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6 - Philippians and Philemon

from Part II - The Pauline Letter Collection

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 June 2020

Bruce W. Longenecker
Affiliation:
Baylor University, Texas
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Summary

Comparing the letters to the Philippians and to Philemon brings to light important aspects of Paul’s thought and practice – in particular, how certain key theological commitments are practically enacted when they encounter situational differences. Capturing a sense of what Paul is doing in these letters is best done by grasping what the problems were that he was addressing and considering how the letters deploy a set of rhetorical strategies to resolve those problems. The specific contextualized instantiation of Jesus-like relationships in Colossae is clearly different from its instantiation in Philippi; but the underlying strategy of mobilizing a story of Jesus (both conceptually by letter, as well as directly and personally through a disciple or envoy) remains the same. Paul clearly believes that Jesus, rightly understood and rightly followed, makes a difference to the basic issue that tends to concern all communities, namely, how people relate to one another.

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

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References

Further Reading

Barclay, John M. G. Colossians and Philemon. New Testament Guides. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1997.Google Scholar
Bauckham, Richard. “Paul’s Christology of Divine Identity.” In Jesus and the God of Israel, 182232. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2008.Google Scholar
Campbell, Douglas. Framing Paul: An Epistolary Biography. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2014.Google Scholar
Campbell, Douglas. Paul: An Apostle’s Journey. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2018.Google Scholar
Glancy, Jennifer A. Slavery in Early Christianity. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002; Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 2006.Google Scholar
Gordley, Matthew E. New Testament Christological Hymn: Exploring Texts, Contexts, and Significance. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2018.Google Scholar
Graves, David E.What Is the Madder with Lydia’s Purple? A Re-examination of the Purpurarii in Thyatira and Philippi.” Near East Archaeological Society Bulletin 62 (2017): 328.Google Scholar
Hays, Richard B.The Story of God’s Son: The Identity of Jesus in the Letters of Paul.” In Seeking the Identity of Jesus: A Pilgrimage, edited by Hays, Richard B. and Gaventa, Beverly Roberts, 180199. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2008.Google Scholar
Lampe, Peter. “Keine ‘Sklavenflucht’ des Onesimus,” Zeitschrift für die Neutestamentliche Wissenschaft 76 (1985): 135137.Google Scholar
Malina, Bruce J. The New Testament World: Insights from Cultural Anthropology. 3rd ed. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox, 2001.Google Scholar
Millar, Fergus. “Condemnation to Hard Labour in the Roman Empire, from the Julio-Claudians to Constantine.” In Rome, the Greek World, and the East: Government, Society, and Culture in the Roman Empire, edited by Cotton, Hannah M. and Rogers, Guy M., 120150. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 2004.Google Scholar
Petersen, Norman. Rediscovering Paul: Philemon and the Sociology of Paul’s Narrative World. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1985.Google Scholar
Richards, E. Randolph. Paul and First-Century Letter Writing: Secretaries, Composition and Collection. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2004.Google Scholar
Scott, James C. Domination and the Arts of Resistance: Hidden Transcripts. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1990.Google Scholar
Wright, N. T.Jesus Christ Is Lord: Philippians 2.5–11.” In Climax of the Covenant: Christ and the Law in Pauline Theology, 5698. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 1992.Google Scholar

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