Verse 8
Paul’s confidence (Gr. parresia) was his assurance that if he commanded Philemon to do as he requested because Paul was an apostle, Philemon would do it.
"The term parresia which literally means ’all speech’ was used originally in the sphere of politics to signify the democratic right of a full citizen of a Greek city-state to speak out one’s opinion freely. Later it was found as a characteristic of the relations between true friends in opposition to the feigned compliments of flatterers . . ." [Note: O’Brien, p. 287.]
Paul declined to appeal to Philemon with a command. Rather he appealed on the basis of love, the love of Christ that bound all the parties involved in this situation together.
"If a slave ran away, the master would register the name and description with the officials, and the slave would be on the ’wanted’ list. Any free citizen who found a runaway slave could assume custody and even intercede with the owner. The slave was not automatically returned to the owner, nor was he automatically sentenced to death. While it is true that some masters were cruel (one man threw his slave into a pool of man-eating fish!), many of them were reasonable and humane. After all, a slave was an expensive and useful piece of personal property, and it would cost the owner to lose him." [Note: Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, 2:270-71.]
Be the first to react on this!
