Philemon.
Philemon.
§ 269. The apostle calls Philemon his “fellow worker” (v. 1), namely, in preaching the Gospel. From this it appears that he was the minister of the church at Colosse (v. 17). Anselm calls him a bishop; Jerome, an evangelist. The occasion for the writing of this Epistle was this: Onesimus, Philemon’s servant, had secretly escaped from his master and had stolen some things from him. He went to Rome, was there converted to the Christian faith, and became a faithful servant to Paul in his imprisonment (Col. 4:9). Wanting to repay this faithfulness, the apostle earnestly intercedes for him with Philemon.
This treatise is divided into the proposition or explanation of his petition, the confirmation of his petition, and the confutation in which he removes the charge against Onesimus and promises that he himself will make satisfaction for him.
The Anomoeans held this Epistle in contempt as “written in human fashion,” as Epiphanius relates (Haeres. 76). The devout ancients, however, who list the canonical books of the New Testament, do not omit this Epistle.