1.1-25

Philemon

This is a personal letter written to a wealthy Christian in Colossae, at a time when slavery was an accepted part of the ancient Roman world. Paul's letter addresses slavery in a unique and critical way.

Philemon owned a slave named Onesimus. Onesimus had run away from Philemon and met Paul, who converted him to Christianity. Paul knew Philemon and considered him to be a good Christian man. Paul, therefore, wrote the letter to reconcile the situation between Philemon and Onesimus.
Paul appeals to Philemon's Christian mercy and love, asking him to receive Onesimus back as a brother in Christ, not as a slave. This challenged the social norms of treating slaves as sub-human and reminds Christians to treat all people with dignity and respect, regardless of their social status.

Christians were grappling with the issue of how to live out their faith in a world that had accepted slavery as normal. Paul's letter is a powerful reminder to all Christians, that compassion, forgiveness, and love, can transform even the most entrenched social institutions.

CHAPTER 1

Philemon’s Love and Faith

1 Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother,
To Philemon our beloved brother and fellow worker,
2 and to Apphia our sister, and to Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the church in your house:
3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
4 I thank my God, always making mention of you in my prayers,
5 because I hear of your love and of the faith which you have toward the Lord Jesus and toward all the saints;
6 and I pray that the fellowship of your faith may become effective through the full knowledge of every good thing which is in you for the sake of Christ.
7 For I have come to have much joy and comfort in your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, brother.
8 Therefore, though I have much boldness in Christ to command you to do what is proper,
9 yet for love’s sake I rather plead with you—since I am such a person as Paul, the aged, and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus—

Plea for Onesimus

10 I plead with you for my child Onesimus, of whom I became a father in my chains,
11 who formerly was useless to you, but now is useful both to you and to me.
12 I have sent him back to you in person, that is, my very heart,
13 whom I intended to keep with me, so that on your behalf he might minister to me in my chains for the gospel,
14 but without your consent I did not want to do anything, so that your goodness would not be, in effect, by compulsion but voluntarily.
15 For perhaps he was for this reason separated from you for a while, that you would have him back forever,
16 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.
17 If then you regard me a partner, accept him as you would accept me.
18 But if he has wronged you in any way or owes you anything, charge that to my account.
19 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).
20 Yes, brother, let me benefit from you in the Lord. Refresh my heart in Christ!
21 Having confidence in your obedience, I write to you, since I know that you will do even more than what I say.
22 And at the same time also prepare me a lodging, for I hope that through your prayers I will be graciously given to you.
23 Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, greets you,
24 as do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, Luke, my fellow workers.
25 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.