Philemon 1:19 says, I Paul have written it with mine own hand, I will repay it: albeit I do not say to thee how thou owest unto me even thine own self besides. Paul said he wrote this letter by his own hand and that he would repay Philemon if he thought Paul owed him anything for keeping Onesimus with him for a while. We cannot just keep things that belong to others even if they are useful to us in carrying out God’s word without their permission. This is not to say that Onesimus was a thing instead of a person, but we generally don’t have slaves to keep today. Then Paul seems to remind Philemon that he owed his own life to Paul, which I think would be his spiritual conversion, though Paul may have saved his life at some point in time. Though we might remind someone that we have led to the Lord that we did this if we need something from them, I don’t believe that we should.
Verse twenty adds, Yea, brother, let me have joy of thee in the Lord: refresh my bowels in the Lord. Paul asked that Philemon allow him to have joy in him in the Lord and refresh his bowels or heart as we would say. This was a continuation of Paul appealing to Philemon to act in faith in Christ in dealing with Onesimus and with Paul himself. It is always a good thing for us to ask for other Christians to act out of faith in Christ as they deal with us if they think we owe them something.
Verse twenty-one continues, Having confidence in thy obedience I wrote unto thee, knowing that thou wilt also do more than I say. Paul then said that he had confidence in Philemon’s obedience to God, knowing that he would do even more than Paul asked. We should always expect the best of our fellow Christians as we interact with them, and they should always expect the best from us.
Verse twenty-two states, But withal prepare me also a lodging: for I trust that through your prayers I shall be given unto you. Paul then asked Philemon to prepare a place for him to stay since he hoped that prayers would be answered and he would be able to come to Philemon soon. We shouldn’t be ashamed to ask our fellow believers for help if we need it to accomplish God’s purpose, but it should always be done in prayer. Likewise, they shouldn’t be ashamed to ask us for help if they need it.
Verse twenty-three adds, There salute thee Epaphras, my fellowprisoner in Christ Jesus; Paul asked Philemon to salute Epaphras, whom he referred to as a fellow prisoner in Jesus Christ, which implies he had also been imprisoned for his faith. We should always uplift those who are imprisoned for their faith in Christ today in prayer, even if we have never been imprisoned ourselves.
Verse twenty-four continues, Marcus, Aristarchus, Demas, Lucas, my fellowlabourers. Paul then mentioned four men that he referred to as fellow laborers that Philemon was to salute as well. These four were listed as different from Epaphras, which would imply they had never been imprisoned for their faith. Once more, we should always be in prayer for our fellow believers and lift them up in prayer as they do God’s work.
Verse twenty-five concludes, The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen. Paul closed by asking that the grace of their Lord Jesus Christ be with Philemon in his spirit. This should always be our prayer for our fellow believers.
