Comments on Philemon 17-25

 We now come to the final section of Paul’s letter to Philemon:

“If then you regard me a partner, accept him as you would me. But if he has wronged you in any way or owes you anything, charge that to my account; I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand, I will repay it (not to mention to you that you owe to me even your own self as well). Yes, brother, let me benefit from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in Christ. Having confidence in your obedience, I write to you, since I know that you will do even more than what I say. At the same time also prepare me a lodging, for I hope that through your prayers I will be given to you.
Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, greets you, as do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, Luke, my fellow workers.
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.”

Slaves made up about a third of the Roman Empire's population. Onesimus had escaped from Colossae and likely traveled to Rome in hopes of losing himself among the slave population. While the Bible doesn’t record the exact circumstances, Onesimus encountered Paul and came to faith in Christ, as Paul mentions earlier in the letter.

By 20 AD, roughly forty years prior to this letter, it was common practice for slaves to purchase their freedom, and the Roman Senate had granted them a right to trial, though they were still not considered legal persons.

As John MacArthur explains: “The New Testament nowhere directly attacks slavery; had it done so, the resulting slave insurrections would have been brutally suppressed and the message of the gospel hopelessly confused with that of social reform. Instead, Christianity undermined the evils of slavery by changing the hearts of slaves and masters. By stressing the spiritual equality of master and slave…the Bible did away with slavery’s abuses.”

This is an important reminder for how Christians should approach the social issues of our day: preach the gospel, and trust God to change hearts.

Paul, having reminded Philemon of their shared love in Christ, asks him to receive Onesimus as he would receive Paul himself. Martin Luther once said, “We are all the Lord’s Onesimi.” That is, we are accepted not on our own merit, but because God accepts Christ. Paul is gently reminding Philemon of this truth.

Paul then offers to pay any debts Onesimus might owe. He is mirroring Christ’s role in our salvation, while Paul offers to pay a temporal debt, Christ paid our eternal one. Our sins are “charged to [Jesus’] account” as He bore them on the cross. H. A. Ironside noted in his commentary: “How foolish Onesimus would have been if he had thrown away Paul’s letter and undertaken to plead his own case! There can be no greater folly than to ignore the mediatorial work of Christ and seek to approach God in one’s own fancied merit.”

This short section captures the gospel in miniature: a mediator offering to pay the debt and secure acceptance.

Whether Paul wrote the entire letter or just this portion by hand, this detail adds a personal connection. He reminds Philemon that his salvation came through Paul’s ministry. Warren Wiersbe writes:
“It takes more than love to solve the problem; love must pay a price. God does not save us by His love, for though He loves the whole world, the whole world is not saved. God saves sinners by His grace, and grace is love that pays a price. God in His holiness could not ignore the debt that we owe, for God must be faithful to His own law. So He paid the debt for us!”

Paul’s willingness to repay Onesimus’s debt, coupled with the reality that Onesimus is now a brother in Christ, would have made Philemon’s decision easier.

Paul expresses his hope that Philemon will bring refreshment to his heart, a term previously used in the letter to convey the idea of an army resting after a long march. Fellowship in Christ brings that kind of deep soul-rest. Ironside adds: “When one is saved by grace, it is expected that he will walk in grace toward others, even to those whom he feels have mistreated and deceived him.”

Paul writes with confidence that Philemon will do even more than asked. This doesn’t necessarily suggest that Philemon would free Onesimus, but that his response would be one of grace. Early Christians didn’t seek to dismantle slavery through revolution, but trusted God to change hearts. Grace among believers was to reflect the grace they had received.

Paul also shows faith that he will be acquitted and asks Philemon to prepare a place for him to stay. This not only reflects trust in the prayers of the saints but also reinforces the restored bond between Paul and Philemon.

Paul concludes with greetings from fellow workers. Epaphras, from Colossae, remained with Paul in prison to encourage him. The mention of Mark is significant; the previous rift between Paul and Mark was likely well-known. By listing him here, Paul is demonstrating a reconciled relationship, urging Philemon to likewise forgive. Aristarchus and Luke are also included. A note on Demas: later in one of Paul’s final letters, he writes that Demas, having loved the present world, had deserted him and gone to Thessalonica. Paul didn’t yet know he would need to forgive Demas in the future—just as we often find ourselves needing to forgive again and again.

Paul ends with a blessing: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.” C. S. Lewis once observed that the distinguishing feature of Christianity is grace. It’s a small word, but it carries immense weight.

In these closing lines of Philemon, the gospel is on full display: we are “accepted in the beloved,” and Christ paid our debt so that “we might become the righteousness of God” in Him. When we have been forgiven so much, grace should overflow from us toward others.

To borrow once more from MacArthur’s commentary: “God's inestimable gift of free forgiveness becomes the ground on which all other kinds of forgiveness are based, and also the pattern for how we are to forgive others. If we keep in perspective how much God has forgiven us, and how much it cost Him to forgive, we will soon realize that no transgression against us can ever justify an unforgiving spirit. Christians who hold grudges or refuse to forgive others have lost sight of what their own forgiveness involved. Nothing is more foreign to sinful human nature than forgiveness. And nothing is more characteristic of divine grace.”