Monday, November 27, 2023

Philemon 1:6 meaning

Philemon 1:6 says, "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. "

I thought that this meant that the more we share our faith verbally with others that we tap more into the blessings of really knowing what good things we have in Christ and that without the frequent verbal sharing of our faith we don't really experience all the blessings God has for us.  

I am not saying that God doesn't want us to share our faith.  He does want us to do that. But here, we find that we share our faith by our good testimony, not our words.  We share our faith when others view our changed lives.  

I offer this commentary by Albert Barnes from his commentary:

What, therefore, did he desire for Philemon? That his faith, expressing itself by good fruits, might be shown to be true and not vain. For he calls that the communication of his faith when it does not remain inoperative within, but bears itself forth to benefit men by its proper effects. For although faith has its proper seat in the heart, yet it communicates itself to men by good works.” The meaning is, that he desired that Philemon would so make common the proper fruits of faith by his good deeds toward others, that all might acknowledge it to be genuine and efficacious. - Albert Barnes Commentary

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