Exegesis of Philemon 1:6

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Von

Puritan Board Sophomore
ESV reads like this:
"...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..."
  1. What is this "sharing of faith"? Or as other translations put it: "fellowship of faith", "communication of faith". Surely it is not a one-sided aspect only - as in "I am sharing my testimony with you", which boils down to "I am telling you my testimony". So if sharing means here truly an activity wherein both sides participate, how does this look practically?

  2. How does this "become effective"? In other words, do we have a sharing of faith that is not effective?

  3. This all should be accomplished "for"/"through" the "full knowledge of every good thing". What are these good things - fruit of the Spirit? Good works?
Would appreciate insight!
 
Would appreciate insight!

You would pick one of the more difficult verses in the New Testament. :)
At the risk of confusing you yet more, I thought Ehorn touched on most of the problems. His summary seems to be the last sentense (in red) before the footnotes.

Philemon
by Seth M. Ehorn

6 Even a cursory glance at English translations of Phlm 6 demonstrates what commentators have long recognized: this verse contains the most exegetical difficulties of the letter. Indeed, it is “a thorn in the exegetes’ flesh.”186 It is worth listing some of these translations in order to illustrate the point:

(niv84) I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ.
(niv) I pray that your partnership with us in the faith may be effective in deepening your understanding of every good thing we share for the sake of Christ.
(esv) 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.
(kjv) That the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.
(nrsv) I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective when you perceive all the good that we may do for Christ.
(nasb) and I pray that the fellowship of your faith may become effective through the knowledge of every good thing which is in you for Christ’s sake.
(jb) I pray that this faith will give rise to a sense of fellowship that will show you all the good things that we are able to for Christ.​

Because of the lack of a main verb in v 6a, the entire clause could be dependent upon μνείαν … ποιούμενος (v 4) with the meaning “making mention … that (ὅπως).” Problematically, this would render v 6 as a secondary clause, dependent upon a participial phrase in v 4. Most commentators supply προσευχόμενος (“praying … that”) from τῶν προσευχῶν μου in v 4 (O’Brien, 279; Harris, 251; Fitzmyer, 96–97; Ryan, 223; Moo, 279). This too suffers from the fact that it renders v 6 as a secondary clause. Indeed, no missing element need be supplied if v 6 is taken with the main verb of v 4: “I thank God … that.”187

ὅπως ἡ κοινωνία τῆς πίστεώς σου, “that the fellowship produced by your faithfulness.” Most commentators have understood ὄπως here as expressing the content of Paul’s prayer and not his purpose (e.g., Lightfoot, 333; O’Brien, 279; Bruce, 209; Harris, 251; Fitzmyer, 96; Ryan, 223; Moo, 389).188 Although Paul had elsewhere specified the content of his prayers of thanksgiving (e.g., Phil 1:9; 1 Thess 3:10; cf. Eph 1:17; Col 1:9; 2 Thess 1:11), it is worth noting that his preferred way of doing so was with the conjunction ἱνα or the preposition phrase εἰς τό; not ὅπως as is found here. In fact, nowhere else in the Pauline Letters does ὅπως have the force of expressing content. Instead, in Paul ὅπως consistently expresses purpose (cf. Rom 3:4; 9:17[2x]; 1 Cor 1:29; 2 Cor 8:11, 14; Gal 1:4; cf. esp. 2 Thess 1:12). Thus, we are inclined to view Phlm 6 as expressing a purpose of Paul’s prayer (Wolter, 253–54; Arzt-Grabner, 182; Ryan, 224).189 But what exactly was this purpose? The waters of interpretation are murky at best with regard to how the remainder of the verse is to be taken.

The expression ἡ κοινωνία τῆς πίστεώς occurs nowhere else in the NT. However, if one compares several of Paul’s uses of κοινωνία, a reasonable base understanding may be attained. Paul used κοινωνία, often in a genitive construction, to describe (a) generous action(s) undertaken on behalf of other believers (Rom 15:26; 2 Cor 8:4; 2 Cor 9:13);190 (b) connection/union with Christ (1 Cor 1:9), including his sufferings (Phil 3:10) epitomized in the Eucharist meal (1 Cor 10:16[2x]); (c) connection/union with the Spirit (2 Cor 13:13; Phil 2:1); and (d) partnership in the gospel (Phil 1:5). We could further note the communal context of “the right hand of fellowship [κοινωνία]” extended to Paul and Barnabas (Gal 2:9) and the (negative) use of the word in 2 Cor 6:14 to describe the connection believers are to have with others. Thus, at base κοινωνία expresses a Christian commonality within Paul’s thinking.191 Further, as Wright has noted, in the context of a letter where Paul urged Philemon to welcome Onesimus back as though he were Paul (v 17) and to charge Paul’s account as though he were Onesimus (v 18), κοινωνία is a fitting term to communicate this exchange (cf. Phil 2:1–5; 3:10; 2 Cor 1:7).192

With these basic observations in place, it will be easier to sort through some of the English translations of v 6. Various translations (e.g., niv84, esv, nrsv, kjv) are each alike in that they render the phrase ἡ κοινωνία τῆς πίστεώς with an objective genitive.193 Thus κοινωνία is treated as a verbal noun (hence: “sharing”) with πιστίς as its direct object. The sense of this grammatically objective rendering is that Paul wants Philemon to share his faith with others, presumably through evangelism. This is problematic on three accounts. First, as was noted above, Paul’s usage of κοινωνία is best understood as an intra-Christian activity. Evangelism, although undertaken by Christians from the community, is not an “in community” activity. Second, it was Paul who had evangelized Onesimus (v 10), but Philemon was known for refreshing the hearts of believers (v 7). Thus, it is more likely that Paul is praying for this spirit of concern to enable Philemon to welcome Onesimus back home and not punish him, rather than praying for Philemon to become an outgoing evangelist. And third, Paul elsewhere describes others with noun pairs, the second of which is typically a subjective genitive (e.g., 1 Cor 2:5; 15:14, 17; 2 Cor 10:15; Phil 2:7; 1 Thess 1:3).194 Taken as a subjective genitive (so niv, nlt), the phrase would express the idea that κοινωνία was produced by faithfulness.195 Interestingly, O’Brien came strikingly close to this notion when he wrote, “Πίστις … in v. 6 throws the emphasis on the practical expression of the faith rather than on the faith itself or its object.”196

ἐνεργὴς γένηται ἐν ἐπιγνώσει παντὸς ἀγαθοῦ τοῦἐν ἡμῖν εἰς Χριστόν, “might become effective in the knowledge of every good thing that is yours for the sake of Messiah.” Paul prayed that the fellowship produced by Philemon’s faithfulness (with reference to Christian faith) might become “effective.” The rare NT word ἐνεργής was used to refer to the word of God, which is “living and active [ἐνεργής]” (Heb 4:12) and also to a “wide door for effective [ἐνεργής] work” (1 Cor 16:9). The word was also used in contemporary texts to refer to a mill “in working order” (P. Ryl. II 167.10 [a.d. 39]; cf. Ezek 46:1), and “tilled” land (Syll. 929.72 [second century b.c.]).197 The sense of the word, thus, seems to be to indicate “usefulness” or “effective(ness)” in an active sense.198

The noun ἐπίγνωσις can refer to “knowledge” gained either through empirical means (e.g., Rom 1:28; Eph 1:17) or through more reflective undertakings (e.g., Rom 10:2; Phil 1:9; cf. Eph 4:13; Col 1:9, 10; 2:2; 3:10; 1 Tim 2:4; 2 Tim 2:25; 3:7; Titus 1:1). Far from being a technical term for knowledge of God via faith in Christ,199 ἐπίγνωσις can be used to indicate “knowledge” that ought to bring about love within the Christian community (Phil 1:9).200 Occurring with the preposition ἐν, it indicates the sphere in which knowledge should take place (O’Brien, 280; Harris, 251). The noun ἐπίγνωσις occurs with the thing (intended to be) “known” (cf. Rom 3:20; Col 2:2; 1 Tim 2:4; 2 Tim 2:25; 3:7; Titus 1:1; Heb 10:26), which in this context is πὰντος ἀγαθου (“every good thing”), probably pointing ahead to τὸ ἀγαθόν σου (“your good deed”) in Phlm 14 (Witherington, 77).201 Perhaps the sense of the phrase παντὸς ἀγαθοῦ invites comparison with 2 Cor 9:8: εἰς πᾶν ἔργον ἀγαθόν (cf. manuscripts F and G of Philemon, which include ἐργοῦ).

Finally, the last portion τοῦ ἐν ἡμῖν εἰς Χριστόν also merits discussion. The sense of εἰςΧριστόν hangs not so much on the lexical possibilities open to Paul,202 but on how εἰς Χριστόν is construed syntactically within the clause. While it may be taken with the verb γίνομαι, the article τοῦ, used as a relative pronoun, better indicates that εἰς Χριστόν goes with “every good thing” (Harris, 252). This construction, then, clearly prefers the reading of εἰς Χριστόν as “for the sake of [Messiah]” (esv; niv; cf. nrsv; nasb; jb; Lightfoot, 334; Thompson, 215; Moo, 394). As in the letter opening (v 1), Χρίστος has the titular sense of “Messiah.”

The sense of Phlm 6 is, no doubt, quite difficult. The interpretation offered here has attempted to maintain lexical consistency with reference to πίστις … σου construction in v 5 and v 6, thus reading “faithfulness” in both contexts. This has produced the notion that faithful Christian living, energized by the God who gives every good thing, unites the Christian community together for the sake of Messiah.


186 N. T. Wright, “ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ as ‘Messiah’ in Paul: Philemon 6,” in Climax of the Covenant: Christ and the Law in Pauline Theology (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1993), 41–55 (49).

niv84 New International Version (1984 edition)
niv New International Version (2011 edition)
esv English Standard Version
KJV King James Version
nrsv New Revised Standard Version
NASB New American Standard Bible
jb Jerusalem Bible

187 See M. B. O’Donnell, Corpus Linguistics and the Greek of the New Testament (NTMS 6; Sheffield: Sheffield Phoenix Press, 2005), 465–70, for a detailed discussion of this passage.

188 The word ὅπως occurs 53x in the NT, mainly to indicate purpose (38x) (Matt 2:23, 18; 5:16; 5:44; 6:2, 4, 5, 16, 18; 8:17; 9:38; 13:35; 23:35; 26:59; Luke 2:35; 16:26, 28; John 11:57; Acts 3:20; 9:2, 12, 17, 24; 15:17; 20:16; 23:23; 25:26; Rom 3:4; 9:17[2x]; 1 Cor 1:29; 2 Cor 8:11; 2 Cor 8:14; Gal 1:4; 2 Thess 1:12; Heb 2:9; 9:15; 1 Pet 2:9); or content (11x) (Matt 8:34; 12:14; 22:15; Mark 3:6; Luke 7:3; 10:2; 11:37; 24:20; 23:15, 20; Acts 25:3). Four uses, if Phlm 6 is included, are ambiguous (Acts 8:15, 24; Phlm 6; Jas 5:16).

189 Although, it should be noted that in the context of this prayer the content would be difficult to distinguish from the purpose.
190 Dunn, 318, rightly refers to these uses as “acts of fellowship,” giving κοινωνία an active sense.
191 J. Hainz, “κοινωνία κτλ.” EDNT 2:303–05 (304).

192 Wright, “ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ as ‘Messiah’ in Paul: Philemon 6,” 51–52, who further notes the arguments of J. Y. Campbell (“ΚΟΙΝΩΝΙΑ and Its Cognates in the New Testament,” JBL 51 [1932] 352–80) and H. Seesemann (Der Begriff ΚΟΙΝΩΝΙΑ im Neuen Testament [BZNW 14; Giessen: Töpelmann, 1933]), who refer to κοινωνία as “participation in something,” rather than “fellowship with someone.”
niv84 New International Version (1984 edition)
esv English Standard Version
nrsv New Revised Standard Version
KJV King James Version

193 Cf. Moule, Idiom Book, 41.

194 Wallace, Greek Grammar, 116, prefers the subjective genitive citing Phlm 6 as an example.
niv New International Version (2011 edition)
nlt New Living Translation

195 Wallace, Greek Grammar, 105, calls this kind of use a “Genitive of Production,” noting that most scholars treat this as a subjective genitive.

196 O’Brien, Introductory Thanksgivings, 56; verbatim in O’Brien, 281.
Syll Sylloge Inscriptionum Graecarum

197 Cited in MM §1756.

198 G. Bertram, “ἐνεργέω,” TDNT 2:652–54: “God is the one who is ultimately at work. He is the one who works all things.”

199 Pace R. Bultmann, “γίνωσκω,” TDNT 1:689–719 (707).

200 Ἑπίγνωσις and γίνωσκω are virtually synonyms in some NT passages (cf. Rom 1:21 and 1:28; 3:20 and 7:7; Phil 1:9 and Rom 15:14; 1 Cor 1:5). See also Moule, 159–64, who has an expanded note on the use of ἐπίγινωσις in Paul.

201 Wiles, Paul’s Intercessory Prayers, 224.

202 E.g., O’Brien, 281, who was apparently (though not explicitly) dependent upon Calvin (395), argued that εἰς Χριστόν probably reflects a stylistic variant of ἐν Χριστῷ, the latter of which would have been too harsh following ἐν ἡμῖν. See further Wright, “ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ as ‘Messiah’ in Paul: Philemon 6,” 53–55, who argues that εἰς Χριστόν has an “incorporative sense.”
 
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