Journeys of St. Paul

First: Antioch- Asia minor, No epistles

Trying to convert to Jews first Second: Jews trying to kill him. Went to Caesarea, requested to be judged by

Caesar. He was eager to preach in Rome Was Martyred in Rome by beheading in the early

60’s

First Thessalonians: 52 A.D. Second Thessalonians – about the second coming of Christ and

during his second trip The third trip was the longest, people tried to convert the people to

Jews. The book of Romans and Galatians were written about the salvation.

First and second Corinthians (were written for many problems) Second Corinthians was also written to defend his apostleship. The forth trip, he was imprisoned and wrote four epistles:

Ephesians, Philippians, Philemon, Colossians. They were all sermons about the life in Christ. He knew his time was coming to an end, he wrote to his disciples 1 Timothy and Titus

Around the same time he wrote Hebrews. Before his departure he wrote Timothy II.

Order of the Epistles The order of the Epistles in the Gospel is related to

the size of the book and not chronology. If you have problems in life, read Corinthians. If you have problems of faith, read Romans and

Galatians To read about the blood of Christ Galatians Life in Christ is described in the epistles written

during St. Pauls imprisonment.

System of his writing

The system of his writing usually starts with:His nameGreetingSubjectClosing (the book of Hebrews is an exception to this rule)

Epistle to Philemon

The epistle to Philemon: It was written during his first visit Onesimus was imprisoned with St. Paul because he

stole from Philemon, his masterPhilemon used to be the disciple of St. PaulThis Epistle demonstrates the wisdom of St. Paul as a

father and a servant

Wisdom of St. Paul Great words to show St. Paul’s wisdom from the

book of Philemon Verse 1: beloved friend and fellow laborer Verse 6: that the sharing of your faith may become

effective Always uses ‘Jesus Christ’ in his writing; ie I Corinthians, verse

1-10, he uses the name “Jesus Christ” 10 times Verse 7: For we have great joy and consolation in your

love Verse 7: because the hearts of the saints have been

refreshed by you, brother (as if you please his heart)

The Plea for Onesimus St. Paul called himself the aged and the prisoner for Christ

in order to make his plea for Onesimus In spite of his rank as an Archbishop, he did not use his

authority, but his gentle manner He called Onesimus, “my son,” in order to obtain the mercy

of Philemon Verse 8: “command you what is fitting” – meaning: you

ought to do this because it is right Verse 9: “for love's sake” “begotten while in my chains

Sweet words 11who once was unprofitable to you, but now is profitable

to you and to me: Meaning: he admits that Onesimus was trouble to Philemon, though he has become a new man

“profitable to me” means Philemon cannot decline the change

Sending Onesimus back means that St. Paul could have kept him for his own good, ie “profitable”

My own heart: St. Paul desires to keep him, but he is giving him back to Philemon because Philemon is his master (his right)

More Sweet Words Compulsion vs. voluntary St. Paul is trying to make

Philemon accept Onesimus by his own will Slave vs. beloved brother: St. Paul accepted

Onesimus as a son, how can Philemon not accept him as a brother?

St. Paul made an argument that the imprisonement story was for Onesimus’ salvation since Philemon was unable to guide him in his iwn salvation

Great Plea

“in the flesh” meaning: remember the human relation that they shared

“But if he has wronged you or owes anything, put that on my account.” ie St.Paul will repay Philemon, but what does he have to offer as a prisoner. St. Paul aslo admits that Onesimus truly stole from Philemon

I will repay St.Paul offers to “repay”, however Philemon owes

him his spiritual life – his whole self “knowing that you will do even more than I

say” – encouraging Philemon to do even more “I will be granted to you” – St. Paul is indicating

to Philemon that he will be coming to follow up Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, Luke – these are all

witnesses

“It is written by Onesimus” in order to return to Onesimus his dignity

Onesimus and Philemon, thanks to the wisdom of St.Paul, both became bishops

Christianity did not attack slavery, but taught the commandments of Christ to love one another, leading to the fall of slavery

The same analogy of St. Paul and Onesimus can be drawn between God, the father, and man (who became slaves)

Onesimus, when he was delivering the letter to Philemon, was empowered by the love of St. Paul

The fact that the entire letter is written about one person demonstrates the value of one human soul to God

Onesimus’ repentance was powerful enough to withstand the return to Philemon

Take home points

Be merciful on others even if they have wronged you

Make peace with kind words and wisdom (these words are not considered deception without personal benefit)

Value the significance of every person