Philemon and Hebrews 1

Philemon

The book of Philemon does not teach any doctrine but tells us more about the personality of Paul. Philemon was evidently a rich member of the church in Colossae and Onesimus was his slave. Onesimus ran away and evidently stole from Philemon in the process. Sometime after, Onesimus converted to Christianity and is now helping Paul while Paul is a prisoner in Rome. Paul writes to Philemon and says that he is sending Onesimus back, which Paul is legally bound to do, and asks Philemon to accept him, not as a slave, but as a brother in the gospel. Paul promises to pay Philemon anything that he has lost. This would be probably be the cost of a slave plus what was stolen.

Hebrews 1

Bible scholars have debated over who wrote the book of Hebrews. Joseph Smith stated that it was Paul. In chapter one, there is a wonderful abundance of evidence that the Father and Son are separate beings, that Christ is the creator of heaven and earth, that God the Father has a body of flesh and bones, and that Christ now sits as a God, like his Father, on a throne at his Father’s right hand. Here are some of the verses and what I feel they teach:

Verses 1-2: God has always spoken through his Son to prophets until Christ came to earth and spoke himself. Following Christ’s death, he spoke through his apostles who were chosen by him to be his spokesmen on earth. (see Acts 1). It is Christ who is the creator of our universe.

Verse 3: Christ is in “the express image of his person.” This cannot be more said more plainly in explaining that Christ is the Son, and the Father and the Son are persons. They have bodies and they look alike. They do not meld into one being that is an indefinable spiritual essence, but Christ sits (how does a bodiless essence sit?) at his right hand (and how does a bodiless, indefinable spiritual essence have a physical right hand?)

Verses 4-8: Here it is said explicitly that the Father and the Son are separate beings. One is the father who sires a son. They speak as separate individuals to each other. Christ has received an inheritance above the angels, and the Father says to Christ, “Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.” The Father calls Christ a God. Being a called a God does not place Christ above the Father, but the Father gives him the status of a God. The other religions will differ with us on this and that is fine. But that is the difference between a religion that is based on the interpretations of men and one that is to revealed by Christ to men who are apostles and prophets, who have seen the Lord, been taught by him, and continue to receive revelation from him. The Old Testament testified of Christ, but when he came, the Jews could not accept him because he did not fit into their interpretations of the Messiah of the scriptures they had at that time. In the Old Testament, prophets were continually killed because they did not fit with the teachings of that time. But Christ was the Messiah, he did have apostles and prophets who he chose and ordained. In our time, he has come again. And in preparation for his second coming, he has once again called apostles and prophets who like all those of old are rejected for the same reason that apostles and prophets were rejected in the past. Religion is once again revealed by God to man. It is up to man to accept it or reject it. I add my witness, as revealed to me by the Holy Ghost, which I cannot deny, to millions of others that these things are true.