon 8-17
•	As a runaway slave who had stolen from his master, Onesimus could expect scourging and possibly crucifixion under Roman law
•	As a Christian, he could have remained in Rome and never had gone back
•	Paul advised him to return to his master and wrote this letter of appeal for reconciliation upon the part of Philemon
•	The name "Onesimus" meant "profitable" 
•	Paul laid emphasis upon this and reminded Philemon that while Onesimus had been unprofitable in the past, he was now profitable both to Philemon and to Paul
•	The appeal to Philemon was that Onesimus would be received back not just as a slave but as a brother beloved in the Lord
•	Paul appealed to Philemon that he would receive Onesimus just as he would receive Paul himself.

The Pledge of Paul: 
•	Philemon 18-22
•	To remove the last hindrance that might arise in the mind of Philemon concerning the matter, Paul pledged to repay any debt that Onesimus owed
•	As the spiritual father of Onesimus, he assumed the obligation for him
•	Paul put his own signature to the letter to make it legal and binding. 

Conclusion: 
•	Philemon 23-25
•	Paul mentioned that he hoped that he would visit Colosse
•	He mentioned several friends and sent greetings from them
•	Tradition states that Philemon received Onesimus, and gave him liberty
•	This tradition also states that Onesimus became a minister of the gospel and a bishop in Berea

The Lesson Taught In This Epistle:
•	This epistle is a beautiful story of forgiveness and reconciliation
•	There are two main lessons here that we should note
•	Paul who brought the gospel to Onesimus became the one who pleads for Onesimus' reconciliation with his master
•	It is not enough just to preach the gospel and to win a convert, the minister is responsible to see that the convert is fully restored and does the right thing in every way
•	The importance of restitution is taught here
•	Onesimus could have remained in Rome as a Christian and never returned to Colosse
•	By returning, he was making restitution
•	Certainly restitution has a very important place in the plan of salvation.

Lesson Seven
Self Help Test

Where is the city of Colosse located?

Who was the founder of the Colossian Church?

Who was Philemon?

What was the name of Philemon's slave?

What two crimes did this slave commit?

What was the punishment of a runaway slave?

Where was Paul when he wrote this epistle?

Where was Onesimus converted?

Who was Philemon's wife?

Who was Archippus?

Who offered to pay the debt owing to Philemon?

What was Paul's request to Philemon?

Who carried this letter to Philemon?

How is restitution taught in this epistle? 

According to traditions, how did the story end?