Bible Studies in Philemon

Gospel Perspective - 1 : Unity

The Epistle of Paul to Philemon is a personal note, written about a slave called Onesimus (and probably delivered by him).  It is also Scripture; the Church recognised its authority as the Spirit-inspired Word of God.  It is a privilege to read; we sit in on a conversation between two godly men - the aged, imprisoned apostle Paul, and the well-to-do church-leader Philemon.  The letter has a lot to teach about looking at life from the perspective of the Gospel - that is, how does my faith shape how I see things?

Part of the Perspective of the Gospel is UNITY.  Those who know/trust the Lord Jesus Christ are united in Him. This comes across clearly in Philemon.

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Directions for Devotion

Exodus ch.20, vs.18 to 26

“Devotion” means: ? where people give themselves to some cause - a devoted teacher, say (so, we speak of devotion for God - loving Him with heart and soul); ? when something has been set aside for a particular cause (so, we speak of devotion to God).  The Lord brought the Children of Israel out of Egypt to be His people (19:4-6) and then taught the people devoted to Him how to show their devotion for Him!  This is also how God deals with us, when we come to trust in Christ.  We find that He chose us before we chose Him (John 15:16), and that the directions He gives are not for us to follow on our own.  He provides all we need - in Jesus.  This is grace.  The directions here, which the Israelites undertook to follow (see  Ex 24:3), are given in the context of a relationship with God through grace.

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