Why was Philemon canonized?
http://www.biblegateway.com/resources/commentaries/IVP-NT/Phlm/Pauls-Relationship-Onesimus
Reading though the first chapter of Philemon, I wondered about the man named Onesimus. Paul is sending this man to the church in Philemon’s house and refers to him as a son, slave, and a brother. In this letter, it seems that Paul has a very close relationship with Onesimus. I wanted to question who this man was, why Paul was sending him where he was, and how did they form this close bond. At first, I wanted my overall question for this blog to be “who was Onesimus?” but as I began writing and researching I felt that I had to change my question to ask why this story was put in the Bible. After reading and learning about the gospels that were not canonized, what was so important about this single chapter book that they felt had to be included in the Bible. The only purpose of this letter was to ask Philemon to show some mercy on his former slave by not punishing him as he would another runaway. My first instinct was to think that the point of this chapter becoming a part of the Bible was to show the character of Paul. He is obviously seeking to find followers of Christ in any kind of person he meets and is also willing to help anyone follow Christ. This demonstration of character will help anyone who is reading to trust Paul’s teachings of Christianity. An article on houseandhome.org had two different reasons for the importance of this book. The first was to show how God can change lives and the second was to show that any kind of person’s life can be changed. If this slave who stole from his master and ran away could be changed and turned into a follower of Christ, anyone who believed and wanted this change could do it.
When I read Paul’s letter more closely, I realized that Onesimus was a former slave to Philemon. After Onesimus’ conversion to Christianity, Paul sends him back to his former master’s house. As I read in an article on biblegateway.com, Paul’s reference to Onesimus as his son means that he is probably making a reference to his conversion to Christianity. He means to say that Onesimus has been born again as a follower of Jesus Christ. Paul shows his close relationship and belief in Onesimus in calling him his son and hopes that will help his return to Philemon’s house. I believe that Onesimus heard of Paul’s teachings and of his testimonies of God and went to him hoping to find out more. This led to Paul converting Onesimus and seeing that he had become so close to the Lord, Paul wrote a letter to his master asking him to see his slave as a new person. As I read in an article on christdeaf.org, Onesimus most likely left because he stole something from his master. Since he would have been under Roman law, his master would have been lawfully able to kill him because of his crimes. Paul is trying to convince Philemon that his slave left as a sinner but is returning to him as a free man who should be spared and now looked upon as a brother in Christ.
I do not understand why a man who is hosting a church in his home owns slaves but I did find the significance of this book. I believe Philemon was included in the Bible to show Paul’s willingness to help other followers in Christ and inspire other sinners to change themselves from no matter who they were before to Christians.
http://www.christdeaf.org/bible/unknowns/onesimus.htm
http://www.houseandhome.org/bible-story-philemon
http://www.biblegateway.com/resources/commentaries/IVP-NT/Phlm/Pauls-Relationship-Onesimus
Reading though the first chapter of Philemon, I wondered about the man named Onesimus. Paul is sending this man to the church in Philemon’s house and refers to him as a son, slave, and a brother. In this letter, it seems that Paul has a very close relationship with Onesimus. I wanted to question who this man was, why Paul was sending him where he was, and how did they form this close bond. At first, I wanted my overall question for this blog to be “who was Onesimus?” but as I began writing and researching I felt that I had to change my question to ask why this story was put in the Bible. After reading and learning about the gospels that were not canonized, what was so important about this single chapter book that they felt had to be included in the Bible. The only purpose of this letter was to ask Philemon to show some mercy on his former slave by not punishing him as he would another runaway. My first instinct was to think that the point of this chapter becoming a part of the Bible was to show the character of Paul. He is obviously seeking to find followers of Christ in any kind of person he meets and is also willing to help anyone follow Christ. This demonstration of character will help anyone who is reading to trust Paul’s teachings of Christianity. An article on houseandhome.org had two different reasons for the importance of this book. The first was to show how God can change lives and the second was to show that any kind of person’s life can be changed. If this slave who stole from his master and ran away could be changed and turned into a follower of Christ, anyone who believed and wanted this change could do it.
When I read Paul’s letter more closely, I realized that Onesimus was a former slave to Philemon. After Onesimus’ conversion to Christianity, Paul sends him back to his former master’s house. As I read in an article on biblegateway.com, Paul’s reference to Onesimus as his son means that he is probably making a reference to his conversion to Christianity. He means to say that Onesimus has been born again as a follower of Jesus Christ. Paul shows his close relationship and belief in Onesimus in calling him his son and hopes that will help his return to Philemon’s house. I believe that Onesimus heard of Paul’s teachings and of his testimonies of God and went to him hoping to find out more. This led to Paul converting Onesimus and seeing that he had become so close to the Lord, Paul wrote a letter to his master asking him to see his slave as a new person. As I read in an article on christdeaf.org, Onesimus most likely left because he stole something from his master. Since he would have been under Roman law, his master would have been lawfully able to kill him because of his crimes. Paul is trying to convince Philemon that his slave left as a sinner but is returning to him as a free man who should be spared and now looked upon as a brother in Christ.
I do not understand why a man who is hosting a church in his home owns slaves but I did find the significance of this book. I believe Philemon was included in the Bible to show Paul’s willingness to help other followers in Christ and inspire other sinners to change themselves from no matter who they were before to Christians.
http://www.christdeaf.org/bible/unknowns/onesimus.htm
http://www.houseandhome.org/bible-story-philemon
http://www.biblegateway.com/resources/commentaries/IVP-NT/Phlm/Pauls-Relationship-Onesimus