ACC ~ Philemon 1 v8 - 20

OVERVIEW: Paul approaches his request cautiously and delicately, hoping to extinguish Philemon’s anger and to shame him into compliance by the mention of the chains (CHRYSOSTOM). Paul appeals to his chains and his age, always emphasizing Philemon’s spiritual growth and highlighting what will be to his personal benefit as the Lord makes use of the whole situation (THEODORE). Everywhere Paul shows his deep humility and the power of the gospel to make the slave and the master equal as children of God (THEODORET). Paul’s essential greatness comes through in this passage, where he showers Philemon with praise but also exhibits his love for and devotion to Onesimus as a son in the faith. It is this balance that keeps the spirit of the gospel at the center of the letter (JEROME). Paul’s appeal is to the free willing of Philemon, that he rise to this occasion in pursuit of the holiness and virtue that are the call of the gospel (PELAGIUS).

8 | Bold Enough in Christ to Command

SPEAKING FROM LOVE. CHRYSOSTOM: Observe how cautious he is, lest any of the things which were spoken even from exceeding love should so strike the hearer as to hurt him. HOMILIES ON PHILEMON 2.

THEODORET OF CYR: Paul’s appeal is out of hu-mility, not glory. INTERPRETATION OF THE LETTER TO PHILEMON.

AMBROSIASTER: Though Paul is writing to a layman, he nonetheless does not exert his apostolic authority in order to issue orders but respects Philemon as a faithful Christian and of the same age, one who is bound to Christ as he is. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

9 | I Prefer to Appeal to You

THE BASIS OF THE APPEAL. CHRYSOSTOM: Paul appeals to Philemon on a number of grounds: the quality of his person, his age, because he was old, and from what was more just than all, because he was also a “prisoner of Jesus Christ.” HOMILIES ON PHILEMON 2.

THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA: Paul shows here what power his name alone has. COMMENTARY ON PHILEMON.

10 | I Appeal to You for Onesimus

A SPIRITUAL CHILD OF AFFLICTION. CHRYSOSTOM: For I would not have called him my son, Paul says, if he were not of great use and importance to me. What I called Timothy, that I also call Onesimus. Paul repeatedly shows his affection for Onesimus, reminding Philemon of Onesimus’s recent birth in Christ. “I have begotten him in my bonds,” he says, so that also on this account Onesimus was worthy to obtain much honor, because he was begotten in Paul’s very conflicts, in his trials in the cause of Christ. HOMILIES ON PHILEMON 2.

CHRYSOSTOM: And note, on the other hand, also Paul’s fervency. He preached the gospel bound and scourged. Oh, that blessed chain, with what great effort did it labor that night, and what children did it birth! Yes, of them, too, may he say, “Whom I have begotten in my bonds.” Observe how Paul glories. He will have the children born this way considered even more illustrious! Observe how transcendent is the glory of those bonds, in that they give luster not only to him that wore them but also to those who were on that occasion begotten by him. HOMILIES ON EPHESIANS 8.

THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA: Now Paul uses the name of Onesimus, but only after signaling the profound change that has occurred [i.e., Onesimus’s conversion]. COMMENTARY ON Philemon.

11 | Useful to You and to Me

SPEAKING PRUDENTLY. CHRYSOSTOM: See how great is Paul’s prudence, how he confesses the man’s faults and thereby extinguishes Philemon’s anger. … He has not said Onesimus will be useful to you, lest Philemon should refute this argument, but he has introduced his own person, that his hopes may seem worthy of trust. “But now,” he says, “profitable to you and to me.” For if Onesimus was profitable to Paul, who was quite strict, how more would he be so to his master. HOMILIES ON PHILEMON 2.

THE GOSPEL FIRST. JEROME: I must stand in awe of the apostle’s greatness of soul here, as a man whose mind burns for Christ. He is held in prison, he is constrained by chains, in physical misery, separated from dear ones, plunged into prison darkness, yet he does not feel the injury, he is not crucified with sadness. Rather, he knows nothing else than to ponder the gospel of Christ. COMMENTARY ON PHILEMON.

BOTH MASTER AND SLAVE CHANGED. BASIL THE GREAT: All bound slaves who flee to religious communities for refuge should be admonished and sent back to their masters in better dispositions, after the example of St. Paul who, although he had begotten Onesimus through the gospel, sent him back to Philemon. He had convinced Onesimus that the yoke of slavery, borne in a manner pleasing to the Lord, would render him worthy of the kingdom of heaven. Paul not only urged Philemon to annul the threat against his servant, being mindful of the Lord’s own words: “If you forgive men their offenses, your heavenly Father will forgive you also your offenses.” But also, in order that Philemon might be more kindly disposed toward Onesimus, Paul writes: “For perhaps he therefore departed for a season from you that you might receive him again forever; not as a servant, but instead of a servant, as a most dear brother.” If, however, it should be the case of a wicked master who gives unlawful commands and forces the slave to transgress the command of our Master, the Lord Jesus Christ, then it is our duty to oppose him, so that the name of God not be blasphemed by that slave’s performing an act displeasing to God. THE LONG RULES, Q.11.R.

13 | Glad to Keep Him with Me

CAREFUL GROUNDWORK. CHRYSOSTOM: Be careful to observe how much groundwork is necessary before Paul honorably brought Onesimus before his master. Observe how wisely he has done this. See for how much he makes Philemon answerable and how much he honors Onesimus. You have found, he says, a way by which you may through Onesimus repay your service to me. Here Paul shows that he has considered Philemon’s advantage more than that of his slave and that he deeply respects him. HOMILIES ON PHILEMON 2.

THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA: Paul indicates that had he kept Onesimus, the result would have been that he could serve Paul as an extension of Philemon’s service and thus have been a source of gain for Philemon. COMMENTARY ON PHILEMON.

THEODORET OF CYR: The idea that Paul could have kept Onesimus with him to minister to him in Philemon’s place shows the great power of the gospel: that the servant is made equal to the master. INTERPRETATION OF THE LETTER TO PHILEMON.

14 | Goodness Not by Compulsion

FREE WILL A REALITY. ORIGEN: God does not tyrannize but rules, and when he rules, he does not coerce but encourages and he wishes that those under him yield themselves willingly to his direction so that the good of someone may not be according to compulsion but according to his free will. This is what Paul with understanding was saying to Philemon in the letter to Philemon concerning Onesimus: “So that your good be not according to compulsion but according to free will.” Thus, the God of the universe hypothetically might have produced a supposed good in us so that we would give alms from “compulsion” and we would be temperate from “compulsion,” but he has not wished to do so. HOMILIES ON JEREMIAH 20.2.

TWO GOOD EFFECTS. CHRYSOSTOM: This is a strategy that is particularly flattering to the person asked. The idea is that since the act proposed is a thing profitable in itself, it is brought forward in such a way as to win Philemon’s concurrence. For two good effects are thus produced: the intercessor gains his point, and the other person is rendered more secure. HOMILIES ON PHILEMON 2.

JEROME: This verse answers the question of why God, in creating human beings, did not constitute them invariably good and upright. If, indeed, God is good not out of some impersonal necessity but because in his essence he freely wills his own goodness, he should in making man have made him to the divine image and likeness, that is, that he be good willingly and not by necessity. COMMENTARY ON PHILEMON.

AUGUSTINE: And addressing himself to Philemon, Paul says: “that your kindness may not be as it were of necessity, but voluntary.” … Now wherever there is the express statement not to do this or that, and whenever the performance of the will is required to do or refrain from some action, in keeping with God’s commandments, that is sufficient proof of the free choice of the will. Let no one, therefore, blame God in his heart whenever he sins, but let him impute the sin to himself. GRACE AND FREE WILL 2.4.

PELAGIUS: It is to be noted that he wished no one to do anything good by necessity, lest that person lose the reward of freely choosing to do the right thing. PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON THE LETTER TO PHILEMON.

15 | To Have Him Back Forever

ELICITING TENDERNESS. CHRYSOSTOM: Paul wisely said “perhaps,” that the master may yield to his request. For since Onesimus’s flight arose from wickedness and a corrupt mind and not from the intention to accomplish good, Paul has said, “perhaps.” And he has not said, “therefore he fled,” but “therefore he was separated,” in order to elicit some tenderness on the part of Philemon. HOMILIES ON PHILEMON 2.

THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA: Clearly Onesimus’s flight has served to reverse the wickedness of his judgment. The “perhaps,” however, makes Paul more persuasive [i.e., Paul puts this thought forward as a consideration for Philemon]. COMMENTARY ON PHILEMON.

THEODORET OF CYR: Onesimus’s flight has become the source of good things to him. INTERPRETATION OF THE LETTER TO PHILEMON.

JEROME: Sometimes the occasion of evil becomes the occasion of good, and God turns evil human plans to an upright end. … If indeed [Onesimus] had not fled his master, he never would have come to Rome where Paul was in prison in chains. If he had not seen Paul in chains, he would not have received faith in Christ. If he had not had faith in Christ, he never would have become Paul’s son, so that he might be sent for the work of the gospel. … Paul says “perhaps” cautiously, hesitantly, with trepidation and not with certainty. If he had not said “perhaps,” all slaves would need to flee in order to become apostles. COMMENTARY ON PHILEMON.

16 | More Than a Slave

FROM SLAVERY TO FREEDOM. CHRYSOSTOM: Shall I show you freedom arising from slavery? There was a certain Onesimus, a slave, a good-for-nothing runaway. He escaped and went to Paul. He obtained baptism, washed away his sins and remained at Paul’s feet. … Do you see his nobility? Do you see a character that brings freedom? Slave and free are simply names. What is a slave? It is a mere name. How many masters lie drunken upon their beds, while slaves stand by sober? Whom shall I call a slave? The one who is sober, or the one who is drunk? The one who is the slave of a man, or the one who is the captive of passion? The former has his slavery on the outside; the latter wears his captivity on the inside. ON LAZARUS AND THE RICH MAN 6.

17 | If You Consider Me Your Partner

THE HEART OF THE MATTER. CHRYSOSTOM: No procedure is so apt to gain a hearing, as not to ask for everything at once. For we see Paul only introduces the heart of the matter after praising Philemon and with much preparation. After having said that Onesimus is “my son,” that he is a partaker of the gospel, that he is “my very heart,” that you receive him back “as a brother” and “regard him as a brother,” then Paul has added “as myself.” And Paul was not ashamed to do this. For he who was not ashamed to be called the servant of the faithful but confesses that he was such, much more would he not refuse this. HOMILIES ON PHILEMON 3.

THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA: Paul argues that what he desires of Philemon is consistent with the shared faith and shared condition of believers. The injunction to receive Onesimus as if he were Paul does not mean Philemon should re-ceive him as an apostle but “as you would personally receive me.” COMMENTARY ON PHILEMON.

JEROME: Let him be received as an apostle and thus as Paul’s companion. COMMENTARY ON PHILEMON.

19 | Owing Me Your Own Self

SPIRITUAL GRACE. CHRYSOSTOM: Paul writes at once movingly and with subtle spiritual grace. The idea is that since Paul did not refuse to extend his credit, [how ironic it would be] if Philemon should refuse to receive Onesimus! The mention of this deserved favor would both shame Philemon into compliance and bring Onesimus out of trouble. HOMILIES ON PHILEMON 3.

THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA: Paul says, “I make this promise to you, since you yourself see the abundant rewards that God’s mercy has in store when you exercise goodness toward Onesimus. You ought to think on these things in the light of what you owe to me, though I ought not to refer to it.” COMMENTARY ON PHILEMON.