The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.
Paul has spent this whole letter pleading with a master about his slave. He ends with one short line: grace for a whole household, and grace at one point — the spirit.
Grace at the close of the letter
William Kelly ties this last line to the great truth that grace reigns. He also asks what truth is worth if we never live in it. Note that he quotes an older translation, which reads "our Lord Jesus Christ."
William Kelly"The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit" (Philemon 25) is the final greeting of the apostle to them all. It fits this letter exactly. On the practical side it answers to grace reigning through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. And what good is truth that we do not live and walk in? The apostle never fails to wish it for all saints, in every letter of his, great or small. Sometimes the wish is longer, sometimes shorter. But it lies under them all. And in none of them is this wish of faith and love more fitting than here.
Grace for the whole household
The closing wish reaches further than the greetings. One writer points out who it covers, and why this private letter belongs in the Bible.
The Christian's FriendThe greetings, we have said, were to Philemon. Paul's closing wish was for the whole company in his house. "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit." God's wisdom shows in placing this letter among the writings that form the Scriptures of truth. For the doctrines of grace we must turn elsewhere. But this letter settles certain questions about social life and Christianity.
Why "with your spirit"
Paul could have written "with you." Leslie Grant takes the wording as a pointer to what should steer a hard decision inside us. He adds that two other letters end the same way.
Leslie M. GrantIn closing, the apostle wishes them the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ to be with their spirit. In Galatians also at the end he speaks similarly, and in 2 Timothy. No doubt this shows that the spirit is to hold the place of control, rather than the soul. That is, the knowledge and wisdom of the human spirit is to come before the desires and feelings of the soul. We can see this in each of these letters. But he returns to the plural in this last verse. So everyone he addressed in verses 1 and 2 is to weigh this, and we too, if we ever face similar circumstances. For if the spirit stays in proper communion with the Lord, we will make our decisions in a proper spirit.
A prayer for power to obey
The letter asks a great deal of Philemon. Where would he find what it takes?
Truth & TestimonyThe final greeting of the apostle to all is also a prayer. The Lord who gave Himself to redeem the saints in Colosse would also give grace to do all that Paul asked, and more. We need grace to give real expression to true Christianity. We must live truth out in daily life, and grace is the power that makes that possible.
Master and slave: the same debt
So what does grace ask of a master, and what does it ask of his slave? Kelly answers with one standard for both.
William KellyBelieving masters and slaves are equally debtors to grace. Both are equally responsible to give careful attention to good works. And the best work of all is to answer in spirit, word, and deed to the gracious Master of all of us who believe, whether free or slave.
So the last line is more than a polite sign-off. It is a wish for every Christian home.
The Christian's FriendIt means much that the apostle ends, by the Holy Spirit, with these words: "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit!" May that same grace mark the households of all the saints!
Summary
- Grace received. Master and slave stand on the same ground. Both are debtors to grace, whatever their rank.
- Grace asked. The closing line is a prayer, not a formality. The Lord who redeemed them would supply all the letter asks, and more.
- Grace placed. Paul asks it for the spirit, so that the spirit, not the feelings, steers the decision.
- Grace spread. The "your" is plural. It takes in everyone greeted at the start, so the whole house must weigh it.
- Grace lived. Truth we do not walk in is worth nothing. Grace is the power that turns the letter's plea into daily conduct at home.