Philemon Bible Teaching

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Philemon
January 17th 2021
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We do not know much about Philemon except what can be ascertained from these few short verses.

But I am not going to belabor what other writers have said about who he could have been and such –

Let me just lay out the setting that can be determined by the text itself and any contextual references that might aid us.

For more than two years during his third missionary journey, Paul was in Asia Minor among the people of Ephesus.
Many people converted to the faith under his hand and once of them was a man named Philemon who was a slave owner from a neighboring city Colossae.
In this letter Paul calls Philemon a beloved brother and a fellow laborer, so we know that the relationship between them was close, that the in all probability worked together and that it was based on Christian love.
Well, Philemon had a slave named Onesimus. And he escaped from Philemon at Colossae and went to Rome where he happened to meet Paul.
And meeting Paul Onesimus converted to the faith. And this letter was written to Philemon, the slaveholder, and was to serve to bridge the potential impasse between Philemon the slaveholder and Onesimus the escaped slave – both now believers.
Bottom-line, Paul asks Philemon to receive Onesimus not only as his former escaped slave but now also as a brother in the faith, and that if there was any damage done by Onesimus running off, Paul would personally pay the difference owned.
The book begins with a long invocation by Paul (relative to the length of the letter itself) and then it poetically gets right to the point. And then it ends.
We will address, of course, the beautiful message and meaning behind the situation and try and apply it to our lives today.
There is little doubt that this letter was written by Paul from Rome at the same time that Paul penned the letter to the church at Colossae probably around 62 AD.

So let’s read the letter first.

1 Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ, and Timothy our brother, unto Philemon our dearly beloved, and fellow-laborer,
2 And to our beloved Apphia, and Archippus our fellowsoldier, and to the church in thy house:
3 Grace to you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
4 I thank my God, making mention of thee always in my prayers,
5 Hearing of thy love and faith, which thou hast toward the Lord Jesus, and toward all saints;
6 That the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.
7 For we have great joy and consolation in thy love, because the bowels of the saints are refreshed by thee, brother.

8 Wherefore, though I might be much bold in Christ to enjoin thee that which is convenient,
9 Yet for love’s sake I rather beseech thee, being such an one as Paul the aged, and now also a prisoner of Jesus Christ.
10 I beseech thee for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten in my bonds:
11 Which in time past was to thee unprofitable, but now profitable to thee and to me:
12 Whom I have sent again: thou therefore receive him, that is, mine own bowels:
13 Whom I would have retained with me, that in thy stead he might have ministered unto me in the bonds of the gospel:
14 But without thy mind would I do nothing; that thy benefit should not be as it were of necessity, but willingly.
15 For perhaps he therefore departed for a season, that thou shouldest receive him for ever;
16 Not 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?
17 If thou count me therefore a partner, receive him as myself.
18 If he hath wronged thee, or oweth thee ought, put that on mine account;
19 I 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.
20 Yea, brother, let me have joy of thee in the Lord: refresh my bowels in the Lord.
21 Having confidence in thy obedience I wrote unto thee, knowing that thou wilt also do more than I say.
22 But withal prepare me also a lodging: for I trust that through your prayers I shall be given unto you.
23 There salute thee Epaphras, my fellowprisoner in Christ Jesus;
24 Marcus, Aristarchus, Demas, Lucas, my fellowlabourers.
25 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen. <>

And back to verse one

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

It is an interesting fact that Paul frequently added Timothy’s name to a number of his letters (2nd Corinthians 1:1; Philippians 1:1; Colossians 1:1; 1st Thessalonians 1:1; 2nd Thessalonians 1:1.)

Perhaps this was because Timothy was of that region of country, and since he had accompanied Paul in his many travels Paul would include his name as many people would known him, including Philemon the slaveholder.

“Unto Philemon our dearly beloved and fellow-laborer.”

The word translated to “fellow-laborer” means a co-worker and or helper. It does not convey anything more (like a specific title). But the terms do convey intimacy between Paul and the man. (verse 2)

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

Apphia was a female and was most likely the wife of Philemon and “Archippus our fellow-soldier.

Some have suggested that he was a son of Philemon which was possible, and this person is also mentioned in Colossians 4:17 by Paul as well. And then Paul adds

“And to the church in thy house,” which probably referred to those believers who gathered at Philemon’s home to worship and fellow-ship. Some think that it speaks only to Philemon’s family who composed the church in his house.

Hard to say. Verse 3 we get the standard Pauline greeting where Paul adds:

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

Of course Paul Always identifies God as the Father in all of his epistles and Jesus Christ as Lord and/or Lord and Savior. (verse 4)

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

It appears from this (and other examples in the Apostolic record that Paul, in his private devotions, was in the habit of mentioning churches and individuals by name. This suggests that even as a prisoner chained to a guard 24/7 Paul had the opportunity to have private devotional time. At verse 5-6 Paul begins to speak more personally to Philemon, a man he appears to have brought to faith and he says:

5 Hearing of your love and faith, which you have toward the Lord Jesus, and toward all saints; 6 That the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.

Some believe that the escaped slave Omesimus was the one who informed Paul of the Christian character of Philemon but if he was of that opinion of the man enough to share it with Paul why did he escape from him in the first place?

In verse 4 Paul says that he thanks God, making mention of Philemon always in his prayers, and adds at verse 6

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

This is not a form of flattery from Paul to Philemon but merely Paul telling him what he prayerfully hopes Philemon experiences as a man of faith in communion or kononia with others. (verse 7)

7 For we (Paul and Timothy and perhaps others) have great joy and consolation in your love, because the bowels of the saints are refreshed by thee, brother.

The word bowels here does not mean what bowels means to us but in that day rather referred to the heart and mind of the individual.

Bottom line meaning of verse seven?

The kindness which Philemon had shown to Christians went a long way in making them joyful.

It is now at verse 8-9 where Paul begins to get to the point and purpose of the letter and he says:

8 Wherefore, though I might be much bold in Christ to enjoin thee that which is convenient, 9 Yet for love’s sake I rather beseech thee, being such an one as Paul the aged, and now also a prisoner of Jesus Christ.

In other words, where I could be very bold in Christ as an apostle on the subject I am about to lay out before you, for loves sake I choose to rather request of you (instead of command you)

“Being such an one as Paul the aged and now a prisoner of Jesus Christ.”

“I could approach you as a bold apostle, but choose to speak to you in love as I am now, Paul the Aged and imprisoned for Christ here in Rome.”

It’s a very humble brotherly letter thus far, and is approached with Christian love rather than through authoritarian demands.

Its what make the letter so beautiful and valuable to the reader – its not Paul making demands – he takes a very different approach here, one that in my opinion goes a long way to endorse his apostolic leadership and position.

And now comes the request at verse 10 as Paul writes:

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

To speak of Onesimus as his son whom he has begotten is to straight-up suggest that Paul was the one who introduced the Gospel to the man, even while he was in chains or the bonds of prison.

This conveys a special relationship between the three men involved with Paul as the Father of them since it is believed he brought both men to the faith, and Philemon being the first son of the two and Onesimus being the younger.

Calling Onesimus his son is big and would go a long way in softening the blow between he and Philemon as it is certain that Philemon loved and trusted Paul, his father in the faith.

Then speaking of Onesimus the escaped slave from Philemon, Paul says at verse 11

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

Now, we must come to the reality here that Philemon was a converted Christian who owned slaves.

We must also admit that Paul does not anywhere condemn Philemon for continuing to own slaves after coming to the faith!

We could justify this by saying that slavery was part of the way of life then and did not have the same moral or ethical ramifications then as it has today – which may or may not be true – but the fact of the matter is, Paul did not bring the slavery practiced into the picture as something to condone or condemn – in fact, as we continue to read, he actually seems to just approach it as a fact and deal with the situation pragmatically, speaking to Philemon the slave holder as though Onesimus the escaped slave was wrong!

So much so that he says that Onesimus was in times past, “unprofitable to Philemon.”

Now we don’t know if this was because Onesimus was a lazy slave or if he became unprofitable to Philemon when he escaped and ran off to Rome.

Only that he was unprofitable to him before, but Paul adds, “but now profitable to thee.”

The Greek here is very close to the meaning of Onesimus’s own name which is, “very useful.”

So Onesimus escapes the captivity of Philemon, runs off to Rome, meets Paul and becomes a Christian, and Paul, now writing to Philemon describes him as once being unprofitable but now as profitable to Philemon AND also, Paul says, “to me.”

We can only guess how. It seems like what Paul is saying is that Onesimus was once a non-performer, a ner-do-well slave who only caused losses for Philemon, but now that the glory of the Gospel has found a place in his heart he has been regenerated by the Holy Spirit and having changed his mind and ways, was not operating on all cylinders.

That upon his return to Philemon as a believer he would be a better slave and that even Paul found him valuable to him. (verse 12)

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

Now, though Paul says that he sent him again (meaning Onesimus back to Philemon) we have to consider how this came down.

Did he command him to go back as an apostle? Did he encourage him to return to his master and in so doing did he cite the faith and its principles as the reason that Onesimus should comply?

Or did he simply support Onesimus’ desire to go back to Philemon himself?

Arguments are made on every side – we just don’t know. But it is doubtful that Paul could force the man. The rest is all up to conjecture. What is not is that Onesimus returned with this letter to Philemon his master from Paul.

12 Whom I (Paul) have sent again (to you, Philemon in Colossae) thou therefore receive him, that is, mine own bowels:

“Thou therefore receive him,” sounds like a command, but from the tenor of the rest of the letter, its not. We might read it as, “Please consider him again,” but Paul adds, “that is, mine own bowels.”

My own heart and mind – my son.

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

In other words, Paul is saying that he has kept Onesimus with him who, in the place of Philemon, has ministered to Paul’s needs relative to the Gospel and Paul’s work in it there. But Paul adds at verse 14

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

In other words Paul would never think of retaining Onesimus in his service, as much as he might need him, without the willing consent of Philemon who properly owned him. (Verse 15)

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

In other words, perhaps he left your (in the Greek) for this little time only to return to you as a brother in Christ? (Which is confirmed by the next verse where Paul adds)

16 Not 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?

The adverb rendered “not now,” (ouketi,) means no more, no further, no longer as a servant.

It implies that he had been before in this condition of servant or slave, but that (from Paul’s words) he was not to be seen as that alone any longer.

At verse 17 Paul adds:

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

The word rendered partner, (koinwnov,) means “a companion in common principles or interests.” In this case Paul seems to mean a partner in the faith, and that if Philemon saw Paul as such he would receive Onesimus as he would receive Paul Himself.

Paul adds:

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

If he has wronged Philemon in anyway, it seems, or if he owes Philemon anything by way of debt, Paul tells Philemon to “put the wrong or debt on his account.”

It is taken from a word used one other time in the Record (Romans 5:13) where it is translated imputed – which means reckoned – or taking something that is someone else’s and owning it or assuming it completely.

Of course Paul’s offer is a direct reflection of what Christ did on the cross with our sin, and what the Good Samaritan did with the debt incurred by the man beaten of robbers.

If we think about it this is literally an exchange of our life for another as we are assuming a debt of theirs as our own. Debts require times to pay off and time is the stuff that life is made of, therefore to assume someone else’s debt is to laydown ones life for a friend – the greatest form of love.

Extrapolated out, we are assuming other peoples debts EVERY time we endeavor to help, aid or assist them with anything on their plate – whether it be an extreme assumption like our literal life for theirs, or a prison sentence for them, or huge financial assumptions, to something smaller like giving them a ride, helping them with a task, or even being a listening ear to help unburden them of a care.

Greater love has no man than he who lays down his life for his friends.

Paul certifies his commitment to assume Onesimus debt at verse 19 saying

19 I 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.

Paul’s usual practice in writing his epistles was to use a scribe so some doubt that this means he wrote the entire letter himself. However in this case since the letter is so personal it is possible. If not, then he probably signed or left his mark on the letter assuring personal payment of whatever debt he was assuming.

Then Paul adds something that makes me smile, saying

“However I do not say to thee how thou owest unto me thine own self besides.”

See, Paul had ubdoubtedly been the means of the conversion of Philemon, and whatever hope he cherished of eternal life, was to be traced to Paul himself.

So Paul says that this was equivalent to Philemon owing himself to him. His very eternal life.

By comparison what Paul was assuming on behalf of Onesimus was nothing by comparison, but what makes me smile is the way Paul writes this fact, saying:

“However I do not say to thee how thou owest unto me thine own self besides.”

To me this shows that Paul was a human being, and still culturally Hebrew. Had the spirit reigned I suggest that he would not have had to add that little reminder at all, but trusted that if Philemon was guided by the same Spirit, he would have known this fact, and shown Onesimus grace. In any case verse 20

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

In other words, “By showing me this favour in receiving, my friend and brother as I have requested you will refresh the heart of this aging man in the Lord. And he reiterates his trust in Philemon saying:

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

In other words, I know that you will do even more than what I have requested of you as I have complete confidence in your allegiance to the things of the faith. (verse 22)

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

However, while you are granting this favor to me that I am assured will happen do me another favor and prepare lodging for me too.

According to verse 6 Philemon had been accustomed to show kindness to the saints and this certainly would have included hospitality.

Paul adds, “For I trust through your prayers” meaning I anticipate to be released and to be able to come and be with you.

Again, by what means? “Through your prayers,” he says. And I again suggest that our prayers, in this economy of God allowing the dark to reign where people let it, may crack open doors for God to act where his hands may be otherwise tied without them.

Paul now offers his benediction to the letter, saying

23 There (meaning at Colossae) salute thee Epaphras, my fellow-prisoner in Christ Jesus;
Colossians 4:12 tells us that Epaphras was a member of the church there and they are also mentioned at the close of the epistle to the Colossians which tells us pretty plainly that Philemon resided at Colossae.

Paul refers to him as “my fellow-prisoner in Christ Jesus,” meaning, in the cause of Christ, but we are not sure how this is the case. Verse 24

24 Marcus, Aristarchus, Demas, Lucas, my fellow-laborers.

All the names mention again in Colossae chapter 4 or Acts. And the closing passage:

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

Finally, as with most of the epistles from Paul, some zealous person added a subscription and this one says:

<>

Which is most certainly in error as Paul was not writing from Rome.

And we now face a verse by verse through the Gospel of Mark to wrap our verse by verse through the Apostolic Record up. We will begin that next week.

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