Bible Reader

Philemon 1

¹Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ, and Timothy our brother, unto Philemon our dearly beloved, and fellowlabourer,

²And to our beloved Apphia, and Archippus our fellowsoldier, and to the church in thy house:

³Grace to you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

⁴I thank my God, making mention of thee always in my prayers,

⁵Hearing of thy love and faith, which thou hast toward the Lord Jesus, and toward all saints;

⁶That the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.

⁷For we have great joy and consolation in thy love, because the bowels of the saints are refreshed by thee, brother.

⁸Wherefore, though I might be much bold in Christ to enjoin thee that which is convenient,

⁹Yet for love's sake I rather beseech thee, being such an one as Paul the aged, and now also a prisoner of Jesus Christ.

¹⁰I beseech thee for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten in my bonds:

¹¹Which in time past was to thee unprofitable, but now profitable to thee and to me:

¹²Whom I have sent again: thou therefore receive him, that is, mine own bowels:

¹³Whom I would have retained with me, that in thy stead he might have ministered unto me in the bonds of the gospel:

¹⁴But without thy mind would I do nothing; that thy benefit should not be as it were of necessity, but willingly .

¹⁵For perhaps he therefore departed for a season, that thou shouldest receive him for ever;

¹⁶Not now as a servant, but above a servant, a brother beloved, specially to me, but how much more unto thee, both in the flesh, and in the Lord?

¹⁷If thou count me therefore a partner, receive him as myself.

¹⁸If he hath wronged thee, or oweth thee ought, put that on mine account;

¹⁹I Paul have written it with mine own hand, I will repay it: albeit I do not say to thee how thou owest unto me even thine own self besides.

²⁰Yea, brother, let me have joy of thee in the Lord: refresh my bowels in the Lord.

²¹Having confidence in thy obedience I wrote unto thee, knowing that thou wilt also do more than I say.

²²But withal prepare me also a lodging: for I trust that through your prayers I shall be given unto you.

²³There salute thee Epaphras, my fellowprisoner in Christ Jesus;

²⁴Marcus, Aristarchus, Demas, Lucas, my fellowlabourers.

²⁵The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.

on Philemon 1

A Tale Of Two Cities

APPEAL (8–16) (“I beseech thee”)

Paul was a prisoner in Rome, his friend Philemon was in Colosse, and the human link between them was a runaway slave named Onesimus. The details are not clear, but it appears that Onesimus robbed his master and then fled to Rome, hoping to be swallowed up in the crowded metropolis. But, in the providence of God, he met Paul and was converted!

Now what? Perhaps Onesimus should remain with Paul, who needed all the assistance he could get. But what about the slave’s responsibilities to his master back in Colosse? The law permitted a master to execute a rebellious slave, but Philemon was a Christian. If he forgave Onesimus, what would the other masters (and slaves) think? If he punished him, how would it affect his testimony? What a dilemma!

Along with the epistle to the Colossians, this letter probably was carried to Colosse by Tychicus and Onesimus (Col. 4:7–9). In it, we see Paul in three important roles as he tried to help Philemon solve his problems. At the same time, we see a beautiful picture of what the Father has done for us in Jesus Christ. Martin Luther said, “All of us are Onesimuses!” and he was right.

Paul, the Beloved Friend

Paul had not founded the church in Colosse, nor had he visited it (Col. 1:1–8; 2:1). It is likely that the church started as a result of his ministry in Ephesus (Acts 19:10, 20, 26) and that Epaphras was the founding pastor (Philem. 23). The church met in the home of Philemon and Apphia, his wife. Some people assume that Archippus was their son, but this is not certain. He may have been the elder who took the place of Epaphras, who had gone to Rome to help Paul. If this is true, then it would explain Paul’s strong admonition to Archippus in Colossians 4:17, a letter written to the whole church.

In his greeting, Paul expressed his deep love for his Christian friends, and he reminded them that he was a prisoner for Jesus Christ (see also Philem. 9–10, 13, 23). Timothy was included in the greeting, though the burden of the letter was from the heart of Paul to the heart of Philemon. Paul’s ministry was a “team” operation, and he often included the names of his associates when he wrote his letters. He liked to use the term “fellow worker” (see Rom. 16:3, 9, 21; 1 Cor. 3:9; Phil. 2:25; 4:3; Col. 4:11).

The New Testament churches met in homes (Rom. 16:5, 23; 1 Cor. 16:19), and perhaps the church in Philemon’s house was one of two assemblies in Colosse (Col. 4:15). Paul had won Philemon to faith in Christ (see Philem. 19), and Philemon became a blessing to other Christians (Philem. 7).

It was customary for Paul to open his letters with words of thanks and praise to God. (Galatians is an exception.) In his thanksgiving, Paul described his friend as a man of love and faith, both toward Jesus Christ and God’s people. His love was practical: he “refreshed” the saints through his words and work.

Paul told Philemon that he was praying for him and asking God to make his witness effective (“the sharing of your faith”) so that others would trust Christ. He also prayed that his friend would have a deeper understanding of all that he had in Jesus Christ. After all, the better we know Christ and experience His blessings, the more we want to share these blessings with others.