Philemon 1-7

Introduction

Paul’s letter to Philemon is the shortest of Paul’s letters that were included in the canon.  It is so short that it was not separated into chapters, and therefore we only designate the verses – so Philemon 7 is the 7th verse (and a very good one).  In the New Testament, it is located after all the other letters attributed to Paul, so it is after Titus and before Hebrews, which was not written by Paul.

Philemon is pronounced fih-LEE-muhn, with the accent on the second syllable.

Who is the letter to and from?

Paul wrote this letter to a man named Philemon.  Philemon is believed to have lived in Colossae because of the language in Colossians 4:7-9, although some look at Colossians 4:16-17 and wonder if it is the letter to the Laodiceans, which otherwise has been lost to time.

Colossae was in southwest Asia Minor, now southwest Turkey (Türkiye), and Laodicea was nearby.  Ephesus was 100-120 miles west, on the coast of the Aegean Sea.

The subject of the letter is a man named Onesimus (in standard English, pronounced oh-NEH-sih-muhs).  Paul wants Philemon to treat Onesimus kindly.

Date and place of writing

Paul says in the letter that he is writing from prison.

• The traditional and most widely accepted view is that Paul is writing from house arrest in Rome, which would place the letter around AD 61-63 (according to Fitzmyer and others; some scholars count the years slightly differently and say 60-62).  Traditionally, scholars have believed that Ephesians, Colossians, Philemon, and Philippians were written during the same imprisonment and they are called the “captivity” letters.

• Some scholars prefer to see the letter as having been written during Paul’s two-year imprisonment in Caesarea, before he was sent to Rome, which would mean around AD 58-60 (or 57-59).

• A newer view is that Paul is in prison in Ephesus and writing around AD 56-57.  We do not have any explicit evidence that Paul was ever in prison in Ephesus.  However, Paul says he was imprisoned multiple times (2 Cor. 11:23), and neither Paul nor Luke in the Acts of the Apostles describes any of those imprisonments.  He could have been jailed in Ephesus at some point (he stayed there for 2 years).  Paul’s statement in Philemon 22 that Philemon should prepare a guest room for him to come for a visit if he is released makes more sense if he is writing from Ephesus, 100-120 miles away, than if he is writing from Rome, a distance of 1,312 miles by land and sea (Witherington, p. 530).  Witherington (PDF) and White (PDF) provide competing, both very thoughtful, arguments against and in favor of the view that Paul’s captivity was in Ephesus.

Read Philemon 1-7.

What is the tone of the letter, so far?

What do you think the relationship is between Paul and Philemon?

Read Philemon 8-11.

Paul finally turns to the subject of his letter, a man named Onesimus. 

How does the tone of the letter shift at this point?

Read Philemon 10-25.

What is Onesimus’s social status?

How has Onesimus changed?

What does verse 14 tell us about Philemon?

Verse 14 tells us that Philemon has the power and authority to decide what happens to Onesimus.  He must have at least a little bit of wealth to be able to afford a slave, but many people “owned” slaves at that time in the Roman Empire.

What does verse 19 tell us about Philemon?

Verse 19 tells us that Philemon owes his life to Paul, presumably meaning he owes his faith in Christ to Paul – i.e., Paul converted him.

What does verse 22 tell us about Philemon?

Verse 22 tells us that Philemon’s house is big enough for the local church to meet there and has at least one spare room that could be made available for Paul to stay there as a guest.  So, again, he is reasonably wealthy.

Looking at all of the things Paul says about Philemon, how would you describe Philemon?

What is Paul asking Philemon to do?

Why does he think Philemon might be willing to do it?

We are going to look at the details of what Paul writes, and then we will take a step back and look at the broader issue of slavery in the Roman Empire and how Paul handles that issue.

Let’s dive into the details of what Paul writes:

Philemon 1-3 Greetings

How does Paul describe himself?

In the first verse of Ephesians and of Colossians, Paul describes himself as an “apostle,”  In Philippians, he describes himself as a “slave of Christ Jesus.”  How does he describe himself in the first verse of this letter, and how is this difference significant?

In verse 2, “your” is singular – the house the church meets in belongs to one of them.  Scholars think the most likely interpretation is that Apphia is Philemon’s wife and Archippus is his son; but some think these are leading people in the church community.  Similarly, the general belief is that the house the church meets in belongs to Philemon, who is a leader of the Christian community there, and that Onesimus is owned by Philemon; but some scholars think the house they meet in is owned by Archippus.

Paul has already established a standard way of greeting the people he writes to:  “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” (v. 3).  We see the exact same wording in Ephesians and Philippians, almost identical wording in 1 Thessalonians, and abbreviated versions of it in other letters. 

In verse 3, Paul uses the Greek word “grace” (charis).  This is a New Testament/Christian concept for the unearned favor we receive from God.  For that concept, Paul uses a word familiar in the Greek world that described the unearned favor or blessing a person might receive, for example, from a wealthy person.  Paul also uses the Greek word for “peace,” which would call to mind the standard Hebrew greeting of shalom that expressed the desire for wholeness and well-being in all of one’s relationships. 

How do the two words “grace” and “peace” in Paul’s greeting capture well what we might wish for people we care about?

Paul describes each of these three people – Philemon, Apphia, and Archippus – in very positive terms using just a few words.  What is important to him about them?

What can we learn from Paul’s example in the way he acknowledges the good he sees in other people?

Philemon 4-7 Paul is thankful for Philemon

In verses 4, 5, 6, and 7, the word “you” is singular each time.  Paul is talking specifically to Philemon, not to the family as a whole.

Let’s look some more at what kind of person Philemon is.  In verse 2, Paul calls him “our co-worker.”  What do you think “our co-worker” means?

What does Paul say about Philemon in verses 5-6?

Verse 5: Paul is thankful for Philemon’s faith in the Lord Jesus and his love for Jesus and his fellow Christians.

Verse 6: Paul says that Philemon shares a “partnership” in the faith.

In verse 5, Paul praises Philemon’s faith and love.  Ignatius of Antioch, writing 50 years later, said that “faith and love in Christ Jesus . . . are the beginning and the end of life.  For the beginning is faith, and the end is love” (Ignatius of Antioch).  How do faith and love encompass the Christian life?

In verse 6, what do you think Paul means when he refers to Philemon’s “partnership in the faith”?

In what ways are we called to be co-workers or partners in the work God is doing through his people?

What does Paul say about Philemon in verse 7?

He says that Philemon encourages others in a way that refreshes the hearts of the believers.

What do you think Paul means when he says Philemon refreshes the hearts of others?

Some possible answers are: Philemon is hospitable or generous towards others in a way that helps them feel encouraged, renewed, and loved.

Note: The Greek word Paul uses that is translated as “heart” is actually the word for “bowels” – the inner parts of us.  To a Hebrew mind that is the seat of the emotions or place of one’s “innermost self” (New American Bible, revised edition, Phile. 7, fn.).  The translators wisely substitute the word “heart” because that is where people in our time locate our deepest self.

In what ways are we called to refresh the hearts of our fellow believers, and how can we do that effectively?

Some possible answers are: Be there for others, which means we need to be connected to them (for example, part of the church community with them).  Talk with others and listen well.  Be positive and encouraging.  Practice being aware of other people’s needs.  Avoid seeming to be telling people what to do as though we know better than them how they should live their lives (otherwise, they will not feel encouraged and refreshed).

How important is it to be plugged into a local church in order to be a co-worker and refresh others?

What seem to be Paul’s criteria for evaluating a person, and how do his criteria compare with the criteria our culture uses to measure a person’s worth?

Looking at the example Philemon has set by how he has lived his life, what do you see in Philemon that you might be able to manifest more fully in your life?

Take a step back and consider this:

We have gotten through 7 verses of Paul’s letter to Philemon, and Paul hasn’t even begun to broach the main subject of his letter: Onesimus.  We could cynically say that he is just buttering up Philemon so that he can win him over.  Or we could say that this just shows how important it is to Paul to maintain a strong relationship with his friend.  Or we could say that this is what effective Christians always do: praise other people and express appreciation for them whenever they can, in order to encourage them in their walk with the Lord.

What does Paul’s expansive praise say to you about your own way of interacting with other people?  Are there any suggestions here for your own relationships?