Philemon 1–3
Setting the Scene, Part 1
Introductory Matters
Before starting his primary discourse in verse 4, Paul writes three initial verses that establish the preliminary context of the text—its senders, its recipients, and its theological context (that is, grace). These three verses coincide with the standard introductory sections of most of Paul’s letters, with the sender/senders identified first, followed by the recipients (in conformity to letter-writing practices of his day). The recipients of verses 1b–2 are probably all members of a single Jesus-group (in contrast to the various Jesus-groups identified in other letters of Paul; cf. Rom. 16:3–16). Paul usually concludes the introductory sections of his letter with a “grace,” as in verse 3, which corresponds exactly with Rom. 1:7; 1 Cor. 1:3; Eph. 1:2; Col. 1:2; and Phil. 1:2.
Tracing the Train of Thought
The Letter Senders (1a)
1a. Of the two people identified as senders of the letter, the first one listed is Paul (v. 1). If this much is clear, pinning down the precise nuances of the phrase that Paul uses to identify himself is less obvious. In most Bibles, the phrase is translated simply as “a prisoner of Christ Jesus.” This interpretation of the phrase nicely highlights that Paul ultimately imagines himself to be the prisoner not of Rome or of local authorities but of a “higher power”—his master, Christ Jesus.
But the phrase may have other connotations, represented by the words who is in chains for Christ Jesus (v. 1). In the rhetorical situation of the letter, Paul probably wants not simply to identify himself as “a prisoner of Christ Jesus” but, more, to highlight that he is imprisoned for the purposes of spreading the gospel of Christ Jesus. In this way, right from the start of the letter (and in v. 9 where the phrase is used again; see also v. 13) Paul ensures that his unending commitment to the gospel is recognized.
In some rhetorical contexts, this dimension of Paul’s self-presentation might simply help to ensure that his ministry in the service of Christ Jesus would not be legitimately questioned. Within the rhetorical context of Philemon, however, it does more than that—in effect raising the bar for Philemon. Wanting Philemon to fall in line with a relatively simple request that Paul will make later in the letter, Paul showcases his own level of commitment from the very start (in chains for Christ Jesus) in the hope that Philemon will seek to emulate Paul’s own commitment level.
The second sender of the letter, Timothy, is introduced alongside Paul. Timothy is identified as a sibling, although it is left vague as to whose brother he is (there is no possessive pronoun in the Greek). This has the effect of making him simply “brother Timothy,” or perhaps one who is a brother to us all.
The Letter Recipients (1b–2)
1b–2. The first and main addressee of the letter is Philemon, whom Paul addresses as our beloved and our coworker. Although Paul will go on to make a request of Philemon later in the letter, he wants that request to be recognized as emerging ultimately from Paul’s cherishing of Philemon both as a beloved brother in the Lord and as a coworker or colleague. Philemon is to see that their cherished relationship is not threatened by the request Paul is about to make and to see that Philemon’s mutual role in service should incline him to grant Paul’s request, which ultimately is intended to foster even greater service.
Paul then identifies others to whom the letter is sent (v. 2). The first is Apphia, sister to us all. (Just as Paul referred to Timothy as “brother” without a possessive pronoun, here he refers to Apphia as “sister” without a pronoun.) The second is Archippus, our fellow soldier. After mentioning these two people specifically, he then expands the list of addressees to include the assembly that meets in your house. For discussion of the interpretive issues surrounding the identity of these addressees, see the introduction of this commentary.
The Grace (3)
3. With the recipients having been identified, a blessing now follows: Grace to all of you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Although this is a very simple blessing, it accomplishes several things in a short space, as discussed in the “Theological Issues” section of this chapter.
Regarding the phrase “all of you” in the translation of verse 3, the word “all” does not appear in the Greek. It has been added to the translation simply to ensure that the plural Greek pronoun (hymin) that appears here is differentiated from other occurrences of the word “you” in the letter. Except for the plural “you” in verses 22 (2×) and 25, and the possible plural “you” in verse 6 (as in some good manuscripts), Paul’s references to “you” are always singular in this letter (in Greek this includes verses 4, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11 [2×], 12, 16, 18, 20, 21 [2×], 23), referring to Philemon.
Theological Issues
That Paul regularly incorporates “the grace” within the opening of his letters should not distract us from recognizing its importance within this letter. Verse 3 carries the theological weight of this initial sense unit, even setting up some of the main theological contours upon which Paul builds his request throughout the rest of the letter.
In verse 3 Paul makes theological adjustments to standard letter-writing conventions in order to highlight the theological vision of his letter. In the Greco-Roman world, the standard letter-writing convention was to address recipients with the word chairein, “greetings” (see, for instance, James 1:1). But Paul chooses not simply to greet his audience but to bless them, using a word that plays off the standard greeting: charis, or “grace.” Sounding similar to the standard epistolary greeting, charis largely sums up what Paul’s ministry was all about, with God’s gracious love being “poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us” (as Paul expresses it in Rom. 5:5 NRSV).
Alongside “grace” Paul adds a reference to “peace” among Jesus-followers. This means much more than calmness (as in “peace and quiet”) and probably refers to the traditional Jewish notion of shalom—God’s righteous peace, in which relationships are properly and justly aligned. This reference to right relationships being established among Jesus-followers is not an afterthought to Paul’s blessing, nor is it simply to be elided into the notion of grace. Wanting both notions to be appreciated for their own sake, Paul did not simply write “grace and peace to you”; instead, inserting the pronoun “to you” after “grace,” Paul allows the two nouns to have, in a sense, separate spaces of their own. Perhaps the two words enjoy a theological alignment in which Jesus-groups enjoying fellowship with a gracious God also enjoy the establishment of right relationships among themselves as a consequence of that divine grace.
Even if “grace” and “peace” have somewhat distinct connotations, they are yoked together by the fact that they share a common source. But that source itself is comprised of two distinct and yet related referents. The first to be mentioned is “God our Father.” Jewish and Greco-Roman traditions are engorged with the conviction that benevolence is a divine gift and that peace transpires by means of divine initiative. But Paul yokes these longstanding traditions to the notion that God is “our Father.” Knowing God intimately as “Father” seems to have been at the very heart of the prayer life of the Jew from Nazareth whom Paul proclaimed as Lord. Referring to God as “Father” in his own prayers (e.g., Mark 14:36), Jesus drew his followers into that same intimacy with God, so that with confidence they too were to address God as “Father” in prayer (Matt. 6:9; Luke 11:2; cf. Rom. 8:15; Gal. 4:6).
When the metaphor of “Father” is applied to God, both Jesus and Paul imagined it to refer to one who lovingly seeks to benefit his children. That the all-powerful creator of the universe can be known as an actively beneficent father is surely an astounding notion in any age—especially in our own day when astrophysics and other sciences are awakening to the massive enormity of power that animates and drives the universe. Behind all of those cosmic energies (Paul would tell us today) stands a gracious God whose power not only animates the universe but stirs up right relationships among his followers—a point that has a strong foothold within Paul’s letter to Philemon.
What is even more astonishing, however, is that the second source of divine grace and peace is “the Lord Jesus Christ.” That Paul can include Jesus Christ with such ease into the territory normally reserved for the God of Israel alone has seemed wholly natural to Christians throughout the centuries, but this should not dull our sensitivities to the astounding magnitude of this in relation to the contours of Jewish monotheism in Paul’s own day. Embedding a Jew from Nazareth into the very identity of the eternal and sovereign God of Israel is a radical move that, while more elaborately developed elsewhere in his letters (e.g., 1 Cor. 8:6; Phil. 2:6–11), nonetheless stands behind this dramatic feature of Philemon.
In fact, the theological drivers of Paul’s discourse within this brief letter are contained within an inclusio at the start and finish of the letter (compare verses 3 and 25)—an inclusio that foregrounds the Lord Jesus Christ as the source of divine grace among groups of Jesus-followers.