Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, to Philemon our beloved fellow worker and Apphia our sister and Archippus our fellow soldier, and the church in your house: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Philemon 1:1-3
We’re opening up a new book of the bible today. While not the shortest book in the New Testament (2nd John takes the top spot there), it contains just 25 verses in total (tying Jude) and takes just a couple of minutes to read through. Unlike Paul’s other letters, this one doesn’t contain much theology or doctrine, but within this short epistle are several important takeaways every Christian can apply to their lives.
To better understand the context of this letter, let’s begin with an overview.
The apostle Paul claims authorship of this letter directly (v. 1 and 19) and there is no reason to dispute this claim. Paul wrote this letter while imprisoned in Rome and it was likely sent with his letter to the Colossians, as we learn that Philemon lived in Colossae and hosted a church in his home there (v1:2).
Paul’s opening is nearly identical to his other letters, stating his name, position (in this case, a prisoner for Christ Jesus instead of an apostle), who he was with or perhaps who helped transcribe the letter, to whom the letter was addressed, and a greeting.
Paul addresses this very personal letter not only to Philemon, but also Apphia, Archippus, and the church in Philemon’s house. I believe this was intentional, and by divine providence, both to ensure that Philemon could be held accountable for the contents of the letter, as well as allowing it to be recorded and eventually canonized into the pages of the scripture. If read solely and privately by Philemon, it would have been easier for him, if he so desired, to ignore or defy what Paul was asking, and in this we see the importance of accountability within the Church family. We cannot operate our faith or ministry in a vacuum; the need for accountability to other believers is imperative to walking with Christ in a fruitful and worthy manner.
Paul tags his opening with the familiar greeting, “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ,” identifying two persons of the Godhead; both Deity, both fully God, and both essential to our salvation and sanctification.
Let’s now look at the theme of this letter:
Philemon was a Colossian Christian who had a slave named Onesimus, who had abandoned his post and possibly stolen from Philemon. Onesimus eventually met Paul (either before or during his imprisonment), converted to Christianity, began to serve Paul, and now, under Paul’s direction, was returning to Philemon because it was the right thing to do. In fact, Colossians 4:7-9 and Philemon 1:10-12 imply Onesimus, along with Tychicus, were the ones who hand-delivered Paul’s letter to the Colossians as well as this letter to Philemon. This surely required a great deal of humility and trust on Onesimus’ part, knowing that he would be returning to the master he deserted.
As we learned in our study of Colossians, slavery in the Roman era was extremely common and quite unlike what we in are accustomed to hearing of in the modern era. While slaves had limited freedoms, they did have some legal rights, could own property (including their own slaves), have families, and could even leave for short times (ie: take vacation). Some people sold themselves into indentured servitude simply to ensure they would have a place to live and food to eat. While not all slaves were treated fairly, of course, slavery was ingrained in the Roman culture and many slaves lived normal lives, so we must approach this epistle with that context in mind.
We’ll learn that Paul’s appeal to Philemon is based on faith, mercy, and love. Paul goes so far to tell Philemon that while he could, with the authority of an apostle of Christ, demand that he forgives Onesimus, he instead prefers to petition for this on love’s sake (v. 1:8-9).
And it is in this we find the heart of the letter: forgiveness and reconciliation among believers for the sake of Christ and the gospel.
The walk of faith is not always easy, and sometimes the hardest things are not enduring trials and suffering, but it’s living out the gospel in tangible ways, such as in loving others, forgiving those who hurt us, and showing mercy and grace to those who may not deserve it. Yet, these are essential fruits of the Christian life. Just as the Father, through Christ Jesus, has shown you and me unmerited love, grace, mercy, and forgiveness, we too must do the same to our brothers and sisters, especially when they come to us in repentance and seeking reconciliation. As we’ll see, Paul’s letter to Philemon is a wonderful example of how this action of faith and obedience is lived out in our daily walk with the Lord.