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Texts -- Philemon 1:1-15 (NET)

Context
Salutation
1:1 From Paul , a prisoner of Christ Jesus , and Timothy our brother , to Philemon , our dear friend and colaborer , 1:2 to Apphia our sister , to Archippus our fellow soldier , and to the church that meets in your house . 1:3 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ !
Thanks for Philemon’s Love and Faith
1:4 I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers , 1:5 because I hear of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints . 1:6 I pray that the faith you share with us may deepen your understanding of every blessing that belongs to you in Christ . 1:7 I have had great joy and encouragement because of your love , for the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you , brother .
Paul’s Request for Onesimus
1:8 So, although I have quite a lot of confidence in Christ and could command you to do what is proper , 1:9 I would rather appeal to you on the basis of love – I , Paul , an old man and even now a prisoner for the sake of Christ Jesus 1:10 I am appealing to you concerning my child , whose spiritual father I have become during my imprisonment , that is, Onesimus , 1:11 who was formerly useless to you , but is now useful to you and me . 1:12 I have sent him (who is my very heart ) back to you . 1:13 I wanted to keep him so that he could serve me in your place during my imprisonment for the sake of the gospel . 1:14 However , without your consent I did not want to do anything, so that your good deed would not be out of compulsion , but from your own willingness . 1:15 For perhaps it was for this reason that he was separated from you for a little while , so that you would have him back eternally ,

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Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • This salutation contains the three elements common in all of Paul's epistles and other correspondence of his day: the writer, the addressees, and a greeting."This salutation exhibits undoubted resemblances in form to secular ...
  • Paul began this epistle by identifying himself and his companion and by wishing God's richest blessings on his readers."Almost all letters from the Greco-Roman period began with a threefold salutation: The Writer, to the Addr...
  • 1:12 This verse is a topic sentence for all that follows through verse 26. Whenever Paul wrote, "I want you to know,"he introduced something important (cf. 2 Cor. 13:6; 2 Tim. 3:1).His readers could very understandably have c...
  • The city of Colosse lay in the beautiful Lycus Valley about 100 miles east of Ephesus. It had been an important town during the Persian War of the fifth century B.C. Since then new trade routes had carried most traffic to its...
  • 4:7-8 Paul sent Tychicus with this letter for two primary purposes. He wanted to provide more information about himself and his present ministry than he felt led to record in this letter. He also wanted to encourage the Colos...
  • 4:15 In addition to the neighboring Laodicean Christians, Paul sent greetings to Nympha, possibly the hostess of a Laodicean house-church. There is no evidence that Christians met in church buildings until the third century.1...
  • 3:6-7 Timothy had evidently rejoined Paul in Corinth (v. 16; cf. Acts 18:1). He brought good news that the Thessalonians were holding up well against the winds of persecution. They continued to trust in God and to love others...
  • Timothy apparently became a Christian as a result of Paul's missionary work in Lystra (Acts 14:6-23). He joined Paul on the second missionary journey when the apostle's evangelistic team passed through that area where Timothy...
  • 4:9-10 Paul urged Timothy to join him in Rome soon. He did not expect to live much longer (cf. v. 6)."The constitutional method of inflicting capital punishment on a Roman citizen was by the lictor's axe. The criminal was tie...
  • Philemon appears to have been a comparatively wealthy Colossian who owned slaves, as did most of the rich in his day.1He evidently came to faith in Christ as a result of Paul's influence (v. 19), perhaps when Paul was residin...
  • As is true of so many of the shorter Bible books, this one too is an illustration (cf. Ruth and Esther). Philemon in particular illustrates the outworking in life of the great doctrines taught in the other Pauline writings, e...
  • Paul began this letter by introducing himself and Timothy, by naming the recipients, and by wishing them God's grace and peace. He did so to clarify these essential matters and to set the tone for his following remarks.v. 1 P...
  • Paul commended Philemon for the fruit of the Spirit that Philemon permitted the Spirit to manifest in his life. He also prayed that it would continue to abound to encourage Philemon to respond to the request that follows in a...
  • v. 8 Paul's confidence (Gr. parresia) was his assurance that if he commanded Philemon to do as he requested because Paul was an apostle, Philemon would do it.16Nevertheless he declined to appeal on that basis. Rather he appea...
  • vv. 12-14 Onesimus had so endeared himself to Paul that his departure was an extremely painful prospect for the apostle. Paul could have justified keeping the slave with him, but he judged that Onesimus' obligation to return ...
  • v. 22 Paul expected release from his house arrest in Rome soon (cf. Acts 23:29; 24:13; 25:25-27; 26:31-32; Phil. 2:24). This happened, but we have no record that Paul did or did not fulfill his desire to visit Philemon. The p...
  • Barclay, William. The Letters to Timothy, Titus, and Philemon. Daily Bible series. 2nd ed and reprint ed. Edinburgh: Saint Andrews Press, 1962.Barker, G. W., Lane, W. L., and Michaels, J. R. The New Testament Speaks. New York...

Expositions Of Holy Scripture (Maclaren)

  • … the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was Saul.'--Acts 7:58.… Paul the aged, and now am a prisoner of Jesus Christ.'--Philemon 9.A FAR greater difference than that which was measu...
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