Hi James and Ellen,
Philemon received in 60 A.D. an unexpected personal letter from a guy who was being confined to a house in the city of Rome for allegedly having done illegal rabble-rousing. Paul of Tarsus – the guy under house arrest, was a Roman citizen and an outspoken spokesman for an emergent faith/grace paradigm that was underpinned by the life, teachings, death, resurrection and pending return of an incarnated guy – Whose name is Jesus Christ. Philemon was in the city of Colosse a businessman, slave owner and Christ-follower. Apphia was Philemon’s wife. Archippus was their kid. The city of Colosse was in 60 A.D. a growing, bustling crossroads city. Philemon, Apphia and Archippus became Christ-followers after a guy returned to his home that was in the city of Colosse. The guy – whose name was Epaphras, purportedly was in the city of Ephesus when Paul spent three years there on his third missionary journey. Your grandpaa thinks that Epaphras – who Paul refers to as being to him a ‘dear fellow servant’, was possibly one of the guys who Paul taught at the Tyrannus Hall Bible education center. After Epaphras returned to his home that was in the city of Colosse, he was instrumental in starting a house church that may have been in Philemon’s house. Paul had the letter that he penned to Philemon couriered to Philemon by Tychicus – who was a co-worker with Paul. Paul also gave Tychicus a second letter to carry with him that he had penned to the communicants in the Christ-follower fellowship that was in the city of Colosse to help them confront guys who were teaching untrue Christ-follower faith tenets. Tychicus had a guy go with him on his trek to the city of Colosse. A runaway slave was Tychicus’ traveling companion. Onesimus – who was the fugitive slave, had a history with Philemon as he had been one of Philemon’s slaves. Onesimus stole money from his master before he vamoosed from the city of Colosse. Onesimus and Paul crossed paths in the city of Rome. After hearing Paul teach, Onesimus became a Christ-follower. Probably because of Onesimus’ growing maturity as a Christ-follower and Paul’s encouragement to do so and even though Onesimus knew that Roman law would allow Philemon to put him to death for stealing from him, Onesimus knew that he had to return to the city of Colosse and to Philemon to accept the consequences for his irresponsible actions.
Even through your grandpaa believes that Paul had never personally met Philemon, Paul starts out his letter to Philemon writing as if he had. Because Philemon’s name likely came up in chats that Epaphras had with Paul when Epaphras was with Paul in the city of Ephesus and then meeting up with one of Philemon’s slaves who showed up in the city of Rome who more than likely filled him in even more on Philemon, Paul probably had a very good handle on what kind of a good guy that Philemon was. After Paul let Philemon know in the single chapter letter that he sent him that his Christ-follower faith and testimony was a blessing and encouragement to him, Paul went on to explain the real reason for sending a personal letter to him – which was to tactfully ask him to forgive Onesimus for having stolen money from him before going on the lam. Paul describes Onesimus to Philemon as a guy who has gone from being useless as a slave to being useful as a Christ-follower. Paul reminds Philemon of what it had been like for him before God – as God the Spirit, prompted him to be led past the blood stained cross on which God – as God the Son, was cruelly tied on and nailed to and where He died and then what it was like for him when God – as God the Son, led him to and though the faith/grace door at the moment when he unreservedly internalized that his shortcomings had been unmeritedly wiped away because of Jesus’ sacrificial death being a ransom payment for his sins, that the right thing for him to do would be to forgive Onesimus. Paul upped the ante for Philemon to forgive Onesimus by promising Philemon that if writing off the money that Onesimus had robbed from him was not in his cards, that he would cover that debt. Because this letter that Paul sent to Philemon ended up in perpetuity as a canonized book in the Bible’s New Testament, your grandpaa’s guess is that Philemon forgave Onesimus with this letter becoming a matrix document for master/slave relationships within embryonic Christ-follower communities.
Forest Preserve Bible Church – which is located in Chicago, has been since 1977 remitting money gifts for your grandmaa and grandpaa. While your grandpaa was a student at Moody Bible Institute from the fall of 1974 to the spring of 1977, your grandmaa and grandpaa attended Forest Preserve Bible Church. When your grandmaa, grandpaa, dad and Aunt Lynn began attending Forest Preserve Bible Church, Forest Preserve Bible Church was a basement church. Your grandpaa was able to at Forest Preserve Bible Church do some of the ministry assignments that Moody Bible Institute required him to do. During the time that your grandmaa, grandpaa, dad and Aunt Lynn went to Forest Preserve Bible Church, they lived in Zeiger-Mueller Funeral Home – which was located a mile or so from Forest Preserve Bible Church. Your grandmaa and grandpaa leave tomorrow for Chicago as they have been asked by Forest Preserve Bible Church to give a fifteen minute synopsis of their present ‘missionary’ endeavors. Your grandmaa and grandpaa will use their time at Forest Preserve Bible Church on Sunday to thank everyone who is there for Bolivian and Guatemalan ‘Onesimuses’ who are now Christ-followers because of their prayers and gifts.
Philemon