Wednesday Evening Bible Study

Date:  July 29, 2026

Topic

 How To Express Thankfulness For Your Fellow Saints?, Part 2

Bible Study Scripture

⁴ I thank my God always when I remember you in my prayers, ⁵ because I hear of your love and of the faith that you have toward the Lord Jesus and for all the saints, ⁶ and I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ. ⁷ For I have derived much joy and comfort from your love, my brother, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you.

⁸ Accordingly, though I am bold enough in Christ to command you to do what is required, ⁹ yet for love’s sake I prefer to appeal to you—I, Paul, an old man and now a prisoner also for Christ Jesus— ¹⁰ I appeal to you for my child, Onesimus, whose father I became in my imprisonment. ¹¹ (Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful to you and to me.) ¹² I am sending him back to you, sending my very heart. ¹³ I would have been glad to keep him with me, in order that he might serve me on your behalf during my imprisonment for the gospel, ¹⁴ but I preferred to do nothing without your consent in order that your goodness might not be by compulsion but of your own accord. ¹⁵ For this perhaps is why he was parted from you for a while, that you might have him back forever, ¹⁶ no longer as a bondservant but more than a bondservant, as a beloved brother—especially to me, but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.

¹⁷ So if you consider me your partner, receive him as you would receive me. ¹⁸ If he has wronged you at all, or owes you anything, charge that to my account. ¹⁹ I, Paul, write this with my own hand: I will repay it—to say nothing of your owing me even your own self. ²⁰ Yes, brother, I want some benefit from you in the Lord. Refresh my heart in Christ.

²¹ Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say. ²² At the same time, prepare a guest room for me, for I am hoping that through your prayers I will be graciously given to you. ^[1]

Bible Study Questions

1. What impresses you about Philemon’s character from verses 4–7?
2. What aspect of Philemon’s character would you most like to grow in yourself?
3. Why does Paul always thank his God in Philemon 4 when he remembers Philemon in his prayers? What does this say about your prayer life in relation to your fellow workers, brothers, sisters, and soldiers in Christ?
4. What does Philemon 5 say about our love and faith?
5. According to verse 6, how and why ought we share our faith with others?
6. What does Philemon sharing his faith, in Jesus Christ, do for Paul? Why is this important to know about Paul in relation to Philemon? What does this tell you about ministers within the church’s source of joy and comfort?
7. What does Philemon sharing his faith, in Jesus Christ, do for other saints besides Paul?
8. What does the sharing of your faith do for others?
9. Having described Philemon’s loving character, Paul appeals to him on the basis of love (v. 9). Paul reminds Philemon that he could order him to do what he ought to do (v. 8). If we lack love for a person, why must we still be willing to forgive and accept him or her?
10. In what ways has Onesimus changed since running away from Philemon (vv. 10–16)? How might this help in the reconciliation process?
11. What will it require of Onesimus to return to Philemon?
12. What will it require of Philemon to do what Paul asks?
13. In what ways does Paul function as a mediator between these two men?

What principles in this letter could you use for mending a fractured relationship?

^[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2025), Phm 4–22.