Philemon 8-16: Paul's Request
Paul appeals (not commands) to Philemon to consider Onesimus a beloved brother not simply a slave
Teaching Notes
Outline
Philemon 1-3 - Greetings
Philemon 4-7 - Philemon’s Character
Philemon 8-16 - Paul’s Request
Purpose of Philemon
Paul wrote Philemon requesting a transformed relationship between him and Onesimus
Main point of Philemon 8-16
Paul appeals (not commands) to Philemon to consider Onesimus a beloved brother not simply a slave
Philemon 8-12 - Paul’s Appeal
This statement could simply be summarizing this subsection, but since it is a restatement after the reference to Onesimus, it includes Onesimus as one of Paul’s emissaries. If so, the honorable status of Onesimus is implicitly asserted, a move that may have been intended to influence the audience in their perception and eventual reception of Onesimus.
Accordingly, though I am bold enough in Christ to command you to do what is required
Paul begins with the Greek conjunction dio (“accordingly”), indicating that the strength of the relationship between Philemon and Paul just described is the foundation for how he is going to address this potentially awkward situation.
1. boldness — the trait of being willing to undertake activities that involve risk or danger; especially that involve being honest and straightforward in attitude and speech.
1. to order — to give instructions to or direct somebody to do something with authority.
1. to be proper — to be or become marked by suitability, rightness, or appropriateness.
Yet for love’s sake I prefer to appeal to you
③ to make a strong request for someth., request, implore, entreat
— I, Paul, an old man and now a prisoner also for Christ Jesus —
I appeal to you for my child, Onesimus, whose father I became in my imprisonment.
The name Onesimus is the 145th word of the 335 Greek words in the letter, meaning that 43 percent of Paul’s letter has been spent setting up the situation before even getting to the point of mentioning the name of the person he is supporting.
③ to make a strong request for someth., request, implore, entreat
ⓑ of a spiritual child in relation to master, apostle, or teacher
ⓑ by exercising the role of a parental figure,
(Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful to you and to me.)
pert. to not serving any beneficial purpose
pert. to being helpful or beneficial, useful, serviceable
I am sending him back to you, sending my very heart.
1. compassion ⇔ bowels — a deeply felt compassion; characteristic of the psychological feature understood as the bowels.
Philemon 13-14 - Paul’s Vision for Onesimus’ Future
I would have been glad to keep him with me, in order that he might serve me on your behalf during my imprisonment for the gospel,
① to desire to have or experience someth., with implication of planning accordingly, wish, want, desire
1. to serve (minister) — to attend to the wants and needs of others.
Paul is letting it be known that Onesimus’s assistance was deemed by Paul to be attributable to Philemon himself. It was a popular view that a servant could represent his master, standing in the master’s stead. In accordance with this view, Paul suggests that whatever assistance Onesimus had provided Paul in the service of the gospel was, in a sense, an extension of Philemon himself. Even without knowing it, Philemon had been benefiting from Onesimus’s association with Paul. The implication is that the same would be true if Philemon agreed to return Onesimus (whether freed or otherwise) to Paul once again—a request that Paul does not make explicitly but strongly hints at.
1. gospel of Jesus — good news concerning the now present instantiation of Jesus’ divine dominion and way of salvation by His death and resurrection.
But I preferred to do nothing without your consent in order that your goodness might not be by compulsion but of your own accord.
1. to desire — to feel or have a desire for; want strongly.
1. agreement — harmony of people’s opinions, actions, or characters.
1. good (moral concept) — moral excellence or admirableness.
1. necessity — the state of being absolutely required.
pert to doing someth. of one’s own volition
Philemon 15-16 - Slave to Beloved Brother
For this perhaps is why he was parted from you for a while,
2. to be separated (state) — to be or become a distance away from something else and thus not associated.
That you might have him back forever,
No longer as a bondservant but more than a bondservant, as a beloved brother
① male slave as an entity in a socioeconomic context, slave
1. slave — a person who is legally owned by someone else and whose entire livelihood and purpose was determined by their master.
② pert. to one who is dearly loved, dear, beloved, prized, valued
3. believer ⇔ brother — a male (believer) understood as one’s own sibling in God’s family; sometimes used of any sibling (regardless of gender) in God’s family.
On three occasions prior to verse 16, Paul has made use of the root word adelph- (i.e., “brother” or “sister”), using it to refer to Timothy (v. 1), Apphia (v. 2), and Philemon (v. 7; see also verse 20). Moreover, Paul has made use of the root word agapē (“love”) on four occasions prior to this verse, using it to refer to Philemon’s “love” for others (vv. 5, 7), Philemon’s “beloved” character (v. 1), and Paul’s request made in love (v. 9). Now Paul brings both of these important terms together and applies them to Onesimus—Philemon’s “beloved brother” in Christ (a term that also appears in 1 Cor. 15:58; Eph. 6:21; Phil. 4:1; Col. 4:7). Rather than relating to Onesimus merely in terms of a master-slave relationship, Philemon is encouraged to regard their relationship through the filter of brotherly bonds of kinship—a kinship resulting from the transforming restorative peace that comes from God their Father and the Lord (i.e., the true “master” or kyrios) Jesus Christ (v. 3).