I can think of only one letter to an individual that is included in the Bible. It is St. Paul’s “Letter to Philemon.” It has no deep theological insights or new truths. It does not address an issue of general interest to the church. One must wonder, why is it included in the Bible?
Philemon, according to the letter, had a church meeting in his house, probably in the town of Colossae in Asia Minor or modern-day Western Turkey. St. Paul wrote to him about his runaway slave, Onesimus.
The economy of the Roman Empire depended upon the forced labor of 60,000,000 slaves, and running away from a slave master was a very serious matter. If the slave was caught, the slave owner would be expected to make an example of his runaway through harsh punishment to discourage other slaves from running away. Punishment could involve torture, branding with the letter “F” on the forehead for “fugitive,” or even death.
Onesimus had run away from Philemon and likely stole a significant sum of money from his master to finance his journey. During his flight to freedom, Onesimus was somehow put into contact with Paul while Paul was in prison, probably in Rome.
Paul wrote, “I, Paul — an old man, and now also a prisoner for Christ Jesus — appeal to you for my child Onesimus. I became his father in the faith during my time in prison” (Philemon 1:9-10, CEB). So, the escaped slave came to faith in Jesus Christ and St. Paul discipled him in the faith.
Paul went on to say, “He was useless to you before, but now he is useful to both of us” (1:11). This was a play on words because the name Onesimus mean “useful.” While he was a slave, “Mr. Useful” was useless, unhappy, lazy, rebellious, incorrigible, and worthless. But Jesus had changed all of that and made a new man out of Onesimus, “Mr. Useful” then lived up to his name.
Jesus has a way of changing lives. People only can live up to their potential if they live for God in Jesus Christ. He transforms criminals into righteous individuals, the lazy into industrious souls, and those with bad attitudes into people with a new outlook on life.
Along with the letter, Paul sent Onesimus and other representatives back to Philemon. Paul wrote that sending Onesimus back was like “sending my own heart” (1:12). Onesimus had been so helpful to Paul that he wanted to keep him, but Paul did not want to do anything presumptively. Onesimus was, after all, Philemon’s property (14).
Paul went on to suggest that there was a divine reason for the separation of slave and master for a season, and that was that Philemon might have him back not just as a slave, but also as a dearly loved brother in the faith. After all, Onesimus had become a brother to St. Paul through their common faith in Jesus Christ (15-16).
Paul encouraged Philemon to welcome Onesimus back not as a runaway slave, but as if he were receiving the Apostle Paul himself (17). In saying these things, St. Paul was demanding that Philemon put his own faith into practice. Paul pushed him to treat the fugitive as a brother, not a rebellious run-away slave. He requested that hospitality be given Onesimus equal to what Philemon would give St. Paul himself. If Onesimus had stolen from Philemon, St. Paul pledged to repay the debt himself and signed an IOU with his own hand in the letter, but continued, “Of course, I won’t mention that you owe me your life.” (19).
Undoubtedly, Philemon had been brought to Christ through Paul’s ministry and Paul asked him to forgive Onesimus just like Philemon had received forgiveness in Christ.
Forgiveness is not always easy. After having been deeply hurt, it is hard for us to let go of our resentments and right to retaliation. We are reminded, however, that if we cannot forgive others, our own forgiveness by Christ is blocked and made ineffective. We must forgive if we want to be spiritually healthy and walk in the presence of God.
We don’t know if Philemon forgave Onesimus or not, but about 50 years after St. Paul’s letter was delivered, a Christian leader named Ignatius was transported from Antioch, Syria, to Rome, where he was martyred for his faith.
Along the journey, he wrote letters of encouragement to the churches of Asia Minor, letters which still survive. He wrote one letter to the church at Ephesus. In that letter he had much to say about their wonderful bishop, whose name was Onesimus. St. Ignatius even made the same pun on the name that Paul does, saying that Onesimus was “useful” both in name and in nature as a profitable servant of Christ.
It may well be the runaway slave, Onesimus, was forgiven and liberated by his master, Philemon, and with the passing of years rose to become the influential bishop of the church in Ephesus, which is not far from Colossae, the likely home of Philemon. It is practically certain that the first great collection of Paul’s letters was made at the church in Ephesus around 100 A.D., about the time Onesimus was the pastor.
Why was Paul’s letter to Philemon included in the collection? Perhaps it was a personal testimony to the greatness of God, the friendship of an apostle, and the forgiveness of a former slave master by the one who collected the letters, Onesimus.
No matter what our past, our failures, or our sins, each of us can be useful to God. God has a redemptive purpose for our labors. Let us give ourselves to serve the Master who loves us with an unending love.
Dr. Dan Darby is a retired United Methodist pastor.
