The Book of Philemon/Commentary

Philemon The very fact that God preserved this personal letter of twenty-five verses between Paul and Philemon stands as strong evidence that this letter contains a number of valuable lessons for all time.

Background When Paul sends this letter to Philemon, he is a prisoner in Rome with Timothy (1:1).

Paul will also write letters to the Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians during this same period of time (60-62 A.D.). From the Colossian letter it would appear that Philemon lived in Colossae, because Paul has sent Onesimus, the former unprofitable servant, with Tychicus to deliver the letter to the Colossians and Paul specifically says concerning Onesimus, “who is one of your number” (Colossians 4:9). In addition, various individuals that are mentioned in the letter to Philemon are also the same individuals mentioned in the Colossian letter, compare Colossians 4:10-14 with Philemon 23-24.

Philemon Philemon was the owner of the runaway slave Onesimus, once unprofitable and unbelieving, but who had encountered Paul in Rome and had been converted (Philemon 10-16). Philemon had not been a cruel or harsh master, rather Paul regards him as a faithful Christian (Philemon 1 “To Philemon our beloved brother and fellow worker”; 1:4-5 “I thank my God always, making mention of you in prayers, because I hear of your love and of the faith which you have toward the Lord Jesus and toward all the saints”. Philemon was a man who had actively manifested his faith and love, and Paul had come to find much joy and comfort in his relationship with Philemon (7). In addition Paul noted, “because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you” (7). This refreshing of the saints could have involved opening up his home for Christian travelers, taking care of the needs of the saints, using his home as a place for Christians to meet, offering encouraging words, and simply being a refreshing example of faith and consistency. In 2 Corinthians 7:13-15 we find a similar case in which the spirit of Titus was refreshed by the obedience of the Corinthians. Paul also mentions other members of the family, including “Apphia”, possibly the wife of Philemon, and “Archippus”, who appears to be an evangelist in Colossae and may have been Philemon’s son (Colossians 4:17 “Say to Archippus, ‘Take heed to the ministry which you have received in the Lord, that you may fulfill it”. Compare with 2 Timothy 4:5),

Do the right thing “Therefore, though I have enough confidence in Christ to order you to do what is proper, yet for love’s sake I rather appeal to you—since I am such a person as Paul, the aged, and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus” (Philemon 8-9).

As an apostle, Paul could order Philemon to receive Onesimus back, yet Paul would rather ask him on a very personal level. These men truly loved God and loved each other. Paul is now “aged” and in prison, and is asking and exhorting Philemon to take this man back out of love for God, Paul, and the soul of Onesimus. Could other Christians make a similar appeal to us? Have we developed close and loving relationships with brethren to where they could ask us such favors?

“Useless” “I appeal to you for my child Onesimus, whom I have begotten in my imprisonment, who formerly was useless to you, but now is useful both to you and me” (10-11) The term “useless” jumps out from the page in this section. We know that Philemon had been a good master, and Paul never blames Philemon for causing this man to rebel. The name “Onesimus” was a common name among servants and it meant “profit” or “to help”, yet this man had not lived up to such a name. The Holy Spirit does not down play the former attitude or life of this servant; he had been “useless”. God does not say anything good about his former life. Sinful attitudes can make us absolutely useless! In a similar vein, Job spoke of people who he would not even hire to put with the dogs to watch his flocks! (Job 30:1-2) “Useful” Notice and be impressed with the drastic change in one man’s life that is mentioned here! Here is a man who had been absolutely unprofitable, and the type of individual that exasperates good men like Philemon, the type that one is tempted to simply give up on. Yes, and we have encountered such people in our own lives. You cannot reason with them, their attitude is poor, their heads are filled with an abundance of wrong thoughts, and perverted ideas, selfish motivations, and they are frustrating to deal with. Is there any hope for such an individual? This letter says yes! How is such a drastic change possible? The only answer is the gospel of Jesus Christ (Romans 1:16). Paul says that in prison he had converted Onesimus (10). Brethren, Paul was only in prison for a couple of years, thus the change that took place in Onesimus, a change from useless to being useful to an apostle (11,13), took place in a very short period of time. Drastic, real, meaningful, and lasting change is possible if one is really willing to put Christ first.

Hard Situations Paul does not shy away from what might be a very uncomfortable situation for Onesimus and Philemon. Onesimus is sent back home personally, Paul does not simply send a note of apology from Onesimus (12). Paul quickly adds, that in sending Onesimus, he is sending his heart, that is, sending someone he has grown to love dearly. There is a tremendous lesson here for us. Some are convinced that in order to make a new start they must pick a new geographical location, yet God has Onesimus send back to the city and household that knew him as a useless servant. As people saw the change in his character, his life would become a tremendous example of how the gospel can change a person (1 Thessalonians 1:9; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11). Notice how if Onesimus and Philemon have biblical attitudes that everything will work out (1516). Brethren, if the gospel can remedy this difficult situation, if two people with Christian attitudes can overcome the tension, hurt feelings, and water under the bridge in this relationship, then two people who are determined to act like Christians can overcome anything. Christianity, when applied, can fix so many problems, it can truly cover a multitude of sins (James 5:19-20). As Christians, let us remember that we truly have the answer and power to remedy even the most difficult and strained relationships. We have the power to release people from even the most addictive lifestyles or even the most twisted ways of thinking (1 Corinthians 6:9-11; 1 Peter 4:14). At times people will complain that the church of the Lord is not doing anything about AIDS, teen pregnancy, or other social problems because we do not have any official programs set up for such things. What they fail to realize is that in preaching the gospel we are actually the only ones who truly have the real answer to such problems, and the real answer is prevention through morality. Paul did not put a bandaid on the relationship between Onesimus and his master, he actually fixed it.

Goodness from free will “Whom I wished to keep with me, so that on your behalf he might minister to me in my imprisonment for the gospel; but without your consent I did not want to do anything, so that your goodness would not be, in effect, by compulsion but of your own free will” (13-14).

Onesimus was not merely somewhat useful, he had changed so much that Paul actually wanted to use him as a co-worker in Rome, and Paul did not put up with people who were less than fully dedicated (Acts 15:38). Yet, Onesimus belonged to Philemon, and Paul did not want to simply give an order, “I need him, so he is staying here”, rather, Paul knew that for generosity and sacrifice to mean anything, it had to come from one’s own heart. Notice that Paul does not send someone with Onesimus for the purpose of making sure that Philemon receives him properly, rather all he does is exhort through Scripture (21). In like manner, God does not force us to make the right decisions either, He has simply written to us, exhorted us to do the right thing,and given tremendous arguments and incentives for doing so, and then He has left the

decision in our hands. Do we feel the weight of responsibility that these letters place upon us? Paul had the confidence that all he had to do was write and it would get done—are we that dependable?

“Perhaps” “For perhaps he was for this reason separated from you for a while, that you would have him back forever, no longer as a slave, but more than a slave, a beloved brother, especially to me, but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord” (15-16).

Unlike many modern religious people, Paul did not presume to know what God was doing behind the scenes. If God does not inform us through Scripture, then all we can say about a certain situation that turned out for the better is a humble “perhaps” (Esther 4:14). To say “perhaps” instead of “I just know”, is not a lack of faith, rather it is a humble refusal to speak where God has not spoken, it is a humble acknowledgment that apart from revelation we are completely ignorant of God’s workings in our world.

Remember what you owe “But if he has wronged you in any way or owes you anything, charge that to my account; I Paul, am writing this with my own hand, I will repay it (not to mention to you that you owe to me even your own self as well)” (18-19).

Paul is not downplaying the former actions of Onesimus, for it appears that the former foolish actions of this man had impacted Philemon in the pocketbook. Rather, Paul is reminding Philemon that it is far easier when people repent to forgive and to forget about how a person has wronged us when we remember what we owe to God (Matthew 18:35; 6:12-15). Paul had actually written the entire letter (instead of dictating it to a skilled writer), and it was Paul who had converted Philemon years before, and in that sense Philemon was indebted to Paul. Notice how Paul moves us from dwelling on the small and petty things in life to the more important issues. Yes, Philemon had lost money and possibly some possessions due to the former uselessness of Onesimus, but now this same man was a very productive Christian, and his future work for Philemon would surely pay Philemon back many times over!

Unfortunately, at times Christians get stuck on dwelling on one little thing in the past and as a result really miss out on a wonderful opportunity in the present! Notice how the genuine repentance of Onesimus, a repentance with fruit, enabled Paul to appeal to Philemon so earnestly. Paul ends the letter by pointing out that spiritual maturity on the part of Philemon, in this instance, would refresh Paul’s heart (20). There is nothing like seeing Christians doing the right thing in tough situations to uplift the heart of other Christians. Finally, Paul is confident that Philemon will accept all this and even go the extra mile (21). Are we like that?

Mark Dunagan/Beaverton Church of Christ/503-644-9017 www.beavertonchurchofchrist.net/mdunagan@easystreet.com