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This epistle is one of my favorites. It just takes a few minutes to read and shows Paul's love for the brethren, how we should
love and treat our Brothers and Sisters in Christ, and our Lord and savior's love for us.
Phm 1:1 Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ, and Timothy our brother, unto Philemon our dearly beloved, and fellow laborer,
Phm 1:2 And to our beloved Apphia, and Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the church in thy house:
Phm 1:3 Grace to you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Phm 1:4 I thank my God, making mention of thee always in my prayers,
Phm 1:5 Hearing of thy love and faith, which thou hast toward the Lord Jesus, and toward all saints;
Phm 1:6 That the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in
you in Christ Jesus.
Phm 1:7 For we have great joy and consolation in thy love, because the bowels of the saints are refreshed by thee, brother.
Phm 1:8 Wherefore, though I might be much bold in Christ to enjoin thee that which is convenient,
Phm 1:9 Yet for love's sake I rather beseech thee, being such a one as Paul the aged, and now also a prisoner of Jesus
Christ.
Phm 1:10 I beseech thee for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten in my bonds:
Phm 1:11 Which in time past was to thee unprofitable, but now profitable to thee and to me:
Phm 1:12 Whom I have sent again: thou therefore receive him, that is, mine own bowels:
Phm 1:13 Whom I would have retained with me, that in thy stead he might have ministered unto me in the bonds of the gospel:
Phm 1:14 But without thy mind would I do nothing; that thy benefit should not be as it were of necessity, but willingly.
Phm 1:15 For perhaps he therefore departed for a season, that thou shouldest receive him forever;
Phm 1:16 Not now as a servant, but above a servant, a brother beloved, especially to me, but how much more unto thee,
both in the flesh and in the Lord?
Phm 1:17 If thou count me therefore a partner, receive him as myself.
Phm 1:18 If he hath wronged thee, or oweth thee aught, put that on mine account;
Phm 1:19 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.
Phm 1:20 Yea, brother, let me have joy of thee in the Lord: refresh my bowels in the Lord.
Phm 1:21 Having confidence in thy obedience I wrote unto thee, knowing that thou wilt also do more than I say.
Phm 1:22 But withal prepare me also a lodging: for I trust that through your prayers I shall be given unto you.
Phm 1:23 There salute thee Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus;
Phm 1:24 Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, Luke, my fellow laborers.
Phm 1:25 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.
Paul
was in Rome under house arrest at the time that he met Onesimus and
introduced him to the Lord. Onesimus would help Paul as a friend and co
laborer in Christ. Evidently Paul discovered that Onesimus was ether a
runaway slave, an indentured servant (ref verse 15&16) or Onesimus
had stole something of value. Verse 1 thru 9 Paul writes his salutation
and his present condition. Verse 10 thru 14 he describes the situation
Onesimus is in and starts his plea. Verse 17 and 18 is the plea for
help, and reminds Philemon that they are partners in Christ and that if
needed he will pay in full the debt that is owed. Paul is in prison and
broke, how can he repay anything except with loving friendship? In
verse 19 Paul emphases again that he will repay any debt, but reminds
Philemon that he is indebted to Paul also, Possibly Paul led him to the
Lord or baptized him. Paul continues with the letter with the statement
that he knows his fellow servant in Christ will do the right thing when
Onesimus arrives at his home. He then ends with a closing salutation.
I would conclude that this shows
that Christians should work for the harmony of the Church. We should
show brotherly love and forgive each others trespasses. An interesting
point is that Paul wrote to Philemon that he would repay him or he
could put the dept on Paul's account. We as Christians have been
forgiven of our sins by Gods love and Jesus shed blood which took away
the sins of the world. We have an account through Jesus that never
ends. Our sins are always forgiven. Jesus told us to forgive always,
even seventy times seven.
Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?
Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, until seven times: but, until seventy times seven.
(Matthew 18:21-22)
Paul
was counting on Philemon to act in a brotherly way and forgive Onesimus
and any debt that he owed. He also knew that if Philemon accepted
Onesimus as a brother in Christ that Onesimus would be forever grateful
and would be a valuable friend and brother.
This letter is an example of how we
should treat our fellow Christians. If we have a person that has
wronged us we can sit and worry about it or we can do as Philemon was
asked to do and forgive our brethren. A fellow Christian that we are
mad at and are not friends with is not profitable to us. We don't have
fellowship with them and probably could care less if they lived or
died. But, if you forgive them they become your friend and the tension
between the two of you is lifted, you can then work together to do Gods
work.
This epistle also shows us the
gospel and our relationship to God through Jesus. Jesus is always there
willing to take on our sin debt as Paul was willing to take on Onesimus
debt. We were once unprofitable to God in our sinful state, but once we
became sinless thru Jesus shed blood we became profitable.
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