Philemon 1:4-7
The bowels of the saints are refreshed by thee
The letter opens by praising the man it is about to ask something costly of. The praise is specific and appears to be sincere.
People of the Bible
Philemon and Onesimus
A slave owner and the slave who ran, and a letter that asks for one and refuses to command it.
Philemon is a believer at Colosse with a church meeting in his house, and Paul says his bowels have been refreshed by him, which is the warmest thing said about anyone in the short letters. Onesimus is his slave, and he has run, apparently taking something with him. He reaches Rome, finds Paul under guard, and is converted there. The letter exists because Paul is sending him back, which under Roman law meant returning a man to an owner entitled to brand or kill him.
Scroll down to the storyThe movements, in the order the text gives them.
The story of Philemon and Onesimus
- 01
- 02
Philemon 1:8-11
I rather beseech thee
Paul states that he has the authority to command, names it, and then puts it down. Which in time past was to thee unprofitable, but now profitable.
- 03
Philemon 1:15-16
Not now as a servant, but above a servant
The request is not that the punishment be waived but that the category be. A brother beloved, both in the flesh and in the Lord.
- 04
Philemon 1:18-19
Put that on mine account
He writes the guarantee in his own hand and then mentions, in passing, the larger debt running the other way.
- 05
Colossians 4:9
One of you
The runaway is sent back carrying a letter to the whole church, described as a faithful and beloved brother who is one of them.
Why it matters
The argument is made entirely by refusing to make it as an order. Though I might be much bold in Christ to enjoin thee that which is convenient, yet for love’s sake I rather beseech thee. He offers to pay whatever is owed in his own handwriting, then adds that Philemon owes him his own self besides. And the request itself goes past forgiveness: receive him not now as a servant, but above a servant, a brother beloved. The name Onesimus means useful, and the letter puns on it twice.
1 song
The music
Every song in the catalogue whose passage falls inside these chapters.
