Shibboleth
03-12-2007, 03:04 PM
Onesimus, who was he? He was a slave to the 1st century christian named Philemon. Not much is said about this man. Paul wrote concerning this man to Philemon in his letter to him which is also a book in the Greek Scriptures.
It is apparant that Onesimus sinned gravely against Philemon so he ran away and finally his path met with Paul who was imprisoned. Nothing is said about what Onesimus did, but it has been speculated taht he stole from his master, Philemon. Paul took him under his wing and likened him to a son. Onesimus must have been a great help for Paul since Paul was now experiencing the trials of old age. Onesimus grew to love the truth about Jesus and he grew to love Paul very much.
Paul wrote that Onesimus was formely useless to Philemon, since a slave that has done wrong to his master would have been jailed or worse put to death in those times. Paul added that now Onesimus was useful to both Paul and Philemon, and that he would be sending this slave back to Philemon not as a slave he originally was but as a brother. Paul asked Philemon to hold Onesimus's debt to Paul's account and to receive him as a brother in the Christ. This letter was dictated to Timothy since Paul's eyesight may have been growing more dim with old age, but there seems to be a snippet of where Paul actually wrote with his own hands. This was in connection with Onesimus as well as maybe a debt that Philemon owed to Paul.
19 (http://) I Paul am writing with my own hand: I will pay it back—not to be telling you that, besides, you owe me even yourself. 20 (http://) Yes, brother, may I derive profit from you in connection with [the] Lord: refresh my tender affections in connection with Christ.[/b]
From Paul's letter it seems that Philemon was most likely a very fair man and well-liked by Paul. So we can come to the conclusion that Onesimus was forgiven by Philemon and accepted back.
What can we glean from this letter? We can glean that even if we sin towards our fellowman whether intentional or not, we are all brothers together in Jesus. That we should forgive our brothers if they do wrong since we also have had sins forgiven us. We should receive all our brothers and sisters kindly and realize that even if they do us wrong they are still our brothers and sisters. Also our forgiveness and loving kindness should not just be held towards brothers but to all men we come in contact with. Brothers we may feel as "useless" may actually be usefull and we should look at all aspects of a person instead of imperfections, which we all share. We can also glean that those who may have left the truth, whether they were disfellowshipped or are inactive, should be welcomed back with open arms. We should be prepared to help these ones back.
This was taken from the letter to philemon in the Greek Scriptures.
It is apparant that Onesimus sinned gravely against Philemon so he ran away and finally his path met with Paul who was imprisoned. Nothing is said about what Onesimus did, but it has been speculated taht he stole from his master, Philemon. Paul took him under his wing and likened him to a son. Onesimus must have been a great help for Paul since Paul was now experiencing the trials of old age. Onesimus grew to love the truth about Jesus and he grew to love Paul very much.
Paul wrote that Onesimus was formely useless to Philemon, since a slave that has done wrong to his master would have been jailed or worse put to death in those times. Paul added that now Onesimus was useful to both Paul and Philemon, and that he would be sending this slave back to Philemon not as a slave he originally was but as a brother. Paul asked Philemon to hold Onesimus's debt to Paul's account and to receive him as a brother in the Christ. This letter was dictated to Timothy since Paul's eyesight may have been growing more dim with old age, but there seems to be a snippet of where Paul actually wrote with his own hands. This was in connection with Onesimus as well as maybe a debt that Philemon owed to Paul.
19 (http://) I Paul am writing with my own hand: I will pay it back—not to be telling you that, besides, you owe me even yourself. 20 (http://) Yes, brother, may I derive profit from you in connection with [the] Lord: refresh my tender affections in connection with Christ.[/b]
From Paul's letter it seems that Philemon was most likely a very fair man and well-liked by Paul. So we can come to the conclusion that Onesimus was forgiven by Philemon and accepted back.
What can we glean from this letter? We can glean that even if we sin towards our fellowman whether intentional or not, we are all brothers together in Jesus. That we should forgive our brothers if they do wrong since we also have had sins forgiven us. We should receive all our brothers and sisters kindly and realize that even if they do us wrong they are still our brothers and sisters. Also our forgiveness and loving kindness should not just be held towards brothers but to all men we come in contact with. Brothers we may feel as "useless" may actually be usefull and we should look at all aspects of a person instead of imperfections, which we all share. We can also glean that those who may have left the truth, whether they were disfellowshipped or are inactive, should be welcomed back with open arms. We should be prepared to help these ones back.
This was taken from the letter to philemon in the Greek Scriptures.