Chrysostom and other ancient interpreters explained the significance of Philemon as providing lessons for Christian living. On the one hand, they expounded the letter’s value for showing the depths of Paul’s humility and caring as an example to all Christians; and on the other, they emphasized Philemon’s usefulness for showing how believers from different social levels are to relate to one another. These early interpreters, moreover, established a pattern or interpretive tradition of employing Philemon as a text for moral lessons that began with Chrysostom, Theodore, and Jerome and would
...more
