The Journey of Philemon is not only a redemptive journey for Onesimus, it is also a redemptive journey for me, returning to the root language of the New Testament text - Greek. Onesimus returned to his redemptive root in Christ. He was revamped and restored to his usefulness. His redemption in Christ is completely "finished", eternal, absolutely free and transformational. In this Greek class, I also need to revamp myself, unlearn my English to learn the Greek language. I am still learning.  At the end of each lesson, it seemed to me  that I had sufficiently grasped all of what was taught, thanks to how comprehensive sister Dav made it, but during the actual process of doing my assignment, I realized how little I actually know. That sounds "mystical", typical of Greek culture. I would estimate my comprehension of the Greek language so far to stand at most at a measly 10%. However it is a good start. At least, I have picked up some tools which will help me to find out the actual intended meaning of the biblical text and I am able to discern a little better if someone is trying to “smoke” in his delivery of God’s word. I am now more careful not to post write-ups and daily devotional guide on Whatsapp groups without first "screening" through them.

Doing group projects is a challenge to me, especially when the group is not so small.  I usually have tried to finish my own trial of each assignment within one or two days after the lesson. However, by the time my group members have tried theirs and started conferencing, usually 2 days before deadline, I have already lost my flow of thoughts and passion. But, I still enjoy conferencing, listening to and learning from their views and perspectives. We are all so different but yet there is “unity in diversity” just as what the book of Philemon has taught on unity in Christ regardless of differences. Sometimes, my intuition tells me that I am correct but there is no need to insist on my personal opinion and I am not as skillful an orator as Paul to be able to persuade others. I cherish and respect other’s perspective. Marks is not so important to me. I value the partnership, κοινωνία that the Lord has provided for through my wonderful group mates and class mates, especially thankful to Matthias, always taking the lead in our group projects.  Praise God for the passion and dedication of our teacher.  In the midst of her trying physical health she remained strong and dedicated. She is a real Greek- warrior, an overcomer, and our role model.

Doing exegesis paper has been even more demanding. There were many nights that I had difficulty falling asleep as the mind had overworked and is overly loaded. I believed my blood pressure also went up. I am not well- versed in the English language and weak in summary. So I found my paper very long-winded. I need to take care of  format, font and many other details. I have to keep editing and changing my draft. Sister Dav would always say “refer to Turabian and Guide to Research Writing”. I really dreaded all these. I just wanted a quick-fix solution.  However, I know it is God’s dealing with me to prepare me for the spirit of excellence in my future ministry. I will need to refer to the Bible instead of the Turabian and the Holy Spirit shall be my guide instead of the GRW to take care of every single detail however minute in future. Just a curious thought:  wonder why our teacher did not bring in the perspective of “hospitality” this round in the slave-master relationship. May be she did, but I did not pay attention.  David Pao says Philemon’s call to Onesimus seems to be one of hospitality, “my home is your home”.

I am coming to the end of my learning journey at Acts College. This is not the end of learning however, because learning is a life process. Though I came to the college in 2012 during my season of wilderness in ministry, I know that God is the divine agent in all my paths. I believe He can turn things around for good for me just as he had turned things around for Onesimus. I am thankful that he has actually equipped me and grounded me better in the Word to prepare me for the future. In quietness and trust is my strength. I look forward to soar on His eagle’s wings again. 

Here is a quiz for my beloved κοινωνοὶ. I do not have the answer myself. I was just reflecting on the use of Granville Sharp rule (TKS construction = article-substantive-και-substantive) in the relationships of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and constructed the following diagrams. Which of the following best describe the trinity relationships? Just to tinkle your thought!  God bless!