Philemon 1:7

For I had much joy and comfort in thy love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through thee, brother.

Fundamentally, Paul's only hope for Onesimus had its fountain in the kind of man Paul knew Philemon to be; therefore, he dwells upon that before making his request. In the last analysis, he will ground his appeal on the fact that Philemon is "a brother." "No higher compliment can be accorded to any Christian."[19] "In the Greek, the warm address, brother, comes at the end, throwing even greater emphasis upon it."[20]

[19] R. C. H. Lenski, op. cit., p. 959.

[20] Donald Guthrie, New Bible Commentary, Revised (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1970), p. 1189.