Philemon 1:13

whom I would fain have kept with me, that in thy behalf he might minister unto me in the bonds of the gospel: but without thy mind I would do nothing; that thy goodness should not be of necessity, but of free will.

I would have kept ... I would do nothing ... There is a double usage of the word "would" in this. "The former denotes natural but indeterminate impulse; the latter denotes a deliberate conclusion of the will."[28] Two different words are used in the Greek.

That he might minister unto me ... This seems to be a hint that Paul hoped Philemon would send Onesimus back to help the apostle during his imprisonment, a wish that, in all probability, Philemon might have granted.

But of free will ... The principle of compulsion is not a valid option in the advancement of Christianity, or the principles of Christianity. "In Christ there is a completely new frame of reference that completely transforms all earthly relationships. Brotherhood is the focus in which all other relationships must be evaluated."[29]

[28] S. J. Eales, op. cit., p. 3.

[29] E. Earle Ellis, Wycliffe New Testament Commentary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1971), p. 891.