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Philemon 1:1
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Greeting

1 Paul, a aprisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, To Philemon our beloved friend and fellow laborer,  
2 to1 the beloved Apphia, aArchippus our fellow soldier, and to the church in your house:  
3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Philemon’s Love and Faith

4 aI thank my God, making mention of you always in my prayers,  
5 ahearing of your love and faith which you have toward the Lord Jesus and toward all the saints,  
6 that the sharing of your faith may become effective aby the acknowledgment of bevery good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.  
7 For we1 have great joy and consolation in your love, because the4 hearts of the saints have been refreshed by you, brother.  

The Plea for Onesimus

8 Therefore, though I might be very bold in Christ to command you what is fitting,
9 yet for love’s sake I rather appeal to you—being such a one as Paul, the aged, and now also a prisoner of Jesus Christ—
10 I appeal to you for my son aOnesimus, whom I have begotten while in my chains,  
11 who once was unprofitable to you, but now is profitable to you and to me.
12 I am sending him1 back. You therefore receive him, that is, my own2 heart,  
13 whom I wished to keep with me, that on your behalf he might minister to me in my chains for the gospel.
14 But without your consent I wanted to do nothing, athat your good deed might not be by compulsion, as it were, but voluntary.  
15 For perhaps he departed for a while for this purpose, that you might receive him forever,
16 no longer as a slave but more than a slave—a beloved brother, especially to me but how much more to you, both in the aflesh and in the Lord.  

Philemon’s Obedience Encouraged

17 If then you count me as a partner, receive him as you would me.
18 But if he has wronged you or owes anything, put that on my account.
19 I, Paul, am writing with my own ahand. I will repay—not to mention to you that you owe me even your own self besides.  
20 Yes, brother, let me have joy from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in the Lord.
21 aHaving confidence in your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say.  
22 But, meanwhile, also prepare a guest room for me, for aI trust that bthrough your prayers I shall be granted to you.  

Farewell

23 aEpaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, greets you,  
24 as do aMark, bAristarchus, cDemas, dLuke, my fellow laborers.  
25 aThe grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen. 
Commentaries:
Barnes' Notes
<< Titus 3:15   Philemon 1:2 >>


Philemon 1:1

Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ - A prisoner at Rome in the cause of Jesus Christ; Ephesians 3:1 note; II Timothy 1:8 note.

And Timothy our brother - Timothy, it seems, had come to him agreeably to his request; II Timothy 4:9. Paul not unfrequently joins his name with his own in his epistles; II Corinthians 1:1; Philippians 1:1; Colossians 1:1; I Thessalonians 1:1; II Thessalonians 1:1. As Timothy was of that region of country, and as he had accompanied Paul in his travels, he was doubtless acquainted with Philemon.

Unto Philemon our dearly beloved, and fellow-labourer - See Introduction, Section 1. The word rendered "fellow-laborer" sunergō , does not determine what office he held, if he held any, or in what respects he was a fellow-laborer with Paul. It means a co-worker, or helper, and doubtless here means that he was a helper or fellow-worker in the great cause to which Paul had devoted his life, but whether as a preacher, or deacon, or a private Christian, can not be ascertained. It is commonly, in the New Testament, applied to ministers of the gospel, though by no means exclusively, and in several instances it cannot be determined whether it denotes ministers of the gospel, or those who furthered the cause of religion, and cooperated with the apostle in some other way than preaching. See the following places, which are the only ones where it occurs in the New Testament; Romans 16:3, Romans 16:9,Romans 16:21; I Corinthians 3:9; II Corinthians 1:24; II Corinthians 8:23; Philippians 2:25; Philippians 4:3; Colossians 4:11; I Thessalonians 3:2; Philemon 1:24; III John 1:8.




Other Barnes' Notes entries containing Philemon 1:1:

Philemon 1:23

 

<< Titus 3:15   Philemon 1:2 >>

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