Philemon: Text, Exposition, And Notes
Texts, Exposition, and Notes
PHILEMON
I. PRESCRIPT (1-3)
1 Paul, a prisoner1 of Christ Jesus, and our brother Timothy, to Philemon, our dear friend2 and fellow-worker,
2 and to our sister3 Apphia and Archippus, our comrade-in-arms, and to the church in your house:
3 grace and peace be yours from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Like the letter to the Colossians, this one shows Timothy’s name linked with Paul’s in the prescript, but here there is no question of Timothy’s sharing the authorship with Paul. Throughout the body of this letter one man (Paul) addresses one man (Philemon). Timothy is associated with Paul in the initial salutation, instead of being included among other friends whose greetings are sent in vv. 23 and 24, because he was Paul’s permanent partner in his ministry.
Paul is asking Philemon for a favor; therefore he is careful not to assert his apostolic status, as he does in most of his prescripts. He designates himself rather as a prisoner, a man in chains; yet even this is an honorable designation, for he is not so much Caesar’s prisoner (which in terms of Roman law he was) as a prisoner of Christ Jesus.4 In chains or at liberty, he remained an ambassador, and if for the time being his sovereign directed him to exercise his ambassadorship under military custody, his directive must be obeyed: as it is put below in v. 9, Paul was simultaneously “ambassador but now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus.”
Of Philemon nothing is known beyond what can be gathered from this letter.5 He was evidently residing in Colossae (so much may be inferred from the mention of Onesimus as “one of yourselves” in Col. 4:9). But this letter gives a strong impression that, unlike the other Christians in the Lycus valley, Philemon was personally known to Paul and reckoned by him among his “fellow-workers.”6 Indeed, it is evident from v. 19b that he was one of Paul’s converts. But when and where Paul and he had met must be a matter of speculation.
2 Apphia and Archippus, who are also saluted by name, were presumably members of Philemon’s household, probably his wife and his son. The name Apphia (not to be confused with the Roman Appia7) is well attested in Phrygia and elsewhere in Western Anatolia: one Apphia of Colossae is commemorated on a tombstone set up by her husband Hermas.8 As for Archippus, he is the recipient of a cryptic message in Col. 4:17—cryptic to the modern reader, but no doubt well understood by him.9 (The idea that the message had to do with the treatment of Onesimus, as though Paul’s plea in this letter were addressed to Archippus rather than to Philemon, has nothing to be said in its favor.)10 He is here referred to as “our comrade-in-arms” or fellow-soldier11—a designation given by Paul also to Epaphroditus of Philippi (Phil. 2:25). Some personal association with Archippus in the work of the gospel is implied, but what it was is unknown to us.
The inclusion of the church in Philemon’s house among the recipients of these initial greetings suggests that some of the Christians in the city had their regular meeting-place there. While they are greeted thus in the prescript, they are in no sense included among the addressees of the letter: the letter is a private one, intended for Philemon alone (as is plain from the use of the singular pronoun of the second person).12 The involvement of the church—even of Philemon’s house-church—in what was Philemon’s personal responsibility could well have been counterproductive. (The commendation of Onesimus in Col. 4:9 is on a different footing.)13
3 The prescript ends with Paul’s habitual invocation of “grace and peace”—here, as is usual, “from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”14 Grace and peace are invoked on all those mentioned in the prescript along with Philemon, but with that the message to them is concluded, until the plural pronoun “you” reappears in the expressed hope of seeing them again (v. 22b) and in the final grace-benediction (v. 25).
II. THANKSGIVING FOR NEWS OF PHILEMON’S LIBERALITY (4-7)
4 I thank my God as I mention you always in my prayers,
5 because I hear of the love and loyalty15 which you show to the Lord Jesus16 and to all the saints.
6 (I pray) that the liberality which is the expression of your faith may become effective in the experience of every good thing17 which is ours18 in Christ.19
7 I have received great joy20 and encouragement at the news of your love,21 because you have refreshed the hearts of the saints, my brother.
4 The prescript is followed by the customary Pauline expression of thanks, interwoven (as usual) with an intercessory prayer-report.22 Both the ground of the thanksgiving and the substance of the prayer are closely related to the purpose of the letter.23 The qualities which called forth Paul’s thanksgiving in the news he received about Philemon were the qualities which he wished him to show in the particular matter about which he was writing; the fulfilment of his prayer for Philemon would provide an atmosphere most congenial to Philemon’s readiness to grant his personal request.
5 It was probably Epaphras who had given Paul the news about Philemon which caused the apostle so much joy, as it was he too who gave Paul the news about the Colossian church in general. Onesimus also could have given Paul news about Philemon and his household, but Epaphras’s news would have been more objective. The love and loyalty which Philemon showed, according to this news, were the practical outcome of his Christian faith.24 The same word (Gk. pistis) does duty for both “faith” and “loyalty”; but “loyalty” or “faithfulness” appears to be its meaning here, both because of its position after “love” and because it is directed not only toward “the Lord Jesus” (who is the proper object of “faith” in the sense of trust) but also toward his people—”all the saints.” The difference in construction between these words and those in Col. 1:4 and Eph. 1:15 (”hearing of your faith in Christ Jesus25 and your love for all the saints”) involves a difference in meaning. Love and loyalty to the people of Christ26 provide visible evidence of love and loyalty to the unseen Christ.27
6 This verse presents several problems in translation. A fairly literal rendering is provided in the ARV: “that the fellowship of thy faith may become effectual, in the knowledge of every good thing which is in you, unto Christ” (the phrase “which is in you” represents a variant reading from that presupposed in the translation above: “which is in us”).28 But such a literal rendering calls for detailed interpretation.
The “fellowship” is probably to be understood actively, of Philemon’s “sharing” his resources with others in a spirit of liberality which springs from his faith in Christ.29 In the context this is more probable than such other interpretations as “your communication of the faith (to others),”30 “the fellowship which you enjoy (with others) by faith,”31 “the fellowship which you enjoy (with Christ) by faith,”32 “your share in the faith,”33 or “the share (which others have) in your faith.”34 All these are possible meanings for the Greek phrase in itself.
If this is so, then the prayer that35 Philemon’s liberality may become “effective”36 is a prayer that he may experience the truth of the principle: “he who sows bountifully37 will also reap bountifully” (2 Cor. 9:6). What Philemon will reap, if the prayer is answered, is the knowledge38 and enjoyment of every blessing that Christians have in Christ, in the spirit of 2 Cor. 9:8: “God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that you may always have enough of everything and may provide in abundance for every good work.”39 Paul has one particular good work in his mind for Philemon to perform, and the resources necessary for its performance are resources not of material affluence but of Christian grace. If “unto Christ”40 (ARV) is the correct rendering of the last phrase in the verse, then it would mean, as Lightfoot interprets it, “leading to Him as the goal,” and would be attached in sense not to “which is ours” but to “may become effective. . . .” The expression “which is ours” is literally “which (is) in us”;41 it might mean “implanted within each of us” or “which is among us (or ’at our disposal’) as the people of Christ.” In a context where sharing is emphasized the collective sense is more probable, and this sense is reinforced by the rendering “in Christ.”42
7 The joy of which Paul speaks was his response to the good news he had received about Philemon’s liberality.43 It was natural for him to rejoice that one of his converts was showing the reality of his faith by the practice of Christian charity, but his joy was coupled with encouragement as he reflected that a man who gave evidence of such qualities was the more likely to grant the personal request which he was about to make. Verse 7 indeed forms a transition from the thanksgiving and intercession of vv. 4-6 to the appeal voiced in the following verses.
Philemon, it appears, was fairly well-to-do, and used his means to help his fellow-Christians. But he showed grace not only in the fact of his generosity but in the manner in which he practiced it: those who benefited by it were not made to feel embarrassed. Not only were their needs supplied; their hearts44 were refreshed through him as they appreciated the love which prompted his giving.
III. PAUL’S REQUEST (8-14)
8 Therefore, while in Christ I have full liberty to point out the path of duty to you,
9 yet I prefer to appeal to you for love’s sake. I do so in my capacity as Paul, an ambassador—but now also a prisoner—of Christ Jesus.
10 I appeal to you, then, for my own child, whose father I have become in my place of imprisonment.45 I mean Onesimus.
11 Once you found him unprofitable, but now he is profitable to you and me alike.46
12 I am sending him back to you, then, and in him I am sending you my very heart.47
13 I should have liked to keep him with myself, in order that he might serve me on your behalf, in chains as I am for the sake of the gospel.
14 But I refused to do anything without your consent, so that your good deed to me might be done not, so to speak, compulsorily but on your willing initiative.
8 Paul could, of course, have exercised his authority as an apostle of Christ and directed Philemon to do what he wished—which was, moreover, the proper thing48 for Philemon to do. But he has no mind to do any such thing; that is not how one friend approaches another. Yet he cannot forbear to point out that, if he had been minded to exercise his authority, he had full liberty to do so. The word here translated “liberty” is the noun which normally means “freedom of speech” or “boldness of action”49— the Greek noun parrhēsia. In a study of the NT use of this word W. C. van Unnik regards Paul’s introduction of it here as a typical example of “frankness” between Christians. “Paul, who according to worldly standards is far inferior to the wealthy Philemon, and is in prison, is bold enough to give orders50 to Philemon to do his duty, but he refrains from that right; here again the ‘freedom of speech’ Paul enjoys is ‘in Christ’.”51
9 Orders are liable to be resented, from whomsoever they come, but an appeal from a friend is difficult to resist, especially when it is made expressly “for love’s sake.” The Lord whose ambassador Paul is can command obedience with supreme authority, but even he prefers to appeal to his people “for love’s sake,” as being more congenial to his nature.52 The ambassador, vested with his Lord’s authority, will follow his Lord’s example. The older translations represent Paul as speaking of himself here not as an “ambassador” but as an old man (cf. ARV: “such a one as Paul the aged”). It is true that the Greek word here has the sense of “old man” in the classical language; it differs by one letter from the word meaning “ambassador” (which comes from the same root, for ambassadors were regularly elder statesmen).53 If Paul did refer to himself here as an old man (which, around the age of sixty, he was indeed entitled to do), then his appeal would appear to be based on pity as well as love, and it might be thought that the reader’s sense of pity would be deepened as he considered the appeal as coming not only from an old man but also from one who was in chains for the gospel’s sake. But, whatever Philemon or others might think, Paul did not regard his being “a prisoner of Christ Jesus” as a disgrace, or as a situation calling for pity; to him it was a matter of pride. Therefore we should expect the term which he uses in such close conjunction with this to be also a designation of honor; and the more recent versions are probably right to prefer the rendering “ambassador” to “old man.” There is no need to resort to a conjectural emendation of the Greek;54 in this period the two words, or at least the two spellings, are practically interchangeable.55 Paul, in fact, speaks here in the same twofold capacity as in Eph. 6:20, where he says that, for the gospel’s sake, he is “an ambassador in chains.”56
10 In appealing (as he says) “for my own child,” Paul employs, probably deliberately, a phrase which can be understood in more than one way. The words can mean “my appeal is concerning my own child”; and that, of course, was true. Onesimus is the subject of his letter. But the words can also mean “my appeal is for my own child” in the sense: “I am appealing to you to give me my own child.”57 And the terms in which Paul amplifies his appeal make it clear that this is indeed his meaning, but he expresses himself tactfully, so that when Philemon accedes to his appeal he may feel that he is acting on his own initiative.
Paul was accustomed to speak of his converts as his “children”: Timothy is “my beloved and faithful child in the Lord” (1 Cor. 4:17; cf. 1 Tim. 1:2; 2 Tim. 1:2); Titus is “my true child in a common faith” (Tit. 1:4); the Corinthian Christians are “my beloved children” to whom he is free to address a fatherly admonition (1 Cor. 4:14), and the Galatian Christians are “my little children,58 with whom I am again in travail until Christ be formed in you” (Gal. 4:19). So here Onesimus is described as the child whom he has acquired—literally, “begotten”—in and despite his present detention. When Onesimus came to see him, or was brought to see him, in his place of custody, Paul helped him to receive the liberating grace of Christ and, in so doing, secured his grateful affection. But who (Philemon might wonder) is this child of whom Paul writes? Now at last comes the child’s identity: it is Onesimus. J. B. Phillips brings out the paradox as he paraphrases Paul’s announcement thus: “Yes, I have become a father though I have been under lock and key, and the child’s name is—Onesimus!”
11 Onesimus bore a name which occurs as a common adjective meaning “useful” or “profitable.”59 It was quite customary to give slaves names like this60—not necessarily because they were in fact useful or profitable, but in the hope that, if they were called by such a name, their nature or conduct might come to match it. Paul, having named Onesimus, now plays on the meaning of his name, using a synonym and an antonym from another root.61 “Profitable as he is by name,” he says, “I know that you found him the reverse of that—quite unprofitable, indeed, if not a dead loss. But now there has been a change: he is in a position to be highly profitable to you, as he has already proved to be to me.” Knowing what was in Paul’s mind, one might ask how Onesimus would be profitable to Philemon if he were sent straight back to continue to be of service to Paul. The answer is simple: Onesimus would be useful to Philemon if he performed the services which Philemon himself would like to perform for Paul, but could not perform in person.
John Knox suggests that Onesimus was the new “Christian name” given him by Paul at his conversion. He bases this conclusion partly on the grammatical construction of Paul’s language at this point.62 But it is an unnatural reading of the language: Paul means rather that, with the new nature that Onesimus has received as a believer in Christ, he has for the first time become true to his name.
12 Well, says Paul, I am sending him back to you, and it is like tearing out my very heart. Paul’s language emphasizes how strong was the bond of mutual affection which now bound Onesimus and himself to each other. The word rendered “heart,” literally meaning “bowels” (as in v. 7), is occasionally attested in Greek literature with the figurative sense of “offspring”;63 but it would be a mistake to see this sense here. Paul has indeed used the language of parenthood to describe his relation to Onesimus, but the present word is repeatedly used by Paul to convey the sense of affection,64 the bowels being regarded as the seat of the deep emotions. “In sending him,”65 Paul means, “I am in truth sending part of myself.”
13 Paul now makes it very clear what he is asking Philemon to do. When he says, “I should have liked66 to keep him with myself,”67 he uses a verbal form which could simply mean “I wished to keep him with myself,” but is capable of the more tentative sense “I should like” or “I should have liked.” But Paul would not keep Onesimus without Philemon’s approval, not only because he would break the law if he did so, but much more because it would be a breach of his friendship and Christian fellowship with Philemon. Onesimus had probably begun to make himself useful to Paul, but he could hardly have been said to serve him on Philemon’s behalf without Philemon’s knowing anything about it. If, however, Philemon sent him back to continue his service to Paul, then the service would be rendered by Philemon as well as by Onesimus. Restricted in his movements as he was, Paul depended in great measure on the personal service of others. Timothy was with him, indeed, but Timothy was his agent in evangelistic and pastoral concerns which sometimes involved him in long absences (as when he was sent from Rome to Philippi with news of the outcome, or probable outcome, of Paul’s appearance before the imperial tribunal).68 But if Onesimus were sent back, he could be available all the time to attend to Paul’s personal needs, and this would be no mean contribution to the service of the gospel.
A parallel to Onesimus’s serving Paul on Philemon’s behalf is provided by Epaphroditus of Philippi. Epaphroditus was sent to Rome by his fellow-members of the Philippian church to deliver a monetary gift to Paul and to stay on and minister to his need on their behalf. (Paul, however, sent him back rather soon to allay the anxiety with which the Philippian Christians had received the news of a nearly fatal illness which Epaphroditus had suffered in the course of his journey.)69
The letter to the Philippians also provides parallels to Paul’s speaking of himself as being (literally) “in the chains of the gospel”70—in Phil. 1:7, where the Christians of Philippi, being partners of grace with him in his chains, are thereby partners with him “in the defense and confirmation of the gospel,” and in Phil. 1:13, where he rejoices that to the whole praetorian guard and all the other officials who are in any way involved with his case it has been made manifest that his chains are “in Christ”— that is, that his imprisonment is for the gospel’s sake. To wear “the chains of the gospel” was for Paul a badge of honor, a Distinguished Service Order awarded by his commander-in-chief.
14 Philemon, then, is given plainly to understand what is expected of him, but the favor which Paul asks must be granted spontaneously,71under the prompting of Christian grace. Only so would he be happy to receive it. Paul might have kept Onesimus with him and sent Philemon a letter by the hand of Tychicus, saying, “I have kept him here to serve me as your representative, because I know that is what you would wish”— but then Philemon would have had little option in the matter; he would be rendering Paul a service “as it were compulsorily.”72 Practically the same phrase is used in relation to the Jerusalem relief fund in 2 Cor. 9:7, where the Corinthians are encouraged to make their contributions “each one as he has chosen to do, not reluctantly or compulsorily,73 for ’God loves a cheerful giver.’ “74 It would cheer Paul’s heart if Philemon acceded to his request cheerfully; his free and genuine consent75 indeed was essential.
IV. THE REQUEST REINFORCED (15-20)
15 Perhaps the reason he was separated from you for a time was that you might have him to yourself76 forever,
16 no longer as a slave, but more than a slave—a dear brother, dear especially to me, and how much more to you, both in your earthly relationship and in the Lord.
17 So then, if you regard me as a partner, receive him as you would me.
18 And if he has wronged you in any way, if he owes you anything, put it down to my account.
19 I write this with my own hand: “I will repay it. PAUL.” (I need not mention that, for your part,77 you owe me your very self.)78
20 Yes, my brother, may I for my part have this “profit” from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in Christ.79
15 The “separation”80 of Onesimus from Philemon was of Onesimus’s making; Philemon’s part in the matter was wholly involuntary and passive. But Paul refers to the separation as though it were God’s act,81 brought about, or at least overruled, by him for the lasting benefit of Philemon and Onesimus alike, and indeed for Paul’s benefit too.82 But for the separation, Onesimus would have remained with Philemon as his slave until their relationship was terminated in some way or other—by emancipation, redemption, resale, or death. Then the relationship would exist no more. But, thanks to the separation, Onesimus was now a member of Christ, as Philemon already was, and a new and deeper relationship was thus established which would never come to an end.
16 Whatever their earthly relationship might be from now on, henceforth Onesimus was Philemon’s “forever” (and equally Philemon was Onesimus’s). Was Onesimus still Philemon’s slave (and Philemon, therefore, Onesimus’s master)? In law, yes; unless Philemon took steps to end that relationship. But Paul commends Onesimus to Philemon “no longer as a slave.” He writes as one who assumes that Philemon will do the decent thing—that he will take legal steps to change the master-slave relationship. He could exercise his apostolic authority and direct Philemon to free Onesimus, but he could not compel him to do so: the responsibility and initiative must lie with Philemon. Even if he directed him to free Onesimus and Philemon unwillingly obeyed, there would be no virtue in that, and it would not promote a feeling of brotherly friendship between Philemon and Onesimus. But if Philemon set Onesimus free as the spontaneous expression of the grace of God working in his heart, he would derive real joy from the act, and the joy would be shared by Onesimus. As Christian brothers, they would belong to each other for eternity as well as time.83
As for Paul himself, he had already begun to appreciate Onesimus as “a dear brother”—although he preferred to call him his dear “child.” When he says, “dear especially to me,” his meaning would naturally be taken to mean “even dearer to me than to you,” but for the fact that he goes on immediately to say, “and how much more to you.”84 Since Onesimus was a member of Philemon’s household (and, if emancipated, would continue to be one as Philemon’s freedman), an earthly relationship was already established between them. Now, however, to that earthly relationship was added their new relationship in the Lord.
The phrase “in your earthly relationship” has been chosen to translate the two Greek words which are rendered literally “in (the) flesh.”85 This has suggested to some readers that there was a blood-relationship between the two men. Such a state of affairs would be not at all unusual: if, for example, Onesimus were the son of Philemon’s father by a slave-girl, then Onesimus and Philemon would be half-brothers, but Onesimus (unless emancipated) would still be a slave. But nothing in Paul’s language implies that this in fact was the situation: his language means that, whereas the master-slave relationship was a relationship “in the flesh,” the new brotherly relationship into which the two men had entered was a relationship “in the Lord.” Relationships “in the flesh” are limited to earthly life; relationships “in the Lord” endure forever.
17 Paul has spoken of himself as sending back to Philemon his very heart, a part of himself (v. 12). Now he asks that Philemon should recognize this through his reception of Onesimus: Onesimus, he hopes, will be greeted with the kind of welcome that Paul himself would be given. Even the most forgiving of Christian masters would normally find it difficult to exclude a note of disapproval on finding the prodigal servant back again at his door: no, says Paul, give him the same warm welcome as you would give to me if you found me unexpectedly at your door. Paul and Philemon were “partners” in this at least, that they shared the same fellowship of grace and faith; and this fellowship had recently made room for Onesimus: he was now a member of Paul’s circle of friendship. Apparently the partnership between Paul and Philemon was not simply a matter of their being fellow-Christians; if Philemon was Paul’s “dear fellow-worker,” he was probably involved with him in some aspect of his ministry.86 On the strength of that partnership Paul asks Philemon to receive Onesimus.
The receiving of fellow-believers was an elementary Christian duty: “receive one another,” says Paul to the Romans, “as Christ also received you, to the glory of God” (Rom. 15:7). The verb used in his present request to Philemon is the same as that used in his exhortation to the Romans, and in an appropriate context it means “take on as a partner.”87Here we undoubtedly have an appropriate context for this nuance. “If you regard me as a partner,” says Paul, “take him on as a partner too, on the same footing as myself.” Whatever share Philemon had taken in Paul’s ministry entitled him to be called a “fellow-worker.” Onesimus, who had begun to make a valued contribution to Paul’s ministry, was also a “fellow-worker”; henceforth Philemon and Onesimus must look on each other as partners in the work of Christ.
18 But before someone could be taken on as a partner, some assurance of his financial solvency would be expected.88 Philemon need have no misgivings on this score where Onesimus is concerned; Paul will be Onesimus’s guarantor.
More than this is involved, however. It could be that Onesimus had done Philemon some injury in law, and not only by depriving him of his services.89 Paul mentions this possibility tactfully, but he would not have raised the matter at all and risked sowing gratuitous suspicions in Philemon’s mind if he had not had reason to know that Onesimus had indeed defrauded him in some way. When he left Philemon’s service, did he take enough of his master’s money to finance his journey? Since he himself was in law part of Philemon’s property, a sophist might argue that, if he appropriated some of his master’s money, he was but moving it from one part to another part of his master’s estate. But even a sophist would find that argument less than persuasive if the slave at the same time did his best to remove himself from his master’s effective jurisdiction. Sophistry apart, restitution must be made; this was integral to the reconciliation which Paul was endeavoring to bring about. But Onesimus was in no position to make, or even to guarantee, restitution. No matter, says Paul to Philemon, “whatever debt he owes you, put it down on my account.”
19 Here is my undertaking, my IOU, he goes on, written and signed with my own hand: “I will make it good.”90 At this point, handcuffed though he was, Paul took the pen from the amanuensis and wrote out this promissory note, signing it with his name. He does not limit his liability; whatever be the scale of the indebtedness, let Philemon name it: it shall be repaid. It may be asked how Paul knew that he would have access to sufficient resources to honor his pledge; he had served the Lord long enough to be assured that he always supplied the resources necessary for carrying on his own work. That the reconciliation of two fellow-believers was the Lord’s work Paul would not have doubted for a moment.
He adds—parenthetically, and not as an element in the promissory note—that he need hardly remind Philemon of the debt that he owes Paul.91 That debt was his new existence as a man in Christ. As Philemon would no doubt have readily agreed, that was a debt far outweighing in kind and in value any debt that Onesimus might owe. Paul will underwrite Onesimus’s debt, but how can Philemon’s debt be repaid? Very simply, if one reads between the lines: by his sending Onesimus back to continue his usefulness to Paul in the service of the gospel.
20 That this is precisely what Paul is asking for is made clear by his play on words when he invites Philemon to grant him this “profit” in the Lord, using the verb from which Onesimus’s name is derived—a verb found nowhere else in the NT.92
Fifty years later, Ignatius, bishop of Antioch, who in other ways betrays his acquaintance with the letter to Philemon,93 perpetrates the same play on words. In his letter to the church of Ephesus, Ignatius finds much significance in the fact that the bishop of Ephesus bore the name Onesimus and, using the same verbal form as Paul uses here, says, “May I always have ’profit’ from you, if I am worthy.”94
If Paul were granted this “profit” in the Lord, then his heart95would truly be refreshed in Christ. There may be a slight difference in emphasis at times between “in the Lord” and “in Christ”; it is difficult to see any difference here.96
Philemon had won a good reputation for refreshing the hearts of the saints (v. 7). Here he is presented with a rare opportunity for enhancing that reputation by refreshing Paul’s heart as he alone can refresh it—by sending Onesimus back to him. If Philemon is Paul’s “dear fellow-worker,” then, as Theophylactus of Achrida commented nine centuries ago, “if dear, he will grant the favor requested; if a fellow-worker, he will not retain the slave, but send him back for the ministry of preaching, in which he himself also is a worker.”97
V. PROMISE OF A VISIT (21-22)
21 I have confidence in your obedience as I write to you; I know that you will do more than I say.
22 At the same time, please prepare a guestroom for me; I hope that, thanks to your prayers, I shall be granted to you.
21 If Paul does not give orders to Philemon, he at least expects “obedience” from him, even if the obedience be acquiescence in a request rather than compliance with a demand.98 He is sure, he says, that Philemon will not only read what is written in his letter but read between the lines and see what Paul would really like him to do—and do it.
In accordance with his custom, Paul writes the closing sentences himself: so much may be inferred from his words “I write to you.”99 It is indeed conceivable that he kept the pen in his hand after writing the promissory note of v. 19. It is unnecessary to infer, as Lightfoot does, that he wrote the whole letter himself—a procedure which would have been “quite exceptional,” as Lightfoot admits (in his notes on v. 19). With chains on his wrists, and with Timothy available as his amanuensis, it was much more natural for Paul to dictate the greater part of the letter.
22 The request to Philemon to have a guestroom100 ready in preparation for a visit by Paul if their prayers are answered and he is released has been thought to be a further piece of gentle pressure on Philemon; but it is not necessarily so. Proponents of an Ephesian or Caesarean provenance for this letter and its companions have pointed to this request in support of their case:101 from Rome, they say, Paul intended (in the event of his discharge) to go on to Spain. But there are indications that the situation in Paul’s Aegean mission field had changed in ways which called for a brief personal visit from him (if this were possible) before he went to Spain. In the letter to the Philippians (for which the internal evidence for a Roman provenance is especially cogent) he expresses the hope of visiting Philippi soon (Phil. 2:24).
Despite his statement to the Roman Christians that, at the beginning of A.D. 57, he had “no longer . . . any room for work” in the Aegean world (Rom. 15:23), and Luke’s report of his telling the elders of the Ephesian church a month or two later that they would never see him again (Acts 20:25), a change in his schedule cannot be ruled out. His travel plans were never inflexible; they were always subject to his conviction of divine guidance. Indeed, his readiness to change them sometimes proved disconcerting to his friends and gave his opponents ground for charging him with vacillation (cf. 2 Cor. 1:15-2:1). If a Roman provenance for Philemon is probable on other grounds, Paul’s expressed hope of visiting the Lycus valley is not a decisive argument against it.
When he speaks of “your prayers” and of being “granted to you,” Paul uses the plural of the second person pronoun:102 in this matter (by contrast with the body of the letter) Philemon’s associates are involved as well as himself.
Such a section as this in Paul’s correspondence, including the mention of an impending visit, has been called the “travelogue” or the “apostolic parousia.”103
VI. GREETINGS FROM PAUL’S COMPANIONS (23-24)
23 Epaphras, my fellow-prisoner, sends you his greetings in Christ Jesus;
24 so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow-workers.
23 It is natural that Epaphras, out of Paul’s present companions, should be mentioned first as sending personal greetings to Philemon.104 As the evangelist of the Lycus valley, he would be personally known to Philemon, as probably the others were not.105 Paul speaks of him here as his “fellow-prisoner”;106 this certainly means more than “fellow-Christian,”107 but in what circumstances Epaphras had earned this title we can but speculate. He shares the title, among Paul’s friends, with Aristarchus (Col. 4:10) and with Andronicus and Junia (Rom. 16:7). He may have shared Paul’s imprisonment at the time when this letter was written, or at some earlier time. It may well have been he who brought Paul and Onesimus together.
“Greetings in Christ Jesus” are greetings sent to a fellow-believer, a fellow-member of the body of Christ.
24 Paul’s four other fellow-workers who send their greetings to Philemon are similarly joined with Epaphras in sending greetings to the church of Colossae (Col. 4:10-14). Here they are not divided into those “of the circumcision” and others, as they are in Colossians; their names are arranged in no special order. The only one in the Colossians list whose name does not appear here is Jesus Justus; he had perhaps moved elsewhere by the time this letter was written.108 If these men are Paul’s fellow-workers,109 and Philemon is also his fellow-worker (v. 1), Philemon and they are fellow-workers together.
VII. FINAL BENEDICTION (25)
25 The grace of the Lord110 Jesus Christ be with your spirit.111
25 The grace-benediction is addressed to Philemon and his associates—all those greeted in the prescript, including the church in his house. The form of the benediction here is identical with that in Phil. 4:23 (and with that in Gal. 6:18, except that there the vocative “brothers” and a final “Amen” are added). “With your spirit” is a variant on “with you” (as in the well-known versicle and response: “The Lord be with you / And with thy spirit”).112