The big idea
In short: every person bears God’s image. Paul asks Philemon to receive Onesimus “not now as a servant, but above a servant, a brother beloved” (verse 16).
Paul offers to pay any debt himself: “put that on mine account” (verse 18).
The rule underneath: Law 3 · Image, not tool
Every human bears God’s image. Never use a person as a thing.
Keep it: People are treated with dignity.
Break it: People get used, bought, and thrown away.
Shows up in: Exodus, Deuteronomy, Galatians, Colossians, James
Other rules in this book: Repair, Power serves
Live it: Playbook 01 · How to be a person
15For perhaps he therefore departed for a season, that thou shouldest receive him for ever; 16Not now as a servant, but above a servant, a brother beloved, specially to me, but how much more unto thee, both in the flesh, and in the Lord? 17If thou count me therefore a partner, receive him as myself. 18If he hath wronged thee, or oweth thee ought, put that on mine account;Philemon 1:15-18 · KJV
At a glance
- What it is
- A one-chapter letter from Paul, in prison, to Philemon, a church host in Colossae (verse 2; Colossians 4:9). 25 verses.
- Who wrote it
- Paul. Nearly all scholars agree.
- When
- About AD 55–62, from prison, probably at the same time as Colossians.
- Read it in
- About 3 minutes.
What it says
Verses 1–7 · Thanks. Paul praises Philemon’s love, which has “refreshed” the church.
Verses 8–22 · The request. Paul could order him, but asks “for love’s sake” (verse 9). Onesimus, whose name means “useful,” was once “unprofitable” but now is “profitable” (verse 11), a pun. He became a believer while with Paul. Paul sends him back and asks Philemon to “receive him as myself” (verse 17). Any debt, Paul will pay (verses 18–19). He trusts Philemon will “do more than I say” (verse 21).
Go deeper
- Original words. Adelphos, “brother” (verse 16), puts slave and owner in the same family. Koinōnos, “partner” (verse 17), is a business word: Paul treats himself, Philemon, and Onesimus as partners.
- The setting. The letter is addressed to a church, not just one man (verse 2). Philemon would answer in front of everyone.
- How the laws interlock. Law 3 is verse 16: a person, not property. Law 12 is verses 18–19: Paul pays the cost of repair. Law 11 is verses 8–9: Paul uses love, not rank.
Hard parts
Why not say “free him”?
What it says Paul does not order Philemon to free Onesimus. He asks him to receive him as “a brother beloved… both in the flesh, and in the Lord” (verse 16), and hints at “more than I say” (verse 21).
The rule underneath Every human bears God’s image. Never use a person as a thing.
What people added Some readers see Paul quietly undermining slavery from inside. Others see him leaving it in place. Many read verse 21 as a hint to free him. Christians today agree slavery is wrong.
How it has been used: Before the Civil War, defenders of slavery in the United States called Philemon the “Pauline mandate” and used it to argue that people who escaped slavery must be sent back. Abolitionists answered that Paul sends Onesimus back as a brother, not as property.
Where it leads
- 10 · How to repair: paying the cost of repair (verses 18–19).
- 01 · How to be a person: a person, not property (verse 16).
One thing to do
This week
Put it on your account
Is there a broken relationship between two people you know? Offer to carry part of the cost of fixing it: a call, a meal, a word to one side (verse 18). Write in your journal what you offered.