The Debtor Repaid

Philemon Part 3

New King James Version 19. I, Paul, am writing with my own hand. I will repay—not to mention to you that you owe me even your own self besides.

Now Paul says that he writes this part of his letter to Philemon with his own hand. We might wonder about this, for it is probably our habit to write most of our correspondence with our own hands. Yet we would note here that Paul usually used what is called an “amanuensis,” meaning a scribe who would write down his letters for him as he dictated them. The amanuensis in the case of Philemon appears to have been Timothy, as we read in Philemon 1:1. So most of this letter would have been in Timothy’s handwriting and not Paul’s. Yet at this point Paul wishes to assure Philemon that he will do as he says, and will right whatever wrong Philemon has done or repay whatever debt Philemon has incurred. In order to assure Philemon of this, he wrote this part of the letter of Philemon to him with his own hand. In his own handwriting, which apparently Philemon will recognize, he assures him that he will repay what Onesimus owes.

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An Appeal for Onesimus

Philemon Part 2

New King James Version 8. Therefore, though I might be very bold in Christ to command you what is fitting,

Now Paul starts to finally get to the point of why he is writing this letter to Philemon. He wants his friend to do something, and he wants him to do it “therefore.” If we were to ask ourselves why he starts this statement “therefore,” we must look back at what Paul has just been saying to discover the answer. No doubt he means because of the self-sacrificing love that Philemon has demonstrated to all his fellow holy ones. Perhaps it was also because of his faith that Paul mentioned back in verse 5.

Responding to “The Book of Acts – A record of Israel and their earthly prophesied hope”

I received the following article without comment from one of my readers. Therefore, I responded to it with the following.

The book of Acts – A record of Israel and their earthly prophesied hope.

A proper interpretation of the overall purpose of the book of Acts is essential to a correct understanding of the Bible as a whole. Because of this, it has long been a battleground for Bible expositors of all theological persuasions. Although there have been many theories advanced that attempt to explain its overall purpose, this paper focuses on the Acts 28 position as presented in the paper entitled “The Dispensational Frontier” by Charles H. Welch.
This view states that Israel was set aside after the apostle Paul’s pronouncement against them in Acts 28:28 and immediately following that Paul received the revelation of the Mystery that he writes about in the books of Ephesians and Colossians. Therefore, according to this view, Paul was preaching the truths concerning this newly revealed Mystery during the final 2 years of the book of Acts.

“Rights” As a Translation

I received the following question:

I know you are working on Colossians, so you may have a ready answer to this question. I think (Otis Q. Sellers) was the one who came up with the translation “rights of God” to replace “the right hand of God.” However, I have always thought it awkward in English. Rights in its plural form quite often is preceded by a defining word, like human or inalienable. None of the synonyms seem to work either.

I think (Mr. Sellers) intended it in the sense of “rights and privileges,” that is, that He has the very privileges and authorities of God. He is partially getting that idea from the fact that, at least in some cases, the word is actually plural, and no word for “hand” appears. That probably suggested to him the translation of “rights.” However, since the phrase “on my rights and on my lefts” (Matthew 20:23) does occur, the fact that the word is sometimes plural does not in itself justify the translation of “rights.”

The Letter to Philemon

Philemon Part 1

New King James Version 1. Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother,
To Philemon our beloved friend and fellow laborer,

The Resultant Version 1. Paul, a bound one of Jesus Christ, and Timothy our brother, unto Philemon our dearly beloved one, and our fellowworker,

The first thing we come upon in the book of Philemon is the name of our author, Paul. Yet, of course, whenever we are dealing with a book of Scripture, we must remember that the human author was not alone in producing it. The Holy Spirit of God was speaking through the author. We can see this great truth set forth in II Timothy 3:16, which states, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable.” That phrase “inspiration of God” in Greek is the word theopneustos, which means literally “God-breathed.” So all Scripture is in fact the very breath, the very words of God. Peter stated this very same truth in II Peter 1:19-21.

Philemon-The Man

Philemon Introduction

In beginning our study of the book of Philemon, we will first consider the man Philemon, as opposed to the book Philemon, which we will be studying afterwards. The book of Philemon is one of the letters of Paul, and was written to the man Philemon. This man is unknown to us outside of the book Paul wrote to him, as Philemon 1 is the only mention of him in Scripture. His name “Philemon” means “One Who Kisses.”

Philemon was apparently from the city of Colossae, the city to which Colossians was written. While we cannot prove this by a direct reference, a comparison of the two books shows rather clearly that this was the case. First of all, both are not only written by Paul, but are also coauthored by “Timothy brother,” as we can see by comparing Philemon 1:1 with Colossians 1:1 (all the following verses are in The Resultant Version of Otis Q. Sellers unless otherwise noted.)

Prayer After Defeat

Psalm 60

A Michtam of David. For teaching. When he fought against Mesopotamia and Syria of Zobah, and Joab returned and killed twelve thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt.

Here we have another Michtam psalm of David, as we did in Psalms 56, 57, 58, and 59. Again The Companion Bible in Appendix 65 XII suggests that this word has to do with writing, particularly engraving. The truths that are in these psalms are important enough to be engraved, as of a permanent record that should not be forgotten.

This psalm is for teaching and gives important truths to be learned. The occasion is an interesting one, and one about which we have little information in the historical books about David’s life. David was fighting against two Aramite nations. Mesopotamia is Aram Naharayim in Hebrew, meaning “Aram of the Two Rivers.” Few would disagree that it is Mesopotamia that is meant. Aram (we tend to use the word “Syria”) were the regions north of Israel, and while Mesopotamia is north and east, one first traveled north to get there from Israel, so it makes sense that in Israel the two would be connected. In Genesis 24:10, the place where Abraham came from (Ur) is said to be Aram Naharayim. Aram Zobah (or Syria of Zobah) means “Exalted Station,” and appears to have been in what we call Syria north and east of Damascus.

David in the House

Psalm 59

A Michtam of David when Saul sent men, and they watched the house in order to kill him.

Here we have another Michtam psalm of David, as we did in Psalms 56, 57, and 58. We have examined multiple times now the suggestion of The Companion Bible in Appendix 65 XII that this word has to do with writing, particularly engraving. Since most writing is not engraving, this indicates its importance. It is “set in stone,” as our figure of speech would have it. The truth of this Psalm is important enough that it deserves to be permanently engraved on our minds and hearts.

The occasion of the writing of this Psalm is now explained. David wrote it when Saul sent men, and they watched the house where he was in order to kill him. This incident is recorded for us in I Samuel 19:11-12, taking place right after Saul cast a spear at David in an attempt to kill him when David was playing his harp in an attempt to sooth Saul’s spirit as he was being troubled by a troublesome spirit from the LORD.

Dating Paul’s Acts Period Letters

I received the following question:

I am developing a Timeline for an eventual Acts 28 presentation based on your article “Dispensationalism Part 4,” and I need to know where Paul’s epistles fall within the book of Acts.

In his Word of Truth article entitled “Dating the Epistles of Paul,” Mr. Milton Hammond states the following:

1. 1 Thess Acts 18:5-7 53AD

2. 2 Thess Acts 18:11 54AD

3. Galatians Acts 19:8 56AD

4. 1 Cor Acts 19:10 57AD

5. 2 Cor Acts 20:1-2 58AD

6. Rom Acts 20:3 58AD

Do you agree with this? If not, would you mind just replying with a list of your own chart?

Our Citizenship Is Where?

I received the following question:

Can you elaborate more on II Cor. 5:8 and Phil. 3:20
A. Absent from the body (did read Sellers’ definition) but not sure.
B. Citizenship ( Greek meaning )

II Corinthians 5 is a complicated subject. It usually takes me at least 20 minutes to explain it, and it would probably take a full article to set forth what I think it is talking about. First things first, though. Have you read Mr. Sellers’ article on “Absent From the Body”? This article sets forth more or less what I would say about the issue. It is posted here:
http://www.seedandbread.org/images/stories/SS/SS12%20Absent%20From%20The%20Body.pdf

I believe this article was also sent out with the latest Bulletin from the Word of Truth Ministry, if you are on their mailing list.