Phm 1:1. Δέσμιος Χρ. Ἰ.] i.e. whom Christ has placed in bonds. See on Eph 3:1. This self-designation (not ἀπόστολος, or the like) at the head of the letter is in keeping with its confidential tone and its purpose of moving and winning the heart, ὑπὲρ τοῦ τὴν χάριν ἑτοιμότερον λαβεῖν, Chrysostom.
κ. Τιμόθ.] See on Php 1:1; Col 1:1.
συνεργῷ] The particular historic relations, on which this predicate is based, are unknown to us; yet comp. Phm 1:2 : τῇ κατʼ οἶκόν σου ἐκκλησ.; perhaps he was an elder of the church.
ἡμῶν] namely, of Paul and Timothy. It belongs to ἀγαπ. and συνεργῷ. Although, we may add, the Epistle is, as to its design and contents, a private letter, yet the associating of Timothy with it, and especially the addressing it to more than one (Phm 1:2), are suitably calculated with a view to the greater certainly of a successful result (comp. already Chrysostom). Hofmann incorrectly holds that in the directing of the letter also to the relatives and to the church in the house the design was, that they should, by the communication of the letter to them, become aware of what had induced Philemon to do that which was asked of him. This they would in fact have learned otherwise from Philemon, and would have believed his account of the matter.
Phm 1:2. That Appia was the wife of Philemon (Chrysostom, Theodoret, Theophylact, and many) does not indeed admit of proof, but is the more probable, in proportion as the intercession for the slave was a matter of household concern, in which case the méstress of the house came into view. On the form of the name with πφ instead of ππ (Act 28:15), comp. Ἀπφιανός in Mionnet, Description des midailles, III. 179, IV. 65, 67, and the forms ἀπφύς and ἀπφά. See also Lobeck, Paral. p. 33.
τῇ ἀδελφῇ] in the sense of Christian sisterhood, like ἀδελφός, Phm 1:1.
Archippus, too (see on Col 4:17), must have belonged to the family circle of Philemon. But whether he was precisely son of Philemon (Michaelis, Eichhorn, Rosenmüller, Olshausen, Hofmann, and already Theodore of Mopsuestia) we cannot determine. Chrysostom and Theophylact take him to be a friend of the household; Theodoret, to be the teacher to the household.
τῷ συστρατ. ἡμ.] As in Php 2:25. The relation cannot be more precisely ascertained. He may have been deacon (according to Ambrosiaster and Jerome, he was even bishop), but must have endured conflict and trouble for the gospel. Comp. likewise 2Ti 2:3.
καὶ τ. κατʼ οἶκ. σ. ἐκκλ.] not to be understood of the family of Philemon (Chrysostom, Theodoret, Theophylact: πάντας τοὺς ἐν τῇ οἰκίᾳ πιστοὺς λέγει, συμπαραλαβὼν καὶ δούλους, comp. Calvin and Storr), but of the section of the Christians at Colossae, which met in his house.[65] See on Col 4:15. Wisely (see on Phm 1:1) does Paul-although otherwise in Phm 1:4-24 he only speaks to Philemon-enlist the interest not merely of Appia and Archippus, but also of the church in the house, and therewith embrace the whole circle, in which there was to be prepared for the converted fugitive a sanctuary of pardon and affection. But farther than this he does not go; not beyond the limits of the house, since the matter, as a household-affair, was not one suited to be laid before the Christian community collectively. To the latter, however, he at the same time (Col 4:9) commended his protégé, though without touching upon the particular circumstances of his case. Correct tact on the part of the apostle.
[65] Perhaps it is to this part of the address, which directed the letter to a congregational circle, that we are indebted for the preservation of the document-the only one of the certainly very numerous private letters, which the apostle wrote in the prosecution of his many-sided labours.
f
Phm 1:4 f. Comp. Rom 1:8; 1Co 1:4; Php 1:3; Col 1:3; Eph 1:16.
πάντοτε] belongs not to μνείαν κ.τ.λ. (Chrysostom, Theophylact, Luther, Calvin, Beza, Estius, and many others), but to εὐχαριστῶ κ.τ.λ. (comp. on Col 1:3; 1Th 1:2), as the main element, for the completeness and emphasis of which it serves. The participial definition μνείαν κ.τ.λ. specifies whereupon Paul sees himself always moved to give thanks to God, namely, when he makes mention of Philemon in his prayers; and the following ἀκούων κ.τ.λ. is likewise an accompanying definition to εὐχαριστῶ κ.τ.λ., stating whereby he finds himself induced to such thanksgiving, namely, because he hears, etc. It is not the intercession that has its motive explained by ἀκούων (de Wette, Koch), otherwise the logically necessary statement, for what Paul gives thanks to God, would be entirely wanting, whereas the mention of Philemon in the prayer had no need of a motive assigned for it, and would have taken place even without the ἀκούειν κ.τ.λ. Moreover, Paul does not by μνείαν κ.τ.λ. express the intercession, but in general the mention in prayer, which is a much wider notion and also may be other than intercessory (in opposition to Hofmann).
ἀκούων] continually, though Onesimus in particular. It is otherwise with ἀκούσαντες, Col 1:4.
τὴν ἀγάπην] the standing notion of Christian love to the brethren, as in Col 3:14.
κ. τὴν πίστιν] is more precisely defined by the following ἣν ἔχεις … ἁγίους, and hence is not specially to be understood of faith in the dogmatic sense, to which εἰς πάντας τοὺς ἁγίους would not be suitable. It is faithfulness; comp. Gal 5:22; Rom 3:3; 1Th 1:8; Mat 23:23; Tit 2:10; often in the LXX., Apocrypha, and Greek authors. So Michaelis and Hagenbach (Flatt with hesitation), also Winer, p. 383 [E. T. 511 f]. But usually (see already Theodoret, and especially Grotius) expositors assume a chiasmus, so that πρὸς τ. κύρ. Ἰ. is to be referred to τ. πίστιν, and εἰς π. τ. ἁγίους to τὴν ἀγάπ. (de Wette, Wilke, Rhetor, p. 372; Demme, Koch, Wiesinger, Ewald), to which also Bleek and Hofmann come in the end. Against this may be decisively urged ἣν ἔχεις, whereby πρὸς τ. κύριον … ἁγίους is attached as one whole to τὴν πίστιν. With τὴν ἀγάπην the ἣν ἔχεις has nothing whatever to do; the former has, on the contrary, its own definition of subject by means of σου, which again does not stand in any connection with τὴν πίστιν. Comp. Col 1:4. The usual objection to the interpretation faithfulness, namely, that the dogmatic sense of πίστις is the stated one when it goes along with ἀγάπη, does not hold good, inasmuch as ἀγάπη stands first (comp. also Gal 5:22); in the stated combination of faith and love the faith precedes (in accordance with the inner genetic relation, Gal 5:6), as 1Co 13:13; Eph 1:15; Col 1:4; 1Th 1:3; 1Th 3:6; 1Ti 1:14; 2Ti 1:13, al.; hence the transposition τ. πίστιν κ. τ. ἀγάπην is found here too in D E, min. vss. and Ambrosiaster. The interchange of πρός and εἰς can occasion no surprise, inasmuch as Paul is fond of varying the prepositions (see on Rom 3:20; Gal 2:16; Eph 1:7), as this is also of frequent occurrence with classical writers, without the design of expressing a different relation. On πρός, comp. 1Th 1:8; 4Ma 15:21; 4Ma 16:22; Dem. 656, 19; Lucian, Tox. 41. It is to be observed withal, that the stated notion: faith in Christ, is never indicated by πρός, a fact which likewise tells against the ordinary interpretation.
Phm 1:6. Ὅπως κ.τ.λ.] cannot, as is usually held (also by Winer, de Wette, Demme, Koch, Ellicott, Bleek, and Hofmann), introduce the aim of the intercession, Phm 1:4, since μνείαν σου ποιούμ. κ.τ.λ. was only an accompanying definition, and ἀκούων κ.τ.λ. already pointed back to εὐχαριστῶ κ.τ.λ. (see on Phm 1:5). It attaches itself (so rightly, Grotius, Bengel, Wiesinger, Ewald) in its telic sense (not in the sense of so that, as Flatt and older expositors would have it taken) to Phm 1:5, specifying the tendency of ἣν ἔχεις. For the sake of making this attachment Paul has put the ἣν ἔχεις, which would be otherwise superfluous.
ἡ κοινωνία τῆς πίστεώς σου] is by no means to be explained as if ἡ κοινωνία σου τῆς πίστεως (or σου εἰς τὴν πίστιν) stood in the text, which would have to be the case, if we take the rendering of Hofmann (“the fellowship of faith, in which Philemon stands with his fellow-believers”). In order to the right interpretation observe further, on the one hand, that κοινωνία is with Paul, as mostly also with classical writers, when it is not accompanied by the genitive of the personal pronoun (Php 1:5), always so employed, that the genitive therewith connected denotes that with which the fellowship, or in which the participation, takes place (1Co 1:9; 1Co 10:16; 2Co 13:4; 2Co 8:13; Php 2:1; Php 3:10; Eph 3:9, Elz.), consequently is the genitive not subjecti, but objecti; and, on the other hand, that κοινωνία signifies not communicatio, but communio, consortium. Accordingly there is at once set aside-(1) the traditional interpretation since the time of Chrysostom and Theophylact: “fides tua, quam communem nobiscum habes,” Bengel, comp. Luther, Wetstein, and many; in which case the genitive has been taken subjectively, as by Wiesinger: thy faith-fellowship with all saints; and by Ewald: “that thou believest in Christ not merely for thyself.” And there fall also (2) all interpretations, which transform the notion of κοινωνία into communicatio, such as that of Beza (comp. Castalio, Cornelius a Lapide, Estius, Hammond, Heinrichs): “officia benignitatis in sanctos promanantia ex fide efficaci.” Similarly also Calvin: “fidei communicationem appellat, quum intus non latet otiosa, sed per veros effectus se profert ad homines;” he is followed substantially by de Wette (and Koch): “the communion of thy faith (genitivus subjecti), as well in the display of love towards individuals as in the advancement of the gospel,” which latter element cannot be brought hither from συνεργ., Phm 1:1, and is out of place (comp. Phm 1:7). As the correct interpretation there remains only this, keeping the notion of πίστις in consistency with Phm 1:5 : the fellowship entered into with thy Christian fidelity. So faithful a Christian as Philemon draws all other saints (Phm 1:5), who come into relations of experience with him, sympathetically to himself, so that they form with him the bond of association unto like effort, and therewith become κοινωνοί of his πίστις.
ἐνεργὴς γένηται κ.τ.λ.] This fellowship with his fidelity is not to be an idle sympathy, but to become effective,[66] to express itself in vigorous action-this is what Philemon wishes and aims at-and that by virtue of the knowledge of every Christian saving-blessing,[67]-a knowledge which, in such pious fellowship, unfolds itself ever more fully and vividly, and which must be the means of powerfully prompting all Christian activity (Eph 1:17 f.; Col 2:2; Col 3:10). And the final aim of this activity? Toward Christ Jesus it is to take place, i.e. εἰς Χρ. Ἰ., which is neither, with Calvin, Estius, and others, to be annexed to τοῦ ἐν ἡμῖν, nor, with Hofmann, to ἀγαθοῦ, nor even, with Grotius, to πίστεως, but to ἐνεργ. γένηται, in which case alone it has the significance: Christ Jesus’ will, work, kingdom, honour, and so forth, are to be their holy destination and relative aim. Consequently the whole passage might be paraphrased something in this way: And with this thy Christian fidelity thou hast the sacred goal of fellowship in view, that whoever enters into the participation of the same, may make this partaking through knowledge of every Christian blessing effective for Christ Jesus. An appeal to the profound Christian consciousness of Philemon, by way of preparation for the designed intercession on behalf of Onesimus, whom Paul in fact was now on the point of introducing to that κοινωνία τῆς πίστεως of his friend! Respecting the manifold other explanations of ἐνεργὴς γένηται κ.τ.λ., it is to be observed, on the one hand, that we have not, with many (including Wiesinger and Hofmann), arbitrarily to restrict the notion of ἐνεργής to the exercise of love, but to extend it to the collective activity of the Christian life; and, on the other hand, that as the subject of the κοινωνία is not Philemon, but others (comp. also Bleek), the latter, namely the κοινωνοὶ τῆς πίστεώς σου, must also be the subject of ἐπίγνωσις; by which all expositions, according to which Philemon is held to be this knowing subject, are set aside, whether παντὸς ἀγαθοῦ be taken in the moral sense, of every virtue (Chrysostom), of good works and the like, or (although in itself correctly) of the Christian blessings of salvation, which are to be known. Hence we have to reject the interpretation of Oecumenius: διὰ τοῦ ἐπιγνῶναί σε καὶ πράττειν πᾶν ἀγαθόν, in which case the doing is arbitrarily imported, as is also done by Theophylact, according to whom ἐπιγινώσκειν is held to be equivalent to ἀγαπᾶν καὶ μεταχειρίζεσθαι. So likewise in substance de Wette, who mixes up moral action as keeping equal pace with moral knowledge, and takes τὸ ἐν ἡμῖν as: the good which is as to principle and spirit in us Christians; he is followed by Demme and Koch. We have further to reject the explanation of Flatt (so in substance also Osiander, Calovius, Bengel): “thy faith shows itself active through love, by means of a grateful recognition of all the benefits,” etc., or (as Wiesinger puts it): “inasmuch as it (namely, thy fellowship of faith) recognises-which is possible only for love-in the other the good which is in him.” We have to set aside, lastly, the explanation of Hofmann, who, after the example of Michaelis,[68] retaining the reading ἐν ὑμῖν, and taking παντὸς ἀγαθοῦ as masculine, finds in ἐν ἐπιγνώσει κ.τ.λ. the meaning, that every one in the Christian sense good, every true Christian among the Colossians,[69] Philemon should know as being that which he is; only by virtue of such knowing would his fellowship of faith show itself effectively operative through the exercise of Christian love-which would not be the case with those “whose Christian virtuousness he failed to know.” Erasmus, Castalio, Beza, Calvin, Grotius, Pricaeus, Estius, Cornelius a Lapide, and others, have done rightly in not referring the ἐπίγνωσις to Philemon as the knowing subject, but wrongly in understanding ἘΠΊΓΝ. of becoming known, as e.g. Erasmus, Paraphr.: “adeo ut nullum sit officium Christianae caritatis, in quo non sis et nolus et probatus.” Beza: “ut hac ratione omnes agnoscant et experiantur, quam divites sitis in Christo,” etc.
ἀγαθοῦ] Comp. Rom 14:16; Gal 6:6; Luk 1:53; Luk 12:18-19; Heb 9:11; Heb 10:1; Sir 12:1; Sir 14:25, al.; πᾶν ἀγαθὸν τὸ ἐν ἡμῖν really expresses quite the same thing as is expressed at Eph 1:3 by ΠᾶΣΑ ΕὐΛΟΓΊΑ ΠΝΕΥΜΑΤΙΚΉ.
ΤΟῦ ἘΝ ἩΜῖΝ] applies to the Christians generally, these being regarded as a whole. The blessings are in the Christian community.
[66] The translation of the Vulgate, evidens, is based upon the reading ἐναργής; so codd. Lat. in Jerome, Pelagius (Clar. Germ.: manifesta).
[67] Such blessings, by which Christ has enriched us (comp. on 2Co 8:9), are faith, hope, love, patience, peace, joy in the Holy Spirit, etc. In devout fellowship these become ever more fully, vividly, and experimentally known as regards their nature and value.
[68] “Who interprets: “as often as thou contest to know a good man among the Colossians!”
[69] If the reading ἐν ὑμῖν were genuine, it could only, in accordance with the context, be referred to Philemon himself and to those adduced along with him in ver. 2. The Colossian church is brought in after a purely arbitrary way by Michaelis and Hofmann.
Phm 1:7. Not the assigning of a reason for the intercession (de Wette and others; see in opposition thereto, on Phm 1:6), but a statement of the subjective ground (the objective one was contained in Phm 1:5 f.) of the thanksgiving, Phm 1:4. Jerome already aptly remarks: “plenius inculcat et edocet, quare dixerit: gratias ago,” etc.
χαράν] emphatically prefixed. The aorist ἔσχον (see the critical remarks) relates to the point of time, at which the ἀκούειν, Phm 1:5, had hitherto taken place.
πολλήν] applies to both substantives.
παράκλησιν] for Paul is δέσμιος, Phm 1:1; Phm 1:9. Comp. παρηγορία, Col 4:11.
ὅτι τὰ σπλ. κ.τ.λ.] More precise explanation to ἐπὶ τῇ ἀγάπῃ σου: because, namely, the hearts (comp. Phm 1:20, as also 2Co 6:12; 2Co 7:15; Php 1:8, al.) of the saints are refreshed by thee. There is no more particular information as to the work of love referred to; and it is quite arbitrary to refer τῶν ἀγ. specially to the poor Christians (Grotius, Rosenmüller, and others), or even still more specially to “the mother-church of Christendom” (Hofmann), which is not to be made good either by 1Co 16:1 or by Rom 12:13.
ἀδελφέ] not emphatic (“brother in truth,” de Wette, whom Koch follows; comp. Erasmus, Paraphr.), but touching affection. Comp. Gal 6:18.
Phm 1:8. Διό] explains the ground for the following διὰ τ. ἀγάπ. μᾶλλον παρακαλῶ: Wherefore (because I have so much joy and solace from thee), although I am by no means wanting in great boldness (1Ti 3:13; 2Co 3:12; Php 1:20) to enjoin upon thee what is becoming, I will rather for love’s sake exhort, will make exhortation take the place of injunction. Chrysostom, Oecumenius, Theophylact (comp. also Theodoret), Erasmus, Michaelis, Zachariae, and others attach διό to the participial assertion. This is unpsychological; what Paul has said in Phm 1:5 [7] accords not with commanding, but with entreaty.
ἐν Χριστῷ] In Christ, as the element of his inner life, Paul knows that his great confidence has its basis. But this fellowship of his with Christ is not merely the general Christian, but the apostolic, fellowship.
τὸ ἀνῆκον] that which is fitting, that is, the ethically suitable; Suidas: τὸ πρέπον; not used in this sense by Greek writers. Comp. however, Eph 5:4; Col 3:18; 1Ma 10:40; 1Ma 10:42; 1Ma 11:35; 2Ma 14:8. Thus Paul makes that, which he desires to obtain from Philemon, already to be felt as his duty.
διὰ τὴν ἀγάπην] is understood by some of the love of Philemon (Calvin and others, Cornelius a Lapide: “ut scilicet solitam tuam caritatem in servum tuum poenitentem ostendas”); by others, of the love of the apostle to Philemon (Estius and others); by others again, ἣν κἀγὼ ἔχω πρός σε, καὶ σὺ πρὸς ἐμέ (Theophylact; comp. Oecumenius and others; Grotius: “per necessitatem amicitiae nostrae”). But all these limitations not expressed in the text are arbitrary; it is to be left general: on account of love, in order not to check the influence of the same (which, experience shows, is so great also over thee), but to allow it free course. It is the Christian brotherly love in abstracto, conceived of as a power; 1 Corinthians 13.
f
Phm 1:9 f. Before τοιοῦτος we have to place a full stop; the participial predication τοιοῦτος ὤν sums up the quality which was expressed in Phm 1:8 by πολλὴν … μᾶλλον παρακαλῶ; and lastly, ὡς Παῦλος … Χριστοῦ supports the παρακαλῶ σε κ.τ.λ. of Phm 1:10, from a consideration of the personal position of the apostle in such a way, that the granting of the request could not but appear to Philemon as a matter of dutiful affection. Consequently: Seeing that I am so constituted,[70] since such is my manner of thinking and dealing, that, namely, in place of commanding thee, I rather for love’s sake betake myself to the παρακαλεῖν, I exhort thee as Paul, etc. A very mistaken objection to this view of τοιοῦτος ὤν is that Paul would not have said at all that he was so constituted, but only that he did so in the given case (Hofmann, following Wiesinger). He, in fact, says even now with τοιοῦτος ὤν itself that such is his nature. Observe, moreover, that the supporting elements, ὡς Παῦλος κ.τ.λ., are prefixed with all the emphasis of urgency to the παρακαλῶ, since in them lies the progress of the representation, namely, that which comes in as additional to the παρακαλῶ, already said before. Usually τοιοῦτος is taken as preparative, so that ὡς Παῦλος κ.τ.λ. is the more precise explanation of it; in which case some (as Luther, Calvin, and others, including Flatt, de Wette, Wiesinger, Ewald) find only two elements, taking ὡς Π. πρεσβύτης together; others (most expositors since the time of Chrysostom, including Bleek and Hofmann), three elements
Παῦλος, πρεσβύτης, δέσμιος. Expositors have differed in defining the significance of the particulars in their bearing on the matter in hand,[71] while recognising on the whole the “pondus ad movendum Philemonis animum” (Estius). According to de Wette (comp. Wetstein), τοιοῦτος ὤν κ.τ.λ. is to be held parallel to the participial clause of Phm 1:8, in accordance with which the participle would thus have to be resolved by although. But the whole mode of interpretation, which takes τοιοῦτος as preparative, is untenable. It must of necessity point back, summing up under the notion of personal quality what was said by πολλὴν … παρακαλῶ in Phm 1:8; for if ΤΟΙΟῦΤΟς is not already defined (as is here the case by reference to Phm 1:8), it may, doubtless, become defined either by an adjective immediately following, or by a following οἷος (Plato, Conv. p. 199 D; Dem. 41, 3), or ὅς (Xen. Anab. i. 4. 2; Plat. Phaed. p. 92 B; Heb 8:1), or ὅσος (Isocr. Paneg. 21), or by ὥστε with the infinitive (Plato, Conv. p. 175 D, al.), but never by ὡς, which neither actually occurs (the usually cited passage from Andocides in Wetstein, de Wette has rightly described as not here relevant[72]) nor can take place logically, since ὡς, that is, as (not like, which it means after τοιόνδε in Aesch. Pers. 180), already presupposes the definiteness of τοιοῦτος. This more precise definiteness is not, however, to be relegated to the mere conception or mode of view of the writer (Wiesinger: “I, in my circumstances”), according to which ὡς is then held to introduce an appositional definition, to which also Bleek and Hofmann ultimately come; but it is to be taken from what Paul has previously said, because it results from that quite simply and suitably. Comp. on τοιοῦτος ὤν, which always in classical writers also-where it is not followed by a corresponding ΟἿΟς, Ὅς, ὍΣΟς, or ὭΣΤΕ-summarily denotes the quality, disposition, demeanour, or the like, more precisely indicated before; Plato, Rep. p. 493 C; Xen. Anab. i. 1. 30; Hellen. iv. 1. 38; Cyrap. i. 5, 8; Soph. Aj. 1277 (1298); Lucian, Cont. 20, and many other places. It is further to be noted, (1) that the true explanation of τοιοῦτος ὢν κ.τ.λ. of itself imperatively requires that we connect these words with the following παρακαλῶ (Flatt, Lachmann, who, however, parenthesises Ὡς ΠΑῦΛΟς, de Wette, Wiesinger, Ewald, Bleek, Hofmann), not with that which precedes (as formerly was usual), in which case the second παρακαλῶ is understood as resumptive, an ΟὖΝ (Theophylact), inquam, or the like, being supplied in thought (so Castalio, Beza, Hagenbach, and many). (2) The elements expressed by ὡς Παῦλος … Χριστοῦ stand-seeing that ΠΡΕΣΒΎΤΗς is a substantive and has not the article-in such relation to each other, that πρεσβύτης and ΝΥΝῚ ΔῈ ΚΑῚ ΔΈΣΜΙΟς Κ.Τ.Λ. are two attributive statements attaching themselves to Παῦλος; consequently: as Paul, who is an old man, and now also a prisoner, etc. (3) The (flexible) notion of πρεσβύτης must by no means have its meaning altered, as is done e.g. by Calvin, who makes it denote “non aetatem, sed officium;” but, at the same time, may not be rigidly pressed in so confidential a private writing, in which “lepos mixtus gravitate” (Bengel), prevails, especially if Philemon was much younger than Paul. Observe, withal, that the apostle does not use some such expression as γέρων, but the more relative term ΠΡΕΣΒ.; comp. Tit 2:2 with the contrast ΤΟῪς ΝΕΩΤΈΡΟΥς in Phm 1:6. He sets himself down as a veteran in contradistinction to the younger friend, who was once his disciple. At the stoning of Stephen, and so some twenty-six or twenty-seven years earlier, Paul was still νεανίας (Act 7:58); he might thus be now somewhere about fifty years of age.
ΔΈΣΜΙΟς Ἰ. Χ.] as in Phm 1:1.
ΤΈΚΝΟΥ] tenderly affectionate designation of his convert (comp. 1Co 4:14 f.; Gal 4:19; 1Pe 5:13), in connection with which the conception of his own child is brought more vividly into prominence by the prefixed ἐμοῦ and by ἘΓΏ (see the critical remarks), and ἘΝ ΤΟῖς ΔΕΣΜΟῖς[73] makes the recommendation yet more affecting and urgent.
Ὀνήσιμον] Accusative, in accordance with a well-known attraction; see Winer, p. 155 [E. T. 205]; Buttmann, p. 68 [E. T. 78],
[70] The Vulgate erroneously referred ὤν to Philemon: “cum sis talis,” which Cornelius a Lapide unsuccessfully defends.
[71] So e.g. Erasmus, Paraphr.: “Quid enim neges roganti? primum Paulo: cum Paulum dico non paulum rerum tibi significo; deinde seni: nonnihil tribui solet et aetati … nunc etiam vincto: in precibus nonnihil ponderis habet et calamitas obtestantis; postremo vincto Jesu Christi: sic vincto favere debent, qui profitentur Christi doctrinam.” Similarly Grotius and others; while, according to Heinrichs, by Παῦλος there was to be awakened gratitude; by πρεσβ. the readiness to oblige, natural towards the aged; and by δέσμιος Ἰ. Χρ. compassion. Hofmann holds that “the name Paul puts Philemon in mind of all that makes it a historical one,” and that the impression of this becomes thereupon confirmed by the other two elements.
[72] The passage runs: ὃ δὲ πάντων δεινότατόν ἐστι, τοιοῦτος ὢν ὡς εὔνους τῷ δήμῳ τοὺς λόγους ποιεῖται. Here, precisely as in our passage, ὡς εὔνους belongs not to τοιοῦτος ὤν, but to what follows, and τοιοῦτος ὤν sums up what had been said before.-The comparison of τοιόσδε, Hom. od. xvi. 205 (Hofmann), where besides no ὡς follows, is unsuitable, partly on the general ground of the well-known diversity of meaning of the two words (comp. Kühner, ad Xen. Mem. i. 7. 5), which is not to be abandoned without special reason, partly because in that passage ἐγὼ τοιόσδε stands absolutely and δεικτικῶς (hicce ego talis), so that the following παθὼν κ.τ.λ. belongs to ἤλυθον.
[73] That the expression: in the bonds, was suitable only to Rome and not to Caesarea, is incorrectly inferred by Wieseler, p. 420, from Act 24:23. See on that passage. It was likewise incorrect to assign the Epistle, on account of πρεσβύτης, to the alleged second imprisonment at Rome (Calovius).
Phm 1:11. Ingenious allusion to the literal signification of the name (current also among the Greeks) Ὀνήσιμος, useful. The objection of Estius, that Paul expresses himself in words derived from another stem (not from ὀνίνημι), presupposes a mechanical procedure, with which Paul is least of all to be charged. We may add that, while there were not such forms as ἀνονήσιμος and εὐονήσιμος, doubtless he might, had he wished to retain the stem of the name, have employed ἀνόνητος and ὀνητός (Suidas), or ὀνήτωρ (Pindar), or ὀνησιφόρος (Plutarch, Lucian). An allusion, however, at the same time to the name of Christian, as sometimes in the Fathers Χριστιανός is brought into relation with χρηστός, is arbitrarily assumed by Cornelius a Lapide, Koch, and others, and the more so, as the expressions have already their occasion in the name Onesimus, and, moreover, by means of σοί and ἐμοί an individually definite reference.
ἄχρηστον] unserviceable, only here in the N.T. (comp. however, δοῦλος ἀχρεῖος, Mat 25:30; Luk 17:10). Plato, Lys. p. 204 B: φαῦλος καὶ ἄχρηστος, 3Ma 3:29; Sir 37:19. A definition, wherein the uselessness of Onesimus in his service consisted (the usual view from the time of Chrysostom: that he had robbed his master) does not appear more precisely than in the hint Phm 1:18 f.
νυνὶ δὲ … εὔχρηστον] Comp. 2Ti 2:21; 2Ti 4:11; Plato, Pol. iii. p. 411 B: χρήσιμον ἐξ ἀχρήστου ἐποίησεν. The usefulness, which now belongs to Onesimus, is based simply on his conversion which had taken place, Phm 1:10, and consequently consists for Philemon in the fact, that his slave now will render his service in a far other way than before, namely, in a distinctively Christian frame of mind and activity (consequently without eye-service and man-pleasing, ὡς τῷ κυρίῳ κ.τ.λ., as it is expressed at Col 3:2-9 ff.), and for Paul himself in the fact that, because the conversion of Onesimus is his work (Phm 1:10), in that transformation of the previously useless slave there has accrued to the apostle, as the latter’s spiritual father, gain and recompense of his labour (Php 1:22), the joy and honour of not having striven in vain (Php 2:16). Thus the benefits, which Philemon and Paul have respectively to enjoy from Onesimus as now constituted, are brought into contact and union. Comp. Theodore of Mopsuestia: σοὶ κατὰ τὴν ὑπηρεσίαν, ἐμοὶ κατὰ τὴν βελτίωσιν τοῦ τρόπου. What a weighty and persuasive appeal was urged in the ingenious καὶ ἐμοί (comp. Rom 16:13; 1Co 16:18) is at once felt.
Phm 1:12. The rectified text[74] is: ὋΝ ἈΝΈΠΕΜΨΆ ΣΟΙ· ΣῪ ΔῈ ΑὐΤῸΝ, ΤΟΥΤΈΣΤΙ ΤῸ ἘΜᾺ ΣΠΛΆΓΧΝΑ (without ΠΡΟΣΛΑΒΟῦ).
On ἈΝΈΠΕΜΨΑ, remisi, comp. Luk 23:11.
τουτέστι τὰ ἐμὰ σπλάγχνα] that is, my heart, by which Onesimus is designated as an object of the most cordial affection. So Oecumenius, Theophylact, and many. ἐμὰ has an ingeniously-turned emphasis, in contrast to ΑὐΤΌΝ. According to others, the thought would be: ἐμος ἐστιν υἱὸς, ἐκ τῶν ἐμῶν γεγέννηται σπλάγχνων, Theodoret (comp. also Chrysostom); so too Beza, Cornelius a Lapide, Heinrichs, and others, following the Syriac. See instances in Pricaeus and Wetstein, and comp. the Latin viscera. But in this way the relation already expressed in Phm 1:10 would be only repeated, and that in a form, which would be less in keeping with that spiritual fatherhood. Paul, moreover, statedly uses σπλάγχνα for the seat of the affection of love (2Co 6:12; 2Co 7:15; Php 1:8; Php 2:1; Col 3:12; Phm 1:7; Phm 1:20; comp. also Luk 1:78; 1Jn 3:17), and so also here, where the person to whom one feels himself attached with tender love (which, according to Phm 1:10, is certainly felt as paternal; comp. Wis 10:5; 4Ma 16:20; 4Ma 16:25) is designated by the lover as his very heart, because its feelings and inclinations are filled by this object. Comp. on this expression of feeling, the Plautine meum corculum (Cas. iv. 4. 14), meum cor (Poen. i. 2. 154). When we set aside προσλαβοῦ as not genuine (see the critical remarks), the verb is wanting, so that the passage is anacoluthic; the apostle is involuntarily withheld by the following relative clause presenting itself, and by what he, in the lively flow of his thoughts, further subjoins (Phm 1:13 ff.) from adding the governing verb thought of with σὺ δὲ αὐτόν, until at length, after beginning a new sentence with Phm 1:17, he introduces it in another independent connection, leaving the sentence which he had begun with ΣῪ ΔῈ ΑὐΤΌΝ in Phm 1:12 unclosed. Comp. on Rom 5:2 ff.; Gal 2:16. See generally, Winer, p. 528 ff. [E. T. 709 ff.]; Wilke, Rhetor, p. 217 f. With classic writers, too, such anacoluthic sentences broken off by the influence of intervening thoughts are not rare, specially in excited or pathetic discourse, e.g. Plat. Symp. p. 218 A; Xen. Anab. ii. 5.13; and Krüger in loc.; Aeschin. adv. Ctesiph. 256, and Wunderlich in loc.; Bremi, ad Lys. p. 442 f., 222, who rightly observes: “Hoc anacoluthiae genus inter scriptores sacros nulli frequentius excidit quam Paulo ap., epistolas suas dictanti”
[74] See the critical remarks. The text of Lachmann, ὃν ἀνεπ. σοι, αὐτὸν, τοῦτʼ ἔστιν τὰ ἐμὰ σπλ., is followed by Hofmann, so that αὐτόν is in apposition to ὅν (see, on the other hand, Winer, p. 140 [E. T. 184]).
Phm 1:13 f Ἐγώ] I for my part.
ἐβουλόμην] I was of the mind. Comp. ἠθέλησα, Phm 1:14, and observe not merely the diversity of notion (βούλομαι: deliberate self-determination, see on Mat 1:19), but also the distinction of the tenses. The apostle formerly cherished the design and the wish (imperfect ἐβουλ.) of retaining Onesimus with himself, instead of sending him back to Philemon, but has become of the mind (historical aorist ἠθέλησα), etc. Thus ἠθέλ. denotes that which supervened on the previous occurrence of the ἐβουλ., and hindered the realization of the latter. Observe that Paul has not used ἐβουλόμην ἄν; that would be vellem.
ὑπὲρ σοῦ] for thee, i.e. in gratiam tuam, that thou mightest not need thyself to serve me. ὑπέρ accordingly is not here, any more than in any other passage of the N.T., used as a precise equivalent to ἀντί, although the actual relation of representation lies at the bottom of the conception in gratiam; for Paul would have taken the service of the slave as rendered by the master, to whom the slave belonged. Comp. Hofmann. This mode of regarding and representing the matter has nothing harsh about it, nor does it convey any obligation, which Philemon, had he been on the spot, would have fulfilled (Bleek), but simply the trustful presupposition, that Philemon himself would, if Paul had desired it, have ministered to him in the prison. Of this, however, Philemon was relieved by the service of the slave, which in this way stood him in good stead. Schweizer, in the Stud. u. Krit. 1858, p. 430, explains likewise correctly: for thy benefit, but takes this in the sense: “so that it would be a service rendered to thee, imputed to thee, so that I would be under obligation to thee.” But this would only have the delicacy and tenderness which are found in it, if the thought: “in order that he might serve me, with a view to place me under obligation to thee,” contained the design of Onesimus; if, accordingly, Paul had written something after this manner: ὃς ἐβούλετο πρὸς ἐμαντὸν μένειν, ἵνα κ.τ.λ., which, however, would have asserted a self-determination incompetent to the position of a slave. No; as the passage is written, there is delicately and tenderly implied in the ὑπὲρ σοῦ the same thought, which, in accordance with Php 2:30, he might have expressed by ἵνα ἀναπληρώσῃ τὸ σοῦ ὑστέρημα; comp. 1Co 16:17. Thus ingeniously does Paul know how to justify his ἐβουλόμην κ.τ.λ.-seeing that he would, in fact, otherwise have had no claim at all upon another’s bondsman-by the specification of design ἵνα ὑπὲρ σοῦ κ.τ.λ.
διακονῇ] direct representation by the subjunctive, “ita quidem, ut praeteriti temporis cogitatio tanquam praesens efferatur,” Kühner, ad Xen. Mem. i. 2. 2.
ἐν τοῖς δεσμοῖς τοῦ εὐαγγ.] in the bonds, into which the gospel has brought me-in a position. therefore (comp. Phm 1:9) which makes me as needful as deserving of such loving service.
χωρὶς δὲ κ.τ.λ.] but without thy consent, that is, independent of it, I have wished to do nothing, and so have left that wish unexecuted, in order that thy good may be not as from constraint, but from free will. The thought of the apostle accordingly is: But as I knew not thine own opinion, and thus must have acted without it, I was disposed to abstain from the retention of thy slave, which I had in view: for the good, which thou showest, is not to be as if forced, but voluntary. If I had retained Onesimus for my service, without having thy consent to that effect, the good, which I should have had to derive from thee through the service rendered to me by thy servant ὑπὲρ σοῦ, would have been shown not from free will,-that is, not in virtue of thine own self-determination,-but as if compulsorily, just because independently of thy γνώμη (“non enim potuisset refragari Philemon,” Bengel[75]). Observe at the same time that τὸ ἀγαθόν σου, thy good, that is, the good which thou showest to others, is to be left quite in its generality, so that not the serviceable employment of the slave specially and in concreto is meant, but rather the category in general, under which, in the intended application, there falls that special ἀγαθόν, which is indicated in Phm 1:13. The restriction to the given case is impracticable on account of ἈΛΛᾺ ΚΑΤᾺ ἙΚΟΎΣΙΟΝ, since Paul in fact did not at all intend to procure the consent of Philemon and to retain Onesimus. This in opposition to the usual interpretation: “τὸ ἀγαθόν, i.e. beneficium tuum hocce, quo afficior a te, si hunc mihi servum concedis,” Heinrichs; comp. Bleek. But it is an error also, with de Wette, following Estius (who describes it as probable), to understand under τὸ ἀγαθ. σον the manumission[76] of the slave, or to understand it at least as “also included” (Bleek), of which even in Phm 1:16 there is no mention, and for suggesting which in so covert and enigmatic a fashion there would not have been any reason, if he had desired it at all (but see on 1Co 7:21). According to Hofmann (comp. his Schriftbeweis, II. 2, p. 412), τὸ ἀγαθόν σου is, like ΤῸ ΧΡΗΣΤῸΝ ΤΟῦ ΘΕΟῦ at Rom 2:4, thy goodness, and that the goodness, which Philemon will show to Onesimus when he had returned into his position as a, slave; this only then becomes an undoubtedly spontaneous goodness, when the apostle refrains from any injunction of his own, whereas Philemon could not have done otherwise than refrain from punishing the slave for his escape, if Paul had retained him to himself, in which case, therefore, Philemon might have seemed to be kind compulsorily. This explanation, brought out by the insertion of thoughts between the lines, is to be set aside as at variance with the context, since there is nothing in the connection to point to the definition of the notion of τὸ ἀγαθόν σου as goodness towards Onesimus, but on the contrary this expression can only acquire its import through the delicately thoughtful ἵνα ὑπὲρ σοῦ μοι διακονῇ κ.τ.λ.
ὡς κατὰ ἀνάγκην] emphatically prefixed, and Ὡς expresses the idea: “so that it appears as constrained.” Comp. Fritzsche, ad Rom. II. p. 360. On κατὰ ἀνάγκ., by way of constraint (in the passive sense), by compulsion, comp. Thucyd. vi. 10. 1; Polyb. iii. 67. 5; 2Ma 15:2; on the contrast, comp. 1Pe 5:2 : μὴ ἀναγκαστῶς, ἀλλʼ ἑκουσίως; Thucyd. viii. 27. Phm 1:3 : ΚΑΘʼ ἙΚΟΥΣΊΑΝ Ἢ ΠΆΝΥ ΓΕ ἈΝΆΓΚῌ, Plat. Prot. p. 346 B.
[75] Seneca, De Benef. ii. Phm 1:4 : “Si vis scire an velim, effice ut possim nolle.” Luther aptly remarks: a constrained will is not voluntas, but noluntas.
[76] That the manumission did take place, has been inferred from the tradition that Onesimus became a bishop. It may have taken place, but it is not meant here.
Phm 1:15. Paul now supports his course of procedure in having given up his previous plan of retaining Onesimus with him, and in sending the latter back, by the consideration that the brief separation of the slave from his master may perhaps have had the Providential destined aim, etc. This destined aim would have been in fact counteracted by the ulterior keeping apart of the slave from Philemon.
τάχα] easily, perhaps, Rom 5:7. So also in classical writers, but more frequently conjoined with ἄν. Comp. for a similar use of ἴσως, Luk 20:13, and Buttmann, ad Soph, Phil. p. 180. Chrysostom aptly remarks: καλῶς τὸ τάχα, ἵνα εἴξῃ ὁ δεσπότης· ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ἀπὸ αὐθαδείας γέγονεν ἡ φυγὴ καὶ διεστραμμένης διανοίας, καὶ οὐκ ἀπὸ προαιρέσεως, λέγει τάχα. A categoric assertion, although appropriate to the expression of a firm confidence, would have been less sparing of the feelings in the relation of the injured master to the fugitive slave, than the problematic mode of expression; it may readily be, that the way of the μοῖρα Θεοῦ has been such, etc.
ἐχωρίσθη] εὐφήμως καὶ τὴν φυγὴν χωρισμὸν καλεῖ, ἵνα μὴ τῷ ὀνόματι τῆς φυγῆς παροξύνῃ τὸν δεσπότην, Theophylact. The aim of soothing underlies also the choice of the passive expression, as Chrysostom says: οὐκ εἶπεν· ἐχώρισεν ἑαυτόν … οὐ γὰρ αὐτοῦ τὸ κατασκύασμα τὸ ἐπὶ τούτῳ ἀναχωρῆσαι κ.τ.λ.
πρὸς ὥραν] Comp. 2Co 7:8; Gal 2:5; 1Th 2:17. This relative statement of time leaves it entirely undefined, how long the brief stay of Onesimus with Paul lasted.
ἵνα] divine destined aim therein. Chrysostom and Jerome already refer to Gen 45:5.
αἰώνιον] not adverb, which is αἰωνίως, but accusative, so that the adverbial notion is expressed by way of predicate. Winer, p. 433 [E. T. 582]; Kühner, II. 1, p. 234 f. Erasmus aptly observes: “ipsum jam non temporarium ministrum, sed perpetuo tecum victurum.” The notion itself, however, is not to be taken as the indefinite perpetuo (Calvin, Grotius, and many), or more precisely per omnem tuam vitam (Drusius, Heinrichs, Flatt, Demme, and others), in. connection with which Beza and Michaelis point to the ordinances of the law with regard to the perpetua mancipia (Exo 21:6; Deu 15:17); but-as is alone consonant with the N.T. use of the word concerning the future, and the Pauline doctrine of the approaching establishment of the kingdom-in the definite sense: for ever, embracing the expiring αἰὼν οὗτος and the αἰὼν μέλλων attaching itself thereto, and presupposing the Parousia, which is still to be expected within the lifetime of both parties; but not, that the Christian brotherly union reaches into eternity (Erasmus, Estius, de Wette, and others); so in the main also Hofmann: “as one who remains to him for ever, hot merely for lifetime; “comp. Bleek.
ἀπέχῃς] Comp. Php 4:18; Mat 6:2. The compound expression (mayest have away) denotes the definitive final possession.
Phm 1:16. Altered relation which with the αἰώνιον αὐτὸν ἀπέχειν was to take effect, and thenceforth to subsist, between Philemon and Onesimus.
οὐκέτι ὡς δοῦλον] in this is implied not a hint of manumission, but the fact that, while the external relation of slavery remains in itself unchanged, the ethical relation has become another, a higher one (ὑπὲρ δοῦλον), a brotherly relation of affection (ἀδελφ. ἀγαπ.). Christianity does not abolish the distinctions of rank and station, but morally equalizes them (comp. on ἰσότητα, Col 4:1; 1Ti 6:2), inasmuch as it pervades them with the unifying consecration of the life in Christ,[77] 1Co 7:21 f., 1Co 12:13; Gal 3:28; Col 3:11. To the Ὡς the following ὙΠΈΡ is correlative: not further in the quality of a slave, but in a higher manner than as a slave; ἀδελφὸν ἀγαπ., as a beloved brother, is then the epexegesis of ὑπὲρ δοῦλον. And the latter is conceived of thus: so that he is beyond and above a δοῦλος, is more than such. Comp. Plato, Rep. p. 488 A; Legg. viii. p. 839 D: οὐκ ἔστιν ὑπὲρ ἄνθρωπον; 2Ma 9:8.
ΜΆΛΙΣΤΑ ἘΜΟῚ Κ.Τ.Λ.] belongs to ἈΔΕΛ. ἈΓΑΠ. In that view ΜΆΛΙΣΤΑ has its reference in the relation of Onesimus to his fellow-Christians, with whom he has hitherto been brought into connection; among these it was Paul, to whom he stood most of all-that is, in higher degree than to any other-in the relation of a beloved brother.
πόσῳ δὲ μᾶλλον σοί] since he is thy property, and does not enter into merely temporary connection with thee, such as that in which he stood with me; see Phm 1:15.
ΚΑῚ ἘΝ ΣΑΡΚῚ ΚΑῚ ἘΝ ΚΥΡ.] specifies the two domains, in which Onesimus will be to him yet far more a beloved brother than to the apostle, namely, in the flesh, i.e. in the sphere pertaining to the material nature of man, in things consequently that concern the bodily life and needs, and in the Lord, i.e. in the higher spiritual life-sphere of fellowship with Christ. Accordingly, ἐν σαρκί Philemon has the brother as a slave, and ἘΝ ΚΥΡΊῼ the slave as a brother; how greatly, therefore, must he, in view of the mutual connection and interpenetration of the two relations, have him, as well ἐν σαρκί as ἐν κυρίῳ, as a beloved brother! How much more still (πόσῳ δὲ μᾶλλον) must Onesimus thus be such an one to Philemon, than to the apostle! The two domains of life designated by ἘΝ ΣΑΡΚΊ and ἘΝ ΚΥΡΊῼ-which, connected by ΚΑῚ … ΚΑΊ, exclude the conception of ethical contrast[78]-are to be left in all their comprehensiveness. Influenced by the erroneous presupposition of manumission (see on Phm 1:15), de Wette thinks in ἐν σαρκί of the family-relation into which the manumitted one enters.
[77] In accordance with this Christian-ideal mode of view we have to leave οὐκέτι absolute, and not to weaken it by μόνον to be mentally supplied (Grotius, Storr, Flatt); comp. on Col 3:23.
[78] Comp. Eklund, σάρξ vocabulum ap. Paul., Lund 1872, p. 47 f.
Phm 1:17. Οὖν] resuming; see on Phm 1:12, where the request, to which utterance is only now finally given after the moving digressions Phm 1:13-16, was already to be expressed.
The emphasis, and that in the way of furnishing a motive, lies upon κοινωνόν: if thou hast me as a partner, if thou standest in this relation to me,-according to which consequently the refusal of the request would appear as proof of the contrary. As to this use of ἔχειν, comp. on Mat 14:4. The notion of the κοινωνία is not to be restricted more narrowly than is implied in the idea of Christian fellowship, and so of common believing, loving, hoping, disposition, working, and so forth; while Chrysostom, Oecumenius, Theophylact, and others bring out only the partnership of the φρονεῖν and the striving; whereas others, as Estius, Rosenmüller, Heinrichs, Flatt, et al., explain κοινωνόν as friend, and Beza and Bengel refer it to the community of property: “Si mecum habere te putas communia bona, ut inter socios esse soleat” (Beza); comp. Grotius. The ὡς is: so as if thou receivedst me, as if I now came to thee; for see Phm 1:12. Theophylact: τίνα οὐκ ἂν κατεδυσώπησε; τίς γὰρ οὐκ ἂν ἐθέλησε Παῦλον προσδέξασθαι, Erasmus: “recipias oportet velut alterum me.” On προσλαβοῦ, comp. Rom 16:1; Rom 15:7.
Phm 1:18. And herein the offence against thee, with which Onesimus is chargeable, is not to present an obstacle.
εἰ] indication in a hypothetic form, so as to spare the feelings: Attic politeness, see Herbst, ad Xen. Mem. i. 5. 1; Bornem. ad Conviv. iv. 3; Winer, p. 418 [E. T. 562].
τι ἠδίκησέ σε] Comp. Col 3:25; Gal 4:12; Act 25:10. In what the wrong done to Philemon by Onesimus, and without doubt confessed to the apostle by the latter, actually consisted, is hinted in what follows.
ἢ ὀφείλει or-more precisely to describe this ἠδίκησε]-oweth (anything). This applies to a money-debt (see Phm 1:19). Accordingly the slave had probably been guilty, not merely in general of a fault in service which injured his master (Hofmann), but in reality (comp. already Chrysostom) of purloining or of embezzlement, which Paul here knows how to indicate euphemistically. The referring it merely to the running away itself, and the neglect of service therewith connected, would not be (in opposition to Bleek) in keeping with the hypothetical form of expression.
τοῦτο] the τί, which he ἠδίκησέ σε ἢ ὀφείλει; hence we have not, with Grotius, Fliatt, and others, to explain these two verbs of different offences (the former as referring to theft at his running away, the latter to defalcation).
ἐμοὶ ἐλλόγα] set it down to my account; “me debitorem habe,” Bengel. Friendly pleasantry, which in Phm 1:19 becomes even jocular (μετὰ χάριτος τῆς πνευματικῆς, Chrysostom), with which the subsequent ἵνα μὴ λέγω σοι κ.τ.λ. is very compatible (in opposition to Hofmann), if it is correctly apprehended. On the form ἐλλογάω we have not, with Fritzsche, ad Rom. v. 13, at once to pronounce against it: “nulla est” (comp. Matthies: “stultum est”), since ἐλλογέω likewise is only with certainty preserved in Rom. l.c., and in Boeckh, Inscr. I. p. 850. It is true λογάω, in Lucian, Lexiph. 15, means to be fond of speaking; but this single passage, in which the simple form is preserved, does not suffice to negative the use of the word in the sense of reckoning.
Phm 1:19. Promissory note under his own hand, in which by the elsewhere so weighty ἐγὼ Παῦλος (Gal 5:2; 2Co 10:1, al.) the friendly humour of the connection is rendered the more palpable through force of contrast. Whether Paul wrote the whole Epistle with his own hand (the usual view; see already Jerome, Chrysostom, and Theodoret), or only from this point onward, cannot be determined. In the latter case the raillery comes out the more prominently.
ἵνα μὴ λέγω σοι κ.τ.λ.] Comp. 2Co 2:5, and the Latin ne dicam: “est σχῆμα παρασιωπήσεως sive reticentiae, cum dicimus omittere nos velle, quod maxime dicimus,” Grotius. The ἵνα denotes the design which Paul has in the ἔγραψα … ἀποτίσω; he will, so he represents the matter, by this his note of hand avoid saying to Philemon-what he withal might in strictness have to say to him-that he was yet far more indebted to the apostle. Without sufficient reason, Wiesinger after a harsh and involved fashion attaches ἵνα, notwithstanding the intervening clause, to τοῦτο ἐμοὶ ἐλλόγα, and then takes the σοί, which according to the usual view belongs without emphasis to λέγω, as emphatic (sc. ἐλλόγα); “that reckon to me, not to say: to thee.” So too Hofmann, according to whose arbitrary discovery in the repetition of the ἐγώ the emphatic ἐμοί is held “to continue sounding,” until it finds in the emphatic σοί its antithesis, which cancels it. Why should not Paul, instead of this alleged “making it sound on,” have put the words ἵνα μὴ λέγω σοί, ὅτι κ.τ.λ. (because, according to Hofmann) immediately after τοῦτο ἐμοὶ ἐλλόγα, in order thereupon to conclude this passage with the weighty ἐγὼ Παῦλος κ.τ.λ.? Besides, there would be implied in that emphasizing and antithetic reference of the σοί a pungent turn so directly and incisively putting him to shame, that it would not be in keeping with the whole friendly humorous tone of this part of the letter, which does not warrant us in presupposing a displeasure on Philemon’s part meriting so deeply earnest a putting him to shame (Hofmann). The very shaming hint, which the passage gives, is affectionately veiled in an apparent reticence by ἵνα μὴ λέγω σοι κ.τ.λ. Chrysostom already says aptly: ἐντρεπτικῶς ἅμα καὶ χαρίεντως.
The σοί added to λέγω is in keeping with the confidential tone of the Epistle. Paul would not willingly remind his friend, of his debt.
καὶ σεαυτόν] also thine own self, διʼ ἐμοῦ γὰρ, φησὶ, τῆς σωτηρίας ἀπήλαυσας· καὶ ἐντεῦθεν δῆλον, ὡς τῆς ἀποστολικῆς ἠξιώθη διδασκαλίας ὁ Φιλήμων, Theodoret. Through his conversion he was indebted to the apostle for his own self, namely, as subject of the ξωὴ αἰώνιος. The same view is found at Luk 9:25. See on that passage.
προσοφείλεις] insuper debes, Herod. vi. 59; Dem. 650, 23; Thucyd. vii. 48. 6; Xen. Cyrop. iii. 2. 16, Oec. 20. 1; Polyb. v. 88. 4. 8, viii. 25. 4; Lucian. Sacrif. 4. The conception, namely, is: “not to say to thee, that thou (namely, because I have made thee a Christian) owest to me not merely that, which I have just declared my wish to pay to thee, out also (καί) thine own self besides.” With due attention to the correlation of καί and πρός, the force of the compound would not have been overlooked (Vulgate, Luther, Fliatt, and others).
Phm 1:20. Yea, brother, I would fain have profit of thee in the Lord.
ναί] not beseeching (Grotius and many), but confirmatory (comp. on Mat 15:27), as always: verily, certainly. It confirms, however, not the preceding κ. σεαυτ. μοι προσοφείλεις (de Wette and Hofmann, following Elsner),-against which may be urged the emphatically prefixed ἐγώ (it must in that case logically have run: σοῦ ἐγὼ ὀναίμ.),-but the whole intercession for Onesimus, in which Paul has made the cause of the latter his own.[79] He, he himself, would fain have joy at the hands of his friend Philemon in the granting of this request; himself (not, it might be, merely Onesimus) is Philemon to make happy by this compliance.
ὀναίμην] Expression of the wish, that this might take place (Kühner, II. 1, p. 193); hence the counter-remark of Hofmann that it is not “I would fain,” but “may I,” is unmeaning. Comp. Eur. Hec. 997: ἥκιστʼ ὀναίμην τοῦ παρόντος, Ignat. Ephesians 2 : ὀναίμην ὑμῶν διὰ παντός, Romans 5 : ὀναίμην τῶν θηρίων … εὔχομαι κ.τ.λ. On the expression very current from Homer’s time (Odyss. xix. 68, ii. 33), ὀνίναμαί τινος, to have advantage from a thing or person, to profit thereby, comp. Wetstein; on the different verbal forms of the word, Lobeck, ad Phryn. p. 12 f.; Kühner, I. p. 879 f. In the N.T. it is ἅπαξ λεγόμ.; but the very choice of the peculiar word supports the usual hypothesis (although not recognised by de Wette, Bleek, and Hofmann) that Paul intended an allusion to the name Onesimus.[80] There is the additional circumstance that the emphatic ἘΓΏ ingeniously gives point to the antithetic glance back at him, for whom he has made request; comp. also Wiesinger, Ellicott, Winer.
ἐν κυρίῳ] gives to the notion of the ὈΝΑΊΜΗΝ its definite Christian character. Just so the following ἐν Χριστῷ. Neither means: for the sake of (Beza, Grotius, Flatt, and others). No profit of any other kind whatever does Paul wish for himself from Philemon, but that, the enjoyment of which has its ground in Christ as the ethical element. Comp. χαίρειν ἐν κυρίῳ, and the like.
ἈΝΆΠΑΥΣΟΝ Κ.Τ.Λ.] let me not wish in vain this ἘΓΏ ΣΟΥ ὈΝΑΊΜ. ἘΝ ΚΥΡ.! Refresh (by a forgiving and loving reception of Onesimus) my heart; τὰ σπλάγχνα, seat of loving emotion, of the love concerned for Onesimus, comp. Phm 1:7; not an expression of love to Philemon (Oecumenius, Theophylact), nor yet a designation of Onesimus (Phm 1:12), as is maintained by Jerome, Estius, Storr, Heinrichs, Flatt, and others.
[79] With this ναί, ἀδελφέ the humorous tone has died away, and, when Paul now inserts the need of his own heart and his hearty confidence as to the compliance of his friend, the intercession receives the seal of its trustful assurance of success, and therewith its close. Chrysostom already aptly observes that the ναί, ἀδελφέ applies generally to the προσλαβοῦ requested, so that the apostle “ἀφεὶς τὸν χαριεντισμὸν πάλιν ἔχεται τῶν πρότερων τῶν σπουδαίων.”
[80] The allusion would have been more easily seized, if Paul had written in some sach way as: ναί, ἀδελφέ, ἐμοὶ σὺ ὀνήσιμος εἴης. But, as he has expressed it, it is more delicate and yet palpable enough, especially for the friend of whom he makes the request.
Phm 1:21. Conclusion of the whole matter of request, and that “as if for a last precaution” (Ewald), with the expression of the confidence, to which his apostolic dignity entitled him (ὑπακοῇ), although in accordance with Phm 1:8 he has abstained from enjoining. This, as well as the εἰδὼς ὅτι κ.τ.λ., appended by way of climax as an accompanying definition to the πεποιθὼς ὅτι κ.τ.λ., could not but entirely remove any possible hesitation on the part of Philemon and complete the effect of the letter. Comp. already Chrysostom and Jerome.
καὶ ὑπὲρ ὃ λέγω] what, i.e. what further deeds of kindness over and above the receiving back which was asked for, the apostle leaves absolutely to his friend, without, however, wishing to hint in particular at the manumission of Onesimus (Bleek and Hofmann, following older expositors); comp. on Phm 1:13 f. The certainty, however, that his friend will do still more, makes him the less doubt that at the least what is requested will be done. Thus there is contained in this εἰδὼς κ.τ.λ. a thoughtfully contrived incitement.
λέγω] namely, in that which I have written. Observe the different tenses.
καί] not merely that which I say, but also.
Phm 1:22. This further commission too-what a welcome, and wisely closing, indirect support to the intercession for Onesimus! πολλὴ γὰρ ἡ χάρις καὶ ἡ τιμὴ Παύλου ἐνδημοῦντος, Chrysostom; and so the apostle, in fact, wished soon himself to see what effect his intercession had had.
ἅμα δὲ καί] that is, simultaneously with that, which thou wilt do in the case of Onesimus. This is the sense of the adverbial ἅμα in all passages,[81] even Col 4:3; Act 24:26; and 1Ti 5:13 (in opposition to Hofmann), and among the Greek writers, so that it by no means expresses merely the conception of being joined, that the one is to associate itself with the other (Hofmann), but the contemporary connection of the one action with the other; Suidas: ἐπὶ τοῦ κατὰ τὸν αὐτὸν καιρόν. Bleek erroneously renders: at the same time also I entreat thee; so, too, de Wette, as if ἅμα δὲ καὶ παρακαλῶ or the like were in the text.
ἑτοίμαζέ μοι ξενίαν] Paul hoped at that time for a speedy liberation; his ulterior goal was Rome; the journey thither, however, he thought of making through Asia Minor, where he also desired to come to Colossae and to take up his quarters (Act 28:23) as a guest with Philemon. Comp. Introd. to Colossians, § 2. Observe, moreover, that ἅμα δὲ καί presupposes so near a use of the ξενία, as doubtless tallies with the shorter distance between Caesarea and Phrygia, but not with the distance from Rome to Phrygia, specially since, according to Php 1:25 f., Php 2:24, Paul thought of journeying from Rome to Macedonia; hence it would have been inappropriate and strange on his part, if, starting from Rome, he had already bespoken a lodging in Colossae, and that, too, one to be made ready so without delay.
ὑμῶν and ὑμῖν apply to the persons already named, Phm 1:1-2. To extend the reference further, namely, to “the body of Christians amidst which Philemon lives” (Hofmann), is unwarranted. The expression is individualizing. On χάρισθ., may be granted, i.e. liberated in favour of you, comp. on Act 3:14; Act 27:24; on διὰ τ. προσευχ. ὑμ., Php 1:19. This hope was not fulfilled. Calvin leaves this doubtful, but aptly adds: “Nihil tamen est absurdi, si spes, qualem de temporali Dei beneficio conceperit, eum frustrata fuerit.”
[81] Where, namely, there is mention of the combination of two expressions of activity, which takes place or ought to take place (as here). What ὁμοῦ is as τοπικόν, ἅμα is as χρονικόν (Ammonius, p. 13).
Phm 1:23 f. Salutations from the same persons, Col 4:10-14.
ὁ συναιχμάλωτός μου] See on Col 4:10. Here it further has expressly the specifically Christian character.[82] Comp. δέσμιος ἐν κυρίῳ, Eph 4:1.
The Jesus Justus mentioned at Col 4:11 does not here join in the greeting. The reason for this cannot be ascertained. It is possible that this man was absent just at the moment of Paul’s writing the brief letter to Philemon. According to Wieseler, p. 417, he was not among those in the abode of the apostle under surveillance (in Rome).
[82] Yet ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ might also be conceived as connected with ἀσπάζεται (Bleek). Comp. Php 4:21; Rom 16:22; 1Co 16:19. There is, however, no reason for separating it from the nearest word, with which even Chrysostom in his day expressly connected it.
The singular loftiness of the mind of Paul, though it may be seen to greater advantage in his other writings which treat of weightier matters, is also attested by this Epistle, in which, while he handles a subject otherwise low and mean, he rises to God with his wonted elevation. Sending back a runaway slave and thief, he supplicates pardon for him. But in pleading this cause, he discourses about Christian forbearance (269) with such ability, that he appears to speak about the interests of the whole Church rather than the private affairs of a single individual. In behalf of a man of the lowest condition, he demeans himself so modestly and humbly, that nowhere else is the meekness of his temper painted in a more lively manner.
1.A prisoner of Jesus Christ. In the same sense in which he elsewhere calls himself an Apostle of Christ, or a minister of Christ, he now calls himself “a prisoner of Christ;” because the chains by which he was bound on account of the gospel, were the ornaments or badges of that embassy which he exercised for Christ. Accordingly, he mentions them for the sake of strengthening his authority; not that he was afraid of being despised, (for Philemon undoubtedly had so great reverence and esteem for him, that there was no need of assuming any title,) but because he was about to plead the cause of a runaway slave, the principal part of which was entreaty for forgiveness.
To Philemon our friend and fellow-laborer. It is probable that this “Philemon” belonged to the order of pastors; for the title with which he adorns him, when he calls him fellow-laborer, is a title which he is not accustomed to bestow on a private individual.
(269) “De la douceur, moderation, et humanite.” — “Of gentleness, moderation, and kindness.”
2. And to Archippus our fellow-soldier. He next adds “Archippus,” who appears also to have been a minister of the Church; at least, if he be the same person who is mentioned towards the conclusion of the Epistle to the Colossians, (Col 4:17,) which is not at all improbable; for the designation — “fellow-soldier” — which he bestows on this latter individual, belongs peculiarly to ministers. Although the condition of a soldier belongs to all Christians universally, yet because teachers may be regarded as standardbearers in the warfare, they ought to be ready more than all others to fight, and Satan usually gives them greater annoyance. It is also possible, that Archippus attended and shared in some contests which Paul maintained; and, indeed, this is the very word that Paul makes use of, whenever he mentions persecutions.
And to the Church which is in thy house. By employing these terms, he bestows the highest praise on the family of Philemon. And certainly it is no small praise of a householder, that he regulates his family in such a manner as to be an image of the Church, and to discharge also the duty of a pastor within the walls of his dwelling. Nor must we forget to mention that this good man had a wife of the same character; for she, too, not without reason, is commended by Paul.
4. I give thanks to my God. It deserves attention, that he at the same time prays for that very thing for which he “gives thanks.” Even the most perfect, so long as they live in the world, never have so good ground for congratulation as not to need prayers, that God may grant to them, not only to persevere till the end, but likewise to make progress from day to day.
5. Hearing of thy love and faith. This praise, which he bestows on Philemon, includes briefly the whole perfection of a Christian man. It consists of two parts, faith in Christ, and love towards our neighbors; for to these all the actions and all the duties of our life relate. Faith is said to be in Christ, because to him it especially looks; in like manner as in no other way than through him alone can God the Father be known, and in no other than in Him can we find any of the blessings which faith seeks.
And towards all saints. He does not thus limit this love to the saints, as if there ought to be none towards others; for, since the doctrine of “love” is, that “we should not despise our flesh,” (Isa 58:7) and that we should honor the image of God which is engraven on our nature, undoubtedly it includes all mankind. But since they that are of the household of faith are united with us by a closer bond of relationship, and since God peculiarly recommends them to us, for this reason they justly hold the highest rank.
The arrangement of the passage is somewhat confused; but there is no obscurity in the meaning, except that it is doubtful whether the adverb always (in the 4. h verse) is connected with the first clause, “I give thanks always to my God,” or with the second clause, “making mention of thee always in my prayers.” The meaning may be brought out in this manner, that, whenever the Apostle offered prayer for Philemon, he interwove thanksgiving with it; that is, because Philemon’s piety afforded ground of rejoicing; for we often pray for those in whom nothing is to be found but what gives occasion for grief and tears. Yet the second mode of pointing is generally preferred, that Paul “gives thanks for Philemon, and always makes mention of him in his prayers.” Let my readers be at full liberty to judge for themselves; but, for my own part, I think that the former meaning is more appropriate.
In the rest of the passage there is an inversion of the natural order; for, after having spoken of “love” and “faith,” he adds, “towards Christ and towards saints,” while, on the contrary, the contrast would demand that “Christ” should be put in the second part of the clause as the object to which our faith looks. (270)
(270) It has sometimes occurred to me, that the intricacy of this passage might be removed, first, by the transposition suggested by Calvin, and, next, by transposing the 5. h verse so as to place it before the 4. h. “Hearing of thy love towards all saints, and of thy faith which thou hast towards Lord Jesus, I give thanks unto my God, making mention of thee always in my prayers, That the communication of thy faith may be effectual, through the knowledge of every good thing which is in thee towards Christ Jesus.” - Ed.
6. That the communication of thy faith may be effectual. This clause is somewhat obscure; but I shall endeavor to elucidate it in such a manner that my readers may somewhat understand Paul’s meaning. First, it ought to be known that the Apostle is not continuing to give the praise of Philemon, but that, on the contrary, he expresses those blessings for which he prays to God. These words are connected with what he had formerly said, that he “makes mention of him in his prayers.” (Phl 1:4.) What blessing then did he ask for Philemon? That his faith, exercising itself by good works, might be proved to be true, and not unprofitable. He calls it “the communication of faith,” because it does not remain inactive and concealed within, but is manifested to men by actual effects. Although faith has a hidden residence in the heart, yet it communicates itself to men by good works. It is, therefore, as if he had said, “That thy faith, by communicating itself, may demonstrate its efficacy in every good thing.”
The knowledge of every good thing denotes experience. He wishes that, by its effects, faith may be proved to be effectual. This takes place, when the men with whom we converse know our godly and holy life; and therefore, he says, of every good thing which is in you; for everything in us that is good makes known our faith.
Towards Christ Jesus. The phraseεἰς Χριστόν may be explained to mean “through Christ.” But, for my own part, if I were at liberty, I would rather translate it as equivalent toἐν Χριστῶ, “in Christ;” for the gifts of God dwell in us in such a manner, that nevertheless, we are partakers of them only so far as we are members of Christ. Yet because the words in you go before, I am afraid that the harshness of the expression would give offense. Accordingly, I have not ventured to make any alteration in the words, but only wished to mention it to my readers, that, after full consideration, they may choose either of those meanings which they prefer.
7. We have much grace and consolation. Although this reading is found in the majority of Greek copies, yet I think that it ought to be translated joy; for, since there is little difference betweenχάριν and χαράν, it would be easy to mistake a single letter. Besides, Paul elsewhere employs the wordχάριν to mean “joy;” at least, if we believe Chrysostom on this matter. What has “grace” to do with “consolation?”
For thy love. It is plain enough what he means, that he has great joy and consolation, because Philemon administered relief to the necessities of the godly. This was singular love, to feel so much joy on account of the benefit received by others. Besides, the Apostle does not only speak of his personal joy, but says that many rejoiced on account of the kindness and benevolence with which Philemon had aided religious men.
Because the bowels of the saints have been refreshed by thee, brother. “To refresh the bowels” is an expression used by Paul to mean, to give relief from distresses, or to aid the wretched in such a manner that, having their minds composed, and being free from all uneasiness and grief, they may find repose. “The bowels” mean the affections, andἀνάπαυσις denotes tranquillity; and therefore they are greatly mistaken who torture this passage so as to make it refer to the belly and the nourishment of the body.
8. Wherefore, while I have great confidence in Christ to command thee. That is, “though I have authority so that I might justly command thee, yet thy love makes me prefer to entreat thee.”
9. Being such a one. He claims the right to command on two grounds, that he is an elder, and that he is a prisoner for Christ He says that, on account of Philemon’s love, he chooses rather to entreat, because we interpose authority in commanding those things which we wish to extort by necessity even from the unwilling, but there is no need of commanding those who willingly obey. And because they who are ready of their own accord to do their duty listen more willingly to a calm statement of what is necessary to be done than to the exercise of authority, with good reason does Paul, when he has to deal with an obedient man, use entreaty. By his example he shows that pastors should endeavor to draw disciples gently rather than to drag them by force; and indeed, when, by condescending to entreaty, he foregoes his right, this has far greater power to obtain his wish than if he issued a command. Besides, he claims nothing for himself, but in Christ, that is, on account of the office which he has received from him; for he does not mean that they whom Christ has appointed to be apostles are destitute of authority.
What is proper. By adding this, he means that teachers have not power to enact whatever they please, but that their authority is confined within these limits, that they must not command anything but “what is proper,” and, in other respects, consistent with every man’s duty. Hence (as I said a little before) pastors are reminded that the hearts of their people must be soothed with all possible gentleness, wherever this method is likely to be more advantageous, but yet so as to know that they who are treated so gently have nothing less exacted from them than what they ought to do.
The designation “elder,” here, denotes not age, but office. He calls himself an apostle for this reason, that the person with whom he has to deal, and with whom he talks familiarly, is a fellow-laborer in the ministry of the word.
10. I beseech thee for my son. Since less weight is commonly attached to those prayers which are not founded in some cause of just commendation, Paul shows that Onesimus is so closely related to him as to afford a good reason for supplicating in his behalf. Here it is of importance to consider how deep is his condescension, when he gives the name of “son” to a slave, and a runaway, and a thief.
When he says that Onesimus has been begotten by him this must be understood to mean, that it was done by his ministry, and not by his power. To renew a soul of man and form it anew to the image of God — is not a human work, and it is of this spiritual regeneration that he now speaks. Yet because the soul is regenerated by faith, and “faith is by hearing,” (Rom 10:17,) on that, account he who administers the doctrine holds the place of a parent. Moreover, because the word of God preached by man is the seed of eternal life, we need not wonder that he from whose mouth we receive that seed is called a father. Yet, at the same time, we must believe that, while the ministry of a man is efficacious in regenerating the soul, yet, strictly speaking, God himself regenerates by the power of his Spirit. These modes of expression, therefore, do not imply any opposition between God and man, but only show what God does by means of men. When he says that he had begotten him in his bonds, this circumstance adds weight to the commendation.
12. Receive him, that is, my bowels. Nothing could have been more powerful for assuaging the wrath of Philemon; for if he had refused to forgive his slave, he would thus have used cruelty against “the bowels” of Paul. This is remarkable kindness displayed by Paul, that he did not hesitate to receive, as it were into his bowels, a contemptible slave, and thief, and runaway, so as to defend him from the indignation of his master. And, indeed, if the conversion of a man to God were estimated by us, at its proper value, we too would embrace, in the same manner, those who should give evidence that they had truly and sincerely repented.
13. Whom I was desirous to keep beside me. This is another argument for the purpose of appeasing Philemon, that Paul sends him back a slave, of whose services, in other respects, he stood greatly in need. It would have been extreme cruelty, to disdain so strong affection manifested by Paul. He likewise states indirectly, that it will be a gratification to himself to have Onesimus sent back to him rather than that he should be harshly treated at home.
That he might minister to me instead of thee in the bonds of the gospel. He now mentions other circumstances: first, Onesimus will supply the place of his master, by performing this service; secondly, Paul himself, through modesty, was unwilling to deprive Philemon of his right; and, thirdly, Philemon will receive more applause, if, after having had his slave restored to him, he shall willingly and generously send him back. From this last consideration we infer, that we ought to aid the martyrs of Christ by every kind office in our power, while they are laboring for the testimony of the gospel; for if exile, imprisonment stripes, blows, and violent seizing of our property, are believed by us to belong to the gospel, as Paul here calls them, whoever refuses to share and partake of them separates himself even from Christ. Undoubtedly the defense of the gospel belongs alike to all. Accordingly, he who endures persecution, for the sake of the gospel, ought not to be regarded as a private individual, but as one who publicly represents the whole Church. Hence it follows, that all believers ought to be united in taking care of it, so that they may not, as is frequently done, leave the gospel to be defended in the person of one man.
14. That thy benefit might not be by constraint. This is drawn from the general rule, that no sacrifices are acceptable to God but those which are freely offered. Paul speaks of almsgiving in the same manner. (2. o 9:7.)Τό ἀγαθον is here put for “acts of kindness,” and willingness is contrasted with constraint, when there is no other opportunity of putting to the test a generous and cheerful act of the will; for that duty which is generously performed, and not through influence exercised by others, is alone entitled to full praise. It is also worthy of observation, that Paul, while he acknowledges that Onesimus was to blame in past time, affirms that he is changed; and lest Philemon should have any doubt that his slave returns to him with a new disposition and different conduct, Paul says that he has made full trial of his repentance by personal knowledge.
15For perhaps he was separated. If we are angry on account of offenses committed by men, our minds ought to be soothed, when we perceive that those things which were done through malice have been turned to a different end by the purpose of God. A joyful result may be regarded as a remedy for evils, which is held out to us by the hand of God for blotting out offenses. Thus Joseph — when he takes into consideration, that the wonderful providence of God brought it about, that, though he was sold as a slave, yet he was elevated to that high rank, from which he could provide food for his brethren and his father — forgets the treachery and cruelty of his brethren, and says, that he was sent before on their account. (Gen 45:5.)
Paul therefore reminds Philemon that he ought not to be so greatly offended at the flight of his slave, for it was the cause of a benefit not to be regretted. So long as Onesimus was at heart a runaway, Philemon, though he had him in his house, did not actually enjoy him as his property; for he was wicked and unfaithful, and could not be of real advantage. He says, therefore, that he was a wanderer for a little time, that, by changing his place, he might be converted and become a new man. And he prudently softens everything, by calling the flight a departure, and adding, that it was onlyfor a time.
That thou mightest receive him for ever. Lastly, he contrasts the perpetuity of the advantage with the short duration of the loss.
But above a servant, a beloved brother. He next brings forward another advantage of the flight, that Onesimus has not only been corrected by means of it, so as to become a useful slave, but that he has become the “brother” of his master.
Especially to me. Lest the heart of Onesimus, wounded by the offense which was still fresh, should be reluctant to admit the brotherly appellation, Paul claims Onesimus first of all, as his own “brother.” Hence he infers that Philemon is much more closely related to him, because both of them had the same relationship in the Lord according to the Spirit, but, according to the flesh, Onesimus is a member of his family. Here we behold the uncommon modesty of Paul, who bestows on a worthless slave the title of a brother, and even calls him a dearly beloved brother to himself. And, indeed, it would be excessive pride, if we should be ashamed of acknowledging as our brother those whom God accounts to be his sons.
How much more to thee. By these words he does not mean that Philemon is higher in rank according to the Spirit; but the meaning is, “Seeing that he is especially a brother to me, he must be much more so to thee; for there is a twofold relationship between you.”
We must hold it to be an undoubted truth, that Paul does not rashly or lightly (as many people do) answer for a man of whom he knows little, or extol his faith before he has ascertained it by strong proofs, and therefore in the person of Onesimus there is exhibited a memorable example of repentance. We know how wicked the dispositions of slaves were, so that scarcely one in a hundred ever came to be of real use. As to Onesimus, we may conjecture from his flight, that he had been hardened in depravity by long habit and practice. It is therefore uncommon and wonderful virtue to lay aside the vices by which his nature was polluted, so that the Apostle can truly declare that he has now become another man.
From the same source proceeds a profitable doctrine, that the elect of God are sometimes brought to salvation by a method that could not have been believed, contrary to general expectation, by circuitous windings, and even by labyrinths. Onesimus lived in a religious and holy family, and, being banished from it by his own evil actions, he deliberately, as it were, withdraws far from God and from eternal life. Yet God, by hidden providence, wonderfully directs his pernicious flight, so that he meets with Paul.
17If, therefore, thou holdest me to be thy associate. Here he lowers himself still further, by giving up his right and his honor to a runaway, and putting him in his own room, as he will shortly afterwards offer himself to be his cautioner. He reckoned it to be of vast importance that Onesimus should have a mild and gentle master, that immoderate severity might not drive him to despair. That is the object which Paul toils so earnestly to accomplish. And his example warns us how affectionately we ought to aid a sinner who has given us proof of his repentance. And if it is our duty to intercede for others, in order to obtain forgiveness for those who repent, much more should we ourselves treat them with kindness and gentleness.
18If in any thing he hath done thee injury. Hence we may infer that Onesimus had likewise stolen something from his master, as was customary with fugitives; and yet he softens the criminality of the act, by adding, or if he oweth thee anything Not only was there a bond between them recognised by civil law, but the slave had become indebted to his master by the wrong which he had inflicted on him. So much the greater, therefore, was the kindness of Paul, who was even ready to give satisfaction for a crime.
19Not to tell thee that thou owest to me thyself. By this expression he intended to describe how confidently he believes that he will obtain it; as if he had said, “There is nothing that thou couldest refuse to give me, even though I should demand thyself.” To the same purpose is what follows about lodging and other matters, as we shall immediately see.
There remains one question. How does Paul — who, if he had not been aided by the churches, had not the means of living sparingly and frugally — promise to pay money? Amidst such poverty and want this does certainly appear to be a ridiculous promise; but it is easy to see that, by this form of expression, Paul beseeches Philemon not to ask anything back from his slave. Though he does not speak ironically, yet, by an indirect figure, he requests him to blot out and cancel this account. The meaning, therefore, is — “I wish that thou shouldest not contend with thy slave, unless thou choosest to have me for thy debtor in his stead.” For he immediately adds that Philemon is altogether his own; and he who claims the whole man as his property, need not give himself uneasiness about paying money.
20Yea, brother. This affirmation is used in order to increase the ardor of the exhortation; as if he had said — “Now shall it be clearly proved that there hath been no variance between thee and me, but that, on the contrary, thou art sincerely attached to me, and that all that thou hadst is at my disposal, if thou pardon offenses and receive into favor him who is so closely related to me.”
Refresh my bowels in the Lord. He again repeats the same form of expressions which he had previously employed. Hence we infer that the faith of the gospel does not overturn civil government, or set aside the power and authority which masters have over slaves. For Philemon was not a man of the ordinary rank, but a fellow-laborer of Paul in cultivating Christ’s vineyard; and yet that power over a slave which was permitted by the law is not taken away, but he is only commanded to receive him kindly by granting forgiveness, and is even humbly besought by Paul to restore him to his former condition.
When Paul pleads so humbly in behalf of another, we are reminded how far distant they are from true repentance who obstinately excuse their vices, or who, without shame and without tokens of humility, acknowledge indeed that they have sinned, but in such a manner as if they had never sinned. When Onesimus saw so distinguished an apostle of Christ plead so eagerly in his behalf, he, must undoubtedly have been much more humbled, that he might bend the heart of his master to be merciful to him. To the same purpose is the excuse which he offers (Phl 1:21) for writing so boldly, because he knew that Philemon would do more than he had been requested.
22But at the same time prepare for me a lodging. This confidence must have powerfully excited and moved Philemon; and next, he holds out to him the hope of being gratified by his own arrival. Although we do not know whether or not Paul was afterwards released from prison, yet there is no absurdity in this statement, even though he was disappointed of the hope which he cherished about God’s temporal kindness. He had no confident hope of his release, further than if it pleased God. Accordingly, he always kept his mind in suspense, till the will of God was made known by the result.
That through your prayers I shall be given to you. Here it deserves notice, that he says that everything that believers obtain “through their prayers,” is “given” to them; for hence we infer that our prayers, though they are not unsuccessful, yet have no power through their own merit; for what is yielded to them is of free grace.
24Demas. This is the same person who afterwards forsook him, as he complains in the Second Epistle to Timothy (2Ti 4:10.) And if one of Paul’s assistants, having become weary and discouraged, was afterwards drawn aside by the vanity of the world, let no man reckon too confidently on the zeal of a single year; but, considering how large a portion of the journey still remains to be accomplished, let him pray to God for steadfastness.
END OF THE COMMENTARIES ON THE EPISTLE TO PHILEMON.
Phm 1:1. Paul, a prisoner, &c.- St Paul intimates, Phm 1:8-9 that he chose to lay aside all his apostolic authority, and to beg it as a favour of Philemon to be reconciled to Onesimus; and, in order to touch and melt the heart of Philemon, he begins with styling himself a prisoner of Jesus Christ. This affable and condescending manner of address must be owned to be more agreeable and engaging than that of authority and command. The apostle might here call Timothy the brother, and not his son, as he does elsewhere, to add weight and dignity to his character, and thereby render his name of more moment in behalf of Onesimus. Whoever contributed any way towards helping forward the gospel, were called the apostle's fellow-labourers. See Phm 1:24.
Phm 1:2. Apphia,- This was a Roman name. St. Paul writes it Apphia, after the Hebrew manner; the Romans wrote it Appia. She is conjectured by some of the fathers, and asserted by others, to have been the wife of Philemon; and as she is mentioned next to Philemon, and beforeArchippus, who was a minister in the church at Colosse, the conjecture seems not improbable. By the apostle's styling her sister (according to the several ancient copies and versions,) or the beloved, according to the common reading, she appears to have been a Christian; and it is most likely that she was addressed, in order to engage her interest in behalf of Onesimus, with a view to whose affair the whole Epistle was evidently written, in its primary sense. Archippus has been generally thought to be Philemon's son; probably he was one of St. Paul's assistants, who had some gifts of the Spirit, and had devoted himself very much to the work of the ministry in Colosse. They might have been called fellow-soldiers with the apostles, who with them fought the good fight of faith; for the Christian life is a warfare: but the apostle seems to have used the phrase for "such as in those times of persecution took pains to preach and spread the Christian religion," Php 2:25. 1Ti 1:18. 2Ti 2:3-4. By thechurch in Philemon's house, the apostle seems to have meant his whole family, who were Christians, and united together in Christ's worship. See Rom 16:5. 1Co 16:19.
Phm 1:4.- The apostle does not proceed immediately to the main subject of the Epistle; but, after the usual salutations, comes nearer to the point; with the most admirable address thanking God that Philemon had been as generous and kind already, and had done as much in other instances, as he was now going to request of him. He urges the benevolent and good man by his own past example; as if he had said, "Only continue to act like yourself, and then you will do all that I am now going to desire of you." This wascertainly a most grateful and insinuating way of pointing out to Philemon his duty, and the most proper and beautiful introduction to this particular request: Phm 1:4-7.
Phm 1:5. Hearing of thy love and faith,- "Hearing, with greater pleasure than I can express, of the steady faith which thou hast, and always maintainest, toward the Lord Jesus Christ, as the great object to which our faith as Christians is directed, and of thy ardent love to all the saints, who are the excellent of the earth, and the most deserving of our esteem and affection." The words of this verse stand in the original as they are placed in our version; and many instances of such a transposition are produced by Dr. Whitby, in his learned note on this place; but Mr. Blackwall justly observes, that our language does not admit of the like, and therefore proposes the rendering which we have followed in our paraphrase above.
Phm 1:6. That the communication of thy faith, &c.- "It is therefore matter of my most fervent prayer, thatthese promising openings may be abundantly answered; and that thy communion with us in the faith of our blessed Redeemer, the advantages of which thou dost now so happily share, may be more and more apparently efficacious, in extorting from all that behold it, the due acknowledgment of every good and valuable thing which is in you all towards Christ Jesus, and all those whom he is pleased to own and favour."
Phm 1:8.- After this preparation, the apostle comes to the main subject of his Epistle; which was, to request Philemon to take Onesimus into his favour again. The main argument which he urges is, that he, through divine grace, had converted Onesimus to genuine Christianity, who would therefore prove another sort of servant than he had formerly been: such softness of expression, warmth of affection, and elegance of address, are here made use of, as deserve the highest approbation.
Phm 1:9. Paul the aged,- It is generally thought that this Epistle was written about the year of Christ 62; and if we suppose St. Paul to have been twenty-four years old when Stephen was stoned, which is consistent with his being called a young man;-that being about the year 34, (for we have not data sufficient absolutely to determine the exact time,) he would be now fifty-two; and considering how much his constitution would probably be impaired by his fatigues and sufferings, before that time he might properly enough call himself πρεσβυτης,- one advanced in age, though not an old man. Let us now attend a little to the force of the argument contained in the present verse. It is as if the apostle had said, "I am become a humble petitioner;-and consider with yourself who it is that begs this favour: It is Paul;-a name which once sounded pleasing in your ears, and a person for whom you professed a high regard; that very person, who has travelled many a hundred miles by sea and by land, through numberless difficulties, and much ill treatment for his attempts to make men wise, holy, and good through the grace of God in Jesus Christ: to whom you, Philemon, as well as many thousands, owe instrumentally the salvation of their souls, and whose very name might carry init the force of many arguments: the person who now humbly petitions you, is one who might address you in a different manner: he has been illuminated with abundance of revelations from Heaven, favoured with the power of working numerous, great, and beneficial miracles, and by the laying on of his hands is, under the Spirit of God, able to communicate spiritual gifts or miraculous powers unto others. He has been sent out among the nations, has baffled the wisdom of the world, has prevailed against the eloquence of the orators, and has overturned the schemes of the heathen philosophers, and Jewish scribes and rabbies: he has, through grace, made numerous converts, both among Jews and Gentiles; turning men from ignorance, superstition, idolatry, and vice, to knowledge, holiness, piety, virtue, and happiness. He bears a commission of a sublime nature, and of the utmost importance to the welfare of mankind; and he carries his credentials along with him: he is an ambassador for Christ, as though God did beseech you by him; and he prays you, in Christ's stead, be you reconciled to Onesimus again. Permit me also to add another circumstance, which with all humane persons, and more especially with all genuine Christians, must have great weight: the aged ambassador is now also the prisoner of Jesus Christ. I have been almost two years in the custody of a soldier, and often chained to him; confined to a disagreeable companion, and very much in his power, and at his mercy. Inquire now at Rome for the aged ambassador of Jesus Christ,-you will find him in custody, like a criminal; though really wearing that chain onlyfor preaching the gospel, especially among you Gentiles. And, finally, consider him whose ambassador and prisoner I am; my commission is from a Person of highest dignity, for whose sake I can endure a prison, and joyfully wear this chain; and I am persuaded that your regard to him is not small, nor will you suffer an ambassador and prisoner of Christ to petition in vain." Almost every word carries in it the force of an argument; Philemon's love to the person of St. Paul,-his regard for his high office and dignity, as the aged ambassador of Christ,-his love and cheerful obedience to the Lord Jesus himself, are all touched upon or intimated in this short sentence
Phm 1:10. I beseech thee for my son Onesimus,- The order of the original words is this: I entreat thee for a son of mine, whom I have begotten in my bonds,-Onesimus. Thus the mind is kept in an agreeable suspense; and it must have affected Philemon in such a manner, as to render it impossible for him to withstand an entreaty proposed with so much delicacy and modesty.
Phm 1:11. To thee unprofitable, but now profitable, &c.- The word Onesimus is generallyknown to signifyprofitable, and Onesiphorus is much of the same import: they were names which might perhaps have been given to slaves by way of good omen, expressing expectation that they would bring advantage to their masters; and it is very evident that St. Paul refers to the etymology of the word.
Phm 1:12. Mine own bowels:- There are a number of passages in the ancient Greek and Latin writers, where children are called the bowels of their parents. Observe how the apostle rises in his expressions: in Phm 1:10 it was, my son Onesimus: here it is mine own bowels, or "my most dearly and tenderly-beloved son;" and Phm 1:17 it is, myself, or my very self. There is that in Christianity which so far throws down distinctions, as to set all good men upon a level,without destroying in the least degree that subordination which is essential to the existence of society. A slave, upon becoming a good Christian, is the son, the friend, the brother, the bowels, and the very soul or self of the great apostle of the Gentiles: such an alteration does the gospel make in spirituals, while it destroys not the civil distinctions among men. How graceful is the apostle's manner of condescension! He had before laid aside all his apostolic authority, and entreated Philemon as a supplicant: he now humbles himself to a level with Onesimus, to exalt Onesimus's character, and to intimate the worthiness of the person for whom he was petitioning. With what zeal and ardent affection does he serve his friend! How skilfully and strenuously does he plead his cause! adding motive to motive, though in the most concise and elegant manner, like one who was unwilling to take a denial. Scipio Gentilis has endeavoured to shew, that this Epistle has several of the beauties which shine in Demosthenes and Tully, and which Aristotle and Longinus have admired and celebrated in the ancient poets and orators.
Phm 1:13. In the bonds of the gospel:- This is the fourth time that St. Paul has, in this short Epistle, put Philemon in mind of his bonds: he touches them a fifth time, Phm 1:23. And whoever will be at the pains to compare the places in which he has mentioned those bonds, and other afflictions, will find that he has always done sowith an elegant propriety, which marks out his great penetration and judgment. See particularly Act 26:29. 2Co 11:23. Eph 4:1; Eph 6:20. Php 1:7. 2Ti 2:8-9. &c.
Phm 1:14. That thy benefit- That is, "Thy goodness to Onesimus, in readily pardoning him, and treating him kindly for the future."
Phm 1:15. For perhaps he therefore departed- As Phm 1:13-14 were thrown in by way of parenthesis, this 15th verse must be considered as connected in sense with Phm 1:12. As the event had been so happy, St. Paul ascribes it to God: Onesimus designed no such thing by his flight; Philemon did not send him to Rome for that purpose, and St. Paul had not sent to Colosse for him: there was no human contrivance to accomplish so great and good an event; but God, in the course of his wise providence, had so ordered it, that Onesimus's going to Rome had been the happy occasion of his becoming a gracious Christian. Philemon, therefore, could not be angry at such an event, unless he had a mind to quarrel with Divine Providence, the progress of the gospel, the conversion and welfare of Onesimus, and what would in the end prove his own advantage. Thus the patriarch Joseph ascribed his going into Egypt to Divine Providence, though it had been occasioned by the treachery and malice of his brethren. See Gen 45:5; Gen 50:20. It may not be improper to attend to the apostle's soft and tender manner of expressing this: Perhaps-he speaks a little dubiously: he was unwilling to pry into the secret views of Providence; but the event seemed to justify such a construction. The word 'Εχωρισθη we have translated he departed;-which is softer than to have said, he absconded, or ran away, like a criminal; but the Greek word signifies he was separated, which is still softer. That separation had been but of very short continuance; προς οραν, for an hour; for so short a space, that he could scarcely be accounted a fugitive; especially as he had returned voluntarily, and so much improved. He was separated from his master for an hour, that he might receive him again for ever. In which words St. Paul promises, in effect, that Onesimus would not run away any more: he was fully persuaded of the sincerity of his repentance and conversion, and that he would behave well for the time to come. See Exo 2:6. Deu 15:17. Leviticus 25.
Phm 1:16. Not now as a servant,- The word Δουλον should have been translated a slave. Slaves were then bought and sold, like cattle, in the market; and the descendants of such slaves were born slaves: they did not receive wages, nor could they at their pleasure hire themselves to other masters, but were looked upon as their master's goods and possessions. Christianity, as we have often observed, does not alter men's civil obligations or privileges; but it should be observed, that the buying and selling men for slaves is quite another matter, and one which much concerns those who are engaged in it very seriously to consider: and it is with great pleasure, that on this occasion I refer to Mr. Granville Sharpe's humane and benevolent treatise on the subject, entitled, "A Representation of the Injustice and dangerous Tendency of tolerating Slavery."
Phm 1:17. If thou count me therefore a partner,- "If, therefore, thou esteemest me as a friend and companion in Christ." L'Enfant translates it, "I conjure thee, therefore, by all that is common between us, receive him as myself." But the main thought which prevailed in the apostle's mind, seems to have been the participation they both had in the blessings of the gospel, which was the clearer bond of their friendship. The apostle petitions like one quite in earnest. See on Phm 1:12. Christian friendship is not like the friendships of this world, which are often confederacies in vice,orleagues in pleasure: it is founded on truth, holiness, piety, and extensive virtue, and is therefore the warmest, sincerest, and most durable friendship; not inconsistent, but accompanied with benevolence to all mankind.
Phm 1:18. If he hath wronged thee,- Here is a plain confirmation of the doctrine of restitution. Where any person has injured another, he is obliged by the laws of God and conscience to make reparation as far as he is able, even where the law of the land may not compel him to do so; unless the injured party freely forgive him. We may here again observe how cautiously the apostle proceeds: he would not mention the theft or robbery, till he had prepared the way by saying a number of kind things of Onesimus; and then, when he comes to touch upon it, how soft is his language! He does not call it theft, or robbery, but wronging or injuring him in some respect; or, owing him some money; which last is the language in case of a debt honourably contracted. Observe further, the apostle does not absolutely assert, that Onesimus had done Philemon any injury, or owed him money; but if it was so: and finally we may compare the apostle's circumstances with those of Philemon. The apostle was a prisoner; Philemon at full ease and liberty: the apostle poor; Philemon most probably master of a plentiful estate; who was much more likely to have bestowed something upon the apostle, than to have taken any thing from him. But St. Paul would save something out of the kindness and charity of his friends while he was a prisoner, or work with hisown hands when he was set at liberty, to raise the money, rather than restitution should not be made, if Philemon should insist upon it: or Philemon might reckon it a discharge, in part at least, of the debt which he owed the apostle as his spiritual father under the grace of God.
Phm 1:19. I Paul have written it with mine own hand,- The apostle seems commonly to have dictated, and another person to have wrote down what he said; or to have written a copy, and another transcribed it; (see 2Th 3:17. 2Pe 3:1.) but he probably wrote all this letter with his own hand; not only to engage to make restitution, if demanded, but to let Philemon see how much he interested himself in this affair. He directly promises to make restitution; but in an oblique manner only insinuates his own claim upon Philemon; whose conversion being one of the happy consequences of St. Paul's ministry, the apostle might justly saythat Philemon owed to him even his own self, or his very soul. How great an obligation has he expressed in these few words!
Phm 1:20. Yea, brother,- The word 'Αναπαυσον, rendered refresh, is very emphatical; it literally signifies to appease, or quiet; which strongly intimates the emotion which the apostle felt, through the ardour of his concern for Onesimus, and seems to represent the eagerness of his desire for his re-establishment in Philemon's favour, by the appetite of hunger. Compare Phm 1:7 where the same word is used, and seems to be referred to here with peculiar beauty and propriety. See Mat 10:40, &c. and Mat 25:40; Mat 25:45.
Phm 1:21. In thy obedience- The word 'Υπακοη frequently signifies obedience. Here it must be understood for compliance, inasmuch as the apostle had declared, Phm 1:8-9 he could have commanded, but chose rather to entreat.
Phm 1:22. But withal prepare me, &c.- The apostle's desiring Philemon to prepare him a lodging, shews that he had expectations of being set at liberty, and that then he designed them a visit at Colosse: it may also lead us to conclude, that this Epistle was written not long before the apostle was set at liberty from his first confinement at Rome, mentioned Act 28:30. See also Php 2:24. We have observed before, that Philemon was a rich man; his house appears to have been a place of entertainment for the Christians who travelled that way; and therefore St. Paul desired to have a lodging among the rest: but the principal view seems to have been, not only to tell Philemon the agreeable news that he was likely to have such a guest, but to put him upon considering how he could see the apostle's face, if he denied his reasonable and earnest request for Onesimus. See Act 12:5; Act 12:25.
Phm 1:25. Be with your spirit,- 'Υμων, your, is in the plural number, and denotes not Philemon's spirit only, but that of his whole family also, or all the persons addressed in the beginning of the Epistle. See 1Th 5:28. We have frequently hinted at the excellence of this Epistle; which must be allowed to be a master-piece in its kind, considered as a merely human composition; how much more so as dictated by the infallible Spirit of God! We could with the learned reader to compare it with an epistle of Pliny, which seems to have been written on a similar occasion:-lib. 9: ep. 21 which, though penned by one universally allowed to excel in the epistolary stile, and though it has undoubtedly many beauties, yet must be acknowledged by every impartial reader to be greatly inferior to this animated composition of our apostle.
Inferences.-How amiable is the condescension of the holy apostle! how charming and delicate his address in this whole chapter! St. Paul lays aside the authority, which his office, his age, his suffering, gave him, to address Philemon, as on a foot of equal friendship, choosing rather by love to entreat. Let the example be imitated by those in superior stations and relations of life; and let them learn likewise, from the tenderness which such a man expresses about this poor slave, in whom he traced the appearance of a truly Christian temper, to interest themselves in the happiness of those whose rank is far beneath their own; and learn to make the situation of their servants easy by a kind and friendly treatment. Well may such a care be expected, especially when we can look on such as brethren, beloved in the Lord, and partakers with us in the same Saviour and hope.
Let those, to whom God hath blessed the labours of his faithful ministers, as the means of their conversion, remember it with pleasure, and ascribe it to the riches of divine grace, to which all is originally to be traced; remembering also, that there is a sense in which they owe even themselves to those who have been honoured as the instruments of bringing them to Christ, without an acquaintance with whom they had lost themselves, and been ruined for ever. Let the kindness which St. Paul expresses for Onesimus, in being willing that his debt to Philemon should be charged to his account, lead us to reflect on our infinite obligations to a gracious Redeemer, who has paid a complete ransom for the sins of the world. And may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with our spirit, to produce those strong impressions of wonder, thankfulness, and love, which ought to fill it on every remembrance of such overflowing and triumphant mercy as our adorable Saviour has manifested to us! Amen.
[ See Bishop Smallridge, Lardner, Benson, Michaelis, Locke, Whitby, Blackwall, Doddridge, Ward, Bentley, Wetstein, Wolfius, Pricaeus, Le Clerc, Granville Sharpe, Foster, Ralphelius, Stockius, and Theodoret.]
REFLECTIONS.-1st, We have the preface to this short but beautiful epistle; and may observe,
1. The persons from whom it comes: from Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ, now suffering for the gospel cause; and Timothy our brother: and where two such eminent servants of the Saviour concurred in a request, what could be denied them?
2. The persons to whom it is directed: unto Philemon our dearly beloved brother in Christ, and fellow-labourer in the gospel; and to our beloved Apphia, and Archippus our fellow-soldier, in the glorious warfare under Christ the Captain of our salvation; and to the church in thy house, his whole family being converts to the faith, or the faithful at Colosse assembled there for worship; and, by thus saluting them, he seems desirous to interest them on his behalf, and to solicit their concurrence in the request he was about to make.
3. The salutation. Grace to you, in all its comprehensive import; and peace, flowing from a sense of pardon and acceptance; and both proceeding from God our Father, from his free and unmerited love, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, by whom all spiritual blessings have been purchased, and through whom alone they are bestowed upon us.
4. His thankfulness and prayer. I thank my God, whom I ardently love, making mention of thee always in my prayers, whenever I approach a throne of grace, hearing of thy love and faith, which thou hast toward the Lord Jesus, and toward all saints; for which I offer my unceasing praises, and add my fervent prayers, that the communication of thy faith may become effectual, to engage thee to every farther instance of generosity and benevolence, by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you, in, or towards, Christ Jesus, to whom much glory will redound, and many thanks be offered by those who feel the benefit of these gracious dispositions which the Saviour hath implanted, and which manifest themselves in every work and labour of love toward his people for his sake: for we have great joy and consolation in hearing of thy distinguished love, because the bowels of the saints are refreshed by thee, brother, who gratefully acknowledge thy extensive charity; and this emboldens me to hope, that in the present instance my petition will be successful.
2nd, The apostle comes to the main business of the Epistle, to entreat for poor Onesimus: and he insinuates a multitude of the most powerful arguments which should engage Philemon to grant his request, and be reconciled to his fugitive servant.
1. He might have used his apostolic authority, but he prefers the entreaty of love. Wherefore, though I might be much bold in Christ, to enjoin thee that which is convenient, and it would have been your duty in the present case implicitly to obey; yet for love's sake I rather beseech thee, waving all superiority, and pleading by that love which Jesus hath shewn to you, and I feel towards you, being such an one as Paul the aged, grown old in the service of our common Lord, and now also a prisoner of Jesus Christ; therefore I cannot but be assured, whatever would be a comfort to me in these declining years, and serve to make my chain lighter, Philemon, for his Master's sake and mine, will not fail to grant.-Inimitable is the manner in which the apostle introduces the point that he had in view. Having raised every tender sentiment of love and friendship in his bosom, he,
2. Beautifully introduces in the most endearing light the subject of his request. I beseech thee for my son, one that now stands in that near relation to me,-and startle not at the name,-strange as it may appear,-the person is no other than Onesimus, whom I have begotten in my bonds. So mysterious are the ways of Providence, that though a fugitive from thee, he has led him to my prison, there to receive through my instrumentality the gracious offers of the blessings of the gospel.
3. He suggests the happy change now wrought upon him, which in time past was to thee unprofitable; with penitent shame he has acknowledged his former ill behaviour, over which I would cast a veil of oblivion; but now can speak of him as a different man, whose spirit and actions I am confident will correspond with his name, and he will be found profitable to thee, if received again into thy service; and, as I have proved by some experience, would have been most useful to me. Note; (1.) When we speak of the faults of penitents, it should be with tenderness, not severity. (2.) Wherever divine grace comes, it makes a blessed alteration. (3.) A Christian servant is a truly profitable member in every family.
4. His own love to this signal convert should engage Philemon's to him. When I have sent again back to thy service; thou therefore receive him, that is mine own bowels; most tenderly beloved, and for whom I plead with all the affection that I should feel for my own child.
5. He had deprived himself of the very useful service which Onesimus would have afforded him, that he might restore him to his rightful master; referring it to Philemon whether he would send him back again to Rome, or not. Whom I would have retained with me, that in thy stead he might have ministered unto me in the bonds of the gospel, and done me those kind offices which I know thou wouldst have been happy to have afforded me thyself. But without thy mind would I do nothing, nor detain him longer here; that, if it shall please thee to do me the favour of sending him hither again to minister unto me, thy benefit should not appear to be as it were of necessity, but willingly, as a voluntary act of generosity and friendship.
3rdly, The apostle proceeds to suggest other arguments to engage Philemon kindly to receive this fugitive.
1. The mercy God had shewed him. For perhaps he therefore departed for a season; so tenderly does the apostle mention his fault in flying his master's service, since it was now so wonderfully by God's providence over-ruled for good; that thou shouldest receive him for ever, as a servant for life, if thou pleasest; and if you both continue perseveringly to cleave to Jesus, a companion to all eternity: yet not now as a common servant, or slave, but above a servant, even as a brother in the gospel, beloved and dear; especially to me, who have been the happy instrument of his conversion; but how much more unto thee, both in the flesh, as a member of thy family, become most faithful and industrious; and in the Lord, as equally a partaker in the blessings of the Redeemer's grace and love. Note; (1.) God sometimes amazingly over-rules evil for the production of the greatest good. (2.) Though Christianity maintains in the strictest manner all due subordination of stations, yet real Christian servants will have especial respect and regard shewn them by pious masters, who, as members of the same body, esteem them as their beloved brethren.
2. The communion which subsisted between them, as fellow-heirs of the same kingdom. If thou count me therefore a partner, a partaker of the same grace, and an heir of the same glory with thee, receive him as myself, with hearty affection and sincere reconciliation.
3. He becomes Onesimus's surety for any wrong that Philemon had sustained. If, as I have reason to apprehend, he hath wronged thee or oweth thee ought, put that on mine account. I Paul have written it with mine own hand, I will repay it, and engage hereby to make you full satisfaction if demanded. Albeit I do not say to thee how deeply thou art indebted to me, as the instrument under God, and that thou owest unto me, what is infinitely more valuable than all the wealth of the world, even thine own soul also.
4. This instance of his condescension to his request, would give the apostle singular satisfaction, as a fresh proof of Philemon's fidelity. Yea, brother, let me have joy of thee in the Lord: on thy own account, as well as for the sake of Onesimus, I ask it, that I may have rejoicing over thee, as a living member of Jesus. Refresh my bowels in the Lord, and give me this consolation in my bonds, for that Redeemer's sake in whose name I urge my request, Note; (1.) Christians are brethren, and, as such, should delight to serve each other. (2.) It is highly the people's duty to endeavour to comfort their ministers, and to do every thing which may give them joy, and encourage them under their labours and sufferings for the gospel's sake.
5. He concludes with expressing his confidence in Philemon, which laid the strongest obligations upon him not to disappoint his expectations. Having confidence in thy obedience to our Lord's command to forgive every injury, I wrote unto thee, knowing that thou wilt also do more than I say, and shew greater kindness to poor Onesimus than I have requested, exceeding even my desire.
4thly, Having finished his main business, he closes,
1. With the intimation of a visit shortly. But withal prepare are me also a lodging: for I trust that through your prayers I shall be delivered from my present confinement, and be given unto you, as a fresh act of favour from God, who, for your further edification, will enable me once more to minister his blessed gospel among you. Note; (1.) Prayer is the effectual means to procure all mercies for ourselves, and for each other. (2.) To have God's ministers spared to labour yet longer among us, is a signal favour.
2. He sends the salutations of many who desired to be kindly remembered to him.
3. He concludes with his usual benediction. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, in all its happy fruits, and eternally permanent effects, be with your spirit, with thee, and with all that are near and dear to thee, to bless, preserve, and keep you for his everlasting kingdom. Amen.
