(Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful to you and to me.)
Paul has just called Onesimus his own child in the faith. Now he admits the man's past failure, and turns his very name into the reason for taking him back. (The commentators below use older translations, which read "unprofitable" and "profitable" where the ESV reads "useless" and "useful.")
The Name Behind the Wordplay
Onesimus was a slave's name, and it carried a meaning his life had contradicted. Paul builds the whole appeal on that gap, and returns to it later in the letter:
Arend RemmersTwice in this letter Paul uses a play on words about the name Onesimus, which means "profitable." But Onesimus had not honoured his name. He fled from his master Philemon and perhaps even stole something. Onesimus had gone through a radical change. The apostle points to this in verse 11, with the words "unprofitable" and "profitable" (Greek: achrestos – euchrestos). In verse 20 he speaks to Philemon directly when he says "I would have profit of you."
One writer notes why such names existed at all — and why this one had become a lie:
Truth & TestimonyOnesimus is a slave's name meaning "useful." Some slaves were just numbered 2, 3, 4. But others had descriptions to help sell them in the market. In time past Onesimus could not be true to his name. He was useless; a waster. "But now" marks the change. He is a testimony to the power of the gospel of the grace of God, which alone can bring about such a conversion.
Nothing Hidden About the Past
Paul does not soften the record to win the case. He states the failure, then points to the one thing that answers it:
William KellyHe speaks so tenderly on behalf of Onesimus. Yet he still admits how completely unsatisfactory the man's conduct had been in the past: "Onesimus, that was once to you unprofitable, but now both to you and to me profitable." He had found the Lord. God had brought him to Himself, and he was God's child, not only Paul's. What more could Philemon ask as a guarantee that he would be of use?
What Grace Had Made of Him
Onesimus now belongs to the Lord, and that is what makes his name fit at last:
Julius A. Von PoseckOnesimus (which means "profitable"), he writes, had once been unprofitable to his master — most likely even before he ran away from him. But he is now the Lord's, and a dear brother in the Lord. So he would now be a real Onesimus — that is, profitable for his master.
Another writer sets the two ends of that change side by side:
Arno Clemens GaebeleinA miserable, unprofitable slave, a runaway thief, had become a child of God, born again. The loving servant of the Lord presses him to his heart, calls him "my child," and speaks of him as now profitable to him and to Philemon. Oh, the wonders of divine grace!
A Mirror Held Up to Philemon
The word "unprofitable" does not only describe the slave. It raises a question about the master too:
The Bible Treasury"Which in time past was to you unprofitable, but now profitable to you and to me" — and what had Philemon been in time past to God? He was foolish and disobedient, serving many lusts and pleasures. But the knowledge of the love of God in his own soul had now made him a useful servant of the Lord.
Kelly weighs what Philemon might feel against what a Christian is here to do:
William KellyIf he thought of himself as an injured master, and thought of the ingratitude and every other wrong of Onesimus, irritation might be natural, and justice and a warning might be pleaded. Yet the apostle's words were bound to remind Philemon of the grace that is in Christ Jesus. Was he to be in tune with Christ, or out of tune with Him? The Christian is here to reflect Christ. That is to be his daily walk, his greatest business.
Every Believer's Story in Miniature
What happened to this one runaway is the pattern for everyone born again:
An Outline of Sound WordsThere were unusual features about the conversion of Onesimus. But what marked him at his conversion also marks everyone who is born again. He receives the divine nature. The one who once lived for himself and for this world now lives for the will and pleasure of God, who has done so much for him. So even the youngest, who have come to know God and to trust the Saviour, have the assurance from this Scripture that they can be profitable to God, serving Him wherever He has set them.
Summary
- Named. Onesimus means "profitable." His running away turned his own name into a charge against him.
- Useless. Paul admits the failure instead of hiding it. Grace here never pretends the wrong did not happen.
- Changed. "But now" is the hinge. God brought him to Himself and made him His child, so the man became what his name always said.
- Doubled. The profit runs two ways — to Paul, and to the master he had robbed. The change proves itself where he had failed.
- Yours. Philemon had once been unprofitable to God too, and so has every reader. The same grace that made this slave useful can make anyone useful, however young in faith.