Philemon 1:1

Philemon 1:1. Paul, a prisoner. As the matter on which the apostle is about to write is rather personal and social in its character, he does not style himself an apostle in his address, but employs a word which should challenge sympathy more than make a claim to obedience.

a prisoner. This was St. Paul's first imprisonment at Rome, which lasted for two whole years (Acts 28:30), probably from A.D. 61-63. The name prisoner is applied to him (Acts 23:18) just before he was sent from Jerusalem to Cæsarea and thence to Rome, From the language of Philemon 1:22, St. Paul seems to have anticipated a speedy release. The Epistle to Philemon may therefore have been written near the close of his imprisonment.

of Jesus Christ. It was for the cause of Christ's religion, and that it might be spread abroad, that the apostle was in prison, though it was also (Ephesians 3:1) for the sake of the Gentiles. St. Paul was not ashamed of his chains, but saw advantage coming from his bondage, and so he called it his grace (Philippians 1:7), and of this grace the Gentiles were partakers.

and Timothy. We are not told in the Acts that Timothy went with the apostle to Rome, but he must have been in close attendance on him while there, for St. Paul adds his name in the greeting of the Epistles to Philippi and Colossæ, putting him in the former on a level with himself as a ‘bond-servant' of Jesus Christ.

the brother. A term early used by the Christians in speaking of, or to, one another (Acts 9:17), so that the literal rendering seems to be best here, the brother, he who is like you and me, a disciple of Christ.

unto Philemon our dearly beloved. Nothing more is known of Philemon than can be gathered from this Epistle. He seems to have belonged to Colossæ, for his slave Onesimus is said (Colossians 4:9) to have been of that city. The epithet, expressive of affection, is very frequent in the New Testament letters, especially in the Epistles of St. Peter and St. John.

and fellow-labourer. The sacrifices which Philemon was making for the church at Colossæ, by receiving the congregation into his house, entitles him to this name. And the man who did so much for Christ's cause, we may be sure was ready to do more.

and to Apphia, the sister. From the close proximity in which this name stands to Philemon's, it is natural to suppose that she was some relative, wife or sister, though in the apostle's estimate it is her best title that, like Philemon, she is a Christian.