When it comes to books of the Bible, I don't know if it gets any shorter than this one, spanning 25 verses in total. Is there anything that can be taken from such a short epistle? Well, my opinion is God made certain it was included in the cannon, so I would have to think there is a message or two in there somewhere.
I'll just start at the beginning and break it down. So, first off, who's writing this and to whom is it written. The apostle Paul is writing to a believer named Philemon, who lives in Colosse. The first thing I noted is that this epistle was written around 64 A.D. when Paul was imprisoned. According to the Scofield Study Bible, the individual who delivered this epistle to Philemon also carried the epistle Paul wrote to the Colossians, a rather short epistle in its own right. Is that important? It's possible, but to know we need to look at the Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Colossians alongside the epistle to Philemon.
Okay, let's glance at the book of Colossians and see if we can link anything Paul talks about there that could apply to Philemon (the person, not the epistle). In chapters 1 and 2 Paul speaks repeatedly about the forgiveness of sins through the cross and the blood of Jesus Christ. I think that is pretty important because when we take a look at the epistle to Philemon, Paul is asking Philemon to forgive his former servant, Onesimus, for running away. Paul even tells Philemon that if Onesimus owes Philemon anything to charge it to his own account. I read this as a parallel of Christ taking on Himself all of our wrong doings against God the Father. When Christ died on the cross He was basically telling the Father,
charge their sins to my account, just as Paul told Philemon to charge Onesimus' sins to his (Paul's) account.
Then in Chapter 3 of Colossians, Paul speaks of the new creature. That when we are in Christ we are all new creatures and that Christ puts to death the old man we once were. So he starts by reminding the Colossians (and Philemon, who is part of the church in Colosse) that they are to no longer act as they did before they were saved. He even goes as far as to tell them that in salvation there is no longer a difference between who they are. As verse 11 tells us,
Catch that last part? Paul was careful to throw into the mix of comparisons a person being neither free or a servant once they give themselves to Christ. Now when we look at Philemon verse 16, we see that Paul is appealing to Philemon to receive Onesimus as a brother in Christ, not as a servant, again making the case that in Christ there is neither bond nor free.
In the very next two verses, we see Paul telling the church in Colosse,
Doesn't it sound like these verses could slide right into the epistle to Philemon as Paul is pleading Onesimus' case? Clearly, as Paul sat in his cell writing both the epistle to the Colossians and the epistle to Philemon, he had Onesimus' status as a servant and the concept of an egalitarian society within the body of Christ weighing heavily on his heart.
Okay, let's move on. Still in the book of Colossians chapter 3 Paul, in verses 18-22, gives some guidance to believers in how to treat one another as true children of God, as new creatures in Christ:
So what's happening here in these verses? Well, for one, Paul again interjects his concern for Philemon and Onesimus into the epistle to the Colossians. In verse 22 he gives direction to servants to obey their masters. I personally think this is Paul telling Onesimus,
I've asked Philemon to receive you as a brother rather than a servant, but should you find yourself still a servant, do as your told, but do it with the fear of God as it is His will. But, let's go on yet a little further. Look at verses 23-24,
So here we see Paul again speaking to servants, or as I believe it was written, speaking to Onesimus. He's reminding Onesimus that whether a slave or a free man, he is still a believer and that everything he does should be done as if he were doing it for Jesus Himself, and reminds Onesimus that his reward is the inheritance he has received when he was born again in Christ and that he is serving the Lord.
Finally, Paul wraps up chapter 3 with verse 25, which both serves as a warning as well as a reminder of things mentioned earlier on in the chapter. I believe this particular verse was meant for Philemon, and it has a special significance given that it directly follows the verses speaking about how servants are to obey their masters.
So Paul throws in this warning, which I believe is directed to Philemon, telling him (as well as the rest of the Colossians) that they can be sure whatever wrong they might do to these servants, God will judge them for it. And lastly, Paul falls back to his original thesis, that there is no difference between free men and servants as he reminds them that God is no respecter of persons, meaning God does not see us for our status, for all believers are equal in Christ.
Paul, in case there is any doubt, punctuates his point in verse 25 in the very first verse of chapter 4,
Immediately after warning against treating servants, or as I see it, how Philemon treats Onesimus, Paul tells masters to treat their servants as equals, reminding them that they too have a master, the Lord Jesus Christ. It is at this point that you might think Paul is ready to rest his case as he begins to close his epistle to the Colossians. He moves into giving the them encouragement. He directs them to pray and watch (for Christ's return), two very common elements of Paul's closing statements in all of his epistles. He also tells the Colossians to walk in wisdom. And then, as he completes his closing, Paul does again what is fairly expected of his epistles, by mentioning other brothers and/or sisters in the faith who have aided him, or whom he has sent along with the epistle to those believers.
What I want you to take note of is that as he goes down the list of these brothers that have aided him, who do we see in verse 9 of Colossians chapter 4? None other than Onesimus,
Well, I don't know about you, but I'm convinced. The epistle to the Colossians, while edifying to all believers, reads as Paul's defense of Onesimus to Philemon and the other believers in Colosse. Now, here's a valid question to pose; why was Onesimus' situation with Philemon so important to Paul? It could be that it was because Paul had come to love and cherish Onesimus as a brother in Christ, which I believe he does make pretty clear. But I think there is more to it.
If you look at the introduction of the epistles to Philemon and the Colossians, what you are going to find is that they are both prison epistles. So as Paul wrote these epistles, he was a prisoner in Rome. I personally believe that Paul's personal experience as a prisoner creates in him a strong desire to see this brother in the faith set free of his bonds. Paul cannot free himself, but his words can have a major impact on the freedom of this new brother in Christ, and Paul makes every effort to appeal not only to Philemon, but the entire church of Colosse, to see Onesimus as one of their own, not as a servant. In verse 9 of Colossians Paul refers to Onesimus as one of them. This is not to say just as a believer, but also as a free man.
As I close this up, I just have to give glory to God because I have never made this connection before in all my years of reading and studying. I'm in awe of the wonderful things that the Bible brings to us each time we open it. Thank you Father for your Word, and for the Holy Spirit who opens our eyes to the truth of scripture. Amen!
And to the members reading this post, I do apologize for the length, but what can I say, the revelation just kept coming and I had to share as the Spirit willed. I hope you've benefited from the time you gave to reading this today. May God's grace, mercy, favor and love be upon you and your loved ones all the way into eternity.
*all emphasis to verses added*