Philemon 1 Devotional

Received as a Brother

“But if he has wronged you in any way or owes you anything, charge it to my account.”Philemon 1:18 (BSB)

Philemon is a personal letter with a delicate request. Onesimus, a slave who had been separated from his master Philemon, has come to faith through Paul in prison (1:10, 15). Now Paul is sending him back. He could order Philemon to do what is right, but he chooses to appeal on the basis of love (1:8-9). He asks Philemon to take Onesimus back as more than a slave, a dearly loved brother, and to welcome him as he would welcome Paul himself (1:16-17).

Then Paul makes a remarkable offer. If Onesimus has wronged Philemon or owes him anything, Philemon should put it on Paul's bill, and Paul will repay it (1:18-19). He takes the debt on himself. Paul does not draw the comparison, but this is the shape of the gospel, in which Christ stepped in for people who could not pay what they owed. Elsewhere Paul urges believers to welcome one another just as Christ has welcomed them (Romans 15:7). Those received like this are free to receive others as family.

To think about: What would it look like to welcome someone who has wronged you in the way Christ has welcomed you?