• Download Video
• Download Audio
• Print
• Email
• Save As PDF

"To the beloved Apphia, Archippus our fellow soldier..."

Text: Philemon 2

OTHER RECIPIENTS

The Apostle Paul included other recipients in this letter to Philemon. The latter was still the principal person to whom Paul wrote. He did not think it amiss to mention the names of dear common friends.

“To the beloved Apphia, Archippus our fellow soldier,
and to the church in your house.”
Philemon 2

1. “To the beloved Apphia”

a) Who is Apphia?

b) We do not know for sure.

c) Some have offered the view that this was the wife of Philemon.

d) She must have been very dear to Paul for he addressed her affectionately as “the beloved Apphia”.

2. “Archippus”

a) He was mentioned in Paul’s letter to the Colossians.

b) He was encouraged to fulfil his ministry given to him by the Lord (Colossians 4:17).

c) Exactly who he was with relationship to Apphia and Philemon, we are not certain.

d) Some have suggested that he might have been a son to Apphia and Philemon.

3. “And to the church in your house”

a) Church buildings

i) There were no church buildings in the first century.

ii) The building of churches did not start till a few centuries later.

(When Emperor Constantine declared faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.)

b) House churches

i) Christians gathered together for worship in “house churches”.

ii) The church in the house of Archippus would be a clear example.

iii) The owners must have a fairly large house.

iv) Congregations were not very large, being limited to the size of the house.

c) It would take a lot for anyone to open up his home for church gatherings.

i) It would take a genuine and strong faith.

ii) It would mean that the owner has a fair amount of wealth to own a house large enough to use it as a church.

iii) Archippus was honoured for his commitment as a “fellow soldier” for the cause of Christ.