Philemon

Philemon is known as one of the Pastoral Epistles written by Paul.  It is a personal letter, addressed to Philemon, a wealthy resident of Colosse and the owner of a large home that housed one of the Colossian churches.  The subject of the letter was a plea from Paul to Philemon, asking him to forgive Onesimus, a run-away slave of Philemon’s, and to welcome him back to service as a brother in Christ.

1:1-2 –Paul greets Philemon using the title of “a prisoner of Jesus Christ” rather than his usual salutation as an apostle.  Paul, ever the master of phrasing, gently reminds Philemon of the sacrifice of his imprisonment for the sake of His Lord, Jesus Christ.  In other epistles, he addresses himself as an apostle of Jesus, defining his authority to teach and correct as Jesus Himself would.  Paul might well have been suggesting that the severity of his situation was much more than what he was asking of Philemon.  Paul never considers himself a prisoner of Rome; rather his imprisonment is to the King of Kings, the Lord Jesus.  Paul also addresses Apphia, believed to be Philemon’s wife, and Archippus, believed to be his son and whom Paul calls “a fellow soldier in Christ.”  This godly family extends to the church, which meets in the home of Philemon.  As Christians, the believers were all one in Christ – rich, poor, master and slave, united as God’s family, all on the same level.

1:3 – Paul extends his usual greeting of grace and peace; grace being the undeserved favor which God showers upon His people and peace that inward sense of fulfillment and rest that comes from a relationship with the Lord God.  It is these same blessings that Paul desires for Philemon to extend to Onesimus.

1:4 Paul tells Phil that he “always thanks God when he prays for him.”  Do we “always” thank God for our fellow brothers and sisters, even those who might rub us the wrong way?  “Love one another” is the command – it does not include the qualifier, “if you choose to.”

1:5 – Two of the qualities in Philemon that cause Paul to give thanks are his love for all of God’s people and his faith in the name of Jesus Christ.  Not only did Phil have for himself the new divine life he received in Jesus, he applied the very essence of it to others as well.  Faith without love is fruitless.  Paul commends him for the love he has for “all” the saints.

1:7 – Paul further commends Phil because of his generosity due to his faith.  Paul is alluding to his generosity in sharing his faith with fellow believers and for sharing the wealth he enjoys by sharing his home as a meeting place for the church.  Perhaps this is a way for Paul to remind Phil that sharing his faith extends to forgiving his runaway slave.  Regardless, Paul prayed that he would come to understand that all of his good deeds come from Christ.  Paul writes in Eph. 2:10, “For we are God’s masterpiece.  He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, that we can do the good things He planned for us long ago.”  It was a great joy for Paul to have lead Philemon to the Lord and now it was rewarding to see that his faith and kindness was now refreshing the hearts of God’s people.  Phil is a great example of how our acts affect others.

1:8-9 – Paul gets to the point of the letter.  He reminds Phil that he could flex his apostolic muscles, but he preferred to just ask him instead.  Paul’s concern was for Onesimus to return to good standing from his master so he appealed to Philemon’s love and kindness to extend to his slave.

1:10 – This is the first time Paul uses Onesimus’ name.  This must have surprised Phil to learn that the one Paul was referring to was his former slave, now converted by the same apostle that converted him to the faith.  God works in marvelous ways.  Both the master and the slave were born again, in different places and under different circumstances.  God’s grace ranges far, even in a Roman prison.  A coincidence?

1:11-12 – the name Onesimus means “profitable,” but Paul admits that Onesimus has not been of much use to Phil lately, but has been useful to him.  Because of Onesimus’ conversion, he can now be “profitable” to both of them, returning to Philemon with the love of Paul stamped on him.

1:13 – Paul thought much of Onesimus and found him useful as he preached the Good News from his Roman prison cell.  However, Paul sends Onesimus back, obligating Philemon to treat him with Christian kindness and obligating Onesimus to serve with Christian faithfulness.  Each had a role to play.  In Paul’s selfless return of one who benefited him, he displays the principle of restitution (or compensation).  The principle; salvation removes the penalty and power of sin, but it does not cancel debts.  The new Christian must take care of all of his outstanding earthly debts.  Onesimus was required to return to his master and repay any money he might have stolen.

1:13-14 – Paul would not do anything with Onesimus without Philemon’s consent.  If Phil were forced to feel obligated to Paul, his kindness and willingness toward Onesimus would have been tainted.

1:15-16 – Paul suggest that Phil look beyond the unpleasant circumstances of Onesimus’ actions and see God “working all things together for the good of those who love Him” (Rom. 8:28).  The idea was that while Onesimus was lost to the family for a little while, now they might have him back forever as brothers in Christ.  We might think of the loss of a loved one in this same manner; our separation from them is only for a little while – the reunion will be eternal.  Paul beautifully lays out the example of Christian relationships; fellow believers are no longer simply brothers in the flesh, but now also brothers in the Lord.

1:17 – Paul asks Philemon to fully extend his new faith by receiving Onesimus back as if he were receiving Paul himself.  Jesus said in Matt. 10:40, “He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.”

1:18 – Paul so desires that the relationship between Phil and Oni is fully healed that he offers to repay Phil any debt owed him by Onesimus.  This reminds us of the enormous debt that we piled up as sinners, and of how it was all charged to the account of the Lord Jesus at Calvary.  He paid our debt in full when He died as our Substitute.  He now acts as our advocate whenever Satan brings charges against us for the sins we commit.  He asks the Father in effect to “Charge it to my account.”  Paul seals his letter and the offer of reconciliation by writing these last words in his own hand, promising to repay while not reminding Phil that “he owes him his very soul.”

1:20-21 – By forgiving Onesimus, Philemon would bring great joy to Paul while in prison.  Paul had no doubt that Philemon would do even more than was requested.  Christ had forgiven him Himself, he would not do less for Onesimus.  Paul wrote in Eph. 4:32, “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ has forgiven you.”

Paul closes by asking Philemon to prepare a guest room for him, fully expecting to get out of prison and to revisit the churches he established.  He prays that the grace of the Lord Jesus be with Philemon’s spirit.  What greater blessing could he wish him?