Philemon

LeRoy Eims

The letter to Philemon is a private letter; the only one of its kind written by Paul, and the shortest of his epistles. He was a member of the Church at Colossae. Paul had led him to Christ. He was an earnest and devoted Christian. Onesimus was a slave of Philemon. He had wronged his master. He came to Rome and was brought into contact with Paul.

Soon he was brought to Christ and was very helpful to Paul. The apostle Paul would have been glad to have him stay with him, but became convinced that he should return to Philemon and straighten things out. It was his duty to go back.

In this letter to Philemon, Paul intercedes on behalf of Onesimus. He asks Philemon to give Onesimus a kind, and above all, a Christian welcome. They are now brothers in the Lord.

This letter is a masterpiece of Christian courtesy, tact, delicacy, generosity, concern and intercession. He offers to pay back the stolen money. He makes a very tender appeal to Philemon. "If thou count me, therefore, a partner, receive him as myself." (Philemon 17)

Paul shows tremendous insight into the situation. He realizes the power of Christ and relies on it. He knew that with Christ in his heart, Onesimus would desire to go back and serve Philemon as unto the Lord. He also knew that Philemon would recognize in Onesimus a new and beloved Christian brother and this would put their relationship on a completely different plane. Historians believe that Philemon gave him his freedom. Ignatius, about 50 years later, mentions Onesimus as Bishop of Ephesus.

In his comments to Philemon, the Apostle Paul calls to mind a deep spiritual truth. "If he hath wronged thee, or oweth thee anything, put that on mine account." (Philemon 18)

This is a beautiful illustration of the principle of imputation by which our sins are reckoned as imputed to Christ's account and His righteousness is credited or imputed to my account, all by faith. This, of course, is the crux of the good news of the gospel. Because of the death of Jesus Christ for my sins, I can be set free. He died for me. He took my sins in His own body on the cross.

This letter contains many spiritual truths, but one of the most dramatic could be overlooked. How could a runaway slave just happen to bump into the one man who could do him more good than any other man in the city of Rome with its population 1.5 million people? How is it that he accidentally met Paul, who knew his old master Philemon, and could introduce him to Jesus, his new master and Lord?

Of course it was no accident. This story shows the care and concern of God for the individual. God, in His awesome and mysterious way, led these two men together. In the eyes of the world was nothing. In the eyes of God he was of tremendous importance. So He arranged a meeting with His servant Paul, and this changed the course of Onesimus’ life.

Study this letter to see the hand of God in the affairs of life.