Philemon 1:3

So the apostle greeted the saints in Rome, in Ephesus, and in Philippi. He greeted the church in Corinth and the churches in Galatia the same way. He wrote more briefly to those in Colossae, still more briefly in his First to the Thessalonians, and quite fully in his Second. To Timothy, if not Titus, he adds "mercy" as needed by the individual. And how blessed it is, whatever the form! What an unfailing spring, and how worthy the effect! What better, what so good, could the Father bestow on His children, or the Lord on His servants?

We can see that Philemon received the assembly in his house. Although the apostle writes on a personal matter, he includes the church in his greeting. We learn from it that even the personal interests of God's people are necessarily tied to the assembly. We are so closely bound up with one another that we cannot cut ourselves off from the general state and welfare.

The apostle, in sending Onesimus back, addresses the whole assembly. That is why we have here "grace and peace," without adding "mercy," as the apostles do when they write to individuals only. His appeal for Onesimus is to Philemon. But the whole assembly is to take an interest in this beloved slave, who had become a child of God. Their Christian hearts would be a support and a guarantee for the conduct of Philemon.

Paul again uses that grand Christian word, grace (charis). The root of the word means to cause joy. In the Greek Old Testament this same word translates a Hebrew word. That Hebrew word means the favour and blessedness received from someone greater than yourself. The word "peace" clearly matches "Shalom" in the Old Testament. This peace is the healthy condition of soul enjoyed by those who experience God's grace. The source of these blessings is God. The believer enjoys them as he has fellowship with the Father and the Son.

Such is the opening wish or prayer of the apostle here, as in Romans 1:7. It comes from God in His relation of Father to us, and from Jesus Christ as Lord. Naming them together would be impossible in an inspired writing, and unworthy anywhere, if they were not one in the unity of the divine nature. True and sovereign favour was the spring, grace the result that would prove and magnify its source... Let it be ours, while enjoying the gift, to adore the Giver.

Every word and the whole scope alike express grace, not official authority. It is as Christ's prisoner that Paul introduces himself, as later on he makes his appeal... And, most unusually, he includes his wife in the address... Next is Archippus, called "fellow-soldier" as one who shared the conflicts of the truth. Last comes the church at Philemon's, which the apostle includes in the address, filling out the fellowship his heart desired with the usual benediction.