Philemon 1:1

1. Prisoner of Jesus Christ Note on Ephesians 3:1. A playful parody here on his higher title of apostle of Christ. We may safely assume that St. Paul habitually applied this phrase to himself with genial pleasantry, while imprisoned, as a title at once of humility and honour. Bp. Wordsworth piquantly remarks, “There was some appropriateness in introducing himself as a ‘bondsman of Christ,’ in a letter where he pleads the cause of a bond-slave.” Timothy our (or, rather, the) brother. Timothy, when addressed by Paul, was a son; when named to others, was elevated to the style of brother.

Fellow labourer In noting St. Paul’s play upon the names of these friends, observe that Philemon means friendly, Archippus means cavalry captain, and Onesimus means profitable. Hence the first is his co-worker, the second is his fellow soldier, and the third was once (Philemon 1:11) unprofitable. Cowper, the poet, rebuking the witticisms of clergymen, places St. Paul before them as a model of perpetual seriousness; giving them leave, if they can find one playful passage in his writings, to preach jokes forever. The pleasantries of this epistle suggest that Cowper’s taste was slightly over-puritanical, and give us the idea that, in his circle of private friends, St. Paul, while holding his apostleship ever visible in the background, was often a cheery companion. Genial pleasantry, avoiding broad levity, vulgarity, indecency, and malignity, is an amiable and Christian quality. It is healthful to mind and body, takes repulsiveness from piety, and sheds a rightful happiness around the circle. How, where, and when Philemon had been Paul’s fellow labourer, is unknown. It is not clear that Paul had ever been at Colosse; but Philemon may have been his convert, and subsequent assistant in establishing Christianity in the neighbouring city of Ephesus.