Letter 108 — The Story: Useless, Now Useful (Philemon)
Paul makes a pun on a slave's name and writes a bookkeeper's word into a letter about forgiveness. We walk Philemon phrase by phrase, with Jacob crossing the Jabbok to face the brother he robbed.
In this letter
- The church in the house as the letter's first audience
- The first two of three hearts, in verses 7 and 12
- Onesimus's name held back to the end of verse 10
- The pun in verse 11, the man named Useful made useful at last
- Jacob and Esau, and the prayer of every runaway, "perhaps he will accept me" (Genesis 32–33)
- The passive verb in verse 15 and "a beloved brother" in verse 16
-…
The skinny
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