This epistle of Paul’s is a personal letter to Philemon, a member of the Colossian church and master of the slave Onesimus. Onesimus has run away from his master and made his way to where Paul is in prison. Here he has become Paul’s friend and helper. But Paul realizes that Onesimus needs to correct his actions by going back to Philemon where he rightfully belongs. Paul’s Letter to Philemon is an attempt to plead Onesimus’ case before Philemon, whom he hopes will respond out of love and forgiveness and restore Onesimus not only as a slave but as a beloved brother in Christ.
From the discussion in Colossians, it already has become obvious that Paul’s letter to the Colossians and his letter to Philemon have a number of things in common: First, they are written from the same place (see Introduction to Colossians); second, they are addressed to the same church, although Philemon is more a personal letter for one of the church members. Onesimus (Col. 4:9) and Archippus (Col. 4:17) belonged to the Colossian church, so it is fairly safe to assume that Philemon lived in Colossae as well; third, both epistles mention similar circumstances of Paul’s imprisonment (Col. 4:3, 18; Philem. 1, 13); fourth, the list of personal greetings is almost identical; fifth, both Colossians (1:1) and Philemon (v. 1) name Timothy as cooperating with Paul in writing the letter; sixth, these letters probably were collected and kept as a single piece of Paul’s correspondence. Unfortunately, the compilers of the NT did not keep Colossians and Philemon together in the text.
§1 Paul’s Greetings (Philem. 1–3)
1 / Here is a letter from Paul who is a prisoner of Christ Jesus (cf. Col. 4:3, 18). On the basis of verses 9 and 10, this definitely is a physical confinement and not a way of speaking metaphorically. Paul’s brother in Christ, Timothy, joins him in the sending of the letter (cf. Col. 1:1) to Philemon, a dear friend and fellow worker. Philemon is a dear (agapētos, “beloved”) friend because he belongs to a community that is characterized by love; he is a fellow worker because he is actively involved in the work of the gospel in Colossae.
2 / One of the ways in which Philemon has demonstrated his love and concern for the gospel is by opening his house for church meetings. The fact that the greeting extends to the church and includes Apphia and Archippus makes this epistle more public than private. The content may primarily be directed to Philemon, but the entire matter surrounding Onesimus is a concern to the entire church. No special military significance should be attached to the term fellow soldier (systratiōtēs). This is another metaphor Paul uses to describe one of his colleagues in the ministry. In Philippians 2:25 the same word is used of Epaphroditus. In the case of Archippus, fellow soldier rather than “fellow worker” may be used because he has some special task to fulfill (Col. 4:17).
Not too much is known about Apphia, but since she is so closely linked with Philemon, it is possible that she is his wife. However, it does not necessarily follow that Archippus was their son, as some commentators have speculated. John Knox, for example, has attempted to show that Archippus, not Philemon, is the master of Onesimus and that the “work” that Archippus was to finish (Col. 4:17) refers to the way he was to handle Onesimus. The details of this task are outlined in Paul’s Letter to Philemon, which, according to Knox, is the “letter from Laodicea” (Col. 4:16). There are too many difficulties, however, with this theory, and the identity of Archippus, beyond what is said in Colossians and Philemon, remains highly speculative.
3 / The closing of Paul’s salutation is similar to Colossians 1:2 and the way in which Paul addresses other congregations as well. Grace … and peace are two of the greatest gifts of the Christian life.
2 / John Knox, Philemon Among the Letters of Paul. For an evaluation of the ideas presented by Knox, see Lohse, pp. 186–87.
Two helpful English articles on Philemon are E. W. Koch, “Cameo of Koinonia,” Interp 17 (1963), pp. 183–87; F. F. Church, “Rhetorical Structure and Design in Paul’s Letter to Philemon,” HTR 71 (1978), pp. 17–33.
§2 Paul’s Praise for Philemon (Philem. 4–7)
4–5 / These verses draw attention to the individual Philemon in much the same way that Paul’s thanksgiving and prayer in Colossians focused upon the congregation (Col. 1:3–14). Paul’s gratitude for Philemon’s love for God’s people (v. 5) forms the basis of his request in verse 9; Paul affirms his fellowship with Philemon (v. 6) and, on that basis, requests Philemon to act kindly toward Onesimus (v. 17); as Philemon has cheered the hearts of all God’s people (v. 7), Paul desires that his own heart be cheered through Philemon’s love (v. 20). Here, too, remembrance becomes an occasion for thanksgiving and prayer: I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers.
Paul is grateful because of the positive things that he has heard about Philemon’s love (agapē) and faith (pistis) (the order of these two terms is reversed in NIV). Normally, Paul mentions faith first and then shows that Christian love springs from and is nourished by faith in the Lord (Col. 1:4; Eph. 1:15). Literally, the sentence in Greek reads: “I hear of your love and faith which you have to the Lord Jesus and to all the saints.” From this, there is no way of knowing toward what love and faith are each directed.
In the NIV, the sentence is given this translation: I hear about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints. The translators arrive at this interpretation because they realize that the Greek sentence probably employs a grammatical structure known as chiasm. The term comes from the Greek letter chi, which is written like an X. In a sentence, words or phrases are arranged in inverted parallelism. Verse 5, for example, would read:
a love
b faith
b′ in the Lord Jesus
a′ for all the saints
Love (a) comes first because Paul is thinking of Philemon’s love, both explicitly (vv. 7, 9) and implicitly (vv. 14, 16, 17, 20); (b) faith is the source from which love is derived; (b′) faith has as its object the Lord Jesus; (a′) love is directed to (eis) all the saints. This explanation reflects the usual Pauline way of associating faith with the Lord and directing love to God’s people.
6 / Since this is the most obscure verse in the epistle, it may help to compare several translations:
Greek—literally, “so as the fellowship (koinōnia) of your faith working may become in full knowledge of every good thing in us for Christ.”
NIV—I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ.
RSV—“and I pray that the sharing of your faith may promote the knowledge of all the good that is ours in Christ.”
GNB—“My prayer is that our fellowship with you as believers will bring about a deeper understanding of every blessing which we have in our life in union with Christ.”
The best way to approximate what this verse means is to see it in the context of the letter as teaching these truths: All Christians share a common faith; faith should be an active faith because it promotes an understanding of the blessings believers have received; the response of faith is for Christ, that is, for his glory; Philemon’s recognition of these blessings will cause him to respond appropriately with respect to Onesimus (v. 14).
7 / The theme of Philemon’s love (v. 5) is repeated in this verse: You … have refreshed the hearts of the saints. Although there is no way of knowing specifically what Philemon has done, the result was a cheering or refreshing (anapauō) of their innermost feelings (hearts). Paul is not as eager to describe Philemon’s actions as he is to accentuate his spirit; that same spirit of love will determine how he responds to Paul’s request regarding Onesimus (cf. v. 20, where the same word is used). The relationship of Paul to Philemon is that of a brother. This is a status that Paul, Timothy, Philemon, and even Onesimus (v. 16) enjoy together.
Paul indicates that he personally has benefited from Philemon’s love in a vicarious way. In Philemon’s love for all God’s people, Paul has experienced great joy (charis) and encouragement (paraklēsis). Paul had a similar feeling of identity with the Corinthian church when things were going well (cf. 2 Cor. 7:4, 7).
§3 Paul’s Request for Onesimus (Philem. 8–22)
Now that Paul has sufficiently commended Philemon for his exemplary Christian life, he moves to the heart of his request regarding Onesimus. In one way, Paul gives the impression that he is “shadow boxing,” that is, skirting around the real issue and not confronting Philemon directly. But Paul’s strategy is determined by two factors: First, he needs to move very carefully and weigh every word. After all, a request to reinstate a runaway slave was quite unusual in the first century. According to Roman law, masters could demand the return of a slave and inflict punishment at their discretion.
Second, Paul wants to avoid any impression of legislating the decision that he wishes Philemon would make. Even if he has the authority to do so, he realizes that “a man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still.” Thus Paul will suggest a course of action and appeal to Philemon’s Christian standards but leave the ultimate choice to the slave owner.
8–9 / Therefore (dio) links the introductory matters of verses 4–7 with the request that follows. On the basis of Philemon’s gracious and generous character, Paul feels that in Christ he has a certain relationship with Philemon that gives him the freedom to make this special appeal. In fact, Paul’s language is rather strong, and in a sense, must be based upon his apostolic authority, when he claims that he could order Philemon to take the appropriate action. Paul believed that his office as an apostle of Jesus Christ gave him a certain power and required him to make important decisions (cf. 1 Cor. 5:3; 7:6; 9:1; 2 Cor. 12:12). He is Paul—an old man and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus. Perhaps his authority is enhanced because he is also suffering imprisonment for Christ’s sake.
There is some dispute regarding the translation of the Greek word presbutēs. KJV and NIV use “aged man” or old man, whereas GNB and RSV use “ambassador.” The only difference between the Greek word for old man (presbutēs) and “ambassador” (presbeutēs) is the letter e. Some text critics have suggested that the letter may have been left out inadvertently during the process of copying the letter; others have argued that presbutēs occasionally is used in nonbiblical material as “ambassador” or “envoy” and could, therefore, carry that meaning here. The choice of words is important in understanding the spirit of Paul’s request.
If the proper word is old man, then Paul’s appeal has an emotional overtone, that is, he appeals to Philemon as an old man and a prisoner of Christ Jesus. “Ambassador,” on the other hand, continues to ring of the authority that he has alluded to in the previous verse. Here, the force of his statement is that, although he could decide for Philemon on the basis of his apostolic authority, he will waive that privilege just as he has before (v. 8). He wants Philemon to act out of conviction, not out of compulsion. But he also wants Philemon to know that his request comes from the heart and not the head only (I appeal to you on the basis of love).
10 / Finally, it appears that Paul is ready to state his request. But no such luck, for the reader is not informed of that until verse 17. All of Paul’s comments prior to that show that he approaches Philemon gradually, tactfully, and in deep humility.
Paul calls Onesimus my son because he has become a member of God’s family. Since Paul was instrumental in bringing Onesimus to Christ through his witness, he describes his relationship to Onesimus as that of a spiritual father. He uses this language of father and child on other occasions when he has been responsible for people having become Christians (cf. 1 Cor. 4:15, 17; Gal. 4:19).
By taking the Greek preposition peri as “I am asking for him,” it is possible to believe that Paul desired to retain Onesimus for his own personal use in prison. But although Paul admits the temptation of such a possibility, one can see from verse 15 that his intention all along has been to return Onesimus. His appeal is “for the sake of,” or “on behalf of” rather than for Onesimus.
11 / The expressions useless to you and useful both to you and to me are a play on the name Onesimus, which means “useful.” (This was a common name for slaves in the ancient world because of that meaning.) The force of the pun (a play on words) is this: Before (Formerly) Onesimus was a useless slave to Philemon, perhaps even when he was in Philemon’s possession, but more probably as a runaway slave; but now, that is, after his conversion to Christ, he has become useful both to you and to me. The irony is that Onesimus can remain useful to Paul only if he remains with him in prison and to Philemon only if he returns home to Colossae. But either way, he is a changed man. The contrast in his personal life is as dramatic as it was for the Gentiles whose former life of sin often is contrasted with their new life in Christ (“once … now”: cf. Col. 3:7, 8; Eph. 2:11, 13; 5:8).
12 / Paul’s relationship to Onesimus is so close (son and spiritual father) that Onesimus’ departure is like losing part of himself. This is a beautiful example of a brotherhood in which social distinctions no longer matter. In Christ, a delinquent Phrygian slave could become a brother with the great apostle to the Gentiles. Nevertheless, Paul cannot let his heart decide for him, for he knows that the only right and legal thing for him to do is to see that Onesimus goes back to Philemon. This action is affirmed by Paul’s resolve to send him back to his rightful owner. The Greek construction is epistolary aorist, which means that even though it is in the past tense the meaning is in the present—hence, am sending rather than “have sent.”
13 / Once again, Paul indicates that his personal preference would be to keep Onesimus with him in prison. Somehow Paul envisions that, in spite of his imprisonment, Onesimus’ service could promote the gospel in some way. He could take your place in helping me suggests that Paul is thinking of some kind of service from Philemon himself. Did Philemon owe Paul something? The only hint at some kind of debt comes in verse 19, where Paul may be reminding Philemon that it was through Paul’s ministry that he became a Christian.
14 / Here Paul displays extreme caution in building up his case. He feels a certain right to retain Onesimus on Philemon’s behalf, but he wants such a decision to come directly from Philemon (I did not want to do anything without your consent). The Greek literally reads “your good deed” (agathon), which recalls the same use of the word in verse 6, translated “good thing” in the NIV. But anything that Philemon chooses to do must be done willingly. Compulsion, constraint, coercion, necessity, and so forth are not the attitudes out of which a person is to serve Christ. God loves one who gives gladly, “not reluctantly or under compulsion” (2 Cor. 9:7). Philemon will best reveal his true Christian character when he acts voluntarily.
15 / Up to this point one could interpret the case of Onesimus as a tragedy. Here is a person who has wronged his master, who may have taken something that did not rightfully belong to him, and who capped that wrong by running away as a fugitive to be hunted down. This is how the situation is viewed on the human and earthly level.
Paul, however, sees it differently, for he perceives it from the viewpoint of eternity—in other words, from God’s providential arrangement of events. Onesimus’ action was deliberate; but his departure did not remove him from the sovereignty of God. True, Onesimus was away from Philemon for a little while; but the end result is that God so ordered Onesimus’ life that Philemon was able to have him back for good. Human failures often become God’s opportunities! Here is a case in which a temporary loss was turned into an eternal gain.
16 / The providential and eternal relationship that Paul envisioned in verse 15 is now elaborated in words that capture the very heart of the gospel itself. Now that Onesimus has become a Christian, he is not a slave. Onesimus comes no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother. This brotherhood is spiritual and results from the fact that Paul, Onesimus, and Philemon have been united as brothers in Christ. Although this relationship is meaningful to Paul personally, he rightly perceives that Onesimus’ new status has a more meaningful application to Philemon, for whom Onesimus is both a man (i.e., someone “in” the flesh—sarx) and a brother in the Lord.
Here is more of that wonderful exchange Paul began talking about in verse 15. Onesimus leaves for a short time and returns forever; he leaves as a slave and returns as a man and a brother. Paul does not use this opportunity to denounce slavery, for Onesimus’ spiritual position in Christ does not free him from his human obligations to Philemon. In this respect Paul is consistent with the principles that he laid out in Colossians 3:22–4:1. The new relationship that Philemon and Onesimus have to each other is one in which the human and the spiritual overlap.
17 / At long last, the request: So (lit., “therefore”) … welcome him as you would welcome me. All along Paul has been appealing to Philemon on the force of certain statements, such as Philemon’s Christian character (vv. 4–7), Paul’s position as an apostle and prisoner (vv. 8–9), Onesimus’ newly found faith and usefulness (vv. 10–13), the principle of voluntarism (v. 14), and Christian providence and brotherhood (vv. 15–16). But before the request comes, Paul lays out yet another incentive—namely, that of partnership. When two people are in koinōnia they have common interests, feelings, and goals (cf. v. 6). Paul and Philemon certainly had this by virtue of their common faith. Hence Paul is reasoning that, if Philemon really regards him as a partner, there will not be any problem in honoring the request.
But Paul goes one step further, for he identifies himself so closely with Onesimus that he wants Philemon to receive his slave as he would the apostle—as you would welcome me. Partnership in the Lord has broken down all barriers. Paul epitomizes in his life what he has verbalized in his letter.
18 / The if should not be taken as setting up a hypothetical case, since Paul knows full well that Onesimus has wronged his master by running away. Paul does not overlook this, for he believes that some compensation should be given to Philemon for the losses that he has suffered. Onesimus’ debt has been taken by some to imply that Onesimus stole some money or personal possessions from Philemon before he fled. More probably, Paul has “time” in mind, since Onesimus’ absence would have cost Philemon something. Paul is assuming Onesimus’ debts because it was customary in those days for the outstanding debts and penalties of a slave to be assumed or paid for by a new owner. Paul, although he is not the new owner, is willing to repay Philemon for any losses—charge it to me.
19 / Paul reaffirms his intention by stating that he will take care of the outstanding debt. The effect of his personal signature is to “seal” what is like a promissory note—an I.O.U.—and to legally bind him to his newly assumed debt. But having done this, Paul effectively negates the force of it by a gentle reminder to Philemon that since he owes Paul so much he should not think of asking for or receiving any remuneration. It was through Paul that Philemon became a Christian, and in the spiritual realm there is no way that outstanding debts can be paid. Paul’s statement reminds one of the parable of the unforgiving servant, in which the Lord faults a servant who was forgiven of a large debt by the king but who, in return, would not forgive a fellow servant a small debt (Matt. 18:21–35).
20 / The intimacy between Paul and Philemon is reinforced by the term brother (cf. v. 7). This enables Paul to state quite bluntly that Philemon should honor his request in the Lord—literally, “may I have joy, profit, or help from you in the Lord.” The Greek word for benefit is oninēmi, which closely resembles Onesimus, the name of the slave. This similarity has led some interpreters to conclude that Paul is playing on these words for the purpose of requesting Onesimus for himself. If so, the thought that he is expressing could be either, “may I have Onesimus from you,” or, “as Onesimus has been profitable to you, you be of benefit to me.”
The phrase refresh my heart recalls a similar expression in verse 7, where Philemon’s love “refreshed the hearts of the saints.” Here Paul appeals to Philemon’s love, but for a personal reason. The acceptance of Onesimus by Philemon would refresh his heart. But it is a joy that is unselfish because it is placed in the sphere of the Lord (in Christ). Paul will rejoice because he knows that Philemon is responding from the new life that he has experienced in Christ.
21 / Since Paul knows Philemon so well, he is confident of his friend’s obedience to his request to receive Onesimus. Paul speaks of a trust or confidence in Philemon’s obedience (hypakoē)—an obedience based not on Roman law or apostolic command but on the principle of Christian love. Such love leaves Philemon with only one choice, namely, the highest good for his servant and for the apostle.
Paul is confident that Philemon will do even more. But what more could he do? Does Paul anticipate that Philemon will turn Onesimus over into Paul’s custody, or does he hope that Philemon will grant his slave complete freedom? The final decision is left up to the master.
22 / Paul envisions one more exchange that may be possible within the providence of God. This time, it involves himself and the hope that he can exchange his imprisonment for freedom. Thus he prays he will be restored to you in answer to your prayers. It is significant to note that the entire congregation (you and your are plural in Greek) is interceding for Paul’s release. Such action binds him closer to this church and gives him hope that God will make it possible for him to see all of them.
Paul is so confident about this that he makes a reservation for a room. The early Christians placed considerable emphasis upon hospitality (Rom. 12:13; 1 Tim. 3:2; Titus 1:8; Heb. 13:2; 1 Pet. 4:9), so Paul’s request is not unusual. Since Philemon had a home large enough to hold church services, there would be no problem accommodating Paul if and when he returned to Colossae.
8 / Although unusual, Paul’s request is not without precedent. Lohse quotes a personal letter from Pliny the Younger in which this Roman official writes to a certain slave master Sabinianus, interceding for an errant but repentant slave (pp. 196–97).
15 / Paul uses what in Greek is called a passive verb: echōpisthē literally means “he was separated from” you. On this, Martin refers to the Hebrew; in that language, the divine passive “is a mode of expression to denote the hidden action of God as the agent responsible for what is done” (p. 166).
§4 Paul’s Final Greetings (Philem. 23–25)
23–25 / These final verses are almost identical to the closing section of Colossians. Paul ends this letter with words familiar from the opening salutation (v. 3). Here the phrase the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit serves more as a prayer of benediction than a greeting. Again your is plural; thus Paul intends that this letter be received by the entire congregation (cf. Gal. 6:18).