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6 - Philippians and Philemon

from Part II - The Pauline Letter Collection

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 June 2020

By
Douglas A. Campbell
Edited by
Bruce W. Longenecker
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.

Keywords

PhilemonPhilippiansColossaeslaveryChrist hymn
Type
Chapter
Information
The New Cambridge Companion to St. Paul , pp. 119 - 134
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, 182–232. 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): 3–28.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, 180–199. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2008.Google Scholar
Lampe, Peter. “Keine ‘Sklavenflucht’ des Onesimus,” Zeitschrift für die Neutestamentliche Wissenschaft 76 (1985): 135–137.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., 120–150. 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, 56–98. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 1992.Google Scholar

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