Philemon 1
Have you found the epistle to Philemon in your Bible? It comes just before the Book of Hebrews. You can almost miss its 25 verses. We call it a letter; it’s more like a long postcard. But it is one of the most personal and intimate communications in the New Testament of God’s Word.
Sin has a way of ruining our lives. Sin brings defilement, separation from God, and debt to our Creator. But the Gospel of Jesus Christ deals with defilement. It deals with distance. And it deals with debt. All of this is pictured in the short Book of Philemon.
Background of the Book of Philemon
Here is Paul’s greeting:
Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, to Philemon our beloved friend and fellow laborer, to the beloved Apphia, Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the church in your house: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ (Philemon 1:1-3).
Apphia was probably Philemon’s wife. It is possible that Archippus was his son. Philemon himself was clearly a good and godly man. The Apostle Paul had led him and his household to Christ. Philemon had become such a Christian that he set up a church in his own house.
Why is Paul writing to him?
I appeal to you for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten while in my chains, who once was unprofitable to you, but now is profitable to you and to me (Philemon 1:10-11).
What is all that about?
Master and Slave, Both Children of God
Philemon had a slave, whose name was Onesimus. The name means “useful,” or “profitable.” But Onesimus had actually stolen some things from his master, Philemon. He ran away to Rome—the center of the Roman Empire, noted for its vices. Paul, who had led Philemon to Christ, was in Rome as a house prisoner, carrying on ministry from his prison. The providence of God brought Onesimus and Paul together. How it happened, we do not know. But we do know that Paul won the runaway slave to Christ, just as he had already won Philemon, Onesimus’ master.
In the New Testament, we do not find a frontal assault on slavery. But we do find this: slavery, a cruel system as it was in those days, was a system that could not stand the white heat of the Gospel. By changing men’s hearts, God was doing away with the institution of slavery.
Why is Paul writing on Onesimus’ behalf now?
Onesimus Needs New Beginnings
Paul had been discipling Onesimus. And one day, perhaps, Onesimus confessed to Paul, “Paul, there’s something bothering me. I’m a slave who has run away from my master. Not only that, but I stole my master’s goods. I cannot get peace about it. Now that I’ve become a Christian, what should I do?”
It appears that Paul told him, “You need to go back. You need to make it right with Philemon.”
This would have been a dangerous thing for Onesimus. He might have said something like, “Don’t you understand what my master could do to me? He could have me branded or even put to death? Besides, what I stole from him I no longer have. I wasted it. And you still think I ought to go back?”
Yes, he needed to go back. Paul knew that Philemon was also a Christian. So he sent Onesimus back, but he sent him with a letter.
And that letter is the Book of Philemon. This is the letter from Paul that a runaway slave brought back to his master.
From Turmoil to Peace in Christ
Can you imagine that scene? There’s a knock at the door. Philemon looks.
“Ah,” he says. “Onesimus, you’ve come home. Are you in trouble? Apphia, look who’s here.”
Onesimus hands Paul’s letter to Philemon. “Please read this.”
“What is…”
“Just read it, please.”
Philemon takes the scroll, and he unrolls it. Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, to Philemon our beloved friend…
Onesimus says, “Paul led me to Christ. I have been saved. And Paul told me to give you this letter.”
This letter is a wonderful illustration of salvation and the power of God to forgive sins and make peace in Christ between those who were enemies.
Life-Changing Good News of the Gospel of Jesus
As we read this extended postcard, this letter to Philemon, we should all see a picture of ourselves.
Paul had a sense of humor. In Bible times, people would name their children with a name that would be a prayer and a prophecy and a blessing. The name would have meaning. Remember what the name Onesimus means? This little boy, who later became a slave, was named “Profitable.” So now Paul makes a play on words: “Profitable for you became unprofitable, but now he is profitable again.” (See Philemon 1:11.)
Those who are lost have become, like Onesimus, unprofitable. They are not fulfilling the purpose for which they were created. All were once “unprofitable.”
As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one; there is none who understands; there is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; they have together become unprofitable; there is none who does good, no, not one” (Romans 3:10-12).
God made us for His service. We are to be bondslaves of the Almighty. But we are in sin and rebellion. It is only the Gospel of Jesus Christ that takes an unprofitable person and makes him profitable. Jesus makes something beautiful of our lives.
Restoring Us to the Steadfast Love of God the Father
Onesimus left Philemon’s house as a slave. He returned as Philemon’s brother in Christ.
Paul writes on:
I am sending him back. You therefore receive him, that is, my own heart, whom I wished to keep with me, that on your behalf he might minister to me in my chains for the gospel. But without your consent I wanted to do nothing, that your good deed might not be by compulsion, as it were, but voluntary.
For perhaps he departed for a while for this purpose, that you might receive him forever, no longer as a slave but more than a slave—a beloved brother, especially to me but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.
If then you count me as a partner, receive him as you would me (Philemon 1:12-17).
“Treat him as you would treat me.” What an illustration of the substitutionary death of the Lord Jesus Christ!
If you are a child of God, do you know that God has received you because Jesus has asked Him to do so? What has Jesus said about us to God the Father? “Father, they were runaways and unprofitable. But now they are profitable. Receive them as You would receive Me.”
Jesus prayed in His High-Priestly prayer,
John 17:23
“…I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me” (John 17:23).
How much does God love His children? As He loves Christ.
The Ultimate New Year’s Resolution
Another thing the Gospel of Jesus Christ deals with very quickly is the debt of sin.
Remember that Onesimus owed his master and had nothing to pay. But this is what Paul says.
But if he has wronged you or owes anything, put that on my account. I, Paul, am writing with my own hand. I will repay—not to mention to you that you owe me even your own self besides. Yes, brother, let me have joy from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in the Lord (Philemon 1:18-20).
Did you know that you can start the new year with the record clear, spiritually paid? Every blot, every blur, every blemish has been put on the account of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Under Roman law, when a man committed a crime against the State, when he had a debt he could not pay, they would put him in prison. His crime would be listed, written out, as a Certificate of Debt and put on his cell door. But when he had paid it all, they would write across that Certificate of Debt, “Paid in full.” They would give it to him, and he could carry it out of the prison with him.
That is the very word Jesus spoke on the cross. Tetelestai—it is finished. Jesus paid it all in full.
Make this your resolution for the next year: do not let anybody intimidate you because of your past life if you have come to Christ.
What does that mean for your Christian life?
Living with Purpose Next Year
God’s promises for the Christian life include joy that is conspicuous, continuous, and contagious.
True joy, day by day, does not diminish, because joy does not depend on what happens; it depends on the Lord Jesus Christ. Thank God for the joy of serving Jesus through the upcoming year.
How can you have a “Happy New Year?”
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord (1 Corinthians 15:58).
List of Scriptures Referenced in This Article
Philemon 1:1-20; Romans 3:10-12; John 17:23; 1 Corinthians 15:58
More Bible Verses About New Beginnings in Jesus
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved (Ephesians 1:3-6).
Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us (Romans 8:33-34).
Adrian Rogers had a unique gift for making deep biblical truth simple and practical. As founder of Love Worth Finding, he was a powerful preacher, trusted Bible teacher, and respected Christian leader. Known for his passion for the Gospel and unwavering commitment to God’s Word, he shared the message of Jesus Christ with conviction, compassion, and integrity. A devoted husband to his childhood sweetheart Joyce, he was also a loving father, grandfather, and great-grandfather. Of all his accomplishments, Dr. Rogers often said his greatest joy was found in his relationship with Jesus, his family, and the church he served.
©2025 Love Worth Finding Ministries, Inc. Used by permission. Transcripts used with permission of the Rogers Family Trust. Many thanks for the use of this important message.
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