Discuss Hebrews 1 Page 5

Hi Doug,

This is an interesting logical argument. I find that in 1 Peter 3:22. Let's assume for argument's sake that your conclusion is correct and you get 1 point for this.

But for every verse you cite, there are even more that say that Jesus IS God, like John 1:1 saying the "Word was God" and verse 14 that Jesus is the Word.

This could continue to play out and you can cite any number of verses to support your position, but again we don't run out of very compelling verses saying that Jesus is God.

Let's say that it's a dead even race. 30 verses suggesting Jesus isn't vs 30 verses suggesting He is.

Then what? Which do you choose to believe?

I don't know if you've gone through this exercise or not, but I now have a spoiler: someone will run out of verses supporting that Jesus "isn't" God long before the verses supporting He IS God. Not only that, but each of the verses commonly cited to claim that Jesus "isn't" God require some extra creative interpretation and human logic whereas the verses supporting the other side can be read and interpreted more literally. Not only that, but there's logical explanations for why Jesus called His Father God. The main reason is that He temporarily became a human being and limited His power. Phil 2:6-7. So, yes, as a man, He prayed to His Father and called Him God. So, all verses must be considered as a whole, not cherry picked in order to have understanding about the Godhead and I admit it is hard to comprehend as we don't have anything like it in on earth. But perhaps like an orange with seeds, pulp, skin. Someone calls pulp an orange, and it is.

1 John 5:7-8

John 10:30

John 8:19

Genesis 1:26

, Genesis 11:6-7 (plural "us")

Philippians 2:5-8

2 Corinthians 5:19

John 1:3

Matthew 28:19

1 Peter 1:2

2 Corinthians 13:14

Deuteronomy 6:4

John 14:10

John 20:28

1 John 2:22-24

Matthew 1:23-25

Colossians 2:9

Acts 17:29

Romans 1:20

Isaiah 7:14

Hebrews 1:8

Isaiah 44:6

Isaiah 43:11

Hello, John chapter 1 explains and answers all these questions:

John 1:14-15 reveals that Jesus is called the "Word."

John 1:1 says "Word was with God, and the Word was God." this means that Jesus was with God, and Jesus was God.

John 1:3 says "All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made." This means that all things were made by Jesus, and without Jesus nothing was made.

The common misunderstanding is that Jesus temporarily came to earth and while fully God, became fully man and appeared to allow Himself to be limited as a man. So, most people analyze His behavior as a temporary man and draw assumptions from it: like how can He pray to Himself? etc.

John 1:9-10 - talks about Jesus, also called the "Light" coming to earth.

Philippians 2:6-7 - to me this means that Jesus wasn't concerned about His power being lessor or limited as a temporary man.

Luke 2:52 - Jesus put Himself in a position of a man to grow in wisdom and maturity.

So, all of your quotes are while Jesus was in a temporary limited state as a man on earth.

You wrote: "Inconceivable if he is God the Creator." It's not inconceivable because the Bible literally says Jesus created everything in John 1:3.

If this isn't convincing enough there are more verses saying the same thing:

Colossians 1:15-17

Hebrews 1:2

1 Corinthians 8:6

Jesus literally created you!

Hello Giannis:

I agree with your first sentence. To add, Jesus said "But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel." Matthew 15:24 KJV. During Jesus Christ on earth He commanded His Disciples in Matthew 10:5 These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not:

6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Jesus was preaching the gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven. Had the Jews recognized their King..could of, would of, should of. But they killed their Messiah. Your second sentence is half correct. Jesus Christ had chosen Paul to be the twelfth apostle with a purpose to tell us Gentiles more detail what happened during his dispensation. The word dispensation can only be found 4X in Paul's epistles: 1 Corinthians 9:17

For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward: but if against my will, a dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me.

Ephesians 3:2

If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward:

Colossians 1:25

Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God;

Ephesians 1:10

That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:

These verses proved to me that when Paul told us to "divide the word of truth" means that God speaks to different people in different times. Meaning Dispensation. Therefore, some verses of the Bible applies only to the Jews and only to Gentiles and some applies both to Jews and Gentiles in different times as "God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets," Hebrews 1:1 KJV. Paul is our Apostle today. His dispensation of Grace is critical for today's salvation. 1 Corinthians 15:1-4. Agape.

Benson Commentary

Psalm 110:1. The Lord said unto my Lord, Jehovah ladoni, the saying, or decree, that is, I record the saying or decree of Jehohovah to my Lord, that is, to his Son the Messiah, whom I acknowledge as my Lord and God. This decree, made in eternity, was in due time published, and was actually executed when God raised up Christ from the dead, and brought him into his heavenly mansion. David designedly calls the Messiah his Lord, to admonish the whole church, that although he was his Song of Solomon according to the human nature, yet he had a higher nature, and was also his Lord, as being by nature God blessed for ever, and consequently Lord of all things, as he is called Acts 10:36; and by office, as he was God man, the Lord and King of the whole church, and of all the world, for the church's sake. And this was said to prevent that offence which the Holy Ghost foresaw the Jews and others would be ready to take at the meanness of Christ's appearance in the flesh. The Hebrew word adon, is one of God's titles, signifying his power and authority over all things, and therefore is most fitly given to the Messiah, to whom God had delegated all his power in the universe, > Matthew 28:18. Sit thou at my right hand - Thou who hast for so many years been veiled with infirm and mortal flesh, despised, rejected, and trampled upon by men, and persecuted unto death; do thou now take to thyself thy great and just power. Thou hast done thy work upon earth, now take thy rest, and the possession of that sovereign kingdom and glory, which by right belongs to thee; do thou rule with me, with an authority and honour far above all creatures, in earth or heaven. So this phrase is expounded in other places: see Luke 22:69; 1 Corinthians 15:25; Hebrews 1:3; Hebrews 8:1; Hebrews 10:12-13; Ephesians 1:20

See BibleHubDOTcom

David,

I assume you are responding to something I posted a while back, so I'll respond. My focus will be on Hebrews 1:1-2, "God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, whom He hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also He made the worlds;"

In the OT, God worked through progressive revelation. God manifested certain truths about Himself through certain stages of history, and through different people. And not just people, but different things, like the burning bush, or some of these other epiphanies where God revealed Himself through circumstances, and even animals, as far as that's concerned.

In Hebrews 1:1, the literal translation is not by the prophets, but in the prophets. The Greek text indicates that He wasn't just speaking through them. He was in the prophets. So He was in the prophets, speaking at various times, and in various ways, but has upon the last of the last days, spoken to us in Son. There is no word "his" in the original language.

What this is saying is that in the last days, the instrument that God uses is not the prophets, not various other ways like a burning bush, but He has upon the last segment of these last days spoken to us in a Son. So God has spoken to us. His last spokesperson, the last instrument that God used to minister to us, is His Son.



It's important to see the contrast between the superiority of Jesus Christ in comparison to the prophets. Those days are over. There are no more messages to various people.

Is it okay to prophecy today? I would say yes. But a NT prophet is someone who is a spokesperson for God, someone who takes the already written word of God and speaks His written word to others, nothing added to, or nothing taken away. There are no new prophecies today. God does not reveal "new prophecy" to anyone today. We already have the complete word of God and all prophecy has been given to us in His word.

John 1:1

1 John 5:7-8

Genesis 1:26

Genesis 11:6-7

John 10:30

John 8:19

Philippians 2:5-8

2 Corinthians 5:19

John 1:3

Matthew 28:19

1 Peter 1:2

2 Corinthians 13:14

Deuteronomy 6:4

John 14:10

John 20:28

1 John 2:22-24

Matthew 1:23-25

Colossians 2:9

Acts 17:29

Romans 1:20

Isaiah 7:14

Hebrews 1:8

Isaiah 44:6

Hello, this is a frequently asked question and you can do an advanced search and find lots of discussions about it with verses if you desire.

Here are some verses to get you started. God bless.

Colossians 2:9

Acts 17:29

Romans 1:20

John 1:1

1 John 5:7-8

Genesis 1:26

Genesis 11:6-7

John 10:30

John 8:19

Philippians 2:5-8

2 Corinthians 5:19

John 1:3

Matthew 28:19

1 Peter 1:2

2 Corinthians 13:14

Deuteronomy 6:4

John 14:10

John 20:28

1 John 2:22-24

Isaiah 7:14

Matthew 1:23-25

Hebrews 1:8

Isaiah 44:6

Brother Giannis, thank you for your comment. As a young person attending 'Church', I was taught that Jesus was always in Heaven (from the beginning), a part of the Trinity (therefore in spirit form), & was sent to Earth to become Man to fulfil God's Plan. I think you're saying the same thing but adding that since God's Word came to the people, Jesus was also called the "Word of God".

Ordinarily, I would agree with that view. But in studying the Scriptures, the following convinces me to believe differently.

John 1:1 (He was never known by this Name Jesus - only that the Word existed within the Godhead, just as the Holy Spirit exists).

John 1:14 (that Word was given flesh - the Word's Form was changed from Spirit to flesh).

Matthew 1:21 (that humanly birthed Babe would be called Jesus - a Name not used or known before in Heaven but now given to this new Life on Earth, coming as 'Yahweh is Salvation').

Luke 1:35 (the first title used of this Babe: "The Son of God". I don't find this revealed anywhere else in the Scriptures (OT) that the Son of God existed in Heaven (i.e. as a Son) - He only became a Son through His Incarnation).

Hebrews 1:1,2 (as God's Word was given to Israel via the prophets, so through His Son now God speaks to them & us. The same Word of God: once to the prophets, now the Word made flesh to speak, not as a prophet, but as the Son of God, God's Word in the flesh).

From all this, I don't deny the existence of Jesus in Heaven before the incarnation, but don't find evidence that He was called Jesus (in Heaven) or functioned as He did on Earth while in Heaven. Rather, I'm compelled to accept "there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one" ( 1 John 5:7). The Word that always was within the Godhead is now Jesus seated as the Lord in flesh at His Father's right Hand.

The Bible literally refers to God as Godhead, so the few who are uncomfortable with that term can simply use the word Godhead instead. There's a mountain of scriptures showing the dynamic and divinity of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. We're here to defend Jesus Christ and anyone trying to discredit or smear His divinity. We should all pray for wisdom, understanding and truth as we read the scriptures so that we are not mislead by the enemy and buy into things that merely fulfill our itching ears.

John 1:1

1 John 5:7-8

Genesis 1:26

Genesis 11:6-7

John 10:30

John 8:19

Philippians 2:5-8

2 Corinthians 5:19

John 1:3

Matthew 28:19

1 Peter 1:2

2 Corinthians 13:14

Deuteronomy 6:4

John 14:10

John 20:28

1 John 2:22-24

Isaiah 7:14

Matthew 1:23-25

Hebrews 1:8

Isaiah 44:6

Colossians 2:9

Acts 17:29

Romans 1:20

Advocate - 1 John 2:1

Alive for Evermore - Rev 1:18

All Knowing Psalm 139:1-6

All, and in All - Colossians 3:11

Almighty - Revelation 1:8

Alpha and Omega - Revelation 1:8

Altar - Hebrews 13:10

Altogether Lovely - Song of Solomon 5:16

Amen - Revelation 3:14

Ancient of Days - Daniel 7:13 & Daniel 7:22

Anointed One - 1 Samuel 2:35

Author of Eternal Salvation - Hebrews 5:9

Author of our Faith - Hebrews 12:2

Balm of Gilead - Jeremiah 8:22

Banner over us - Ps 60:4, S of Sol 2:4

Bearer of Sin - Hebrews 9:28

Before All Things - Colossians 1:17

Beginning and Ending - Revelation 1:8

Bishop of our Souls - 1 Peter 2:25

Blessed and Only Potentate - 1 Timothy 6:15

Blessed Hope - Titus 2:13

Bread of Life, my manna - John 6:35

Bridegroom - John 3:29

Bright and Morning Star - Revelation 22:16

Brightness of His Glory - Hebrews 1:3

Buckler - Psalms 18:30

Captain - Joshua 5:14-15, Hebrews 2:10

Changeless One - Malachi 3:6, Hebrews 13:8

Chief Among 10,000, S. of Solomon 5:10

Chosen of God - 1 Peter 2:4

Christ - Matthew 1:16 - 1 John 5:1

Comforter - John 14:16-18

Consolation of Israel - Luke 2:25

Counselor - Isaiah 9:6

Creator - Romans 1:25 - Isaiah 40:28

Crown of Glory - Isaiah 28:5

Hi Gina.

I dont believe there's Prophets today that foretells the future as Brother Jesse said. We have the future concerning the people of God in writing. There's nothing new to be revealed.

Also.

God, who at sundry times and in divers manners SPAKE IN TIME PAST unto the fathers by the prophets,

Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; Hebrews 1:2.

God bless.

Thank you for your response, I just found your reply. For some reason it wasn't in my replys. I will check back on this thread again just incase you reply to this.

I pray deliverance from any and all attacks against you while you're sleeping! Spiritual, natural or both.

The 1st place I would like to start: Have you received or ask GOD to be LORD of your life? Accepting Jesus Christ as your savior? John 3:15-16,

With that we are sealed with promise, 2Corinthians 1:20-22, Ephesians 4:30, Ephesians 1:13, James 1:5, Acts 5:32, Romans 15:13, Acts 2:28, 1Corinthian 6:19, John 14:26, Acts 10:38, Mark 16:16-18, 1John 5:9-21,

* if you have not accepted Jesus as your personal LORD & Savior. Please do that right now, in prayer. 2Corinthians 6:2, 1Thessalonians 5:9, John 14:6,

Hebrews 1, note Hebrews 1:14, if you have received Jesus Christ as Savior, then the visible/invisible image was it fighting on your behalf?

* If you have been involved with anything associated with darkness & evil knowingly or others around you or in your dwelling have. Destroy those things, get it away from you. Turn away from those things. Ask forgiveness from our Father in Heaven. Matthew 6:23, Luke 11:34-36,

* Ephesians 5:11,

Ephesians 6,

Hopefully these are helpful.

Matthew 18:10, Hebrews 1:14,

Hopefully these verses are helpful : Luke 10:17-20, Isaiah 14:12-32, Daniel 10, through Daniel 11:1, Daniel 12, Jude 1:9, 2Corinthian 11:13-14, Revelation 12, compare books of Luke,

1Chronicles 21:27, Hebrews 1:1-14, please read whole chapter,

Your question falls in line with many others like why don't we see Him face to face, why do good people die, why do children suffer and die. The big question, why was sin allowed to appear and death and the devil and why 6000 years of turmoil, tribulation, and suffering?

The answer is, love demonstrated by faith.

We as humans have a very hard time stepping back and looking at things in a spiritual and eternal sense. We all live in the present and make assumptions about the world based on our own life. In this case step back, try as hard as you can to imagine you are God. You are omnipotent and omnipresent and full of a deep abding love you want to share. How do you create a creation that loves you back, not because you make it love you which isn't love, but because of who you are, your character. God is a father, the greatest of fathers. Even us human fathers want our children to love us for who we are, not because we buy them things, or put them through college, or put a roof over their heads. We want to be loved because we are loved. God needed to give a creation Free Will to choose, and to choose there must be a choice. We make that choice based on faith.

Paul said in Hebrews 1:1-3

1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 2 For by it the elders obtained a good report. 3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

It is our faith in God that causes us to love Him, our faith that He is real, that His Word is true, that Jesus Christ is His Son and our Saviour. It is this love in Him that allows us to trust Him no matter what the circumstances because we Know (have faith) that He loves us.

So why don't we hear God, why doesn' He speak to us in an audible voice? Because He wants a people, chosen and elect, that have faith that He is (His character) and love Him because of faith, not His mighty works.

David himself had respect unto GOD & who GOD anointed even when that anointed saught to kill David continuously 2Samuel 1:14, 1Samuel 26:9,

John 11:2,

This, Psalms 2, seems to me, to point to JESUS The MESSIAH, Promised one the one Savior to save all mankind, who will believe, Psalms 2:2

Psalms 2:7, look at JESUS during His baptism, Mark 1:11, Matthew 3:17, & Acts 13:33, Hebrews 1:5, Hebrews 5:5,

Psalms 2:8, JESUS when He was taken to the high place to be tempted, Matthew 4:8-10,

Psalms 2:2, when the rulers, the kings set themselves against Him, Acts 4:25-27, Luke 4:18,

JESUS coming to HIS own people, rejected by them Isaiah 53, Matthew 21:37-39,

Revelation 21:7

Hope this helps clarify

The Bible is divided into a old testament (will) and the new testament (will). The new testament is God's current will. When someone makes a new will the old one is replace by, or subject to the new . Hebrews 1:1 God spoke in times past by the prophets but in these last days spoken to us by his Son. The old law came through Levi but Jacob prophesied that the lawgiver would proceed out of Judah. David prophesies Christ would be after the order of Melchisedec. In Hebrews 7 it states that the "the priesthood being changed there is made of necessity a change in the law. The law can be for a shadow of the new, but not the very image ( Hebrews 10:1) 1 Timothy 1:8 The law is good if a man use it lawfully implies that the old testament can be used if it complies with the new testament. Romans 3:31 Do we make void the law through faith? God forbid, yea, we establish the law. 2 Cor. 3 has numerous verses that the old testament was to be "done away". The new testament is referenced as the "law of liberty" and the "law of Christ" which is the true lawgiver. Christ in Mat. 7 said in several places "ye have heard that it was said by them of old time" but "I said unto you" indicating that some old testament laws were not according to the "new will".

George,

I meant to place Hebrews 10:26 in the third category, not the second. Sorry about that!

George,

The inscription added to this letter in the 2nd century was "The Letter to the Hebrews." This letter was written to Hebrew Christians. We know this because of the emphasis on the Levitical priesthood and sacrifices, and an absence of any reference to Gentiles.

The purpose of the letter was to warn against apostasy during persecution. It's when believers suffer that believers consider stop following Christ, or consider compromising in their walk with the Lord when things get tough. The Hebrew people would suffer severe persecution for identifying with Christ as the Messiah. Instead of surrendering their lives to Christ, many of them were turning away and going back into Judaism because life was so much easier for them that way. Nothing in the book of Hebrews speaks about losing salvation.

In order to understand the various passages and the various sections of Hebrews, we have to understand that there are three separate groups to whom it was written:

1) To Hebrew believers.



2) To Hebrews who have an intellectual understanding of Christ but have not been saved, and they are considering going back to the religious system of Judaism because of the persecution for identifying with Hebrew believers. ( Hebrews 6:4-6). So these are Hebrews who understand what's being taught, and they intellectually agree with it, but they have never received Christ. ( Hebrews 10:26).

3) There were also Hebrew unbelievers. These were those who were at these meetings, those who were in the crowd that just did not believe.

So by understanding these three groups, we can better understand some of the scriptures that are being presented, and why some of these Hebrew people were turning away and going back into Judaism. There are sections of scriptures to each one of these three groups in the book of Hebrews.

I believe the Book of Hebrews is written primarily for Christians, as God said in 1 Cor 10.

1 Corinthians 10:11

Now all these things happened unto them for examples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.

What role does the Hebrews book have on the Hebrew people and their not accepting Christ as the Messiah?

Thank you Jesse for your kind explanations. I just saw your response today. We continue to study.

It should have for believers, but with all things involving people change was difficult and many Jews had difficulty leaving it behind. Social pressures, rejection by families and being put out of the synagogues brought challenges and the temptation to go along to get along. That is why the book of Hebrews was written. The author was trying to prevent Jewish believers from turning back to the sacrificial system and showing them Jesus was superior in every way to that system.

Here is my attempt to summarize Hebrews:

Jesus superior to the prophets: Hebrews 1:1-3

Jesus superior to angels: Hebrews 1:4-14, Hebrews 2:1-8

Jesus able to represent humanity: Hebrews 2:9-18

Jesus superior to Moses: Hebrews 3:1-6

Warnings about hardening our hearts to God's calling: 3:7-19

Warnings about missing God's rest provided by faith in Jesus: 4:1-13

Jesus provides bold access as our high priest: 4:14-16, Jesus meets high priest requirements: Hebrews 5:1-10

Warning about being dull of hearing and unprepared for a deeper teaching: Hebrews 5:11-14, 6:1-8

Encouragement to believe that they are ready for deeper teaching: Hebrews 6:9-12

Teaching about the importance of God giving His oath to Christ He would be a priest forever: Hebrews 6:13-20

Teaching the superiority of the order of Melchisedek that Christ belongs to over the Levitical priesthood order: Hebrews 7:1-28

Christ's priesthood serves the heavenly reality that the law only was an earthly copy of: Hebrews 8:1-5

The superiority of the New Covenant over the Old: Hebrews 8:6-13,

The superiority of Christ's complete sevice over the incomplete Levitical service: Hebrews 9:1-28

The superiority of Christ's sacrifice: Hebrews 10:1-22

Warnings about drawing back: Hebrews 10:23-39

Importance of and examples of faith: Hebrews 11:1-40

Exhortation to submit to chastisement: Hebrews 12:1-29

Exhortation to practically live out their Christian faith and benediction: Hebrews 13:1-25

Jesus superior to

Ronnette,

The author of Hebrews is unknown. We do know from Hebrews 13:23 that whoever wrote the letter knew Timothy. Some believe that Paul wrote Hebrews, but in all of Paul's other epistles, he begins by introducing himself as the author. One of the problems I have in believing Paul wrote it is because of what it says in Hebrews 2:3 which says "How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by (them) that heard Him."

This tells me that whoever wrote Hebrews was a second generation Christian. So whoever wrote Hebrews did not hear the Lord directly (As Paul did), nor did he receive from the Lord directly, but received and was confirmed and established for us, he being one of them, by those that heard Him.

One of the other theories was that it was Barnabas, because the letter appears to have been written by a Levite from the tribe of Levi. They were those who worked the temple. They were the priests, and they are the ones who took care of the temple.

The letter appears to have been written by a Levite because of the familiarity with the temple functions and rituals. According to Acts 4:36, Barnabas was a Levite. So some people theorize that Barnabas wrote it.

Barnabas means "Son of Encouragement." That's what his name means. And in Hebrews, the writer states in Hebrews 13:22 that he encourages them to endure the word of encouragement.

I have also heard Luke and Apollos being mentioned as possible writer. But the bottom line is we do not know who wrote Hebrews.

As for Hebrews 8:11 applying to Gentiles, here is my understanding of that verse. When Christ comes and sets up His kingdom, and brings the fulfillment of the last parts of the New Covenant, everybody will know the Lord.

We won't have a need for pastors. There won't be a need to teach others about the Lord. Everybody's going to know, when He comes and sets up His kingdom!

Who wrote the book of Hebrews? Does The book of Hebrews applies to Gentiles specially Chapter 8:11?

Isaiah 46:10,

Genesis 1, Hebrews 1:10,

Revelation 21:6, Revelation 22:13, John 1:1-5, Ephesians 3:9, Colossians 1:18, Luke 24:27, Revelation 3:14, Revelation 1:8,

Psalms 80:15-17, symbolic? Genesis 2, Isaiah 11:1, Jeremiah 23:5, Zechariah 3:8, Zechariah 6:12, John 15,

Isaiah 53, Luke 23, Psalms 22, Mark 15:34, Mark 15, in context

Hebrews 9:24-28,

The last, 1Corinthians 15:45, Romans 5:12-21, John 19:30,

Hopefully these are all helpful in your study

Hi Nsemeke. I share the following to help you understand this Book of Philemon when you read it, rather than do a verse-by-verse exposition. I hope the following will help you.

This Book is the most personal of all of Apostle Paul's letters. Like the other Prison letters that we have in the Bible, this too was written by Paul when he was confined in a Roman prison at the first. Onesimus is one of millions of slaves that were used & often badly treated in the Roman Empire, but sadly Onesimus did great wrong & stole from his master, Philemon, & to make matters worse, he ran away knowing what could happen to him. Eventually he made his way to Rome where he crossed paths with Paul & Paul led him to faith in Christ (v10).

Now, as a Christian, Onesimus had a new problem: he had to do his Christian duty & return to his master. And since death was mandatory for such a crime (don't know whether Christian masters carried this out), Paul took the initiative to write this deeply personal letter, interceding on Onesimus' behalf. And this is also an important letter to other Christians who had slaves (more like bond-servants) concerning their relationship to their slave-brothers in Christ, if they had any. In Colossians 4:1 we see another instance of employing slaves by Christians.

Paul didn't want to deny Philemon's rights over Onesimus, but wanted him to deal with him as a brother in Christ (v16). So sincere was Paul, that he even offered to pay back what Onesimus had stolen (vv18,19). We don't know the outcome, but it's possible that Philemon did give Onesimus his freedom & sent him back to Paul (v14 is how this verse is translated). Ignatius of Antioch, in his letter to the Ephesians, mentions that Onesimus later became a minister & then a bishop (a leading elder) of the Church at Ephesus. He was an outstanding example to them in his love & Christian qualities. All this showing us, how wonderfully God can change even the vilest of us into mighty tools in His Hands.

Break down of philemon

Hi Paul, Jesus is in the OT. John 1:1-3 tells you He was the Word in the beginning with God and He was God and verse three says nothing was created without Him and Hebrews 1:10 clears that up well. Elohim is the plural in Genesis and they created them (Adam and Eve) in their image. But the best verse I like is 1 Corinthians 10:4 (which is about them moving around in the wilderness) and the Rock that led them was Christ. You can also know that it was He who led them by the pillar of fire and by cloud was Him also. It all points to that saving relationship that He put into place for all of this creation and it's inhabitants. Hope this helps. Cissi

I need a bible with big letter if possible.