Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Philemon 1:22
But withal prepare me also a lodging: for I trust that through your prayers I shall be given unto you.
22. He hopes to visit Coloss
22. But withal ] Here is a different matter, yet not quite apart from the main theme. “There is a gentle compulsion in this mention of a personal visit to Coloss. The Apostle would be able to see for himself that Philemon had not disappointed his expectations” (Lightfoot). And more; would not the joy of the prospect make “obedience” on Philemon’s part doubly willing?
prepare ] The verb is in the singular.
a lodging ] The Greek may mean either “ lodging ” or hospitality. General Greek usage is in favour of the latter. The “ hospitality ” would no doubt be gladly provided in Philemon’s own house; but St Paul, with his unfailing courtesy, does not ask this.
I trust ] I hope. He makes no prophecy, where none is authorized. Even when (as Rom 15:24; Rom 15:28) he speaks positively of his plans, it is with an evident reservation of “if the Lord will.” The prospect of Romans 15 had by this time been much modified.
through your prayers ] which “move the hand of God,” being all the while part of His chain of means. For St Paul’s estimate of the power of intercessory prayer see e.g. Rom 15:30-32 (a close parallel); a Cor. Phm 1:11; Php 1:19. Neither for him nor for the Colossians did the deep peace of self-resignation mean Stoic apathy, nor, surely, even the “indifference” of the Mystics.
I shall be given unto you ] With a noble navet he recognizes his own dearness in the eyes of his converts; he does not affect to think that his return would not be “ a gift ” to them.
Lightfoot cites Act 3:14; Act 25:11, for the use of the Greek verb in connexion with a person.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
But withal – Or, at the same time – Hama. While you are granting this favor, do me also another by preparing a lodging for me.
Prepare me also a lodging – Philemon had been accustomed to show kindness to the saints Phm 1:5, and not improbably Paul had before shared his hospitality. The word rendered lodging ( xenia), means, properly, guest-right, hospitality, entertainment; and then, a place for a guest; compare Act 28:23.
For I trust – Paul had some hope of being released – an event which probably occurred; see the notes at Phi 1:25; Phi 2:23-24; compare the introduction to 2 Timothy.
Through your prayers – Notes, 2Co 1:11. He expected release in answer to the petitions of those who loved him, and the cause in which he was engaged; compare the notes at Act 12:5.
I shall be given unto you – I shall be permitted to return to you, as a favor – charisthesomai. Paul had no doubt thus Philemon would so regard it, and he had no apprehension that his abiding with him would be considered as a burden.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Phm 1:22
Prepare me also a lodging
A lodging
1.
If St. Pauls direction here arose from a real anxiety upon the subject of the lodging itself, we shall not be likely to suppose that he required much comfort or preparation for an ample retinue. The lodgings, as Jerome happily says, were for the apostles rather than for Paul. He anticipated a large concourse of hearers. This would involve a situation convenient of access; large enough to hold a number of people; in a locality of good report, and undisturbed by a troublesome neighbourhood.
2. St. Paul had evidently changed his plans since writing Rom 15:24-28. With this verse cf. Php 2:24.
3. Rhetorically, this request would tell doubly–
(1) Prepare me a lodging, or arrange for me at an inn. Nay, surely he will be the honoured and beloved guest of Philemon and Apphia. Will not Onesimus be there? And in what position?
(2) St. Paul wrote to a true and devoted friend. This simple direction would excite hope and joy, the passions which beyond all others make the human heart unable to refuse anything to those whom it loves. (Bp. Wm. Alexander.)
A hope of liberty
A thought concerning himself, introduced here not for the sake of himself, but because, as he adds, they prayed to God that his presence might be vouchsafed to them, not only for their personal gratification, but that he might impart to them some spiritual gift as an apostle (Rom 1:11; cf. Php 1:25; Php 2:24), where a similar hope of liberation is expressed. (Bp. Chris. Wordsworth.)
St. Paul coming to Philemon
Whereas, therefore, Philemon might have thought with himself, and thus reasoned touching Pauls suit. It skilleth not whether I grant it or not, he hath been a most lewd servant unto me, and Paul liveth far off from me, he is held in prison at Rome; either he will not hear what becometh of Onesimus, or if he does hear, peradventure he shall never be delivered out of prison, but remain a prisoner all the days of his life; and therefore I will deal with Onesimus as seemeth good to myself. These and such like imaginations the apostle putteth out of his head, and telleth him he should shortly look for his coming unto him, whereby he should know what account he made of his words, and what obedience he would yield to his request. Hence it is that for this cause Paul craveth to have lodging prepared for him rather by Philemon than any other citizen at Colosse; not that he required much provision and preparation to be made for his entertainment, who had taught others, and learned himself to be content with a little, but because by this commandment, as by a sharp sword, he would pierce the bowels of Philemon, and as by a strong engine, batter the fort and bulwark of his heart, and thoroughly persuade him and prevail with him to receive Onesimus, both into his house and into his favour. (W. Attersoll.)
Christian friendship
I. Its dependence (Phm 1:22).
1. On God. His restoration would be an act of Divine grace.
2. On each other. Mutual dependence a privilege as well as necessity. Includes–
(1) Intercession.
(2) Hospitality.
II. Its reciprocation (Phm 1:23-24).
1. Of faith and feeling. As a thousand particles of iron are held together by invisible magnetic current, so the hearts of men by unseen force of faith in Jesus and love for Him.
2. Of labour and endurance. The first named in the salutation is more than a fellow worker. He had joined the apostle in combat with the powers of darkness, and now shared his captivity.
III. Its benediction. (Phm 1:25).
1. Testimony concerning Christ. Main teachings of the gospel concerning Him concentrated here.
(1) That He is alive and a Divine Benefactor.
(2) Anointed Lord. Appellative of Jehovah in Old Testament. So in Col 1:16; Joh 1:1-3; Heb 1:2. Equal with God, whose grace alone can sustain the spirit of men.
(3) Faith in Him the origin and power of all worthy life (verse 5, 6). No good done without His grace. All and in all.
2. Teaching for followers of Christ. Grace of Christ the supreme fount of goodness and blessing. The Alpha and Omega of joyfulness and power. Thence comes–
(1) Forgiveness (Mat 1:21; Eph 1:7; 1Jn 1:7; 1Jn 1:9).
(2) Renovation. Onesimus a new creation (2Co 5:17).
(3) Sanctification (2Co 5:21).
(4) Wisdom (1Co 1:24; 1Co 1:30; Col 2:3; Eph 1:8).
(5) Hope (Rom 5:2; 1Pe 1:3-8).
(6) Consolation (2Co 1:5; 2Co 12:9; Heb 4:15). All we need and can wish. (A. W. Johnson.)
Christian hospitality
I. This duty is urged upon us by divers examples in the Holy Scriptures.
1. It is to be practised of us because it is the commandment of God that we should love and lodge strangers, and show all pity and compassion toward them, to succour them in their necessity. This it is which Moses saith, Love ye the stranger, for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt (Deu 10:1-22). Hereunto cometh the rule of the apostle, Distribute to the necessities of the saints, give yourselves to hospitality (Rom 12:1-21). This is the precept of the apostle Peter, Be ye harbourers one towards another without grudging (1Pe 4:9). Seeing, therefore, God commandeth, it is our part to obey, and submit ourselves to His will and pleasure.
2. As God requireth this duty of us, so we have His own example to teach it unto us. It is a property of God to love strangers, and therefore to be imitated and followed of all that belong unto Him. This reason is expressed in Deu 10:18.
3. God doth greatly honour such as honour strangers. They have been so far honoured by God as that angels have entered into their houses, been entertained by them, and have blessed them.
II. The doctrine being thus cleared, the uses remain to be showed.
1. This declareth that hospitality is a commendable virtue, and a worthy fruit of love; yea, an excellent ornament in the children of God, whereby they receive good report of the Church.
2. Secondly, this doctrine serveth for reproof. Of all, of such as think that hospitality consisteth in feasting and keepeth great cheer, and bidding the rich to their tables; whereas the Scripture understandeth by it a courteous entertainment of such poor Christians as are banished out of their countries.
2. This meeteth with the corruption of our times, we cannot abide those that are strangers, but are enemies to the very name when we hear of it. But all neglect of them and injurious dealing towards them is a great sin, and such as are haters of strangers are grievous sinners.
3. It is our duty to take the opportunity offered unto us of God; nay, it is required of us to seek the opportunity to express our obedience to God, and our love to our people, in doing all good to such as stand in need.
4. Lastly, it is a great comfort and peace to a mans conscience that God will in His Son Christ regard him, when with a single heart he hath been careful to testify his love toward distressed strangers for the truths sake. Let us rejoice in this consolation, that we shall be assured that God will pity us when we have thus pitied others. (W. Attersoll.)
Letters do not blush
It is a known observation that letters do not blush. What men would be ashamed to ask in person, that they are bold enough to ask by letter; and it is as true that the readers of letters do not blush; they are hardy enough to deny that to their absent friends, which they could not refuse them if present. The apostle therefore intimates to Philemon his intention to visit him shortly, who must for that reason be the more inclined to gratify him as not being able to look him in the face and to bear his presence, if he should deny him this small, this reasonable, this importunate request. (Bp. Smalridge.)
I trust that through your prayers–
Prayer for temporal blessings
The limits of Pauls expectation as to the power of his brethrens prayers for temporal blessings are worth noting. He does believe that these good people in Colosse could help him by prayer for his liberation, but he does not believe that their prayer will certainly be heard. In some circles much is said now about the prayer of faith–a phrase which,, singularly enough, is in such cases almost confined to prayers for external blessing,–and about its power to bring money for work, which the person praying believes to be desirable, or to send away diseases. But surely there can be no faith without a definite Divine word to lay hold of. Faith and Gods promise are correlative; and unless a man has Gods plain promise that A.B. will be cured by his prayer, the belief that he will is not faith but something deserving a much less noble name. The prayer of faith is not forcing our wills on God, but bending our will to Gods. The prayer which Christ has taught in regard to all outward things is, Not my will, but Thine be done, and May Thy will become mine That is the prayer of faith, which is always answered. The Church prayed for Peter, and he was delivered. The Church, no doubt, prayed for Stephen, and he was stoned. Was, then, the prayer for him refused? Not so, but if it were prayer at all, the inmost meaning of it was, Be it as Thou wilt; and that was accepted and answered. Petitions for outward blessings, whether for the petitioner or for others, are to be presented with submission; and the highest confidence which can be entertained concerning them is that which Paul here expresses: I hope that through your prayers I shall be set free. (A. Maclaren, D. D.)
The duty of praying for ministers
1. In regard of the love, which is due from people to minister. People are bound to love their pastors. Now love seeks not her own things. He that prays not for his minister, loves him not.
2. In regard of their great charge wherewithal they are betrusted. A charge of greater worth than all the world–the soul of their people. The greater the charge the greater the gifts required to discharge it. The more graces they need the more earnest should our prayers be to procure the same.
3. In regard of their danger as in the former point. They are in danger of Satans malice, he knows if he can but with his tail cause these stars to fall from heaven, that he shall cause the greater darkness and the greater scandal; their corruption in life or doctrine will be exemplary and infectious. They are also in danger of unreasonable men (2Th 3:2). The greater reason that they should be holpen with our prayers.
4. Pray for your ministers, because in praying for them you pray for yourselves, and procuring their good you procure your own. The better ministers are, the better is it for people. Many people complain of the insufficiency of their teachers, and as many ministers may complain of the negligence of their people. For if they were more diligent in prayer their ministers would be more able to preach if they would pray more for them, then should they be able to preach better unto them. What be the things we should beg for them? Paul specifies some particulars, wherein he would be remembered. As–
(1) Free and bold utterance of the gospel (Eph 6:19; Col 4:3-4).
(2) Free passage of his ministry (2Th 3:1).
(3) Deliverance from wicked men (Rom 15:30; 2Th 2:3).
(4) Other particulars are mentioned (Rom 15:31). (D. Dyke, B. D.)
I shall be given unto you—
Answered prayer unmerited
The meaning of the apostle is thus much in effect. The prayers of the saints shall prevail with God, and being offered up for my deliverance, shall not return to them without comfort, nor ascend to Him without effect, nor concern me without profit. Notwithstanding, albeit, they shall not go empty away, but have their full force and power, yet it is to be acknowledged and learned that they so obtain, as that my deliverance is to be wrought out by the free gift of His grace, not by the merit and desert of your prayers. If we would know the causes and reasons why the graces of God are freely bestowed upon us, and nothing given for our deserts.
1. Let us consider that all matter of boasting is taken from us, and God will have the glory of His own work, and the praise of His mercy.
2. There are no such properties in any mans works as that they can merit, or proceed from any other fountain than grace. Let us therefore see what properties are necessarily required in works to make them meritorious.
(1) They must be done of a man of himself, and by himself; but we have nothing of our own to give Him, but are most poor men and mere beggars, and can but pay God with His own. Without Him, therefore, we can do nothing; it is He that must work in us the will and the deed.
(2) They must be such works as are not due unto Him, they must not be due debt, they must come from our own free will, they must be such as God cannot justly challenge at our hands. We are miserable bankrupts, we have nothing, we have less than nothing to pay.
(3) The work must be done to the benefit and profit of Him, from whom we look to be repayed. But our goodness and well doing reacheth not to the Lord (Psa 16:1-11). We may benefit men, but we cannot benefit our Maker, from whom we have received soul and body. Now they that cannot give anything to God can deserve nothing from Him.
(4) Whatsoever is imperfect cannot stand in the presence of the most just and perfect God. We must bring nothing before Him but that which is absolute and able to bear and sustain His wrath. But all that we do offer, or can offer, unto God is maimed and imperfect. Lastly, the work and the reward must be in proportion equal, for if the reward be more than the work it is not a reward of desert, but a gift of good will. For grace and glory are unmatchable, no price can purchase them, no merits can match them. This doctrine being thoroughly strengthened, let us see what uses may be grounded from thence.
(1) We learn from thence that seeing God giveth not by desert, but of His mercy; that whatsoever we have obtained and received by any prayer, or other means from the hand of God, we must ascribe all to the glory and praise of His name, and acknowledge Him to be the Author and Giver.
(2) As by the free bestowing of the graces of God we are taught to give Him all possible praise, so it taketh away all opinion of the merits of works wherein proud flesh is ready to trust. Lastly, seeing all Gods gifts come from Him to us of grace and mercy, it is our duty, above all things, to desire mercy, and to crave the free gifts of God. (W. Attersoll.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 22. But withal prepare me also a lodging] Does not the apostle mention this as conferring an obligation on Philemon? I will begin to repay thee by taking up my abode at thy house, as soon as I shall be enlarged from prison. But some think he wished Philemon to hire him a house, that he might have a lodging of his own when he returned to Colosse.
For I trust that through your prayers] It is very likely that this epistle was written a short time before the liberation of the apostle from his first imprisonment at Rome. See Ac 28:30, and Php 2:24; and that he had that liberation now in full prospect.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
This would incline one to think that this Epistle was written before the Second Epistle to Timothy, for there, 2Ti 4:6-8, he seems to have other apprehensions; yet it is plain Timothy was with Paul when he wrote this, which he was not when that Second Epistle was written, as appears from 2Ti 4:9,21. Here, upon a confidence that through the help of the churchs prayers he should again come to them, he writeth to Philemon to prepare him a lodging.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
Thisprospect of Pauls visiting Colosse would tend to secure a kindlyreception for Onesimus, as Paul would know in person how he had beentreated.
your… you referring to Philemon, Apphia, Archippus, and the Church inPhilemons house. The same expectation is expressed by him, Phi2:23,Phi2:24,written in the same imprisonment.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
But withal prepare me also a lodging,…. Not that the apostle expected or desired any grand apartment to be fitted up for him; a room with such furniture as the Shunamite provided for the man of God was sufficient for him, and what he would have been entirely contented with; but his view in this was, to let Philemon know that he hoped to be released from his bonds, and that he might expect to see him; and this he hinted to him, in order to stir him up to receive his servant sooner, and the more readily; who otherwise might have been indifferent to it, and negligent of it, thinking he should never see the apostle’s face any more.
For I trust, that through your prayers I shall be given you; to minister in the Gospel again among them: the apostle was a man of prayer himself, and he had a very great regard to the prayers of others, and often desired an interest in them; that he might perform his ministerial work as it should be; that he might have success in it; and that he might be delivered from the unbelieving Jews, and from wicked and unreasonable men; and he had some secret hope and trust in his own mind, that through the prayers of the saints he should be delivered from his bonds, and go up and down preaching the Gospel as heretofore: he doubtless was acquainted with the case of Peter, for whom prayer was made incessantly by the church, when in prison, and he had deliverance; however, he knew that the prayers of the saints availed much with God; but whether this hope and expectation of his were answered, is a matter of doubt and question: some think he was released, and went into several parts, and preached the Gospel, and then was taken up again, and committed to prison, and suffered under Nero, some years after; and others think not.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
But withal ( ). Along with your kindly reception of Onesimus. On , see Acts 24:26; Acts 27:40.
A lodging (). Old word from , stranger. In N.T. only here and Ac 28:23.
I shall be granted unto you ( ). First future passive of . Used either as a favour as here and Ac 3:14 or for destruction (Ac 25:11).
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Withal [] . Simultaneously with the fulfillment of my request. A lodging. Paul is expecting a speedy liberation. His original plan of going from Rome to Spain has apparently been altered. Lightfoot observes that “there is a gentle compulsion in this mention of a personal visit to Colossae. The apostle would thus be able to see for himself that Philemon had not disappointed his expectations.”
I shall be given [] . A beautiful assumption of his correspondent’s affection for him, in that his visit to them will be a gracious gift [] . The word is also used of granting for destruction, Act 25:11; or for preservation, Act 3:14.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
REQUEST AND SALUTATIONS
1) “But withal prepare me also a lodging” (hama de kai etoimaze moi zenian) “At the same time also prepare lodging for me.” The common truth of fellowship Paul had formerly had with Philemon and the church in Colosse, he desired soon to enjoy again.
2) “For I trust that through your prayers” (elpizo gar hoti dia ton proseuchon humon) “For I hope that through your prayers.” The instrumentality of prayer was a power in which Paul hoped for liberty from prison to go to Philemon once again, Jas 5:17-18.
3) “I shall be given unto you “ (charisthesomai humin) all be given to you (of your own accord)” Act 12:5-12. As Peter had been delivered in answer to prayer so Paul hoped that he might be.
RELIEF BY PRAYER
The cashier of a New York bank could not make his account balance by many thousands of dollars. He alone had charge of the books. He had never used a dollar of the bank’s funds, nor could he detect any error in the accounts. It was in the era of embezzlements and defalcations. On the morrow the bank examiner would examine his accounts and declare him a defaulter. As the account now stood, the result was inevitable. On the following morning in agony he entered the directors’ room, and for one hour upon his knees, urged his case before God. Calm came to his troubled heart. As if led by an invisible hand he went from his knees to the safe and took out a blotter long unused. It opened upon pages of accounts which had evidently not been copied. This providential discovery made the account balance, vindicated the cashier, and showed the faithfulness of God who has said, “Call upon me in the day of trouble and I will answer thee.”
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
22 But at the same time prepare for me a lodging. This confidence must have powerfully excited and moved Philemon; and next, he holds out to him the hope of being gratified by his own arrival. Although we do not know whether or not Paul was afterwards released from prison, yet there is no absurdity in this statement, even though he was disappointed of the hope which he cherished about God’s temporal kindness. He had no confident hope of his release, further than if it pleased God. Accordingly, he always kept his mind in suspense, till the will of God was made known by the result.
That through your prayers I shall be given to you. Here it deserves notice, that he says that everything that believers obtain “through their prayers,” is “given” to them; for hence we infer that our prayers, though they are not unsuccessful, yet have no power through their own merit; for what is yielded to them is of free grace.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
22. But withal prepare me also a lodging: for I hope that through your prayers I shall be granted unto you.
a.
Paul clinches his written appeal by the announcement that he expected to be visiting Philemon sometime soon. If by some chance Philemon had not complied with Pauls written request, he could expect to face kindly old Paul with this disobedience standing as a barrier between them. Such an meeting could not avoid being an emotional experience even if Philemon had been obedient. Should Philemon have been disobedient it would be nearly an unbearable experience.
b.
Paul asked Philemon to prepare a guest room for him at the same time (Gr. ama) he was giving Onesimus his brotherly reception.
c.
Paul was, of course, still in detention in Rome when he wrote that he hoped to visit Philemon. To hasten his release Paul wrote that he expected Philemon to be praying for him.
This request for prayer sharpens Pauls appeal. How could Philemon be praying for Pauls release, so that Paul could the more quickly visit him, when he was at the same time not doing that which Paul had so fervently requested him to do?
d.
Paul hoped to be granted (A.V. given) to Philemon and to the other brethren in Colossae (the you is plural). The word grant used here means to give graciously, give as a gift, give as a favor. And notice the passive voice. Paul speaks of himself as being acted upon. God was working things out so that Paul would be granted to visit Philemon, and this is regarded as a favor bestowed upon Philemon.
This manner of speaking might make us feel that Paul was a bit conceited in looking upon his presence as a gift to those who entertained him. But there was no conceit or vanity there. The Colossians were genuinely in Pauls debt. (Phm. 1:19). Pauls visit to them would be Gods doing, not his own.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
Personal Conclusion, Phm 1:22-25.
22. Withal Literally, But at the same time.
Prepare lodging A mandate, given with the authority of an apostle, and still more the confidence of a friend who knew that his coming was an object of earnest prayers.
A lodging Which explains Philemon’s hospitality in Phm 1:7.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘But withal prepare me also a lodging, for I hope that through your prayers I will be granted to you.’
He ends on a note of hope for an early release. He calls on Philemon to prepare a lodging place for himself, because he hopes that through Philemon’s prayers (and the prayers of others) he might be granted to him again, a free man.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
The Conclusion The conclusion contains a comment on Paul’s intend to visit Philemon, a list of Paul’s co-workers sending greetings, and a benediction.
Outline Here is a proposed outline:
1. Final Greetings Phm 1:22-24
2. Benediction Phm 1:25
Phm 1:22-24 Final Greetings Paul closes his epistle with a comment on his intent to visit Philemon soon (Phm 1:22), and he sends greetings from his co-workers to those in Colossi (Phm 1:23-24).
Phm 1:22 But withal prepare me also a lodging: for I trust that through your prayers I shall be given unto you.
Phm 1:22
We know that Paul intended on traveling on to Spain after his trip to Rome (Rom 15:24).
Rom 15:24, “Whensoever I take my journey into Spain, I will come to you: for I trust to see you in my journey, and to be brought on my way thitherward by you, if first I be somewhat filled with your company.”
However, we read in his Prison Epistles, which were written approximately four years later, how Paul made the decision to immediately return to Asia after his Roman imprisonment and strengthen the churches there. Note Paul’s second reference in the Prison Epistles of his plans to visit Asia.
Php 2:24, “But I trust in the Lord that I also myself shall come shortly.”
The reason for Paul’s change of plans may be that it had been reported to Paul about the heresies that were attacking the Colossian church and perhaps other nearby churches in Asia.
Phm 1:23 There salute thee Epaphras, my fellowprisoner in Christ Jesus;
Phm 1:24 Phm 1:24
“But the number and the names of those among them that became true and zealous followers of the apostles, and were judged worthy to tend the churches rounded by them, it is not easy to tell, except those mentioned in the writings of Paul. For he had innumerable fellow-laborers, or “fellow-soldiers,” as he called them, and most of them were honored by him with an imperishable memorial, for he gave enduring testimony concerning them in his own epistles.” ( Ecclesiastical History 3.4.3-4)
We can find the names of several of his fellowlabourers, then, by simply looking in his epistles. See a long list of names in Romans 16.
Phm 1:23-24 Comments – Greetings from Paul’s Co-Workers Phm 1:23-24 contains greetings from five of Paul’s co-workers. Although the KJV is a little difficult to read in this passage, the ASV makes the Greek text more understandable by reading, “Epaphras, my fellow-prisoner in Christ Jesus, saluteth thee; and so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, Luke, my fellow-workers.”
We find these same five names of Epaphras, Mark, Aristarchus, Demas and Luke in the closing greetings of the epistle to the Colossians (Col 4:10-14). However, we find a sixth name, Justus, in the Colossian letter that is not given here in Phm 1:23-24.
Phm 1:23-24 Comments Paul’s Fellowlabourers Paul uses the words “fellowprisoners,” “fellowlabourers,” and “fellowhelpers” in a number of his epistles. These words go deeper in meaning than just describing their personal relationships with Paul. It also describes their spiritual relationship with him in the sense that as they were partners and partakers of Paul’s labours and sufferings, they will also be partakers of his heavenly rewards. In other words, these words describe people would receive the same rewards in heaven that Paul would receive because they stood with him during these difficult times.
Phm 1:25 Benediction – Paul ends his letter with a benediction prayer to all of his recipients. The phrase “your spirit” is a plural pronoun referring to all of those listed in his opening greeting.
Phm 1:25 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.
Phm 1:25
Mat 10:13, “And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it: but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you.”
This practice of speaking blessings upon God’s children may have its roots in the Priestly blessing of Num 6:22-27, where God instructed Moses to have the priests speak a blessing upon the children of Israel. Now Paul closes his epistle to Philemon by restating the blessing that he opened his epistle with in Phm 1:3.
Phm 1:25 “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit” – Comments – In Phm 1:25 Paul basically commends them into the hands of the Lord Jesus Christ, in much the same way that he did in the book of Acts. We find this statement at the end of all of Paul’s epistles.
Act 14:23, “And when they had ordained them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed.”
Act 20:32, “And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified.”
Phm 1:25 “Amen” Comments – In the Textus Receptus the word “Amen” is attached to the end of all thirteen of Paul’s epistles, as well as to the Gospels of Matthew and Mark, and to the General Epistles of Hebrews , 1, 2 Peter , 1, 2 John, and to the book of Revelation. However, because “Amen” is not supported in more ancient manuscripts many scholars believe that this word is a later liturgical addition. For example, these Pauline benedictions could have been used by the early churches with the added “Amen.”
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
Phm 1:22. But withal prepare me, &c. The apostle’s desiring Philemon to prepare him a lodging, shews that he had expectations of being set at liberty, and that then he designed them a visit at Colosse: it may also lead us to conclude, that this Epistle was written not long before the apostle was set at liberty from his first confinement at Rome, mentioned Act 28:30. See also Php 2:24. We have observed before, that Philemon was a rich man; his house appears to have been a place of entertainment for the Christians who travelled that way; and therefore St. Paul desired to have a lodging among the rest: but the principal view seems to have been, not only to tell Philemon the agreeable news that he was likely to have such a guest, but to put him upon considering how he could see the apostle’s face, if he denied his reasonable and earnest request for Onesimus. See Act 12:5; Act 12:25.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Phm 1:22 . This further commission too what a welcome, and wisely closing, indirect support to the intercession for Onesimus! , Chrysostom; and so the apostle, in fact, wished soon himself to see what effect his intercession had had.
] that is, simultaneously with that , which thou wilt do in the case of Onesimus. This is the sense of the adverbial in all passages, [81] even Col 4:3 ; Act 24:26 ; and 1Ti 5:13 (in opposition to Hofmann), and among the Greek writers, so that it by no means expresses merely the conception of being joined , that the one is to associate itself with the other (Hofmann), but the contemporary connection of the one action with the other; Suidas: . Bleek erroneously renders: at the same time also I entreat thee ; so, too, de Wette, as if or the like were in the text.
] Paul hoped at that time for a speedy liberation; his ulterior goal was Rome; the journey thither, however, he thought of making through Asia Minor, where he also desired to come to Colossae and to take up his quarters (Act 28:23 ) as a guest with Philemon. Comp. Introd. to Colossians, 2. Observe, moreover, that presupposes so near a use of the , as doubtless tallies with the shorter distance between Caesarea and Phrygia, but not with the distance from Rome to Phrygia, specially since, according to Phi 1:25 f., Phi 2:24 , Paul thought of journeying from Rome to Macedonia ; hence it would have been inappropriate and strange on his part, if, starting from Rome , he had already bespoken a lodging in Colossae , and that, too, one to be made ready so without delay .
and apply to the persons already named, Phm 1:1-2 . To extend the reference further, namely, to “the body of Christians amidst which Philemon lives ” (Hofmann), is unwarranted. The expression is individualizing . On ., may be granted , i.e. liberated in favour of you, comp. on Act 3:14 ; Act 27:24 ; on . . ., Phi 1:19 . This hope was not fulfilled. Calvin leaves this doubtful, but aptly adds: “Nihil tamen est absurdi, si spes, qualem de temporali Dei beneficio conceperit, eum frustrata fuerit.”
[81] Where, namely, there is mention of the combination of two expressions of activity, which takes place or ought to take place (as here). What is as , is as (Ammonius, p. 13).
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
IV.
Request for hospitality, Greeting to friends, and Prayer for their spiritual welfare
Phm 1:22-25
22But withal [at the same time] prepare [be preparing for]19 me also a lodging: 23for I trust [hope] that through your prayers I shall be given unto you. There 24salute [salutes]20 thee Epaphras, my fellow-prisoner in Christ Jesus: Marcus 25[Mark],21 Aristarchus, Demas, Lucas [Luke], my fellow-laborers. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. [Amen.]22
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
Phm 1:22. But at the same time also, i. e, at the same time that thou fulfillest my wish expressed above, respecting which the Apostle doubts no longer. [So also Meyer; but Bleek refers to the two requests (, ) simultaneously made by Paul, rather than the granting of them by Philemon. , also, adds the one request, viz., , in Phm 1:20, to the other here, .H.]Prepare me [be preparing] a lodging [i. e., a place or room where he could lodge as a guest; comp. in Act 28:23. He may have desired this convenience the more, because he travelled often with so many friends (Act 19:22; Act 20:4), and because he would need a place where he could receive those who might desire religious instruction. Meyer, who supposes that Paul wrote the letter at Csarea, thinks that he wished to lodge with Philemon merely as one of the stages of his journey into Spain (3d ed., 1865).H.] The request for such hospitality may have been unexpected though surely welome to the receiver of the letter; and would serve also indirectly to enforce Pauls application in behalf of Onesimus. Who could be willing to disappoint the beloved Apostle, and compel him in person to see how little regard had been paid to his request? By receiving him as desired, Philemon at the same time could requite the kindness which Paul had shown to his entire family, by treating Onesimus with so much favor at Rome.For I hope. In Php 1:25; Php 2:24, the Apostle expresses a similar expectation of his speedy release. [He must have had definite reasons for this belief, and we may conclude that the event agreed with the anticipation, and hence that he was liberated from the imprisonment mentioned at the close of the book of Acts.It is unnecessary to suppose, with Ellicott, that Paul had changed his plan in the interval between his writing the Epistles to the Philippians and to Philemon, because in Php 1:25; Php 2:24 he had expressed a purpose to visit the Philippians on being set free, but here, in Phm 1:22, contemplates a journey to Colossae. Philippi was on the way from Rome to Coloss, and the Apostle could visit both places on the same journey. See the remarks respecting Pauls route, on p..H.]That I through your prayers [offered for his release], namely, those of the entire church in his house (Phm 1:2). He takes it for granted that they mention him in their prayers, to which intercession he ascribes an efficacious power. [We may be sure that the praying friends at Coloss were not the only circle in which supplication was made for Paul. The situation of the great Christian leader at Rome must have fixed upon him the eyes of the disciples in every land. When Peter was in prison at Jerusalem, earnest prayer was made for him, and an angel was sent and delivered him from the power of Herod and of the Jews, who were designing the next day to put him to death. See Act 12:6 sq.H.]I may be given to you (), i. e., may be given as an act of grace, or Divine favor; comp. Act 3:14; Act 27:24. The choice of this word is dictated by a consciousness of his apostolic office. With the utmost humility, Paul yet knows and feels what his person and presence are for the church, and what they can be. [Possibly Paul refers in not so much to his own estimate of his importance to others, as to his sense of indebtedness to God for such a favor as that of being restored to those, who were so anxious for his safety, and for whose spiritual welfare he was so deeply concerned.H.]
Phm 1:23. There greets [salutes] thee, &c. The same persons are mentioned here as in Col 4:10-14, with the exception of Jesus Justus, whose name is omitted because perhaps he was not present at that moment. The salutation is addressed personally to Philemon. [This explains why Philemon is not saluted in the Epistle to the Colossians: it was unnecessary, as that Epistle and this were received at the same time.H.]Epaphras, who as a fellow captive of Paul is mentioned before the other, brethren, is the same perhaps, as Epaphroditus, named in Php 2:25. [The names, it is true, may be interchangeable (see Winer, Realwrterbuch, 1, p. 331); but in this instance they seem to designate different persons. It is against the supposed identity, first, that Epaphras belonged to Coloss (Col 4:12), and had come thence to Rome (Col 1:1), whereas Epaphroditus belonged to Philippi, and had been sent to Paul with the contributions of the church there (Php 2:25); and second, that, as these facts indicate, the former had his circuit of labor in Phrygia or Asia Minor (Col 4:13), but the latter in northern Greece or Macedonia. Neander thinks (Pflanzung 2. p. 292) that Epaphras was founder of the church at Coloss (supposing from Col 2:1 that Paul was never there). This Epaphras, at all events, was a faithful preacher of the gospel (Col 1:7, ), and, as we see from this passage, was now a sharer of Pauls captivity at Rome. He was a fellow-captive (), not in a figurative sense, but literally, as would appear from his being named apart from the fellow-laborers (), and from the subjoined ; in Christ Jesus, which defines the sphere in which he bore this character. Under what circumstances he was imprisoned, is unknown. He may have been held as a witness for the prosecution against Paul, or may have been arrested on his own account as a Christian.
Phm 1:24. Mark is supposed to be John Mark, the writer of the second Gospel, and Pauls companion on his first missionary tour as far as Perga (Act 13:13). We learn from Col 4:10 that Mark was expecting, ere long, to greet the Colossians in person.Aristarchus, another of Pauls associates, was a Macedonian (Act 19:29), who, at a later period, accompanied him on his voyage to Rome (Act 27:2). As he is classed here among the fellow-laborers (), he appears to be called fellow-captive () in Col 4:10, because he made himself the Apostles voluntary companion in his exile. To remember the brethren in their bonds, was accounted the same thing as being bound with them (); see Heb 13:3. Some think that he may have been put in prison after this letter to Philemon was written. The interval between this and the letter to the Colossians was very brief, and renders that barely possible. Whether Luke is mentioned because he was known at Coloss personally, or by name only, is uncertain. The traces of him in the Acts never lead him apparently into that region. He and Demas are named together also in Col 4:14. We look into the prison again, after a few years, and but one of these two friends is watching at the side of the Apostle. Paul wrote his Second Epistle to Timothy during his last captivity at Rome, and then he records (2Ti 4:10-11): Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world: only Luke is with me. We are reminded of Kebles words in his Hymn on St. Luke:
Vainly before the shrine he bends
Who knows not the true pilgrims part:
The martyrs cell no safety lends
To him who wants the martyrs heart.H.]
Phm 1:25. The grace of our Lord, &c. A parting salutation, like that in Gal 6:18, is directed here in plurali to the whole church in Philemons house. [The pronoun in , our Lord, refers to the common Lord of all believers. , with your spirit, is more impassioned than simply, and springs naturally out of the affectionate tone of the letter. It is the form of benediction not only in Gal 6:18, but in 2Ti 4:22 and Php 4:23, according to the text of some copies, is coextensive with in Phm 1:22, i. e., those addressed in the letter.
One of the oldest subscript notices is , i. e., It Was written to Philemon from Rome through (as the bearer) Onesimus. This notice states undoubtedly what is true respecting the destination of the letter, and the place where it was written. Being ancient, though of course not from the hand of Paul, it has some value as a confirmatory argument in respect to the genuineness and origin of the Epistle. Kster and Mill mention two manuscripts, which record at the end that Onesimus had his legs broken on the rack or the cross at Rome, and so gained the rewards of martyrdom. And with this thought, not, perhaps, historically confirmed, but so entirely in harmony with the vicissitudes of that age of the first confessors, we may turn our eyes from this record of lowly life on earth, upward to tile scene where the Lords servants, though they may have been the slaves of men, are exalted and ennobled forever on thrones which He has prepared for them.H.]
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
1. An awakened zeal for the emancipation of the slaves is one of the happy signs of our times. The spirit of Wilberforce has arisen not only in England, but on the continent of Europe and in the New World. The anti-slavery literature of the day (e. g., Uncle Toms Cabin) is one of these indications. [But what shall we say now! How speedily have the signs given place to fulfilment! When Gods time for interposing came, it Was not so much zeal for the extinction of slavery, as for its extension and perpetuation, which was to prove the cause of its overthrow. The same hand that riveted the chains of the slave, also shattered them in pieces. This is the Lords doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes.H.]
So much the more valuable is an apostolic writing of Paul, out of which so much may be learned for dealing with the question above referred to. The letter to Philemon serves to show how the Apostle, on the one hand, would not violently destroy a legal right of property [i. e., as an individual in opposition to the government or State]; while, on the other, he defends and preaches principles, by the just and equal application of which, slavery loses all that is harsh and unchristian, and at last becomes inevitably extinct. With such an operation a revolutionary interference with the different arrangements and classes of social life is made unnecessary. [Thus it was, as Dr. Wordsworth remarks (St. Pauls Epitles, p. 328), by Christianizing the master, that the gospel enfranchised the slave. It did not legislate about mere names and forms, but it went to the root of the evilit spoke to the heart of man. When the heart of the master was filled with Divine grace, and was warmed with the love of Christ, the rest would soon follow. The lips would speak kind words; the hands would do liberal things. Every Onesimus would be treated by every Philemon as a beloved brother in Christ.H.]
Phm 1:2 : It affords us an important help for understanding and appreciating this letter, if we compare it (see Introduction, p. 9) with the extant letters of C. Plinius Ccilianus Secundus. The first of these (Lib. ii. 21) is as follows:
C. Plinius Sabiniano suo S.
Libertus tuus, cui succensere te dixeras, venit ad me, advolutusque pedibus meis, tamquam tuis, hsit. Flevit multum; multumque rogavit; multum etiam tacuit: in summa, fecit mihi fidem pnitenti. Vere credo emendatum, quia deliquisse se sentit. Irasceris, scio: et irasceris merito, id quodque scio: sed tunc prcipua mansuetudinis laus, cum ir caussa justissima est. Amasti hominem, et spero amabis: interim sufflcit, ut exorari te sinas. Licebit rursus irasci, si meruerit, quod exoratus excusatius facies. Remitte aliquid adolescenti ipsius, remitte lacrymis, remitte indulgenti tu: ne torseris ilium, ne torseris etiam te. Torqueris enim, quum tam lenis irasceris. Vereor, ne videar non rogare, sed cogere, si precibus ejus meas junxero. Jungam tamen tanto plenius et effusius, quanto ipsum acrius severiusque corripui, destricte minatus nunquam me postea rogaturum. Hoc illi, quem terreri oportebat, tibi non idem. Nam fortasse iterum rogabo, iterum impetrabo: sit modo tale, ut rogare me, ut prstare te deceat. Vale.
[It is not easy to transfer the peculiar elegance of this composition to another language. The following version (taken from an anonymous source) possesses at least the merit of being somewhat close to the original. There may be a doubt respecting the exact force of two or three expressions:]
C. Plinius to his friend Sabinianus, Greeting:
A freedman of yours, whom you had said you were angry with, came to me, and, prostrating himself at my feet, as if at your own, clung to them. He wept much, and begged much; much of the time, too, he was silent; in fine, he gave me a confidence of his penitence. I believe him to be truly amended, because he is sensible that he has been delinquent. You are angry, I know;, and you are angry with reason; that, too, I know; but the glory of clemency is greatest, when the cause of anger is most just. You have loved the man, and I hope will love him; meanwhile, it is sufficient that you suffer yourself to be entreated. You shall be at liberty to be angry again, if he should deserve it; which, having shown yourself exorable, you will the more excusably do. Remit somewhat to his youth, remit somewhat to his tears, remit somewhat to your own indulgent disposition: do not torture him, lest you torture also yourself; for you are tortured, when, lenient as you are, you are angry. I fear lest I may seem, not to ask, but to compel, if to his prayers I add my own. Nevertheless, I shall add them the more fully and freely, inasmuch as I have sharply and severely reproved him, having strictly threatened never hereafter to intercede with you. This (I said) to him, whom it was proper to alarm, but not the same (do I promise) to you (viz., that I will not ask again). For, perhaps I shall again ask, and again obtain; let it be only such as it may become me to ask, and you to grant. Farewell.]
It appears from a subsequent letter, that this request of friendship was favorably received. Pliny writes again with reference to the same subject:
Bene fecisti, quod libertum, aliquando tib carum, reducentibus epistolis meis, in domum, in animum recepisti. Juvabit hoc te, me certe juvat, primum quod te talem video, ut in ira regi possis, deinde quod tantum mihi tribuis, ut vel auctoritati me pareas, vel precibus indulgeas, &c.
[You have done well in receiving back to your house, your heart, a freedman once dear to you, in compliance with my letters. This will gratify youit certainly does mefirst, that I see you to be one who can be governed in anger; in the next place, that you concede so much to me as either to obey my authority or to yield to entreaties, &c.H.]
Though this case was that of a libertus, and not a servns, so that there was no actual sending back of a fugitive, but only a reconciliation between the freedman and his master; yet it is evident, from a comparison of the two letters of Pliny with that of Paul, that transactions like the one before us often took place in ancient times; and that the Apostle planted himself on a right and a feeling entirely human in his appeal to Philemon in behalf of Onesimus. At the same time, it is evident that the motives which he employs as a Christian to incite Philemon to perform this duty of love, are far nobler and stronger than those which the philanthropic Roman could urge from his position, when he stood forth as precator.
3. The letter to Philemon is a valuable contribution to our knowledge of the character of Paul, and a striking proof how great a proficient he himself was in the practice of the love which he so highly commends in 1 Corinthians 13. It is the apparently little, in fact, which reveals here the truly great. What he says in this letter, as well as what he omits, is alike and specially adapted to the attainment of the object at which he aims. (See the exegetical remarks.) What delicacy not only in conduct, but in speech and thought, is manifest here, and at the same time what hearty earnestness in the cumulative force of his plea in behalf of the fugitive! Yet here, too, he denies by no means his incontestible authority. The thought comes out almost in spite of himself, as it were, between the lines of the Epistle: he who bows himself as a suppliant before Philemon, can as Gods messenger place himself above him. Though he requests now for loves sake, yet he has great boldness (if he would use it) to enjoin and require that which is right. He does not mention, indeed, his apostolic rank; but he cherishes the lively confidence that his friend will obey him, if he speaks in the spirit of his Master (Phm 1:21); and he terms himself a gift of grace (Phm 1:22) if he is restored to the believers in answer to their prayers. On the other hand, he stoops as low as possible, even to the deep-sunken Onesimus, and with an altogether different feeling in his heart from that with which Pliny pities the guilty libertus of Sabinianus. In all this the Apostle shows how faith bears in itself the power of a true refinement, a culture of heart and character such as need not shrink for a moment from comparison with the boasted model of antiquity (Pliny), and, while it mounts so much higher, includes the homo sum, nil humani a me alienum, in the evident sense of the words. [Dr. Newman (quoted in Howsons Lectures, p. 78) says, There is not any one of those refinements and delicacies of feeling, which are the result of advanced civilization, not any one of those proprieties and embellishments of conduct, in which the cultivated intellect delights, but Paul is a pattern of it, in the midst of that assemblage of other supernatural excellencies which is the common endowment of apostles and saints.H.]
4. The history of Onesimus is a pertinent example of the power of Divine grace, and of the activity of that all-comprehending Providence which is so entirely special as well as universal. His experience is that of the lost son who was sunk in deep misery, but was rescued in a wonderful manner. He had gone to Rome, in order to find there a safe place of refuge, but finds in Paul, whom he apparently meets by accident, a guide in the way of eternal life, and from a slave of sin becomes at the same time a prisoner and freedman of Christ. Another debt still which rests upon him is cancelled besides that for which Paul stands as surety with his offended master; and the temporal loss of Philemon became for both master and servant an eternal gain. Here again the Apostles word is verified (Rom 11:33-36): O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out! For who hath known the mind of the Lord, or who hath been His counsellor ? Or who hath first given to Him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? For of Him, and through Him, and to Him are all things: to whom be glory forever. Amen.
5. This little Epistle serves also an apologetic purpose, which adds not a little to its value. The criticism of the Tbingen school affirms still that only four Epistles of Paul at the utmost (Romans , 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians) are raised above all doubt of their genuineness. We will go still further, and for a moment assume that we must even give up these four, and that, instead of them, we have left to us only this short letter to Philemon. Is it not remarkable, that even out of this brief letter relating to a private affair the main contents of the apostolic gospel may in substance be derived? As regards the person of Christ, Paul names Him here also , the same appellative, therefore, which is given to Jehovah in the Old Testament. He implores grace and peace from Him no less than from the Father. So, too, as faith elsewhere is required toward God, here it is as exercised toward Christ; and at the close, it is His grace alone to which Philemon is commended. Truly, no foundation-stones for a Socinian or Arian Christology. The way to eternal life also is no other than that which is elsewhere pointed out to us. Philemon is praised on account of his faith, and the significant expression in Christ Jesus occurs here oftener than any other. And that conversion is absolutely inseparable from this faith,how clearly does this appear from the little which Paul says respecting Onesimus! He does not appeal to good resolutions which perhaps the fugitive has formed; he has not merely a quiet hope that he has become a better man: no, it is as a new creature whom he himself has begotten in his bonds, that he sends him back to his master. It is only as one converted, that Onesimus is now useful; that he has become a brother, is now united forever with Philemon. All this confirms the truth of the word: Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature (2Co 5:17). And, finally, could the fruit of faith and conversion, the love which embraces all, and never perishes,could it be made more strikingly manifest than in this brief private letter! So this entire Epistle, brief as it is, is a new witness to the truth of the declaration: The gospel a power of God unto salvation through faith (Rom 1:16).
6. In the same impressive way this letter sets before us what the communion of the Holy Spirit is, and how much this communion may effect. In a prison the Apostle feels himself happy; and precisely there where one would expect to find so many endless causes for complaint, joyful thanksgiving is the offering of his lips. While he bears upon his heart the needs of the whole Jewish and heathen world, there is still room in his heart for a single fugitive slave, whom he commends with the warmest love, and at the same time, though without wishing it directly, he by his own conduct presents himself as the most shining example of love to those whom he incites to proofs of love. Among the inmates of the house of Philemon, on the other hand, by the presence again of the same spirit, a church has been founded, of which the different members form the living members,a church, the like of which there has never been in the heathen world. Between this family at Coloss and that prisoner at Rome exists an inner community of faith, love, and prayer, by which their hearts meet each other and flow together, although as to the body they are separated by seas and mountains. Is not all this an excellent proof of what the fellowship of the Holy Spirit ( ) avails in houses and hearts (in Husern und Hertzen)?
7. Just as Christ has done for us toward God, so Paul does for Onesimus toward Philemon. For Christ also has emptied Himself of His right, and with love and humility overcome the Father, so that He must lay aside His anger and right, and receive us to favor for Christs sake, who so earnestly represents us, and receives us so heartily to Himself. For we are all like Onesimus, if we believe (Luthers Preface).
8. What is said of Onesimus, that before his conversion he was very unprofitable, but afterwards was very profitable, applies still, mutatis mutandis, to every converted sinner.
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
Paul, a striking illustration how free a bondman of Jesus Christ can be.The imprisonment of Paul, alleviated by the power of faith, love, and hope.The Christian household: 1. Its constituents; 2. its privileges; 3. its enjoyments.See how good and pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity (Psalms 133).Christians are called to be partners in a common warfare.Peace: 1. The highest gift of grace; 2. a gift of grace; 3. a gift which we cannot heartily and earnestly enough desire for one another.Intercession for others a duty of Christian love.Pray for one another (Jam 5:16): 1. The power; 2. the right; and 3. the reward of this command.The good which we hear of others should incite us not to praise them in their presence, but to glorify God.Faith in Christ and love toward all the saints in the nature of the case inseparable from each other.No happier fellowship than the fellowship of faith.It is not enough that there be faith in us; it must also show itself efficient.Per fidem ad intellectum.The life of living faith, a service of love to the saints.How much more desirable is it also now for the servant of the gospel to request through love, than to command in a lofty tone.How well does this principle, viz., that of beseeching for loves sake (Phm 1:8, &c.), agree with the spirit of the gospel and of Protestantism; comp. 2Co 1:24.Agreement and diversity between the authority of the Apostles and that of later teachers.Even in sad times God sometimes gives to His own fairer days: to the imprisoned Paul He gives Onesimus as a son.How far it can still be said of every converted sinner: formerly unprofitable, but now profitable.Justice and love united in Paul in a remarkable manner.Pectus est, quod disertos facit.Not all that the Christian might perhaps wish to do, and in strict right could do, may he therefore do.[Rev. J. Trapp: Posse et nolle nobile est. He that goes to the utmost of his chain may possibly break a link. Concedamus de jure ut careamus lite. Part with somewhat for peace sake (Augustine).H.]The truly good, in the eyes of God also, is that which is done not by constraint, but willingly.Good educed out of evil, under Gods guidance (Gen 50:20).Brief separation even for the Christian the way to eternal reunion.In Christ, a slave brought to true freedom, a freeman bound in the chains of love and obedience.Paul, the pattern of a conscientious soul-seeker, and such toward Philemon while he pleads the cause of Onesimus.True love, when required, ready also to make sacrifices.The true Christian called to be honorable and scrupulously faithful in the little as well as great.Towards no creature have we higher obligations than toward those to whom, next to God, we owe the life of our souls (Phm 1:10).[Rev. J. Trapp: Even Alexander could say that he owed more to Aristotle that taught him, than to Philip, that begat him.H.]The Christians calling to heighten the earthly joy, especially of suffering servants and friends of the Lord.The power and the limit of Christian confidence; comp. 2Co 7:16.The duty of Christian hospitality (Phm 1:22).Intercession for others at the same time a source of the richest blessing for ourselves.How the grace of Christ binds together hearts, even though time and space keep them asunder.
Starke: Langii Op.: Anti-Christian Rome (see RePhm Phm 1:17-18) still does that which heathen Rome did; and Paul has yet many brethren among the witnesses of the truth who are in chains and bonds for the name of Christ. That the Lord suffers all this to take place belongs to the mystery of the cross.Children of God have among them no name which recognizes more distinctly the ground of their common kindredship, or is dearer to themselves, than the name of brethren! But how few are such true brethren in spirit! All public teachers call one another by this name; but notwithstanding the outward appellation, how far from the reality are they for the most part; so that Paul and Timothy, if they should come among such, would not recognize them as brethren.Paul acknowledged his own weakness, since he did not trust himself to do everything alone, but employed others also, humble persons, for the service of the church. So at the present day there are such true helpers, out of the teachers office, in other situations, who make it a joy to themselves to assist in various ways to promote the honor of God.A Christian should no more be ashamed of the bonds of Christ, than a soldier is of the wounds which he has received in battle.Teachers especially should not shun to confirm their testimony by suffering.Christians are workers, and not idlers.Paul terms Apphia the beloved as well as Philemon, which shows that they lived in holy wedlock, and both feared God.Women art often the instruments of winning unbelieving husbands to Christ: how much more can they be helpers to strengthen those who believe, and encourage them in what is good.
Osiander: The preachers office is a spiritual knighthood, by which Christs kingdom is enlarged, but that of Satan assaulted and destroyed. So Christians also are fellow-combatants, who by hearty prayer help forward the kingdom of the Redeemer.It is a duty which rests on all fathers of families, so to instruct those under them in the knowledge of God, that their house may rightfully be named a church.Every one should strive that the house in which he dwells may be a Bethel, a house of God, and not a Bethaven, a house of sin.Grace and peace belong together, and cannot be separated.
Langii Opp.: Paul teaches by his example that one may mention particular persons and churches by name in prayer before God. If the Apostle had not been in the true spirit of love, it would have been irksome to him to repeat so many names when he prayed. This intercession is a special part of the communion of the saints, and secures this blessing, that we may have in return the comfort of the prayers of other Christians, and especially of the great intercession of Christ: for we are often in such circumstances that we can hardly pray ourselves.Hast thou, believing Christian, no lands, goods, money, friends of thine own, yet thou canst call God thy possession, and sing with David (Psa 16:5-6): The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance, and of my cup: Thou maintainest my lot. The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage.Children of God hear the praise of another not only with patience, but with pleasure, and praise the Lord for such grace; comp. Phm 1:4 and Gal 1:23-24.
Hedinger: Faith without love is only a conceit, and love without faith is a mere work of nature.Bibl. Wrt.: He who loves one and hates another, has not a pure love, but is partial (Jam 2:1).Believers have much good within them, and much also externally among them. God be praised, who creates and works all good everywhere.Believers have, in their suffering, no better consolation than that which they receive from the love and good conduct of others.Under trials of the cross, God raises up a Philemon to refresh the believer, or a Simon to bear the burden with him.[Onesiphorus sought out the captive Paul at Rome, and was not ashamed of his chain, and had as his reward the prayers of an Apostle (2Ti 1:16).H.]He who bears the teachers office, should reprove and teach, not in his own name, but in the name of Jesus Christ.Love binds together more than commands.Christian prudence requires that we consider not only what is allowed, but also what is useful (Phm 1:8; 1Co 10:23).An old man, long tried in the service, who still follows Christ and suffers persecution on that account, deserves, above others, that we honor and obey him (1Pe 5:6).[Rev. J. Trapp: Old age and honor are in the Greek tongue very near akin: et . The old, when found in the way of righteousness, are like flowers which have their roots perfect when themselves are withering; like roses, that keep a sweet fragrance though they lose their color.H.]The sufferings of a servant of Christ should increase rather than diminish the respect due to him.Teachers have a hearty affection for those who have been won to Christ through their labors.
Hedinger: A sinner convertedwhere? In bonds. Happy change! Deed worthy of all praise! Such is the power of Gods love, and the love of a true teacher. The former receives willingly the penitent offender; the latter seeks to save the lost on every occasion, most of all in prison, in the face of death itself.Bibl. Wrt.: Men may bind and fetter the body, but the word of God cannot be bound (2Ti 2:9).No place is so inconvenient that one should not find an opportunity to speak or write a word of exhortation (Act 28:31). Christ preached on the cross, and converted a malefactor.In what was Onesimus useful to Paul? (1) In this, that he made him happy by his conversion; (2) because he served him with Christian fidelity in the bonds of the gospel (Phm 1:13); (3) Onesimus could now, by his consolation, quicken and support the Apostle after the example of the Romans (Rom 1:12).If sin has been strong in a man before conversion, grace must be still stronger after conversion.Grace must be acknowledged in the poor as well as in the rich; faith suffers no respect of persons. The diamond retains its lustre, though it lie on a dunghill.In the church there should be a mutual coperation between the highest and the lowest members (1Pe 4:10).Though servants of the gospel are bound, the gospel has yet a free course (Php 1:14).[Judson had hardly begun his labors in Burmah, before he was cast into prison, and was kept six months in three pairs of fetters, two months in four, six months in one, and was two months a prisoner at large. And to-day Burmah has the Bible in its own language; churches are springing up in every province, and native preachers are the pastors and missionaries. We may already count the converts, who are the fruits of this fettered ministry, by thousands and tens of thousands.H.]Harmony of will between believers is praiseworthy and beautiful, and serves to edify and establish in the Lord.God sometimes takes away a little comfort, that He may give back to us one better and more abiding.Spiritual fellowship and union have a great advantage over that which is natural.In the kingdom where Christ is Head and King, all distinction ceases, and in the body of Christ the greatest has no more dignity on worldly grounds than the least.A great saint in his humility will be no more than one who stands far below him (Luk 22:26).He who sincerely loves Christ, loves Him as well in Onesimus as in Paul; and he who does not love him in Onesimus, does not love him in Paul.
Cramer: Every Christian should pray for every other, and take him to his heart, not in word merely, but in deed. If it were possible to save him at that expense, his own bloodlife itselfshould not be grudged.[Some of the Moravian missionaries sold themselves into slavery, that they might preach to slaves.H.]
Hedinger: True love is prodigal. Mark you what I mean? It gives, lends, promises, is often willing, if good may be done, to be cheated.Bibl. Wrt.: It is a sacred obligation which binds the convert to him who has converted him, and cannot be discharged by worldly goods (Gal 6:6-7).Food and drink cannot so refresh a hungry man, as the true teacher is refreshed when he sees his word bringing forth fruit in others.Believers stand in the closest and most intimate communion with Christ: they in Him, and He in them, and with al their works (Joh 17:21-23).
Starke: There must be confidence and trust in all prayer and petition: doubting obtains nothing (Jam 1:6-7).Bibl. Wrt.: Sincere love does more good than is desired (Phm 1:21): it lets its rivulet flow more richly than the thirsty need (2Co 8:3-4).Every one should so exemplify his Christianity, as not to cause others, especially honest teachers, to be put to shame for the good opinion which they have formed of him (2Co 9:3-4).Christians should be lovers of hospitality (Heb 13:2); should also entertain and assist preachers (Mat 10:14).An honest teacher is a gift of Gods-grace (Eph 4:8-11).It is a great consolation, if we are put in prison, that it is not for any misdeed, but the testimony of Christ.The preachers work is heavy to bear; happy they who have true helpers!In the matter of Christianity, all depends on the grace of the Lord Jesus; Christ all and in all (Col 3:11).
Lisco (Phm 1:1-7): In what way a Christian seeks to make a request heard by a Christian (Phm 1:9).How the communion of saints consists in the common unity of a faith which is active in love.An acknowledgment of the good which we have in Christ, an important means of strengthening faith (Phm 1:8-10).From what motives Paul desires the pardon of Onesimus.The work of redeeming love: (1) It seeks the lost sinner; (2) it represents him with the Father; (3) it brings him back to the arms of the Father.Interceding love: (1) How love prays; (2) what it secures.Christians left to act freely (Phm 1:14), and yet bound to each other as brethren; and, because they trust in Christ (Phm 1:5), may trust each other (Phm 1:21).
Lavater (Sermons on the Epistle to Philemon, St. Gallen, 1785, in two volumes): The different kinds of greetings and salutations: (1) Joab-greetings and Judas-kisses; (2) greetings of derision and scorn; (3) cold, empty-hearted greetings; (4) greetings and wishes of natural love; (5) Christian greetings.Palmer: Theme for a funeral discourse (Phm 1:15).F. W. Krummacher (Sabbathglocke, 1, S. 209): a sermon on the whole Epistle, with the theme: Primitive Christianity.What this letter teaches: (1) Concerning the person of Christ; (2) concerning the salvation of the world; (3) the way of salvation; (4) the kingdom of Christ; and (5) the authority of the apostolic word.J. J. Van Oosterzee: The Epistle to Philemon an important contribution: (1) For our Christian knowledge, (a) respecting a little church, (b) respecting a great Apostle, (c) respecting a relation altogether peculiar, which existed between the two; (2) for our Christian faith, (a) in the operation of Gods providence, (b) in the divinity of the gospel, (c) in the powerful working of the Holy Spirit; (3) for our Christian life, and especially (a) for our personal, (b) for our domestic, and (c) for our social or common life.
Rochat (Phm 1:4): La disposition de rendre grace Dieu pour les autres est une des marques des plus sres de la charit. Dans les actions de grace, que nous rendons pour le bien, que Dieu nous fait ou quil fait par notre moyen, il peut facilcment se glisser un sentiment degoisme ou dorgueil. Mais quand nous pouvons sincrement rendre grace Dieu pour les dons, quil a fait nos frres, lors mme que ces dons nous laissent en arrire de ceux auxquels ils ont t accords, alors nous pouvons croire, que nous avons vritablement la charit, qui nest point envieuse, et que nous avons vraiment cur lavancement du regne de Dieu, puisque nous sommes aussi contents de le voir dans les autres et par les autres, quen nous et par nous.
[Translation: The disposition to give thanks to God for others is one of the surest marks of a true love, or charity. In the giving of thanks, which we render for good which God does to us, or which He does through our means, it is easy for a feeling of egoism or of pride to insinuate itself. But when we are able to give thanks to God for the gifts which He has granted to our brethren, even when these gifts cause us to fall behind those on whom they are bestowed, we may then believe that we have truly the charity which envies not, and that we have sincerely at heart the advancement of Gods kingdom, since we are as content to see this take place in others and by others, as in us and by us.H.]
Khne: Onesimus was a servant (Knecht), and became a brother beloved, and yet remained a servant in the Lord Christ Jesus. Christianity does not abolish the differences of external condition. The sacred rule in regard to such relations is that laid down in 1Co 7:20-24. What Christianity requires, is: Let every one command in Christ, and let every one obey in Christ. Where the commanding and the obeying are in the Lord, the commanding and the obeying easily adjust themselves to each other. But how seldom do we find such a beautiful, happy household! Alas, the commanding and the obeying in the Lord have become so rare among us, because so many masters and so many servants have broken away from the Lord, from the purity of the faith, &c.These Bible-lessons are especially rich in illustrative examples from the history of the church and of missions. In the annals of the latter particularly, the practical pastor will find striking parallels to the history of Paul and Onesimus.
[Relation of this Episle to Slavery.On the relation of this Epistle to the subject of slavery, the following opinions represent the general sense of Christian writers:
Neander: Among those social relations which were alien to the nature of Christianity, and which Christianity found existing at the time of its first propagation, belonged slavery. By the estrangement of humanity from God, its original unity was disturbed. Mankind, destined to be one, split asunder into a multitude of nations, each striving to assert itself as the whole, and each taking an opposite direction to the other in its course of development. Thus the consciousness of possessing a common human worth was lost; and it became possible for man to be placed in that relation to his fellow in which nature alone should stand to humanity, and his own nature to the individual. A relation so unnatural could find its justification only by assuming the position, that the difference among nations, which took place at a later period, and originated in sinthat difference, by virtue of which there exists so great a disparity of intellectual and moral power, was something original. Hence men could no longer recognize the fundamental identity of human nature, and believed one class destined by nature itself to be the tools of another, and without any will of their own. Thus was this relation a necessary result of the position held by antiquity, when state and nation constituted the absolute form for the realization of the highest good; and thus it could happen that the nation which was most ardent for civil liberty, still employed thousands only as slaves. And though their situation was often rendered more tolerable through the influence of manners and the pure sentiments of humanitywhich, breaking through unnatural restraints, would introduce heartier fellowship between master and slaveyet the contradiction between this whole relation and mans essential dignity could not be thus set aside; and in general it still continued to be the habit to regard slaves, not as men gifted with the same rights as all others, but as things.
But Christianity brought about that change in the consciousness of humanity, from which a dissolution of this whole relation, though it could not be immediately effected, yet, by virtue of the consequences resulting from that change, must eventually take place. This effect Christianity produced, first by the facts of which it was a witness, and next by the ideas which, by occasion of these facts, it set in circulation. By Christ, the Saviour, belonging to all mankind, the antagonisms of men resulting from sin were annulled; by Him the original oneness was restored. These facts must now continue to operate in transforming the life of mankind. Masters, as well as servants, were obliged to acknowledge themselves the servants of sin, and to receive in the same manner, as a gift of Gods free grace, their deliverance from this common bondagethe true, the highest freedom. Servants and masters, if they had become believers, were brought together under the same bond of a heavenly union, destined for immortality; they became brethren in Christ, in whom there is neither bond nor free, members of one body, baptized into one spirit, heirs of the same heavenly inheritance. Servants often became teachers of their masters in the gospel, after having practically exhibited before them the loftiness of a divine life, which must express itself even under the most constraining of relations, and shine forth the more conspicuously from the contrast. The masters looked upon their servants no longer as slaves, but as their beloved brethren; they prayed and sang in company; they could sit at each others side at the feast of brotherly love, and receive together the body of the Lord. Thus, by the spirit and by the effects of Christianity, ideas and feelings could not fail of being widely diffused, which were directly opposed to this relation, so consonant with the habits of thinking that had hitherto prevailed. Christianity could not fail to give birth to the wish, that every man might be placed in such a relation as would least hinder the free and independent use of his in tellectual and moral powers according to the will of God. Hence the Apostle Paul, speaking to the servant, says (1Co 7:21): If thou mayst be made free, use it rather. Yet Christianity nowhere began with outward changes and revolutions, which, in all cases where they have not been prepared from within, and are not based upon conviction, fail of their salutary ends. The new creation to which Christianity gave birth, was in all respects an inward one, from which the outward effects gradually, and therefore more surely and healthfully, unfolded themselves to their full extent.History of the Christian Religion and Church, vol. 1, p. 267 sq., Dr. Torreys Translation.
Rev. F. D. Maurice: Christianity, said Mr Canning, in one of the debates upon the emancipation of the West Indian slaves, grew up amidst the scenes of tyranny which are described in the Sixth Satire of Juvenal. It recognized the institution of slavery. How can it be said to be essentially adverse to that institution? This question ought to be fairly met. What is the answer? The Epistle to Philemon, I think, supplies it. St. Paul, in his letters to the churches, had not proclaimed that slaves were free from their mastershad not insisted on masters dismissing their slaves; he had simply said that they were brothers. Here he explains that position. He calls upon a master to receive back a runaway slave, as both a servant and a brother. He might, he says, command him to do this as an Apostle; but he begs it for the love of Christ, and for the love which Philemon bears to him, the bondman of Christ, because such entreaties are mightier than commands. Here is the method of the Apostle, and of the Church, for destroying slavery. They strike at the root of it, by proclaiming that a man can never be a thing, a chattel. But they strike not merely at a particular arrangement which has introduced that accursed notion and canonized it, but at every other which interferes with the recognition of Gods Fatherhood and Christs Brotherhood, and with the indwelling of the Spirit of Christ in men, to the end that their true manhood may be called forth in them.Unity of the New Testament, pp. 658, 689.
E. de Pbrssens: Christianity is reproached with not having immediately proclaimed the abolition of slavery. It is forgotten that it would thus have confounded two spheres which it was important for it always to distinguish, especially at the first steps of its progress in the world; it would have left the religious for the civil sphere. It could not enter the latter without exposing itself to all the perils, fluctuations, and risks of the use of material force. From a moral, it would become a political power; it would abdicate its true royalty, and, for the sake of a doubtful change prematurely wrought, it would lose that eternal power of reformation which it possesses, for the renewal of individuals and of societies at every epoch. It no more approved slavery than it approved polygamy and the Roman law of divorce; but it sent into the world the principle which was to abolish these institutions so radically hostile to the ethics of the gospel, and it defined this principle with sufficient clearness, in the matter of slavery, for one to recognize that it morally abolished it, as far as was possible for it, without departing from its proper domain. At first, the relations of masters and slaves were regulated in conformity to the laws of justice. The former were to remember that they had a Master in heaven, and the latter to reassert their dignity as men by making their obedience subjection to God. But more: Paul distinctly declared, that in Jesus Christ there was no longer slave, nor freeman; that is, that every human being has an equal right before God. The possession of man by man is, by the same declaration, immoral, an attack upon the rights of Christs redeemed, and incompatible with the doctrine of redemption, and of equality, which is its result. Nor was Paul content with stating these principles; he applied them. His Epistle to Philemon is the virtual declaration of freedom of the Christian slave. He returns Onesimus to his master as a brother in the faith, as his own son, and he demands that he be received as himself. , , (Phil. 10, 12). Such words have done more to break the fetters of the slave than the shouts of revolt and the outbursts of indignation on the part of the oppressed; for they declare that the slave who, yesterday, turned the mill in the fields, or served his master as a beast of burden, without ever meeting a look of affection, now sits with him at the table of love, breaks with him the bread of communion, and drinks of the same cup of blessing; he goes through the same trials and persecutions; he is treated by him as a brother, as being a member of the same church. If it is remembered what was their condition some years before, it will be found that a mighty change, which was to introduce all the others, has been wrought. Add to this, that St. Paul was not content with proclaiming the equality of men before God in Jesus Christ; he declared positively that the Christian should be freed outwardly, as he had been morally. He gives the slave advice not to neglect the opportunity of escaping from the state of slavery, as often as it was offered. , (1Co 7:21). This advice has great significancy, especially if we take into account the moderation of language necessary in so delicate a question, which could be rendered social and political by a single imprudent word.Histoire des Trois Premiers Sicles, ii pp. 274276.H.]
Dr. Schaff: Slavery is the robbing an immortal man, created in the image of God, of his free personality, degrading him into an article of merchandise, a mere machine of his owner, and thereby hindering the development of his intellectual and moral powers, and the attainment of the higher end of his existence. For this heathenism had no remedy. On the contrary, the most distinguished heathens justified this immoral and unnatural state of things, by assuming an original and essential distinction between the ruling and the serving classes…. Christianity has provided the only means for delivering man from the inward and most cruel bondage of sin, the bitter root of all wrong social relations, slavery and despotism among the rest, and for the radical cure, therefore, of the evil in question. It confirms, in the first place, the Old Testament doctrine of the original unity of the human race, and its descent from a single pair. Then it asserts the perfect equality of men in the highest, spiritual view, in their relation to Christ, who has redeemed all, even the poorest and meanest, with His blood, and called them to the same glory and blessedness. In Christ all earthly distinctions are inwardly abolished. In Him there is neither Jew nor Greek, bond nor free, male nor female; all form one ideal person in Him, the common Head (Gal 3:28; Col 3:11). On the one hand, therefore, the Christian master is a servant of Christ, with whom there is no respect of persons, and he ought always to be conscious of this dependence, and of the responsibility it involves (Eph 6:9). On the other, the slave is by faith a freedman of Christ, in the blessed possession of the only true liberty, that of the children of God, and thus, even though remaining in his bonds, he is raised above them; while the richest prince, without faith, is but a miserable slave of sin and death. Hence the master should look upon his servant as also his brother in Christ, and treat him accordingly (Phil. 16, 17); the servant should obey, not as the slave of man, but for the sake of the Lord…. By this view the distinction of master and slave is at once inwardly obliterated and deprived of its sting, even where it outwardly remains. This we see already in the case of Onesimus. For while St Paul does not deny the legal relation between master and slave, he changes it at the same time, by the spirit of Christian communion, into a free patriarchal service, which must necessarily result at last in a change also of the legal relation. He sent Onesimus back to Philemon, no longer as a slave, but as a brother beloved (Phm 1:16), and delicately hinted at his emancipation. Christianity is so spiritual and universal, that it can exert its power in all conditions and relations, and turn, as by magic, even the hut of deepest misery into a heaven of peace and joy. Thus there are now slaves, who, through their virtue and piety, are infinitely freer than their masters, and put them to shame, or become, as in former ages, instruments of their conversion. On the other hand, a true Christian, who comes into possession of slaves by inheritance, will never treat them as slaves in the proper sense, but as free servants, with all love and kindness; he will seek in every way to promote their moral and religious culture, even if circumstances, for which he is not personally answerable, should make their formal emancipation for the time impracticable. But of course this alone is not enough. All that is inward, must, in the end, work itself out, and fully establish itself as an outward fact in actual life. So Paul expressly says to the slave: But if thou mayest be made free, use it rather (1Co 7:21). Hence the spirit and genius of Christianity. will not rest, till, by the power of redemption, all the chains which sin has forged shall be broken, till the personal and eternal dignity of man shall be universally acknowledged, and the idea of evangelical freedom and fraternal fellowship perfectly realized.History of the Apostolic Church (N. Y., 1853), pp. 455, 459, 460. Comp. also Schaffs History of the Christian Church, vol. i. (N. Y., 1859), pp. 315 ff, and vol. ii. (N. Y., 1867), p. 115 ff.H.]
THE END OF PHILEMON.
Footnotes:
[19]Phm 1:22.[The imperative, as present, , be preparing, intimates that Paul expected to arrive soon, and would have the preparation for his reception made promptly. means I hope, and not I trust, which is the proper rendering of , as in Phm 1:21. This inaccuracy of the English Version reaches back to Tyndale. Spero of the Vulgate preserved Wiclif and the Rheims translators from that inadvertence. Fifteen other instances of this same error (that of saying trust where it should be hope) occur in the English Scriptures.H.]
[20]Phm 1:23., not , as in the received Greek text. [Of course the verb as singular agrees with the nearest noun, and is repeated before the others; comp. Joh 18:15; Joh 20:3. See Winer, Gramm. 47, 2.H.]
[21]Phm 1:24.[Marcus should be Mark, in conformity with the English Version in Act 12:12; Act 12:25; Act 15:39; 2Ti 4:11. Again, Lucas should be Luce, as in Col 4:14; 2Ti 4:11. The English reader might otherwise suppose that a different person was intended.H.]
[22]Phm 1:25.[ is probably not genuine. It was a liturgic word, and is attached to some of the other epistles also, as a response of the congregation. It appears in all the English Versions from Wiclif onward, but, being no part of the text, should be dropped. See Mr. Abbots note under Amen in Dr. Smiths Bible Dictionary, Amer. ed.H.]
Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange
22 But withal prepare me also a lodging: for I trust that through your prayers I shall be given unto you.
Ver. 22. But withal, prepare, &c. ] Thus he despatcheth his own private business in one word, as it were; his main care was, that Onesimus might do well: a fair mirror for ministers.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
22 . ] But at the same time (as thou fulfillest my request), also . We may, perhaps, take this direction as serving to secure the favourable reception of Onesimus: for the Apostle would himself come and see how his request had fared: . , , , Chrys. Or it may be, as Ellic., that Philemon was not to consider the Epistle as a mere petition for Onesimus, but as containing special messages on other matters to himself. and refer to those names in Phm 1:1-2 .
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Phm 1:22 . i.e. , at the same time that he does what he is going to do for Onesimus. : Lightfoot’s remark that “there is a gentle compulsion in this mention of a personal visit to Colossae,” does not seem justified in view of the stress that St. Paul lays on Philemon’s action being wholly voluntary, see Phm 1:10 ; Phm 1:14 ; it is more probable that this is merely an incidental mention of what had been planned some time before, namely another missionary journey to Asia Minor and Greece (see Phi 2:24 ), without any thought of influencing Philemon’s action thereby. : only here and in Act 28:23 , in the N.T.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Phm 1:22
22 At the same time also prepare me a lodging, for I hope that through your prayers I will be given to you.
Phm 1:22 “prepare me a lodging” Paul was expecting to be released (cf. Php 1:25; Php 2:24). The Pastoral Letters (I and 2 Timothy and Titus) record this fourth missionary journey, while Acts ends with Paul still in prison after his third missionary journey.
It is surprising that Philemon is thought to be grouped with Colossians and Ephesians, occurring early in Paul’s imprisonment. In these books, Paul is uncertain of the outcome of his trial. In Philippians, which was written towards the end of Paul’s imprisonment, he expected to be released. Therefore, this comment in Phm 1:22 may have been (1) a way to remind Philemon that he would have to face Paul personally-and possibly soon-about his request to forgive and accept Onesimus or (2) an idiom for hospitality.
“through your prayers” Paul believed in the power of prayer (cf. Eph 6:18-19). He also practiced what he preached (note the different Greek terms used: deomai, 2Co 5:20; 2Co 8:4; 1Th 3:10; proseuchomai, Act 16:25; Act 20:36; Act 21:5; Act 22:17; Act 28:8; Php 1:9; Col 1:3; Col 1:9; Col 4:3; 1Th 5:17; 1Th 5:25; 2Th 1:11; 2Th 3:1; 1Ti 2:8; proseuch, Act 16:13; Act 16:16; Rom 1:9; Rom 12:12; Rom 15:30; 1Co 7:5; Eph 1:16; Php 4:6; Col 4:2; Col 4:12; 1Th 1:2; 1Ti 2:1; 1Ti 5:5; Phm 1:4; Phm 1:22).
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
withal. Greek. hama. See Col 4:3. 2Ti 5:13.
me also = also for me,
lodging. Greek. xenia. Only here and Act 28:33.
trust = hope. Greek. elpizo.
through. App-104. Phm 1:1.
given = granted as a favour. Greek. chariaomai. App-184.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
22. ] But at the same time (as thou fulfillest my request), also. We may, perhaps, take this direction as serving to secure the favourable reception of Onesimus: for the Apostle would himself come and see how his request had fared: . , , , Chrys. Or it may be, as Ellic., that Philemon was not to consider the Epistle as a mere petition for Onesimus, but as containing special messages on other matters to himself. and refer to those names in Phm 1:1-2.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Phm 1:22. , a lodging) where others may come to visit me. See the power of hope. Paul, a prisoner, makes this arrangement (appointment) at so great a distance.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Philemon 1:22
But withal prepare me also a lodging:-Paul expected soon to visit Colosse and to be with Philemon at his home so admonishes him to have a room ready for him when he should come. [It is most likely that this clause was added that Philemon might be moved with joy at the prospect of his coming at an early date, and also that he might be the more zealous to do everything that Paul desired him to do that nothing should be lacking when he comes.]
for I hope that through your prayers I shall be granted unto you.-The efficacy, which is ascribed to prayer, is a great encouragement to Gods people to have recourse to prayer
in their trials, agreeable to the exhortation and example of Christ and his apostles. But effectual prayer must be offered in faith (Jas 1:6)-in full persuasion of the goodness and power of God. Jesus said: If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatsoever ye will, and it shall be done unto you. (Joh 15:7.) And it must be according to his will, for the inspired man of God says: And this is the boldness which we have toward him, that, if we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us. (1Jn 5:14.) Our petitions, whether for ourselves or others, are to be offered with submission to the will and wisdom of God; and the highest confidence which can be entertained concerning them is that which Paul here expresses: I hope that through your prayers I shall be granted unto you. Certainly Paul was satisfied with the outcome, for he said, as the Holy Spirit moved him: And we know that to them that love God all things work together for good, even to them that are called according to his purpose. (Rom 8:28.)
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
prepare: Act 28:23
for I trust: Rom 15:24, Phi 1:25, Phi 1:26, Phi 2:24, Heb 13:23, 2Jo 1:12, 3Jo 1:14
through: Rom 15:30-32, 2Co 1:11, Phi 1:19, Jam 5:16
Reciprocal: Rom 1:10 – request Eph 6:19 – for Col 4:3 – praying 1Th 3:10 – praying 1Th 5:25 – General 1Ti 3:14 – hoping Heb 13:19 – that I
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
ANSWERED PRAYERS
Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the Church unto God for him.
Act 12:5
But withal prepare me also a lodging: for I trust that through your prayers I shall be given unto you.
Phm 1:22
The two passages taken together, and considered in the light of subsequent events, cover the whole subject of Divine Answers to Prayer; prayer which takes the form of petition for some definite, outside good, which appears to the soul of the suppliant needful and desirable. The first passage supplies clear and visible evidence that God can and will answer such prayers. The second passage supplies inspired testimony, confirmed by historical fact, that God can and does answer such prayers, though His operations may be unseen.
I. The similarity in the two cases.The circumstances are almost identical. The differences are only in names, and times, and places. In both cases we have a portion of the Church of Christ bowed in earnest prayer before her Divine Head, beseeching Him to rescue His faithful Apostle from the power of a blood-thirsty tyrant; and in both cases the prayer is answered, and the Apostle is freed.
(a) The region into which prayer may enter. The only sphere to which prayer properly belongs, men say, is that which is personal, and inward, and spiritual. To pass from ourselves to the outside world, to affairs of human government and human laws, to the natural universe, is foolish and vain. The examples here given are against such statements. In matters that concern the free action of our fellow-men, the arrangements of human life, and the laws of nature, prayer has a voice, prayer may be offered.
(b) Prayer has direct results therein. A good-humoured sceptic might say, Pray for others as much as you like. Pray that they may be delivered from the destructive action of Natures laws, or from human evil and wrong. It may do you some good in the way of deepening your sympathies, but any outward results are impossible. This is to deny the facts and statements before us. Through the prayers of the Church, St. Peter and St. Paul are restored to liberty.
(c) Prayer does not always receive the answer desired. There came a time when St. Peter and St. Paul were again in prison, and their lives imperilled. Without doubt the Christian Church prayed for their release as earnestly then as now. But the petition was not granted, at least not in the way expected and desired. The apostles were released, but by deathreleased, not to earthly toil, but to heavenly rest. It is a mistake to suppose, and a misrepresentation to declare, that the Christian Church teaches that the good asked in prayer is always given. Christians pray, if they pray aright, not with a desire to impose their will upon God, and upon His universe. And where the answer is not given according to their desire, they are content to believe that it is in respect of things they themselves would not have desired, could they have known as God knows.
(d) Prayer is a mighty power in the affairs of men, a mighty weapon put into the hands of the Church. How unequal seem the forces arrayed against each other! Herod with his royal resources; Nero with his imperial power, walled prisons, and armed men: on the other side a few weak men and women bowed in prayer. Yet against those prayers, and against the will of Him to whom those prayers are addressed, king and emperor, prisons and guards, are ineffectual, and the Church rejoices in the restoration of St. Peter and St. Paul. The Church of Christ is resistless for the purposes of her great mission, when fully armed with the power of prayer.
II. The distinction between the two cases.The same answer is given, but in very different ways. In the first case, there is a direct Divine interposition. No man who belives the Scriptures can doubt the Divine answer. Gods hand is seen, thrust out of the thick darkness in which He hides Himself, touching and conquering all obstacles, and lifting His servant into liberty and life. In the other case there is nothing strange and miraculous. St. Paul is summoned before the imperial tribunal, is allowed as a Roman citizen to plead his cause, and, as the result, he is set at liberty. Men might say, There is no answer to prayer here. St. Paul regained his freedom through a tyrants whim, a passing gleam of good nature in the savage Nero, a momentary impression made upon him by St. Pauls evident sincerity and earnestness, or through the circumstances of the time when the fury of persecution had for the moment glutted itself. But St. Paul himself testifies, Through your prayers I shall be given to you.
(a) The blessedness of the man who lives and moves in an atmosphere of prayer; around whom cluster thickly, as guardian forces, the ceaseless petitions of the people of God; upon whose head descends continually the anointing oil of a thousand benedictions.
(b) The exalted privilege of being identified with the Redeemers visible Church. Men might speak lightly of it, but is it a light thing to be remembered daily by thousands in their prayers, who pray that we may be strengthened amid our temptations, comforted in sickness and care and sorrow, delivered from threatening evil, and preserved in faithfulness to Him Whose name we bear?
III. The relation of the one case to the other.The one explains the other. The intention of a miracle, as one has well put it, is to manifest the Divine in what is common and ordinary. A miracle is designed to teach men that God is everywhere working, and that the ordinary operations of nature and life are but as the veil behind which he screens Himself from our beholding, and which, in the miracle, is for the moment removed. God delivered St. Peter from prison by a miracle, in answer to the prayers of the Church, not that men might think that by this method only He answers prayer, but that we might expect and discern the answer when it is given by ordinary and natural means.
(a) Learn not to expect supernatural appearances and supernatural operations in answer to prayer.
(b) Learn to recognize God in that which is natural, and to accept the answer when it comes in the ordinary course of events.
Illustration
I have read of a king who led forth his steel-clad chivalry to place a despots yoke upon a free people. Just before the battle was joined, he saw their ranks bending low to the ground. See, he cried in exultation, they submit already. Yes, said a wise counsellor, who knew the men better than his master, they submit, but it is to God, not to us. And in a few hours the king and his army were scattered in shameful rout. Let the Church of Christ, as she stands face to face to-day with so many opposing forces, submit herself to God in humble, earnest prayer, and every foe shall be vanquished, and a glorious victory won.
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
Phm 1:22. Paul had hopes of being released and permitted to go out among the churches, and the testimony of history indicates that it was accomplished. In view of such an experience, he asked that Philemon make provision for his lodging.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Phm 1:22. But withal prepare me also a lodging. It must have appeared to the apostle that his release was near at hand when he wrote these words. So we may place the date of the Epistle in A.D. 63. He did not need much preparation to be made for him, that he adds this clause, but that Philemon may be moved with joy at the prospect of a speedy visit, and also be the more zealous to do everything which St. Paul desires, that he may find nothing failing when he arrives.
for I hope that through your prayers. Prayer was from the first (Act 12:5) the Churchs resource when Christs messengers were cast into prison. And as God had heard them in the case of St. Peter, so St. Paul feels that they will be effectual on his behalf also.
I shall be given unto you. So he ascribes his expected release already to the grace of God.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Phm 1:22-25. Closing Words.Meanwhile let Philemon get a room ready for Paul also; for he has good hope that their prayers will be answered by his release. Epaphras, who is sharing his imprisonment, sends greeting; and so do others who are working with him in Rome. The grace of Christ be with those at Coloss.
Phm 1:22. It was a journey of some weeks from Rome to Coloss, and Pauls words are not meant to be taken too literally, but he is evidently optimistic as to the result of his approaching trial, and means to pay a visit to Coloss when he can.
Phm 1:23. Epaphras: cf. Col 1:7; Col 4:12. The Colossian leader was apparently remaining in Rome for the present as a voluntary companion of Pauls imprisonment.
Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible
SECTION 4. CONCLUSION.
Phm 1:22-25.
At the same time also prepare me a lodging: for I hope that through your prayers I shall be granted to you.
Epaphras, my fellow-prisoner in Christ Jesus, greets thee: as do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, Luke, my fellow-workers. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.
Phm 1:22. At the same time; suggests that Paul may be expected soon after the arrival of Onesimus.
A lodging: either at an inn or in a private house. All details are left to Philemons hospitality. This intimation adds force to the main request of the letter. For if Paul comes to Coloss he will see for himself whether it has been complied with.
For I hope etc.: to be released from prison, as implied in the foregoing request.
Through your prayers: a close and important coincidence with Rom 15:30; 2Co 1:11; Eph 6:19; Col 4:3; 2Th 3:1. This confidence in his readers prayers, even for bodily preservation, is a marked feature of Pauls thought.
Granted, or given-as-a-mark-of-favour: same word as in Php 1:29; Rom 8:32; a favourite with Paul.
Granted to you: if, through the favour of God he is set free, this will be a joy and enrichment to those who have prayed for him.
This purpose to visit Philemon is in harmony with the deep interest in the Churches at Coloss and Laodicea expressed in Col 2:1. On what rested Pauls hope of speedy liberation, we do not know. No trace of it is found in the companion Epistles to the Colossians and the Ephesians. On the other hand, Col 4:3 and Eph 6:19 suggest very strongly that he had then no fear that his imprisonment would end in death.
Phm 1:23-24. Epaphras, my fellow-prisoner: see under Col 4:10. The significant addition, in Christ Jesus, keeps before us the truth, ever present to the mind of Paul, that this imprisonment stood in special relation to Christ.
Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, Luke: as in Col 4:10; Col 4:14. All these joined in the greeting to the Church at Coloss. The only name found there and, for reasons unknown to us, absent here, is Jesus Justus. And all these, like Aristarchus, Mark, and Jesus Justus in Col 4:10-11 are here called fellow-workers.
Phm 1:25. Almost word for word as in Php 4:23; Gal 6:18.
CHRISTIANITY AND SLAVERY. It is worthy of note that in this Epistle Paul does not require or ask Philemon to liberate Onesimus. Moreover, while Onesimus was still a slave in the house of Philemon, the latter was apparently a recognised Christian and a beloved friend of Paul. This, together with the silence of the rest of the New Testament, implies that the Apostles did not forbid their converts to hold slaves. Yet, not only has the Gospel put an end to slavery wherever throughout the world it has gained power, but it is the only religious system which has done anything effective in this direction.
The reason of this apparent tolerance of slavery is not far to seek. By asserting the fatherhood of God, the Gospel proclaims the brotherhood of man; and thus asserts a principle utterly inconsistent with one man treating another as his property. On the other hand, had Christ and His Apostles forbidden the holding of slaves, they would have arrayed against the Gospel all those interested in maintaining the existing order of society, and thus have needlessly placed in its way most serious obstacles. And, worse still, by raising a standard of revolt against a social injustice, they would have rallied around themselves multitudes anxious only for relief from a social grievance. An appeal to such classes would have utterly misrepresented Christianity. And their help would have ruined it. Christ therefore offered to men only a spiritual liberation. But this carried with it the living germ of every kind of freedom.
For these reasons the Apostles tolerated slavery. We have no trace of fault found for holding Onesimus as a slave. It does not even lessen Pauls warm recognition of Philemons excellence. And, even if Onesimus resume his former position, Paul will gladly be Philemons guest. Yet, while refusing to claim for the slaves a liberty for which they were not yet prepared, and which would have loosened the very framework of Society, Paul taught that in Christ the distinction of bond and free no longer exists, and that a believing slave is already virtually free : Gal 3:28; 1Co 7:21. And in Col 4:1 he teaches that slaves have just claims upon their masters, claims recognised by a Master in heaven. Such teaching at once improved the lot of the slave, and prepared gradually a way for the emancipation which our day has seen.
From the example of the Apostles in the matter of slavery we may learn an important lesson. There are many things contrary to the Spirit of the Gospel which it is inexpedient at once to forbid by civil or ecclesiastical law. In some few cases such prohibition would appeal to unworthy motives. And verbal prohibition can be effective only when supported by the public conscience. The Gospel works always from within, shedding light upon broad principles of right and wrong, light which ultimately reaches and illumines all the details of practical life. But, for this inner illumination, time is often needful. Legislation is effective only when it registers an inward growth of the moral sentiment.
The result of this letter is unknown. But from 1Ti 1:3 we infer that after his imprisonment at Rome Paul again visited Ephesus; though perhaps, as his directions to Timothy suggest, only for a short time. If so, it is not unlikely that Pauls wish to visit Coloss was gratified; and that, under the roof of Philemon, the master, the liberated slave, and the Apostle enjoyed sweet fellowship in Christ.
Fuente: Beet’s Commentary on Selected Books of the New Testament
22 But withal prepare me also a lodging: for I trust that through your prayers I shall be given unto you.
Two items to see here. First the fact that not only was Philemon housing a church, but he was opening his home to the apostle for a place to stay. Not a bad way to use that huge house you have folks – it is empty and gathering dust, why not put it to use for the Lord. Invite missionaries/speakers into your home for their time with your church.
Secondly, Paul is suggesting clearly that his itinerary was dependant on the Lord and prayers offered on Paul’s behalf. He often made plans, but he was always open to the Lord’s leading and closing of doors. Remember, that he is in prison and he is making plans to travel – he may have had some thought of coming freedom, but he may also have just had the desire and was waiting on the Lord to take care of the details.
Fuente: Mr. D’s Notes on Selected New Testament Books by Stanley Derickson
IV. CONCLUDING MATTERS vv.22-25
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
Paul expected release from his house arrest in Rome soon (cf. Act 23:29; Act 24:13; Act 25:25-27; Act 26:31-32; Php 2:24). This happened, but we have no record that Paul did or did not fulfill his desire to visit Philemon. The prospect of this visit would have motivated Philemon further to accept Onesimus. Paul believed the prayers of the Christians in Philemon’s church could result in his being released.
"Paul held that prayer had an objective as well as a subjective value. He believed in prayer as a mighty working force in the spiritual universe. As such he sought and valued the prayers of others on his behalf, and he himself faithfully exercised such intercession for the saints." [Note: Hiebert, pp. 123-24.]