Philemon is a letter from Paul to a man called Philemon, a man who had a church based in his own house in Colossae. It has fascinated Christians over the centuries, partly because it is so short (one chapter and only 25 verses), but mainly because it’s main concern is a runaway slave named Onesimus. Onesimus had run away to Rome from his master Philemon and had, somehow, met up with an imprisoned Paul in Rome; he was a changed person now he had become a Christian.
PRISONER OF CHRIST ALONE
Paul called himself a “prisoner of Jesus Christ” (v1). Most commentators believe this was the time when Paul was a prisoner in Rome, under house arrest, which we read of at the end of Acts. Philemon is classed as one of the four prison letters, along with Philippians, Ephesians and Colossians. I think what Paul is saying here is that, as a Christian, the only authority we are subject to is Jesus Christ; the evil one can imprison us according to his rules and plans but our lives are free in Christ. Remember Philippians-nothing could hinder Paul’s joy in the Lord-“Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say, Rejoice” (Phil 4v4).
Who are these people in verses 1 and 2? They are part of the church in Colossae. It is quite possible that the three people are all one family- Philemon, with his wife Apphia and then their son Archippus. Paul sent a message to Archippus in Colossian 4v17- “see that you complete the task that you have received in the Lord”. Paul, in Philemon, sent greetings from a very similar group of Paul’s co-workers that we find in Colossians –Epaphras, Mark, Aristarchus, Luke. Notice, also, in Colossians 4v9 that Tychycus was to travel to Colossae with Onesimus, the runaway slave himself, who is called a “faithful and beloved brother”.
It is interesting to find that, short though the letter is, Paul still managed to find space for the foundational messages we find in his longer letters.
GRACE AND PEACE-(God reaching out to us)
Look at verse 3 “grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ”. Have you ever noticed that the same words, or something similar, can be found at the beginning of all Paul’s letters from Romans to Philemon. Every single letter, yes. I had never noticed this before until I checked through in preparation for this study. All I can say is -what better place to start? Grace and peace. We are nothing if God did not love us first and undeservedly (grace) and given us that great gift of peace with him through the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.
LOVE AND FAITH-(response from his people)
The letter is also not too short to remind us once again of the foundations of a good church (v5) which we discovered in Paul’s other letters. Paul always looked for two attributes-faith and love; faith towards Jesus and love towards each other. Paul loved it when he saw people grow in their Christian lives and reach out with their spiritual gifts; it seems that Philemon had a ministry of (v7) “refreshing the hearts of the saints.”
RELATIONSHIPS
In Philemon we also see the warmth Paul showed to the people he worked with-look how he addressed the letter (v1) “to Philemon our dear friend and co-worker.” Timothy he calls “our brother”, Appia “our sister.” We also see once again (v4) of Paul’s commitment to prayer for God’s people. The good life of Philemon gave Paul “much joy and encouragement” (v7).
SLAVES IN ROMAN SOCIETY
Paul much preferred to work with people on the basis of love than using his authority in Christ (v9) and this is the way he writes to Philemon. Paul pleads in a dignified way for Onesimus, the runaway slave; for a runaway slave was in severe trouble in Roman society. Slaves were normally the end result of a successful military campaign and were treated as a commodity to be bought and sold, not usually as human beings. The Roman people were probably outnumbered by their slaves and Rome had seen some dangerous high profile slave rebellions like one led by Sparticus. Consequently, as a deterrent, the punishment for a slave that ran away could be gruesome. Some slaves were more valuable than others; some might be good administrators; some strong and beautiful; others had craftsman skills. These slaves could sometimes be treated more leniently than the uninspiring useless ones. It appears that, even though optimistically his name meant “useful “, Onesimus, before his conversion, fell into this useless category (v11) “formerly he was useless to you.” No doubt he would have been harshly treated.
Society can write off people but Jesus Christ gives value to them; Paul mentions how Onesimus, now converted, had become useful to Paul and as part of the kingdom, also useful to Philemon. Paul asked for the consent of Philemon as legal owner of the slave and, because of this, some criticise him for condoning slavery in the society of the time. Households would have had on average about 3 slaves; some had hundreds. It is obvious, though, that social activism would have had a very limited impact on this slavery which was very much part of the fabric of Roman society, Greek culture and presumably most civilisations before it. Slavery, even in modern society is an evil waiting to happen.
HOPE FOR THE SLAVE
Surely in this small letter lies the only seed of hope for the slave because the Christian faith started changing attitudes towards slavery by the end of the Roman empire. Abolition in the British Empire would eventually happen but only after the major Christian revivals which started about 1750. Remember the shame of our own history-the British Empire’s wealth had much to do with our abuse of African slaves and it was not until 1833 that slavery was finally abolished.
Love and testimony is more powerful than words and Paul saw in this runaway slave, Onesimus, a human being who Christ loved and died for. As a slave, many would have looked down on him and written him off but to Paul he was loved so much he called him “his own heart” (v12). Society may have its classes and prejudice but a shared Christian faith can make the slave our “beloved brother.” Surely, slavery starts in the heart of the enslaver and freedom from slavery starts with freedom in the heart. A heart that knows the love of Jesus. Philemon would have him back for ever (v15)-why for ever? Because they would both live together in the presence of the Lord for ever.
LOVE FOR THE SLAVE
How far does Paul go in his appeal to Philemon for Onesimus? Put another way, is there anything he would he not have given for the good treatment of Onesimus? There was no limit to Paul’s heart of love because there was no limit to the heart of Christ within him. Paul asked that all of Onesimus’s sins be charged to his own account (v18)-doesn’t this remind you of Jesus who took responsibility for all our sins on the cross. How could Philemon resist the passion of Paul’s entreat?-“welcome him as you would welcome me (v17)”-reminding Philemon of the great debt he owed to Paul -even his “own self.”
Paul had expectation that he would soon be released from prison and he asked Philemon in verse 22 to prepare a guest room for him. It seems that Paul was eventually released for a relatively short time until his final imprisonment we hear off in the books to Timothy. Perhaps, Paul would have the opportunity, one last time, to be refreshed by Philemon and Onesimus. What a blessing to be able to refresh Paul –the man who in God’s power opened the way for God’s work amongst the Gentiles who include you and me. The book ends with the words (v25) “the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.” Paul’s greeting started with grace and the book ends with grace. If the loving grace of the Lord Jesus is in our spirit, the world in at least some small way will never be the same again.