Paul appealed to Philemon to receive Onesimus back and to forgive him. He did this to enable Onesimus to fulfill his obligations to Philemon and to encourage Philemon to benefit from Onesimus' conversion rather than to be stumbled by it.
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 appealed on the basis of love, the love of Christ that bound all the parties involved in this situation together.
"If a slave ran away, the master would register the name and description with the officials, and the slave would be on the wanted' list. Any free citizen who found a runaway slave could assume custody and even intercede with the owner. The slave was not automatically returned to the owner, nor was he automatically sentenced to death. While it is true that some masters were cruel (one man threw his slave into a pool of man-eating fish!), many of them were reasonable and humane. After all, a slave was an expensive and useful piece of personal property, and it would cost the owner to lose him."17
v. 9 Paul perhaps referred to his aged condition to remind Philemon of the affliction he had undergone for the gospel that may have aged him prematurely.18At this time Paul would have been about 55 years old which in his day was older than it is in ours because life expectancies were shorter then. He appealed as a father for his son in the faith. His reference to his present imprisonment also would have encouraged Philemon to accede to his appeal.
". . . Paul knew Philemon as modern commentators cannot and no doubt had a good idea of how Philemon was likely to react to such sentiments being read in public in the church of which he was a member as well as leader."19
vv. 10-11 "Onesimus"means "useful."Paul mentioned his name here (v. 10) for the first time having prepared Philemon for the unpleasant memories associated with his formerly unfaithful servant by the foregoing comments. He called Onesimus his child. The figurative parent-child relationship was common in both Judaism and the pagan mystery religions as an illustration of the teacher-pupil relationship or the leader-convert relationship.20
"In addition to the tender love that is contained in this expression there lies in it the thought of immaturity: Onesimus is only a child as yet and in this condition needs much tender care lest his young spiritual life suffer or die."21
"This is the one-time self-righteous Pharisee, the heir of Jewish exclusiveness, and he is speaking of a Gentile, and a Gentile slave at that, from the very dregs of Roman society--yet he can refer to him as a son. So his statement (Col. iii. 11) that there is neither Greek nor Jew . . . bond or free' [Gal. 3:28] is no empty formula but reflects the attitude of heart to which he himself had been brought by God."22
Paul had led Onesimus to Christ while Paul was in confinement. The apostle sweetened the unpleasantness that the mention of Onesimus' name would have produced by making a pun. "Useful"had been "useless"to Philemon, but now he was living up to his name. He had proved useful to Paul and he could be useful to Philemon. There was no need for Paul to identify exactly what sin Onesimus had committed against Philemon. Instead of magnifying it he minimized it (cf. 1 Pet. 4:8).
"Achrestos["useless"] designates Onesimus with reference to his flight and the time before his conversion. Apparently he was useless even before he ran away. He was a Phrygian slave and as such had confirmed the popular estimate of his class and nation by his own conduct'23since Phrygian slaves were proverbial for being unreliable and unfaithful."24
"(The name Philemonmeans affectionate' or one who is kind.' If the slave was expected to live up to his name, then what about the master?)"25
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 to his owner was more important. Furthermore, Paul did not really have authority over the slave; that rested with his master. If Paul had kept Onesimus with him, Philemon would have felt obligated by his regard for Paul to let his slave stay with the apostle. The service Paul probably had in mind for Onesimus was to proclaim the gospel, not to perform menial prison duties for Paul.26Nevertheless, Paul wanted Philemon to respond to his slave freely.
"The principle of consideration for others here manifested by Paul is a factor of vital importance today for effective Christian leadership. Many are the difficulties which might be avoided if those in places of authority in Christian work would follow Paul's example in this."27
"In the eastern part of the Roman Empire [including Asia Minor] during this period, fugitive slaves who sought sanctuary in a household were likely to be given temporary protection by the householder until either a reconciliation with the master had been effected or else the slave had been put up for sale in the market and the resulting price paid to the owner . . ."28
vv. 15-16 Paul suggested that God may have permitted the events that had taken place to result in greater good (Rom. 8:28), and he urged Philemon to view them in that light. The master should now regard his slave not as a slave but as a brother in Christ, which he was.29This does not mean that he would necessarily give Onesimus his freedom, though he might, but that he would treat him lovingly at least.30In Onesimus Philemon would receive one with whom he could share the fellowship of Christ and one who would render him more conscientious service than he could expect from a non-Christian.
"The supreme work of Christianity is to transform men, so that out of their transformed lives shall come the transformation of all social conditions, and the victories of righteousness and of love."31
"The principles of the gospel worked into the conscience of a nation destroy slavery."32
"Christianity is not out to help a man to escape his past and to run away from it; it is out to enable a man to face his past and to rise above it."33
"It is quite clear that in this letter Paul is not really dealing with the question of slavery as such or the resolution of a particular instance of slavery. In this verse, at least, he treats the question of brotherly love. Although Onesimus' earthly freedom may be of positive value, in the last analysis it is of no ultimate significance to him as a Christian as to whether he is slave or free. Finally what matters is to have accepted God's call and to follow him . . ."34
Finally Paul articulated his request. He based it on his relationship with Philemon as a Christian brother, a partner in union with Christ.
"Paul's term partner' must not be weakened to mean merely an intimate friend or companion. It suggests the fellowship or partnership of those who have common interests, common feelings, common work. It is a spiritual fellowship and has a double aspect, Godward as well as brotherward. It is the partnership of mutual Christian faith and life. It is upon Philemon's acceptance of this fellowship that Paul bases his appeal. The form of the conditional sentence assumes the reality of that fact. Philemon's refusal of Paul's request would be inconsistent with his acknowledgment of this partnership."35
v. 18 Paul then hastened to remove a possible obstacle. Pilfering was common among slaves (cf. Titus 2:10). Paul seemed to be unaware of anything specific that Onesimus owed Philemon, but he offered to pay whatever might be indebted if such a condition existed. Onesimus may have stolen from Philemon,36or he may simply have run away and so caused his master inconvenience.37"Charge that to my account"means the same as "impute it to me."Paul's offer is a beautiful illustration of biblical forgiveness based on imputation (cf. Rom. 5:13; 2 Cor. 5:21).38
v. 19 Evidently Paul wrote this whole epistle with his own hand rather than through a secretary as was his custom.39Alternatively Paul may have signed his name at this point and then personally wrote out his guarantee.40Paul reminded Philemon of his own debt to the apostle (v. 19). Apparently Philemon had become a Christian through Paul's ministry either directly or indirectly.
The phrase in parentheses in this verse is a rhetorical device called paraleipsis. In it a writer states that he is reluctant to say something that he does nevertheless say. It is a way of inserting information delicately.41
v. 20 By receiving and forgiving Onesimus Philemon would be repaying Paul and encouraging him. Another play on words occurs in that the Greek word translated "benefit"is the root of the one translated "Onesimus."One writer rendered this clause, "Let me get help as well as you get Helpful."42
"Obedience"is a strong word to use to describe acquiescence to a request from a friend. Perhaps by using it Paul indirectly reminded Philemon of his apostolic authority. Doing more than Paul requested probably implied Philemon's wholehearted, enthusiastic acceptance of Onesimus rather than just compliance with the letter of Paul's request.
"Freedom of slaves, like all freedom, must come from the heart of Christ-inspired men. Under this compulsion, slavery must ultimately wilt and die. That it took so long for it to do so, that slavery was practiced by many Christians in America until the Civil War ended it, that it is still, in one form or another, in the world today--these humbling facts show the tenacity of socially entrenched sin and the failure of Christendom to deal with it. While all ethical behavior for Christians should arise out of love, rather than regulation or constraint, yet it takes fully committed disciples to put it into practice."43
"As we read between the lines it seems best to interpret the more' as a desire of the apostle for Onesimus to be returned to him for the service of the gospel . . ."44
