Philemon 1-3
The Story: Onesimus was a slave who ran away from his master, all the way to Rome, where he could get lost in the crowd. There he somehow met Paul, who was in prison there. Paul witnessed to Onesimus, who became a Christian, and turned out to be a good help to Paul.
The return of a fugitive slave was a complicated, technical procedure in Roman law by this time, so the Roman authorities may not have been aware of Onesimus' legal standing. Paul was able to arrange for the return of Onesimus to his owner, who happened to be Philemon, who Paul knew. Philemon and his family lived in Laodicea, and they and perhaps their son Archippus, hosted a local church in their home.
And in running away, Onesimus apparently stole something from his master, perhaps something he could use to buy his passage to Rome.
The reason and purpose of this letter is for Paul to intercede on behalf of Onesimus.
(1) Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother,
Paul is obviously in prison for his faith, and he mentions Timothy as being with him, lending even more authority to this letter.
To Philemon, our beloved brother and fellow worker,
Philemon is the master of the household, and a Christian man, who is beloved by Paul and commended as a fellow worker.
(2) and to Appia our sister,
His wife Appia would have had the daily responsibility for managing the household, giving the slaves their duties and overseeing their ministration.
and to Archippus our fellow soldier,
If Archippus was their son, then he was grown and most likely had a position in their church, as a fellow soldier.
and to the church in your house:
The whole family must have participated in the church life, as they hosted the congregation in their home. It was common in the early church to hold their meetings in private homes. It wasn't until the third century that we have records of separate church buildings.
(3) Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
This is a normal greeting at the beginning of a letter in that day. Grace and Peace are both from both the Father and the Son, the Lord.
The form of the salutation here departs from Paul's other salutations, because it is a letter of commendation, and the wording is calculated to suggest that his appeal should be favorably received.
O my Father, thank You for every part of Your written Word, even this slip of a personal missive. Help us to learn Your ways, even in Paul's sensitivity and tact in this message. In loving one another, we are to treat each other with consideration and respect, allowing them to make their own decisions for which they will be accountable.
And we can encourage them to do the right thing, but allow them to make their own choice. And accept for them whatever they decide. This is not easy for us to do, so Father, help us to learn to be this way. The way You are with us.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will confess that Jesus is our Christ, the Lord God Almighty, sovereign King over all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, for ever and ever. Amen.
Even so, come soon, Lord Jesus!
