Philemon 1:8

Philemon 1:8. Wherefore. Here St. Paul expresses confidence that his prayers for Philemon will not be unanswered. God will show to him what his duty in this matter is, and so the apostle does not command.

though I have much boldness. He does not ignore the right which he had to speak with authority, he only waives it for the time, that what Philemon does may be done of his free will.

in Christ. Thus he marks the ground on which he would have been confident, had he thought it best so to be. His voice of authority would have been used in the name of Christ, he would have spoken as one specially sent to guide and direct.

to enjoin thee. He uses no weak word to indicate what he might have done. It is that which is employed of our Lord's commands to the winds and waves and to the unclean spirits, and bespeaks an order which may not be disputed.

that which is convenient. Conduct suitable and becoming the Christian character. So in Ephesians 5:4 he speaks of levity of conduct as unbefitting the followers of Christ, and in another place (Colossians 3:18) uses the same argument in urging on wives sub-mission to their own husbands. In modern language convenient has lost somewhat of its old sense, which marked the harmony of things put side by side.