Look at the Book

When we became Christians, what happened to us? By calling us from darkness to light, God gave us an everlasting reason to boast in Jesus Christ.

Before launching into his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul describes this local church as sanctified. What does that mean, for them and for us?

How did a church come to exist in the carnal, immoral, idolatrous city of Corinth, and why did Paul love it enough to write it a letter?

Sometimes we can hear a name so often that we forget what it was originally meant to communicate. What does Paul mean by “Christ”?

When Paul writes to the Corinthians, he writes as a man who once persecuted the church, who then encountered Christ, and who now writes the words of God.

When Philemon walks away from Paul’s letter, what kind of response does Paul want to see — mere compliance or a heart full of faith in God’s promises?

What do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke have to do with Philemon and his runaway slave? Paul shows Philemon what gospel-shaped friendships look like.

Alongside all the other ways Paul encourages Philemon to love, he also adds greetings from Epaphras, a man Philemon would have deeply respected.

In seeking a welcome for the runaway slave, Onesimus, Paul banks on his history with Philemon, and risks his own resources, modeling radical Christian love.

Reading God’s providence rightly takes great faith in the power and wisdom of God, and communicating it kindly takes great humility. Paul displays both.

While the New Testament never explicitly abolishes slavery, it is full of teachings and commands that revolutionized the master-slave relationship.

Paul wanted Philemon to welcome Onesimus back — but did it matter how? Paul’s radical reasoning has big implications for Onesimus’s status as a slave.

Although Paul refuses to command Philemon, he strengthens his appeal with seven personal reasons why his dear friend should receive Onesimus like a brother.

Jesus commanded us to love one another, but Paul seems to imply that commanding diminishes love. So, which does love prefer — commands or appeals?

Paul knows what he wants Philemon to do, but he chooses not to command it. Why? He wants something deeper than rote obedience: genuine love.

Paul could have commanded Philemon, with all the force of an apostle, to treat his runaway slave with love. So, why does Paul prefer to appeal to Philemon’s faith?

How does Christian love touch and refresh all our relationships? Springing up from personal delight in Jesus, love overflows to do good to others for his sake.

Why does Paul think of Philemon as the sort of man who would welcome back a runaway slave? Because he has heard of Philemon’s refreshing faith.

When Paul wrote to Philemon on a personal matter, he intended the entire church — including us — to receive grace and peace through his words.

Paul is an apostle of Jesus Christ, with all the authority that commission entails. But as he writes to Philemon, he approaches as a friend.