Saint Paul’s Letter to Philemon: the Christian Life Exposed
The Gospel is not just a story to be told, it is a life to be lived.
Disclaimer: This paper was written as part of an undergraduate program and therefore does not meet formal academic standards. Although great care has been taken in the writing of this paper, errors might occur. The lecturing professor has reviewed this paper and scored it 97/100, corresponding to “Distinguished. Assignment is of sufficient substance and style to be submitted to a refereed journal for publication based on the critical thinking evidenced.” Reference to this paper in academic context should be done with caution.
Composed of merely 25 verses, The Letter of the Apostle Paul to Philemon is the shortest Pauline epistle to be found in the New Testament. However, do not be deceived by its size into thinking it is unimportant. Bart Ehrman refers to it as “a little gem hidden away in the inner recesses of the New Testament.”1 It lies at the foundation of scholar Tom Wright’s massive 2 volume 1660 page Paul and the Faithfulness of God, functioning as the leitmotif in his explication of Paul’s theology. Indeed, this smallest of epistles written by the least of the apostles unveils the greatest implication of the Good News. This essay will explore the issue leading up to Paul’s writing of his letter, how he addresses this issue, and what that reveals about what he understood the Gospel to imply for himself.
The Pauline epistles have a reputation for being difficult to read—their meaning not always being immediately apparent. At first sight, the letter to Philemon seems to be an exception to that rule. Philemon and Onesimus had a disagreement, Paul attempted to resolve that issue. Plain and simple. Or is it? Reading carefully, one will notice that Paul does not address any particular issue between Philemon and Onesimus. In fact, Paul writes ‘if he has been unjust to you or owes you anything’, not ‘whatever injustice he did or debt he owes’.
This absence of that which seems so evident that it should be there in writing is precisely what makes this letter so unique. Typically Pauline elements such as a reproach for a lack of forgiveness or a reminder of why the gospel demands forgiveness are not to be found. Instead, by leaving these things implicit, Paul speaks volumes about what he thinks really matters: the reconciliation between Philemon and Onesimus as the reflection of the reconciliation between God and man.
The first example of Paul’s speaking in silence may perhaps be found in the very first sentence. Here, Paul refers to himself as a ‘prisoner (δεσμιος) of Christ’ rather than his more commonly used ‘slave (δουλος) of Christ’. Although we cannot know for sure if he intended it thus, this break from using his ‘usual’ title comes across as an invitation to stop and think about the occasions in which the significance of servitude is emphasized in his other letters and in the Scriptures in general. Isaiah prophesied about Christ when he spoke about the coming of the suffering servant of God who would proclaim justice to the Gentiles (Acts 8:32-34). Both Jew and Greek, slave and free, may now be baptized into one body of Christ, being equals in servitude to Him (1 Cor. 12:13, Gal. 3:28, Col. 3:11). Thus, the attentive reader may already be reminded of the Gospel by the first three words.
The second example may be found in verse 6 where Paul prays that the participation (κοινωνια) of Philemon’s faith will become effective through the knowledge of ‘every good thing’ that is in him in Christ. Paul does not clarify what these ‘good things’ in Christ are, again inviting the reader to remind him- or herself of the implications of the Gospel. It also alludes to the notion that the knowledge of the Gospel is inextricably tied to action, mirroring James 2:14-18 (faith without works is dead).
When Paul then carefully requests Philemon to receive Onesimus back into his household, he does it in an almost poetic manner, lost in most translations (10-13a):
“I beg you regarding my child,
whom I begot in prison:
Onesimus, once useless (αχρηστον) to you, now useful (ευχρηστον) for both you and me,
whom I will send back to you:
he is my heart,
whom I desired to keep for myself.”
Paul uses a wordplay here. The name ‘Onesimus’ means ‘useful’, αχρηστον (useless) sounds like non-Christian, and ευχρηστον (useful) sounds like good Christian. Thus, implicitly Paul makes an allusion, this time as to how Onesimus has converted to Christ; once being dead, useless, non-Christian; and now being born again, baptized, useful in Christ.
After this, in verse 16, one finds out that Onesimus was a slave—Paul having introduced him first and foremost as his son, his very heart. And eager though some scholars are to twist Paul’s words into an approval of the practice of slavery, this is precisely not what they imply. Whereas Paul elsewhere urges Christians to see themselves as slaves to Christ—even discouraging them to pursue a change in their actual socio-political status (2 Cor. 11:20, Eph. 6:5, 1 Tim. 6:1-2)—here Paul rises Onesimus up, proclaiming him no longer a slave, but more than a slave: a brother both in the flesh and in the Lord.
Paul subsequently lowers himself, exchanging places with Onesimus: “If you thus consider me your partner (κοινωνον), receive him as if he is me. If, however, he was unjust to you in any way or owes you anything, charge it to me.” His use of the word ‘partner’ here is not coincidental. It reminds us of the hope expressed at the beginning of this letter: that the participation of Philemon’s faith may become effective. And leaving no room for mistakenly taking this as merely a polite gesture, Paul writes in his own hand that he will pay back whatever Onesimus owes—like a signature on a blank cheque. Here, Paul acts out the heart of the Gospel in his own deeds, mirroring Christ’s taking our place on the Cross to achieve reconciliation between God and man.
This beautiful display is then rudely interrupted by what follows in verse 19b, which in translation is often put between brackets, as though it should not be there: “(Not to mention that you owe me yourself!)”. The way in which Paul frames this gesture suggests that it is a poorly disguised rebuke of Philemon. The Greek, however, allows for a more nuanced reading: “so that I may not mention that you owe me yourself”. This suggests that it is an assurance from Paul to Philemon that Onesimus’ debt—which, for all we know, may have been larger than that of Philemon to Paul—will be paid in full, regardless of Philemon’s own debt. Paul thus accomplishes to take away any sin that may stand in the way of Philemon and Onesimus’s reconciliation. Philemon need only say yes, and he is free to decline.
The epistle to Philemon is thus revealed to be packed with implicit references to the Gospel. Paul does not specifically address what kind of trouble had arisen between Philemon and Onesimus because the real issue lies in their separation, not in what caused it. Similarly, Paul does not explain what ‘every good thing’ is that is ‘in us in Christ’ nor how it should lead to the ‘effectuation’ of our faith because his actions demonstrate all that needs to be said. The key Gospel theme of reconciliation between God and man—achieved through Christ’s voluntary offering on the Cross, taking the blame for our sins—leaps from its page. For Paul, ‘every good thing that is in us in Christ’ is a present-day reality that shapes our actions ever more into the likeness of Christ. It allows us to present ourselves as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable before God (Rom. 12:1). The Gospel is not just a story to be told, it is a life to be lived.
Bart Ehrman, The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings, (New York: Oxford University Press, 2000) 316.