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 Paul described himself simply as a prisoner of Jesus Christ's. He was in prison because he served Christ.
"As himself the Lord's bondsman he will plead for another bondsman whose story is the burden of this letter. In begging mercy for this bondsman he points to his own bonds. No less than six times in this brief letter does Paul make reference to his imprisonment (vv. 1, 9, 10, 13, 22, 23)."6
"He is not asking for a measure of sacrifice from Philemon, as one who knows nothing of sacrifice. He has forfeited his freedom for Christ's sake and so has a ground for appealing. This is a principle involved in any true pastoral work. The pastor can only appeal to his people for self-sacrifice and discipline if he himself knows the meaning of discipline in his own life. Otherwise his call is empty and lifeless."7
Paul probably did not refer to his apostleship because of the personal nature of the appeal contained in this epistle. Philemon undoubtedly knew Timothy by reputation if not personally. The mention of his name implies that Timothy agreed with Paul concerning what follows in the letter. Philemon's name does not appear elsewhere in Scripture.
v. 2 Apphia was evidently a family member, probably Philemon's wife. Paul may have addressed her specifically because normally the wife had day-to-day responsibility for the household slaves.8
Archippus may have been their son, or perhaps Philemon's physical brother, or his friend. He seems to have been old enough to be responsible for some kind of ministry (Col. 4:17). He may very well have been the leading man in the church that met in Philemon's house. Paul also addressed the letter to the other Christians meeting with Philemon's family in their Colossian home (Col. 4:17).
"Christian congregations were dependent upon the hospitality of wealthy members who could furnish their own houses for this purpose. This note then contains an indication of the social status of Philemon. In a large city there would be several such assemblies. (Cf. Rom. 16:5, 10, 11, 14, 15.) Whether the church at Colossae had more than one place of assembly is not known. Probably they did."9
v. 3 Paul's benediction is the same as the one in the Colossian epistle except that he added the name of the Lord Jesus Christ here (cf. Col. 1:2). Perhaps Paul intended that this addition would remind the recipients (plural "you"in Greek) of their union in Christ and God's grace to them in Christ.
