Study From the Letter of Paul to Philemon,2

              Study From the Letter of Paul to Philemon,2

Today we study the sole chapter or the postcard of Paul to his beloved friend and fellow worker Philemon. Here Paul did the hard thing. He needs Onesimus  for his personal matters as Paul is a prisoner in Rome, however he decides to send him back to his master.

By the grace of God , Onesimus a runaway slave, crossed Paul’s path and became a follower of Jesus Christ. As mentioned,Paul decided to return him to his master, who just happened to be an old friend of Paul and a fellow believer. No doubt Onesimus feared to return home-but he did so out of respect of Paul and love for God.

Structure:

Verses 1-3: greeting

Verses 4:7: Philemon’s love and faith

Verses 8:16: the plea for Onesimus

Verse 17:22: Philemon’s obedience encouraged

Verses 23:25: farewell

Principle 1: “-that the sharing of your faith may become effective by the acknowledgment of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.”

Lesson 1: one thing of many in favour of Philemon to accept Onesimus is the fruit of the Spirit will be obvious in Philemon. Paul wants his friend Philemon to know that his testimony to outsiders about the glories of Jesus will become strong and powerful.

Principle 2: “-But without your consent I wanted to do nothing that your good deed might not be by compulsion as it were, but voluntary.”

Lesson2: God has the power to compel us to do anything He wants, but He does not normally choose to use that power. Why not? Because He wants us to do things in willing and joyful hearts. 22/3/2020