Filemone 1:5 Commento

In this epistle we have, I. The preface (Plm 1:1-7). II. The substance and body of it (Plm 1:8-21). And then the conclusion (Plm 1:22 to the end.)

Philemon 1:1 plm 1:1 plm 1:1 plm 1:1Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ,.... Not made a prisoner by Christ, though he was apprehended, laid hold on, and detained by Christ as a prisoner of hope, at his conversion; but this is not intended here: but he was a prisoner at Rome for the sake of Christ, on account of professing him, and preaching in his name; his bonds were for the sake of the Gospel of Christ; and therefore they are in this epistle called the bonds of the Gospel. He was not a prisoner for any capital crime, and therefore had no reason to be ashamed of his chain, nor was he; but rather gloried in it, as his taking this title and character to himself, and prefixing it to this epistle shows; and which he chooses to make use of rather than that of a servant of God, or an apostle of Christ, as he elsewhere does, that he might not by constraint, or authority, but by love, move the pity and compassion of Philemon to grant his request, and receive his servant; which, should he deny, would be to add affliction to his bonds: and that this is his view in the choice of this character, is manifest from Plm 1:8. and Timothy our brother, not according to the flesh, or as being of the same country, for he was the countryman of neither of them; nor only on account of his being a regenerate than, born of God, a child of God, and of the same family; but chiefly because he was of the same function, was a minister of the Gospel: him the apostle joins with himself in the epistle, and so in the request, because he might be well known to Philemon, and be much respected by him; and to show that they were united in this affair, and both desired this favour of him; hoping that by their joint application it would be obtained: unto Philemon our dearly beloved, and fellow labourer: the name of Philemon is Greek; there was a Greek poet of this name, and a Greek historian that Pliny made use of in compiling his history: there is indeed mention made in the Jewish writings (a), of a Rabbi whose name was "Philemo"; but this our Philemon seems to have been an inhabitant of Colosse, and rather to have been a Gentile than a Jew; he was a rich and hospitable man, and greatly respected, and therefore here called, "our dearly beloved"; that is, dearly beloved by the apostle and Timothy, not only as being a believer, but as being also generous and useful in his station, and likewise as he was a minister of the Gospel; for so the next phrase, "and fellow labourer", seems to import; for though such are sometimes said to be labourers and fellow helpers with the apostle, who assisted in carrying on the interest of Christ, with their purses, and prayers, and private conversation; yet as it is used in this same epistle, of such who were in the work of the ministry, Plm 1:24 it is very probable it is so to be understood here: and now though these expressions of affection and respect were without dissimulation; nor were they mere compliments; yet the intention of them was to work upon the mind of Philemon, to reconcile him to his servant; suggesting, that as he had an interest in the affections of the apostle and others, this would be a means of establishing it, and would be acting agreeably to his character, as a minister of the Gospel, (a) T. Bab. Sota, fol. 4. 1. & Menachot, fol. 37. 1. & Juchasin, fol. 101. 1. 108. 1. & 159. 2.

Hearing of thy love and faith,.... Those two spring from the free favour and love of God, and are the pure gifts of his grace; and therefore thanks are to be given for them to God; nor are they to be ascribed to the power and will of man; they are the fruits of the Spirit of God; and are the principal ingredients in sanctification, which is entirely his work; and they are in all regenerate persons; and are the evidences of regeneration; by which it is known that men are passed from death to life; and they always go together, and are inseparable from each other: there cannot be true faith where love is wanting, for faith works by love; and there cannot be real love, where there is not faith; they only love the saints aright, who love them in the faith, and because of it; and these graces are visible, and to be known by their fruits, whereby they come to be heard of, and talked of, as these in Philemon were. Faith in the heart is confessed by the mouth; and love, both to Christ and to his people, shows itself, as well as faith, in works of righteousness. Sometimes faith is put before love, it being a leading grace, and the great receiver of all the blessings of grace; and here love is placed before faith, because of its being more excellent on account of its continuance and duration; or there may be no design at all in it; but rather, as sometimes one, and sometimes another is mentioned first, it shows that they are upon an equal foot, and both have their proper place and usefulness; the objects of them follow: which thou hast toward the Lord Jesus, and toward all saints; which are either to be considered as equally objects of the same grace, or as distinct ones; that is, either that Christ is the object both of faith and love, and the saints are the object both of faith and love; or else these graces are to be distinguished by their respective objects; as that faith is toward Christ, and love toward all the saints: that Christ is both the object of faith and love is certain; nor is there any difficulty to consider him as such; faith is equally to be exercised on him, as on God the Father; and he is indeed the immediate object of faith, and by whom men believe in God; and he is to be loved, and is loved by his people above all things, and at all times, and in sincerity: and that the saints are the objects of the love of all truly gracious souls, is a plain case; but the greater difficulty is, how they should be the objects of their faith; and yet there are instances of this, Exo 14:31 and indeed, true love believes all things, and hopes all things, Co1 13:7. But it seems better to divide these objects according to the different graces, and to consider faith as being towards our Lord Jesus; which is a looking towards Christ, a moving towards him, a laying hold upon him, and embracing him, a staying and leaning on him, a living upon him, and walking in him; and which in Philemon might be a strong one, as well as unfeigned, and operative: and love may be considered as being toward all saints; for though all men are, in a sense, to be loved, and kindness to be shown to them, and that even to enemies, yet more especially the saints; who are set apart by God the Father, whose sins are expiated by the blood of Christ, and who are internally sanctified by the Spirit, and are enabled to live soberly and righteously: and all of these are the objects of love, whether rich or poor, greater or lesser believers, of meaner or larger abilities; for they are all equally loved by God, redeemed by Christ, and regenerated by his Spirit; are justified by his righteousness, are all the children and heirs of God, and are called in one hope of their calling; and love to them should be unfeigned, fervent, active, and laborious, and as Christ has loved us; and such was Philemon's love, as well as it was universal and this distribution of these graces to their respective objects may be confirmed from a parallel place in Col 1:4 which epistle was written and sent at the same time with this.

"Hearing," he says, "of thy love." This is wonderful, and much greater than if being present he had seen it when he was present. For it is plain that from its being excessive it had become manifest, and had reached even to Paul. And yet the distance between Rome and Phrygia was not small. For he seems to have been there from the mention of Archippus. For the Colossians were of Phrygia, writing to whom he said, "When this Epistle is read among you, cause that it be read also in the Church of the Laodiceans, and that ye likewise read the Epistle from Laodicea." (Col. iv. 16.) And this is a city of Phrygia.

If the question is asked—“How can we have the same faith in Christ Jesus and toward all the saints?”—the answer is that you have love in Christ Jesus and toward the saints, and you have the same faith in Christ Jesus and toward the saints by a shared property.… It is because the same holiness is shared by the Lord and by his servants, as Old Testament usage shows. As long as we believe in the holiness of God, we shall see it in his true servants as well.

But if Paul always prayed for the saints and for the better ones (Philemon, who is indeed a saint, who also demonstrated such great faith and love that he was known not only by his reputation, but also by his works) and it is likely that he always prayed for Philemon, so that the faith and love he had in Christ, and in all his holy ones, through the communication of faith and the operation of knowledge, would be kept by the mercy of Christ in all goodness. And indeed the interpretation of the love that he had in Christ Jesus, and in all his holy ones, is not difficult: by which we are commanded to love God and our neighbors. Now the question is, how can someone have the same faith in Christ Jesus and in all his saints, since charity you have in the Lord Jesus and in all his holy ones resonates in common, and the faith you have in the Lord Jesus and in all his holy ones. To illustrate this point from Exodus, let us take an example: "The people believed God and Moses, His servant" (Exod. 19). The same belief is attributed to Moses and to God so that the people who believed in the Lord may be said to have likewise believed in His servant. But this is not only true of Moses; it is true of all His saints, so that anyone who believes in God cannot really receive His faith save by believing also in His saints. For to love God perfectly and to have faith in Him, we must not hate or have infidelity toward His ministers. But what I say is this: someone believes in God as the creator: he cannot believe unless he first believes that what is written about his holy things is true: Adam was created by God, Eve was made from his rib, Enoch was translated, Noah alone was saved from the flood; Abraham was the first to be commanded to leave his homeland and his kin, he left behind for his posterity the circumcision which he had received as a sign of future generations; Isaac was offered up as a victim, and for him a ram was slain, crowned with briars, and prefigured the passion of the Lord; Moses and Aaron afflicted Egypt with ten plagues; at the voice and prayers of Jesus, the son of Naue, the sun stood still at Gabaon, and the moon in the vale of Ajalon. It is long to go through all the deeds of the Judges: and to draw the whole story of Samson, to the true sun (for his name indeed means this) is to bring sacrament. I will come to the books of Kings ("or" The Books of Kings) when, during the harvest time, at Samuel's entreaty, rains fell from heaven, and rivers suddenly overflowed: David was anointed king: and Nathan and Gad prophesied mysteries; when Elijah was carried up in a fiery chariot, and Elisha, dead with twofold spirit, raised the dead. These and other things which are written about the saints, unless someone believes them all, he will not be able to believe in the God of the saints, nor will he be brought to faith in the Old Testament, unless he approves whatever is narrated in history about the patriarchs, and prophets, and other notable men, so that, through faith in the Law, he may come to faith in the Gospel, and the justice of God may reveal in him through faith to faith, as it is written: “but the just man liveth by faith” (Habakkuk 2). It is commanded in another place: "Be holy, for I am holy, says the Lord your God" (Leviticus 19:2). Likewise, holiness is owed to both servants and the Lord: all are sanctified from one. Let us not consider Philemon's preaching lightly, if he has the same faith in the saints as in God. Whoever believes that God is holy does not err. But if anyone believes that a man who is not holy is holy, and joins him to the fellowship of God, he violates Christ, of whose body we are all members. "Whoever says," he says, "that the just are unjust, and the unjust just, is abominable to God" (Proverbs 17:15); similarly, whoever says that someone who is not holy is holy, or vice versa, is saying that the holy is abominable to God. According to the Apostle, all believers become the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 6). Whoever wanders and falls in the body of Christ, asserting that a member of his is either holy when it is not, or not holy when it is, sees what kind of crime he becomes subject to: 'Woe,' Isaiah says, 'to those who call sweet bitter, and bitter sweet: who put darkness for light, and light for darkness' (Isaiah 5:20). Sweet, I think, is holiness: bitter, that which is contrary to holiness; light can be understood in the same way as holiness, darkness as its opposite. Do you think that a crafty moneychanger, experienced in testing our coins, will not err in judging the saints?

If ever "I" make "mention of you", I always do, "I give thanks to God" for you. Why? "Hearing of your love and faith", he says. Do you see that he does not immediately seek favor from the beginning? "hearing of your love". which, if it were not great, would by no means be heard from Phrygia all the way to Rome.

Here he praises him for his goodness. From Phrygia it would not have been heard in Rome about his love and faith, if it had not been great. Since you love all the saints, that is, the faithful, you should also love Onesimus, for he too is now a believer — so that through this you may show yourself as one who loves the Lord as well. Do you see what compelling thoughts he gathers in his mind toward the fulfillment of the request?

Stating the matter of his giving thanks and of his prayer, he shows what he asks when he prays for them. The matter of this was the needs and goods of Philemon, namely, both charity and faith. For without charity nothing avails and through it all things are had. 1 Corinthians 13:1: 'If I should speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have charity, I have become as sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal.' Again, without faith no one can love God, because he does not truly know God. He makes no mention of hope, because it is midway between and is understood in the others. But in whom should they have faith and charity? In our Lord Jesus. 1 Corinthians 16:22: 'If any man does not love the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be anathema.' This is necessary, because from Christ more sweetly comes love for the members; because he who does not love the members, does not love the head. 1 John 4.20: 'For how can he who does not love his brother, whom he sees, love God, whom he does not see?' And towards all the saints... Faith is based on doctrine insofar as it is manifested through Christ, 'because no one has seen God', John 1:18; and, 'You believe in God, believe also in me,' John 14:1. We have Christ, therefore, through faith. Towards all the saints can be understood in two ways. In one way, because from the faith they have in Christ proceed the prayers made for the saints. Or, faith consists principally in the divinity as it is announced by Christ, and not only by Christ, but also by the saints. Matthew 28:19: 'Go therefore and make disciples of all nations...' Therefore we ought to believe not only what was said by Christ but also what was said by the saints. Hebrews 2:3: 'For it was first announced by the Lord and was confirmed unto us by those who heard him.'

Paul's salutation to Philemon, and the Church at his house, Plm 1:1-3. He extols his faith, love, and Christian charity, Plm 1:4-7. Entreats forgiveness for his servant Onesimus, Plm 1:8-14. Urges motives to induce Philemon to forgive him, Plm 1:15-17. Promises to repair any wrong he had done to his master, Plm 1:18, Plm 1:19. Expresses his confidence that Philemon will comply with his request, Plm 1:20, Plm 1:21. Directs Philemon to prepare him a lodging, Plm 1:22. Salutations and apostolical benediction, Plm 1:23-25.

Hearing of thy love and faith - His faith in Christ Jesus, his love to the saints. Several excellent MSS. and some versions put faith before love, which makes a more natural reading. There is no figure of speech which would vindicate our saying faith in the saints; so that, if we do not allow of the arrangement in the MSS. referred to, we shall be obliged to have recourse to the transposition, because faith must refer to Jesus Christ, and love to the saints.

ADDRESS. THANKSGIVING FOR PHILEMON'S LOVE AND FAITH. INTERCESSION FOR ONESIMUS. CONCLUDING REQUEST AND SALUTATIONS. (Phm. 1:1-25) prisoner of Jesus Christ--one whom Christ's cause has made a prisoner (compare "in the bonds of the Gospel," (Plm 1:13). He does not call himself, as in other Epistles, "Paul an apostle," as he is writing familiarly, not authoritatively. our . . . fellow labourer--in building up the Church at Colosse, while we were at Ephesus. See my Introduction to Colossians.

Hearing--the ground of his thanksgiving. It is a delicate mark of authenticity, that he says "hearing" as to churches and persons whom he had not seen or then visited. Now Colosse, Philemon's place of residence, he had never yet seen. Yet Plm 1:19 here implies that Philemon was his convert. Philemon, doubtless, was converted at Ephesus, or in some other place where he met Paul. love and faith--The theological order is first faith then love, the fruit of faith. But he purposely puts Philemon's love in the first place, as it is to an act of love that he is exhorting him. toward . . . toward--different Greek words: "towards" . . . "unto." Towards implies simply direction; unto, to the advantage of.