Philemon 1:1
King James Version (KJV)
Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ, and Timothy our brother, unto Philemon our dearly beloved, and fellowlabourer,
Translations
Philemon 1:1 - Amplified Bible
PAUL, A prisoner [for the sake] of Christ Jesus (the Messiah), and our brother Timothy, to Philemon our dearly beloved sharer with us in our work,
Philemon 1:1 - American Standard Version
Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, to Philemon our beloved and fellow-worker,
Philemon 1:1 - Bible in Basic English
Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ, and Timothy our brother, to Philemon, our dear helper in the faith,
Philemon 1:1 - Darby Bible
Paul, prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timotheus the brother, to Philemon the beloved and our fellow-workman,
Philemon 1:1 - English Standard Version
Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, To Philemon our beloved fellow worker
Philemon 1:1 - King James Version
Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ, and Timothy our brother, unto Philemon our dearly beloved, and fellowlabourer,
Philemon 1:1 - La Biblia de las Americas
Pablo, prisionero de Cristo Jesùs, y el hermano Timoteo:
A Filemòn nuestro amado hermano y colaborador,
Philemon 1:1 - The Message
I, Paul, am a prisoner for the sake of Christ, here with my brother Timothy. I write this letter to you, Philemon, my good friend and companion in this work—also to our sister Apphia, to Archippus, a real trooper, and to the church that meets in your house. God’s best to you! Christ’s blessings on you!
Philemon 1:1 - New American Standard Bible
Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother,
To Philemon our beloved {brother} and fellow worker,
Philemon 1:1 - Nueva Biblia Latinoamericana de Hoy
Pablo, prisionero de Cristo Jesùs, y el hermano Timoteo:
A Filemòn nuestro amado hermano y colaborador,
Philemon 1:1 - World English Bible
Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, to Philemon, our beloved fellow worker,
Philemon 1:1 - Young's Living Translation
Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timotheus the brother, to Philemon our beloved and fellow-worker,
Philemon 1:1 - Additional Comments
Background: Written and sent at the same time as Colossians, about A.D. 62,
* By Paul while he was under guard in Rome awaiting trial before Caesar
* To Philemon, a well-to-do Christian who lived in Colossae (modern Turkey)
* No city is there today-just ruins. But it was a great city in Paul's day
* Paul led Philemon to the Lord (vs. 19), some five or six years prior through Paul's ministry in Ephesus
Paul's purpose in writing: to ask Philemon to reinstate Onesimus, a slave who had run away from Philemon
Introduction:
Onesimus took a chance one day, as any slave would have done, and made a run for it. He did what most runaway slaves apparently did - he moved into a great metropolis. He made it all the way to Rome. In that great population, he could get lost in the crowd. Onesimus, who had been a slave, found out that there was a slavery in freedom and there was a freedom in slavery When he was a slave, he didn't worry about where he was going to sleep or what he was going to eat. His master had to take care of that. I can imagine him going down the street one day and seeing a group of people gathered around listening to a man. Onesimus wormed his way into the crowd, got up front, and saw that the man was in chains. Onesimus had run away from chains, and he thought he was free, but when he listened to that man (Paul), he thought, That man's free, and I'm still a slave - a slave to appetite, a slave to the economy. I'm still a slave, but that man, although he is chained, is free.
Onesimus waited until the others had drifted away and then went up to Paul. He wanted to know more about what Paul was preaching, and Paul led him to Christ; that is, he presented the gospel to him, told him how Jesus had died for him and how He had been buried but rose again on the third day. He asked Onesimus to put his trust in Christ, and he did. Onesimus became a new creation in Christ Jesus.
Then Onesimus did what any man does who has been converted; he thought back on his past life and the things which were wrong that he wanted to make right. He said to Paul, "Paul, there is something I must confess to you. I'm a runaway slave." Paul asked him where he had come from, and Onesimus told Paul it was from Asia Minor, from the city of Colossae. Paul said, "There's a church over there. Who was your master?"
"My master was Philemon."
"You mean Philemon who lives on Main Street?"
"Yes."
"Why, he is one of my converts also. He owes me a great deal."
"Well, Paul, do you think I should go back to him?"
"Yes, you should. Onesimus, you must go back, but you are going to go back to a different situation. I will send a letter with you."
And we have his letter before us - the Epistle of Paul to Philemon.
It's neat that Paul addresses Philemon not only as a fellow laborer, but also as his friend. In addition to just fellow laborers, there were some that Paul also considered his friends. And it appears Timothy felt the same about Philemon.
Comments are closed.