Philemon 1:16

Phm_1:16

A brother beloved

Christian brotherhood

As has been well said, In the flesh, Philemon has the brother for his slave; in the Lord, Philemon has the slave for his brother.

He is to treat him as his brother, therefore, both in the common relationships of everyday life and in the acts of religious worship. That is a pregnant word! True, there is no gulf between Christian people nowadays, like that which in the old times parted owner and slave; but, as society becomes more and more differentiated, as the diversities of wealth become more extreme in our commercial communities, as education comes to make the educated mans whole way of looking at life differ more and more from that of the less cultured classes, the injunction implied in our text encounters enemies quite as formidable as slavery ever was. The highly educated man is apt to be very oblivious of the brotherhood of the ignorant Christian, and he, on his part, finds the recognition just as bad. The rich mill owner has not much sympathy with the poor brother who works at his spinning jennies. It is often difficult for the Christian mistress to remember that her cook is her sister in Christ. There is quite as much sin against fraternity on the side of the poor Christians who are servants and illiterate, as on the side of the rich who are masters or cultured. But the principle that Christian brotherhood is to reach across the wall of class distinctions is as binding today as it was on Philemon and Onesimus. That brotherhood is not to be confined to acts and times of Christian communion, but is to be shown and to shape conduct in common life. Both in the flesh and in the Lord may be put into plain English thus--a rich man and a poor one belong to the same Church; they unite in the same worship; they are partakers of the one bread, and therefore, Paul thinks, are one bread. They go outside the church door. Do they ever dream of speaking to one another outside? A brother beloved in the Lord on Sundays, and during worship, and in Church matters--is often a stranger in the flesh on Mondays in the street, and in common life. Some good people seem to keep their brotherly love in the same wardrobe with their Sunday clothes. Philemon was bid, and all are bid, to wear it all the week, at market as well as church. (A. Maclaren, D. D.)

Regard for those in whom grace is found

Here we see the apostle reasoneth for Onesimus; to have him received and respected above an ordinary servant because he was truly converted, and had in him a good measure of grace, and was become a true and sound Christian. We learn from hence that the more grace appeareth in any, the more should they be tended and regarded of us, whether they be servants, children, neighbours, pastors, people, wife, kinsfolk, or acquaintance. In whomsoever the greatest store of heavenly things is to be found, such are most of all to be loved and regarded, tendered, and respected.

I. The reasons hereof are plain to inform us.

1. Where grace is, it bringeth blessedness to that society, kingdom, congregation, family, and person, as appeareth by the confession of Josephs master (Gen_39:2-3), whom he served. Now, who are more to be regarded, or better to be thought of, than such as are blessed, and cause blessedness to others?

2. We see that God is most gracious to such as have most grace in their hearts; He tendereth them as the apple of His eye, and loveth them as His own sons. Indeed, He loveth all the works of His hands as they are His creatures: He maketh His sun to shine, His rain to fall, His fruitful seasons to refresh them: He had not left Himself without witness among the infidels, that He might make them without excuse. He giveth to beasts and to beastly men their food; their corners and garners are full, and abounding with divers sorts; but God is specially known in Judah; His name is great in Israel. He showeth His Word and His statutes among them; He hath not dealt so with every nation, neither have they known His judgments.

3. The more grace appeareth in any, the nearer he doth resemble God, the more evidently doth the image of God show itself in him. The image of God standeth and consisteth, especially in holiness and true righteousness.

II. Let us gather the uses that arise from this doctrine.

1. This ought to stir us all up to labour to grow in grace and in the gifts of the Spirit, that thereby we may procure and deserve the love of men. They that grow in grace are truly to be reputed and accounted gracious.

2. Seeing it is our duty to respect everyone of the faithful, according to the grace of God measured out unto him, it is required of all men to look always to the best things in the choice of the companions of their life.

3. Seeing it belongeth as a special duty unto us, to show our greatest affection to such as have in their hearts most religion; it serveth as a comfort and encouragement to all callings, even the lowest that are amongst men, to labour after good things, and to seek to serve and fear the Lord, seeing such as are the meanest, and of basest reckoning with many, are respected and recompensed of Him. (W. Attersoll.)

Brethren in Christ

1. Seeing that in Christ, who is the Elder Brother of the house, we are all made brethren and sisters together, having one Father, which is God; one mother, which is the Church; one inheritance, which is heaven. It is our duty, being nearly joined by so strong bands, and in so fast and firm a society, to love one another, to seek the good one of another, and to cut off all occasions of discord and division that may arise among us. For, shall such as are members of one body be divided one against another?

2. Seeing the gospel of Christ teacheth us to account ourselves as brethren, albeit, it take not away the degrees of persons and the differences of callings; it serveth as a good instruction to all superiors, to use all mildness and moderation, patience and meekness towards those that are their inferiors, and placed under them, and to teach them not to contemn and abhor them, not to despise and disdain them. For howsoever there be one way a great inequality between them in matters of this world, and in the things of this life, inasmuch as God set superiors above us in an higher place, and requireth subjection, reverence, and obedience of those that are beneath, yet in another respect they are matches and equals, having a like portion in Christ, and a like interest in the means of salvation.

3. This title of brethren communicated to all the faithful, serveth as a comfort and consolation to all inferiors, and to teach them this duty, that they ought not to grudge, or to be grieved that they are placed in a low estate, as though they were therefore less esteemed and regarded of God.

4. Seeing God respecteth all alike, and hath made all as one, and as brethren that are in Christ, it serveth as a reproof, and threatening, and terror, to all drowsy and secure persons that think they shall escape the judgments of God for their high places. There is no difference with God, there is no inequality with Christ, to them that are in Christ; high and low are all alike with Him. None are saved for their highness; none are condemned for their lowness. Christ Jesus accepteth no man for his glory; He rejecteth no man for his ignominy. Let us, therefore, not bear ourselves bold and confident upon our outward excellency, but stand in fear of His judgments, and prepare ourselves with all reverence and diligence, that we may be found worthy to stand before the great God in that great day of account. (W. Attersoll.)

Christian brotherhood

I. Here note the spiritual kindred that is betwixt true Christians. They are all brethren--brethren by the Fathers side, having one Father, God the Father of spirits; brethren by the mothers side, lying in the same womb of the Church, having one and the self-same elder brother, Christ Jesus, begotten with the same spiritual seed; fed at the same table with the same nourishment. This brotherhood must far exceed the natural, even as Gods fatherhood towards us far exceedeth the natural fatherhood among men. Look, then, what nature tieth natural brethren to, that doth grace much more the spiritual unto, as--

1. Amity and unity (Psa_133:1-2). How, then, do they show themselves brethren that do bite, yea, and devour those that are of the same holy profession with themselves? Even as in the sea, the greater fishes swallow up the lesser.

2. It is the part of brethren to take one anothers part, to cleave one to another, taking that which is done to their brother as done to themselves.

3. It is the property of a brother, though at other times he have been something more unkind to his brother; yet in his affliction and extremity, then to feel nature working in him, and to show and express his affection by doing his best (Pro_17:17). If we then will show ourselves true and natural sons of God, and so brethren to His children, when we see His honour ready to be trod under foot, when we see His children evil intreated, then is it high time for us to manifest our affection.

II. Observe that this spiritual brotherhood is betwixt all Christians indifferently, whatsoever difference there be amongst them in outward civil respects, yet they are nothing prejudicial to this spiritual fraternity in Christ: for here Philemon and Onesimus, the master and the servant, are made these kind of brethren. This doctrine is of special use, both for comfort to inferiors and for humiliation and moderation of mind to superiors, inasmuch as the servant is Christs free man, and the master is Christs servant. (D. Dyke, B. D.)

Christianity and slavery

Christianity entered on no superficial and obvious contest with this ancient, consolidated, and haughty iniquity, so general in the world and so intricately involved with the customs of the rude, the laws of the advanced, with barbarian ferocities, Grecian philosophies, Roman power. It sent no formal challenge to the system, to which it was as fatally hostile as it was to idolatry. But it smote it with blows more destroying than of arms, and caused it to vanish as summer skies and melting currents consume the glacier, which we call an iceberg, which has drifted down from Arctic coasts. The Sermon on the Mount, Gods affectionate and watchful Fatherhood of all, the brotherhood of disciples, the mutual duty and the common immortality of poor and rich--these were the forces before which slavery inevitably fell. Where philosophies had utterly failed and eloquence had been wanting, and the progress of arts, cities or states, had only clenched tighter the manacles of the bondman, He who taught on the narrow Galilee beach overwhelmed, by the mystic energy of His words, the consummate oppression. It fell before Him as the warrior falls, more surely than by bullets, by famine and thirst; as the giants strength fades in fatal atmospheres. Not now a slave, but above a slave, as a brother beloved, so receive him; it was the voice not of one apostle only, though he were the chiefest, but of the whole Church, to the master who was himself in Christ. The grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, before that announcement slavery could not stand, any more than flax before shrivelling fires. (R. S. Storrs, D. D.)

Care for servants

The celebrated Earl of Chesterfield left, by his will legacies to all his menial servants, equal to two years wages each, considering them as his unfortunate friends, equal by birth, and only inferior by fortune. John Claude when on his dying bed, thus addressed his son, who, with an old servant, was kneeling before him--Be mindful of this domestic; as you value my blessing, take care that she wants nothing as long as she lives.

Mutual obligations of Christian masters and servants

Onesimus might remain a slave; there might be no change in their relative positions; but then as the slave went about his ordinary duties; duties in which there was nothing degrading--for duty cannot be degrading; if it is actually God to whom it is rendered; and, I might, therefore, dare to say that it must be honourable--as the slave then went about his ordinary duties, the master was to regard him as the free man of Jehovah, the heir, with himself, of an incorruptible inheritance. The slave was to regard his master as possessing authority from God, to whom he was bound to yield a devoted obedience; but at the same time, as a fellow traveller with himself to a city where each should be judged according to his works. And what but a holy and close brotherhood could subsist between the master and the slave when each thought of the other as he appeared in Gods sight, and each being himself accountable to that God for every word and every work? Would that rich and poor would both keep more in mind these which are the only levelling principles of the Christian religion. It would do more towards cementing together the several classes of society, now, alas, so much disjoined! than all the well meant endeavours of statesmen and economists. It is a grievous thing for a country, more grievous than foreign invasion, when there is little or nothing of kindly feeling between the several ranks, but jealousy and envy separate them even more than titles and property. The rich and the poor filling their respective places in a well-ordered community, each class dependent on the other, and neither able to subsist by itself, ought to present the same spectacle as the members of the body; their offices different, but their concord so great, that the whole framework is sensitive to the least injury done to the least part. And we know of nothing but the diffused influence of Christianity which can either produce this scare, or restore it when impaired. This, however, can, and that, too, on the simple principle that while it puts a sort of sacredness around civil institutions, and thus is a better upholder of the rights of the rich than despotism with its armies, or legislation with its statutes; it puts also a dignity round poverty, and lifts it to at least equality with wealth, by merging all human distinction in the being sons of God, and heirs of God. Let the rich feel this, and where is pride? Let the poor feel this, and where is discontent? Oh, the beauty of the spectacle which might be presented if the brotherhood which Christianity recognises and enforces were practically instituted throughout a community! There is little else needed for the making that millennium on which prophecy has poured its most gorgeous colouring. (H. Melvill, B. D.)

Specially to me, but how much more unto thee, both in the flesh, and in the Lord--

Reasons for the increase of mutual love

Hereby there is offered to our considerations this lesson to be learned, that the more bands and reasons are given unto us of God to care for any, the more we are bound to care for Him, and to respect Him. A professor of the gospel is more to be regarded than he that is without. One of the same nation, more than a stranger; one of our own kindred, more than another farther from us; a neighbour, more than one that dwelleth many miles from us; one of a mans house, more than him that is out of his house; a kinsman converted to the faith, and become a true and perfect Christian, more than a kinsman not converted; a child that hath the sparks of grace in him, more than a child void of them; a servant fearing God, more than a servant in the same family that doth not fear God, nor regard His Word, nor make conscience of the means of his salvation. The reasons being wisely considered will make this plainly to appear unto us.

1. It is a general sentence delivered by Solomon in the book of Ecclesiastes, Two are better than one, and a threefold cord is not easily broken. Wheresoever there are stronger cords to tie us, and no bands to join us together, our love ought to be the greater one towards another. Many sticks make the greater fire, and many strings the better music.

2. It is a thing very well pleasing in the sight of God, to consider what means He hath afforded to increase mutual love and society one with another. This is the reason urged by the apostle to persuade the children and nephews of poor widows to take care for their parents according to their ability, because that is an honest thing, and acceptable before God. Now we are bound unto them by many effectual reasons, as it were with bars of iron, and bands of brass, to nourish those that have nourished us, that have fed us, that have clothed us, that have begotten us, and brought us into the world, so that we must acknowledge it both right and reasonable.

3. Such as break these bands and cast away these cords from them, do set themselves against the doctrine of Christ, and may be sent to school to the infidels; nay, to the brute beasts, which are not void of a certain natural affection. This the apostle teacheth, If there be any that provideth not for his own, and specially for them of his household, he denieth the faith, and is worse than an infidel. For howsoever they profess the faith in words, yet in deed and in truth they deny it. But God is delighted with our works, not with our words, and looketh upon the substance, not the show of our religion. (W. Attersoll.)

Love forever

Very dear was Onesimus to the apostle; dear as being a spiritual son, whom, as he expresses it, he had begotten in his bonds. But dearer still must he be to Philemon who had not succeeded in the endeavour to turn him from the error of his ways. It may be, and it should be, a deep gladness to the minister of Christ if God employ him in inducing the prodigal to return to his home. But even this gladness is nothing to that of a parent or guardian who receives back the wanderer, and views in his conversion the fruit and the recompense of his prayers and his tears. The parent seems to have laboured in vain when another is employed where all his efforts have failed. But oh, think not on this account that the joy is transferred from the parent to the minister--A brother beloved, specially to me, but how much more unto thee. I have not robbed thee of thy rapture through taking from thee the office wherein thou didst so devotedly toil. I have gained indeed a rich delight for myself; but there is a richer--richer as succeeding to fear, and watching, and anxiety--richer as thou now dost receive back a beloved one, of whom thou thoughtest that thou hadst lost him forever. Surely, the apostle seems here to imply that ties of earthly relationship and family, though they will not subsist hereafter in anything of their present selfishness and contraction, shall nevertheless not wholly disappear from our future and everlasting condition. He speaks, you observe, of Philemon as having received Onesimus forever; and of Onesimus as dearer to Philemon than even to himself who had turned him to the Lord. If it was forever that Onesimus was received; and if he have reason to be dearer to his master than to any one beside, we can hardly avoid the inference, that in a higher and better state of being there will be something corresponding to human friendships and associations--that parents and children, husbands and wives, brothers and sisters, will be more to each other than parties, who have been wholly strangers on earth; that although in that lofty and ethereal condition, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, still it will be in the purifying and refining rather than in the actual destruction of earthly relationships that the future shall be distinguished from the present. All of you, we believe, admit that those who have known each other on earth shall know each other in heaven. This seems to follow on our preserving our identity; on our remaining, and on our feeling ourselves the same persons hereafter as here. You all, moreover, admit that the saints in heaven shall constitute but one vast family, every member of which shall be bound to every other by intimate as well as indissoluble ties. But it seems necessary in order to there being any worth in the first part--that of our knowing each other in heaven, that this should not interfere with the second part--that all the redeemed shall constitute one family above, that we suppose human associations so far to remain that Philemon should single out Onesimus and regard him as with a special affection. There is perhaps but very little that is cheering in the prospect of a reunion with friends whom we have long lost, if they are to be nothing to us through eternity but what others will be whom we never saw. It will hardly help to dry the tears of the mother as She weeps over her child, to tell her that she shall see that child again, but see it only where it shall be to her nothing more than what a thousand others are. There must be some place, some play for human affections, else shall we so spiritualise the future as to strip it of all influence on such beings as ourselves. And there is place, and there is play for human affections. (H. Melvill, B. D.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1:16 Though Onesimus was still legally Philemon’s slave, Philemon must think of him as a beloved brother and be committed to his well-being. • both as a man and as a brother in the Lord: Brotherhood in Christ must now transform their whole relationship in both the natural and spiritual realms.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Phm 1:16. Οὐκέτι ὡς δοῦλον, no longer as a servant) He had been a servant.—ὑπὲρ δοῦλου, above a servant) This is equivalent to an epithet. But is connected with a brother: above a servant from whom thou art about to derive greater benefit than from a servant. Ὑπέρδουλος is a compound word according to Apollonius, 50:4, de Syntaxi, 100:3; but what it means, or whether it has any relation to the matter before us, I do not know.—ἀδελφὸν, brother) He does not add ὡς, as [which he had used before servant]. He evidently recommends him for a (true) brother.—ἀγαπητὸν, beloved) Love is borne to a brother and a friend, not to a servant.—μάλιστα ἐμοὶ) especially to me, before all others, who are however not excluded.—σοὶ) to thee, even before me: to me and thee are construed with a brother beloved. In the flesh he is ὑπὲρ δοῦλον, above a servant, a freedman (comp. ὑπὲρ, Phm 1:21); in the Lord, a brother.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Phm_1:16. Altered relation which with the αἰώνιον αὐτὸν ἀπέχειν was to take effect, and thenceforth to subsist, between Philemon and Onesimus.

οὐκέτι ὡς δοῦλον] in this is implied not a hint of manumission, but the fact that, while the external relation of slavery remains in itself unchanged, the ethical relation has become another, a higher one (ὑπὲρ δοῦλον), a brotherly relation of affection (ἀδελφ. ἀγαπ.). Christianity does not abolish the distinctions of rank and station, but morally equalizes them (comp. on ἰσότητα, Col_4:1; 1Ti_6:2), inasmuch as it pervades them with the unifying consecration of the life in Christ,[77] 1Co_7:21 f., 1Co_12:13; Gal_3:28; Col_3:11. To the Ὡς the following ὙΠΈΡ is correlative: not further in the quality of a slave, but in a higher manner than as a slave; ἀδελφὸν ἀγαπ., as a beloved brother, is then the epexegesis of ὑπὲρ δοῦλον. And the latter is conceived of thus: so that he is beyond and above a δοῦλος, is more than such. Comp. Plato, Rep. p. 488 A; Legg. viii. p. 839 D: οὐκ ἔστιν ὑπὲρ ἄνθρωπον; 2Ma_9:8.

ΜΆΛΙΣΤΑ ἘΜΟῚ Κ.Τ.Λ.] belongs to ἈΔΕΛ. ἈΓΑΠ. In that view ΜΆΛΙΣΤΑ has its reference in the relation of Onesimus to his fellow-Christians, with whom he has hitherto been brought into connection; among these it was Paul, to whom he stood most of allthat is, in higher degree than to any otherin the relation of a beloved brother.

πόσῳ δὲ μᾶλλον σοί] since he is thy property, and does not enter into merely temporary connection with thee, such as that in which he stood with me; see Phm_1:15.

ΚΑῚ ἘΝ ΣΑΡΚῚ ΚΑῚ ἘΝ ΚΥΡ.] specifies the two domains, in which Onesimus will be to him yet far more a beloved brother than to the apostle, namely, in the flesh, i.e. in the sphere pertaining to the material nature of man, in things consequently that concern the bodily life and needs, and in the Lord, i.e. in the higher spiritual life-sphere of fellowship with Christ. Accordingly, ἐν σαρκί Philemon has the brother as a slave, and ἘΝ ΚΥΡΊῼ the slave as a brother; how greatly, therefore, must he, in view of the mutual connection and interpenetration of the two relations, have him, as well ἐν σαρκί as ἐν κυρίῳ, as a beloved brother! How much more still (πόσῳ δὲ μᾶλλον) must Onesimus thus be such an one to Philemon, than to the apostle! The two domains of life designated by ἘΝ ΣΑΡΚΊ and ἘΝ ΚΥΡΊῼwhich, connected by ΚΑῚ … ΚΑΊ, exclude the conception of ethical contrast[78]are to be left in all their comprehensiveness. Influenced by the erroneous presupposition of manumission (see on Phm_1:15), de Wette thinks in ἐν σαρκί of the family-relation into which the manumitted one enters.

[77] In accordance with this Christian-ideal mode of view we have to leave οὐκέτι absolute, and not to weaken it by μόνον to be mentally supplied (Grotius, Storr, Flatt); comp. on Col_3:23.

[78] Comp. Eklund, σάρξ vocabulum ap. Paul., Lund 1872, p. 47 f.

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Phm 1:16 . οὐκέτι ὡς δοῦλον : no longer in the character of a slave, according to the world’s acceptation of the term, though still a slave (see, however, the note on Phm 1:21 ); but the relationship between slave and master were in this instance to become altered. πόσῳ δὲ μᾶλλον …: i.e. , more than most of all (which he had been to St. Paul) to thee. With the thought of the verse cf. 1Ti 6:2 .

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Because he is thy servant, as other servants are, and because he is the Lord’s servant, so that thou must needs love him both for the Lord’s sake, and for thine own sake.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

No longer as a mere servant or slave (though still he is that), but above a servant, so that thou shalt derive from him not merely the services of a slave, but higher benefits: a servant "in the flesh," he is a brother "in the Lord."

beloved, specially to me--who am his spiritual father, and who have experienced his faithful attentions. Lest Philemon should dislike Onesimus being called "brother," Paul first recognizes him as a brother, being the spiritual son of the same God.

much more unto thee--to whom he stands in so much nearer and more lasting relation.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 16. Not now as a servant?] Do not receive him merely as thy slave, nor treat him according to that condition; but as a brother-as a genuine Christian, and particularly dear to me.

Both in the flesh and in the Lord?] There is no reason to believe that Onesimus was of the kindred of Philemon; and we must take the term flesh, here, as referring to the right which Philemon had in him. He was a part of his property and of his family; as a slave, this was his condition; but he now stood in a twofold relation to Philemon:

1. According to the flesh, as above explained, he was one of his family.

2. In the Lord; he was now also a member of the heavenly family, and of the Church at Philemon's house. Philemon's interest in him was now doubled, in consequence of his conversion to Christianity.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

But above a servant, a beloved brother. He next brings forward another advantage of the flight, that Onesimus has not only been corrected by means of it, so as to become a useful slave, but that he has become the “brother” of his master.

Especially to me. Lest the heart of Onesimus, wounded by the offense which was still fresh, should be reluctant to admit the brotherly appellation, Paul claims Onesimus first of all, as his own “brother.” Hence he infers that Philemon is much more closely related to him, because both of them had the same relationship in the Lord according to the Spirit, but, according to the flesh, Onesimus is a member of his family. Here we behold the uncommon modesty of Paul, who bestows on a worthless slave the title of a brother, and even calls him a dearly beloved brother to himself. And, indeed, it would be excessive pride, if we should be ashamed of acknowledging as our brother those whom God accounts to be his sons.

How much more to thee. By these words he does not mean that Philemon is higher in rank according to the Spirit; but the meaning is, “Seeing that he is especially a brother to me, he must be much more so to thee; for there is a twofold relationship between you.”

We must hold it to be an undoubted truth, that Paul does not rashly or lightly (as many people do) answer for a man of whom he knows little, or extol his faith before he has ascertained it by strong proofs, and therefore in the person of Onesimus there is exhibited a memorable example of repentance. We know how wicked the dispositions of slaves were, so that scarcely one in a hundred ever came to be of real use. As to Onesimus, we may conjecture from his flight, that he had been hardened in depravity by long habit and practice. It is therefore uncommon and wonderful virtue to lay aside the vices by which his nature was polluted, so that the Apostle can truly declare that he has now become another man.

From the same source proceeds a profitable doctrine, that the elect of God are sometimes brought to salvation by a method that could not have been believed, contrary to general expectation, by circuitous windings, and even by labyrinths. Onesimus lived in a religious and holy family, and, being banished from it by his own evil actions, he deliberately, as it were, withdraws far from God and from eternal life. Yet God, by hidden providence, wonderfully directs his pernicious flight, so that he meets with Paul.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(16) Not now as a servant, but . . . a brother beloved . . . in the Lord.—In these words we have at last the principle which is absolutely destructive of the condition of slavery—a condition which is the exaggeration of natural inferiority to the effacement of the deeper natural equality. (1) The slave—the “living chattel” of inhuman laws and philosophies—is first “a brother,” united to his master by natural ties of ultimate equality, having, therefore, both duties and rights. (2) But he is also a “brother beloved.” These natural ties are not only strengthened by duty, but made living ties by the love which delights indeed to respect the rights of others, but is not content without willingness to sacrifice even our own rights to them. (3) Above all, this is “in the Lord.” The slave is bought by Christ’s blood, made a son of God, and therefore a brother to all who are members of the family of God. To reject and to outrage him is a rejection and outrage towards Christ. Compare St. Peter’s striking comparison of the sufferings of the slave to the passion of the Divine Sufferer (1Pe_2:18-24). They suffer with Him, and He suffers in them. It has been proved historically that only by the aid of this last and highest conception has the brotherhood of love too slowly, indeed, but yet surely—assumed reality. (See Introduction.)

Specially to me, but how much more unto thee?—St. Paul first emphasises his own love for Onesimus, which, indeed, breathes in every line of the Epistle; but then goes on to infer in Philemon a yet greater affection—a natural love towards the nursling of his house, a spiritual love towards the brother “in the Lord,” lost and found again.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

16. not now as a servant] No more as bondservant. Not that he would cease to be such, necessarily, in law; St Paul does not say “set him free.” But in Christ he was free, an and of kin.

a brother beloved] Cp. 1Ti_6:2 for the same thought from the slave’s point of view. These simple words are an absolute and fatal antithesis to the principle, and so ultimately to the existence, of slavery.

“Christianity alone can work these holy transformations, changing a temporal servitude into an eternal brotherhood” (Quesnel).—See further, Introd., ch. 4, particularly pp. 163, 164.

specially to me] Lit., most of all to me. Philemon’s beloved “brother” was Paul’s most beloved “son.”

but how much more] A verbal inconsistency, conveying a thought of noble warmth and delicacy. He had said “most to me”; but after all it is “more than most” to Philemon.

in the flesh] A remarkable phrase, as if slavery were a sort of kinship. This thought appears, as a fact, in combination (and contrast) with the harshest theories of ancient slavery. Thus Aristotle (Polit., i. ii.; see Introd. to this Epistle, ch. 4) writes, “the slave is a portion of his master; as it were a living, though separated, portion of his body.” And again: “he shares his master’s reason, so far as to perceive it.” The Gospel would of course assimilate and enforce with all its power that aspect of the connexion.

in the Lord?] In whom there is “neither bond nor free,” and in whom now master and slave were “one man” (Gal_3:26-28).

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Not now as a servant,.... That is, not only as a servant, for a servant he was, and was to be received as such; his call by grace had not dissolved the civil relation that was between him and his master, though it had added to it something that was above it, and greater than it:

but above a servant; in a higher condition, as the Arabic version renders it, than a servant; not barely considered in that relation, but as being in one much preferable to it:

a brother beloved, specially to me; a brother in Christ, and to be beloved on that account, as he was especially by the apostle, who had been the instrument of his conversion; see Col 4:9.

But how much more unto thee, both in the flesh and in the Lord? both in a natural and civil sense, as being of the same nation and country, and as being part of his family, his servant, and now become an useful and profitable one; and, in a spiritual sense, being in the Lord, belonging to the Lord Jesus, to that family which is named of him, being a fellow citizen with the saints, and of the household of God, and therefore must be doubly dear to him.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

16 Not now as a servant, but above a servant, a brother beloved, specially to me, but how much more unto thee, both in the flesh, and in the Lord?

Ver. 16. Both in the flesh] Perhaps Onesimus was Philemon’s kinsman.

And in the Lord] Sanctior est copula cordis quam corporis. "He that is joined to the Lord is one spirit," 1Co 6:17.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Not now as a servant - The adverb rendered “not now” (οὐκέτι ouketi), means “no more, no further, no longer.” It implies that he had been before in this condition, but was not to be now; compare Mat 19:6, “They are no more twain.” They were once so, but they are not to be regarded as such now; Mat 22:46, “Neither durst any man, from that day forth ask him any more questions.” They once did it, but now they did not dare to do it; Luk 15:19, “And am no more worthy to be called thy son,” though I once was; Joh 6:66, “And walked no more with him,” though they once did; see also Joh 11:54; Joh 14:19; Joh 17:11; Act 8:39; Gal 4:7; Eph 2:19. This passage then proves that he had been before a servant - δοῦλος doulos - a slave. But still, it is not certain what kind of a servant he was. The word does not necessarily mean slave, nor can it be proved from this passage, or from any other part of the Epistle, that he was at any time a slave; see the Eph 6:5 note, and 1Ti 6:1 note. The word denotes servant of any kind, and it should never be assumed that those to whom it was applied were slaves. It is true that slavery existed in the heathen nations when the gospel was first preached, and it is doubtless true that many slaves were converted (compare the notes at 1Co 7:21), but the mere use of the word does not necessarily prove that he to whom it is applied was a slave. If Onesimus was a slave, there is reason to think that he was of a most respectable character (compare the notes at Col 4:9), and indeed all that is implied in the use of the term here, and all that is said of him, would be met by the supposition that he was a voluntary servant, and that he had been in fact intrusted with important business by Philemon. It would seem from Phm 1:18 (“or oweth thee ought”), that he was in a condition which made it possible for him to hold property, or at least to be intrusted.

But above a servant, a brother beloved - A Christian brother; compare the notes at 1Ti 6:2. He was especially dear to Paul himself as a Christian, and he trusted that he would be so to Philemon.

Specially to me - That is, I feel a special or particular interest in him, and affection for him. This he felt not only on account of the traits of character which he had evinced since his conversion, but because he had been converted under his instrumentality when he was a prisoner. A convert made in such circumstances would be particularly dear to one.

But how much more unto thee - Why, it may be asked, would he then be particularly dear to Philemon? I answer, because:

(1)Of the former relation which he sustained to him - a member of his own family, and bound to him by strong ties;

(2)Because he would receive him as a penitent, and would have joy in his returning from the error of his ways;

(3)Because he might expect him to remain long with him and be of advantage to him as a Christian brother; and,

(4)Because he had voluntarily returned, and thus shown that he felt a strong attachment to his former master.

In the flesh - This phrase is properly used in reference to any relation which may exist pertaining to the present world, as contradistinguished from that which is formed primarily by religion, and which would be expressed by the subjoined phrase, “in the Lord.” It might, in itself, refer to any natural relation of blood, or to any formed in business, or to any constituted by mere friendship, or to family alliance, or to any relation having its origin in voluntary or involuntary servitude. It is not necessary to suppose, in order to meet the full force of the expression, either that Onesimus had been a slave, or that he would continue to be regarded as such. Whatever relation of the kind, referred to above, may have existed between him and Philemon, would be appropriately denoted by this phrase. The new and more interesting relation which they were now to sustain to each other, which was formed by religion, is expressed by the phrase “in the Lord.” In both these, Paul hoped that Onesimus would manifest the appropriate spirit of a Christian, and be worthy of his entire confidence.

In the Lord - As a Christian. He will be greatly endeared to your heart as a consistent and worthy follower of the Lord Jesus. - On this important verse then, in relation to the use which is so often made of this Epistle by the advocates of slavery, to show that Paul sanctioned it, and that it is a duty to send back those who have escaped from their masters that they may again be held in bondage, we may remark that:

(1) There is no certain evidence that Onesimus was ever a slave at all. All the proof that he was, is to be found in the word δοῦλος doulos - doulos - in this verse. But, as we have seen, the mere use of this word by no means proves that. All that is necessarily implied by it is that he was in some way the servant of Philemon - whether hired or bought cannot be shown.

(2) At all events, even supposing that he had been a slave, Paul did not mean that he should return as such, or to be regarded as such. He meant, whatever may have been his former relation, and whatever subsequent relation he may have sustained, that he should be regarded as a beloved Christian brother; that the leading conception in regard to him should be that he was a fellow-heir of salvation, a member of the same redeemed church, a candidate for the same heaven.

(3) Paul did not send him back in order that he might be a slave, or with a view that the shackles of servitude should be riveted on him. There is not the slightest evidence that he forced him to return, or that he advised him to do it, or even that he expressed a wish that he would; and when he did send him, it was not as a slave, but as a beloved brother in the Lord. It cannot be shown that the motive for sending him back was in the slightest degree that he should be a slave. No such thing is intimated, nor is any such thing necessary to be supposed in order to a fair interpretation of the passage.

(4) It is clear that, even if Onesimus had been a slave before, it would have been contrary to the wishes of Paul that Philemon should now hold him as such. Paul wished him to regard him “not as a servant,” but as a “beloved brother.” If Philemon complied with his wishes, Onesimus was never afterward regarded or treated as a slave. If he did so regard or treat him, it was contrary to the expressed intention of the apostle, and it is certain that he could never have shown this letter in justification of it. It cannot fail to strike any one that if Philemon followed the spirit of this Epistle, he would not consider Onesimus to be a slave, but if he sustained the relation of a servant at all, it would be as a voluntary member of his household, where, in all respects, he would be regarded and treated, not as a “chattel,” or a “thing,” but as a Christian brother.

(5) This passage, therefore, may be regarded as full proof that it is not right to send a slave back, against his will, to his former master, to be a slave. It is right to help one if he wishes to go back; to give him a letter to his master, as Paul did to Onesimus; to furnish him money to help him on his journey if he desires to return; and to commend him as a Christian brother, if he is such; but beyond that, the example of the apostle Paul does not go. It is perfectly clear that he would not have sent him back to be regarded and treated as a slave, but being able to commend him as a Christian, he was willing to do it, and he expected that he would be treated, not as a slave, but as a Christian. The case before us does not go at all to prove that Paul would have ever sent him back to be a chattel or a thing. If, with his own consent, and by his own wish, we can send a slave back to his master, to be treated as a Christian and as a man, the example of Paul may show that it would be right to do it, but it does not go beyond that.

(6) In confirmation of this, and as a guide in duty now, it may be observed, that Paul had been educated as a Hebrew; that he was thoroughly imbued with the doctrines of the Old Testament, and that one of the elementary principles of that system of religion was, that a runaway slave was in no circumstances to be returned by force to his former master. “Thou shalt not deliver unto his master the servant that is escaped from his master unto thee;” Deu 23:15. It cannot be supposed that, trained as he was in the principles of the Hebrew religion - of which this was a positive and unrepealed law, and imbued with the benevolent spirit of the gospel - a system so hostile to oppression, the apostle Paul would have constrained a slave who had escaped from bondage to return to servitude against his will.

(7) It may be added, that if the principles here acted on by Paul were carried out, slavery would speedily cease in the world. Very soon would it come to an end if masters were to regard those whom they hold, “not as slaves,” but as beloved Christian brothers; not as chattels and things, but as the redeemed children of God. Thus regarding them, they would no longer feel that they might chain them, and task them, and sell them as property. They would feel that as Christians and as men, they were on a level with themselves, and that they who were made in the image of God, and who had been redeemed with the blood of his Son, “ought to be free.”

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Receive him not now as a servant, but also as a most dear brother, especially to me. Nay I may say, how much more dear even to thee, both in the flesh, having been a Gentile as thou thyself wast, and having been also a servant in thy family. And secondly, he ought now to be dear to thee in our Lord, he who was thy servant, being now united to thee by the same faith, and by an union of charity. See Estius. (Witham)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Not now as a servant; not now merely as a servant.

But above a servant; but as one that deserveth much more kindness than a servant.

A brother beloved; being a Christian (deservedly to be loved.

Specially to me; ) especially of me, who have a spiritual relation to him, as the instrument of his conversion, and as he hath been useful in ministering to me in prison.

But how much more unto thee, both in the flesh, and in the Lord? But how much more to thee, to whom he stands not only in the relation of a brother, being converted to the Christian faith, but

in the flesh, as thy kinsman, or thy servant, or one of thy family, or thy countryman, one of the same town and place!

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

16. Not now—Literally, no longer as a slave, but above a slave; words obviously signifying, both negatively and positively, an end of the serfdom. To be no longer as a slave, is to cease to be a slave; and to be above a slave, is to be out of a servile rank. This view is slightly diminished by the as, but that word is used to soften the boldness of his asking the abdication, by Philemon, of a legal right. We cannot believe that Paul uses so much solicitude to secure a mere receiving and exempting from torture of a penitent slave by a deeply Christian man. A short time previously to this, Paul’s attention was called to the atrocity of Roman slavery by a notorious public event. The prefect, or “mayor,” of Rome was murdered by one of his slaves, and the whole body of his slaves, embracing a large multitude, including women and children, were publicly slaughtered, in obedience to Roman law.

It may not be the duty of a Christian living in the centre of a slave-holding country, to manumit his slaves; but it is a public sin, in a Christian republic, to maintain a system of slavery, and it is a personal sin in every individual citizen not to use his voice, vote, and influence to do away the system.

Brother… to me—Although humanly there had been but a transient relation, yet divinely there was a divine tie between the apostle and his convert.

Specially—As my bondage-begotten son.

In the flesh… Lord— The human and the divine tie. The human tie is not perpetuated slavery, as commentators pervert the words in the flesh. Onesimus forgiven, emancipated, a bishop, would be humanly most dear to his former master and benefactor; divinely dear as a fellow-labourer in the Gospel. That commentators should cut off, by a series of exegetic violences, a view so obvious and so infinitely more worthy of Paul, of Philemon, and of the Gospel, looks like one-sidedness.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Not now as a servant, but above a servant, a brother beloved. So great a difference had his Christian calling and profession made to him and to others. Both in the flesh and in the Lord. A hysteron proteron. The apostle is pleading on behalf of Onesimus this new bond of Christian relationship, which was in the Lord, that it should bring about a renewed fullness of personal relation. In the flesh, because "in the Lord.

Christianity not permanently compatible with slavery as an institution.

I IT FOLLOWS FROM THE CONSIDERATION OF CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD that, although it finds many slaves, yet it shall gradually raise them to a state of freedom. It frees their souls at once. They become "the Lord"s freemen", (1Co_7:22) and the body cannot always remain bound when the soul is free. Thus, though it does not cut down the tree (of slavery), it severs the roots, and a state of slavery cannot therefore permanently flourish among Christians.

II THIS IS ALSO THE TEACHING OF HISTORY. It was an age of slavery in which this Epistle was written. Europe and Asia were occupied by an immense population of slaves, far outnumbering the free persons. In the province of Attica alone there were four hundred thousand slaves and only thirty-one thousand freemen. In Corinth there were four hundred and sixty thousand slaves. It was not uncommon in Rome (where the apostle was at the time of writing) for one rich man to possess as many as ten or even twenty thousand slaves. They cultivated the fields; they monopolized all the trades. It was an age of slavery. Into this state of society the gospel of Christ came. It did not, indeed, propose to break the bonds of all slaves, and reach the kingdom of God through social convulsion and much bloodshed. Its propagators did not preach a servile revolt.

III IT PROPOSED NOT A TEMPORAL BUT A SPIRITUAL FREEDOM TO ITS FOLLOWERS. It recognized all alike as immortal beings. There was one Church for all, whether bond or free; and the same sacraments in which all should participate. Other forms of religion had treated the slave as a chattel; this alone regarded him as a man. It raised into activity the moral powers of his nature. He had been managed by the fear of punishment merely. But the gospel spoke to him of moral differences in conduct of right and wrong; it awoke in his soul an inspiring hope. It predicted a day of judgment, in which the difference between a good and evil life should have the most momentous consequences to each individual. Thus it transformed the slave altogether. He began to look before and after; to raise his thoughts, his hopes, and his voice to heaven; and to understand what was the "liberty wherewith Christ had made him though a slave free", (Gal_5:1) even "the glorious liberty of the children of God". (Rom_8:21)

IV TO THE MASTER ALSO THE VERY SAME ENDS WERE PROPOSED. He, too, was to run the same Christian course with his slave, guided by the same principles, helped by the same hopes, and constrained by the same sanctions. A similar object soon produced a similarity of character; and a similarity of (Christian) character brought about sympathy of feeling. In the rising tide of Christian fellowship the worst hardships of slavery melted away, even long before it was formally abolished. It became an anachronism, a relic of a vanished and gone-by condition of things.

V AND AS IT WAS IN THE FIRST PERIOD OF THE GOSPEL, SO IT HAS BEEN SINCE. There have been periods when circumstances had brought about partial revivals of the spirit of slavery. But the working of the principles of the gospel have proved irreconcilable as ever with slavery, and has either brought it to an end or cast it out. Take, for example, the civil war in America.

The brotherhood of all Christians.

Onesimus, before his conversion to the faith, was the servant of Philemon; and afterwards, though he did not cease to be his servant, yet he became something more, viz. his brother in Christ Jesus. We may learn from this

I THAT THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION DOES NOT TAKE AWAY THE DIFFERENCE OF RANKS AND CONDITIONS, NOR REGARD THEM AS UNLAWFUL. The Apostle Paul instructs masters how to behave towards servants, and servants towards masters; (Eph_6:5, Eph_6:9) governors how to conduct themselves towards the governed, (Rom_12:8) and the governed towards their superiors; and thereby acknowledges each state as lawful.

II YET THESE DIFFERENCES ARE ACCIDENTAL, AND CONSISTENT WITH AN ESSENTIAL EQUALITY OF ALL CHRISTIANS. The gospel considers all Christians (as they are in the sight of God) without reference to their rank and station, their wealth or poverty, and classes them on moral considerations alone. "The poor man hath the Word of God offered unto him, read unto him, and preached unto him as well as the rich; he hath the sacraments of God provided for him as well as for them that are of high place; he may pray unto God as freely, as comfortably, as cheerfully, as the great men of the earth; and he hath a gracious promise to be heard and respected as well as they. Though thou farest hardly and meanly at home, yet God hath prepared thee a feast, and biddeth thee to his table richly furnished and plentifully stored with all provision. Though thou do not get up and down in silks and velvets, and hast no gorgeous attire to put on, yet God hath provided thee a better garment he giveth thee his own Son to put on, and clotheth thee with his righteousness" (W. Attersoll).

III The consideration that their servants and inferiors in station have an equal portion in Christ and in the means of salvation ought to be an instruction to those highly placed in this world to show MILDNESS AND CONSIDERATION, PATIENCE, AND EVEN MEEKNESS TO THEIR INFERIORS AND SERVANTS. Their advantages are great; they ought not to abuse those advantages by treating unfairly those who are committed to their charge. (Jam_5:3, Jam_5:4)

IV THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE RICH MAN FOR THE POOR. The higher his rank above others, the more humble and unassuming should he be; for his obligations also are great: "For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required". (Luk_12:48) His authority, his influence, his example, must needs produce good or evil effects on others, and for these he will be held responsible in the judgment.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

In the flesh - As a dutiful servant. In the Lord - As a fellow- Christian.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

16. “No longer as a slave, but above a slave, a brother beloved, especially to me, and much more to Thee, both in the flesh and in the Lord.” Paul knowing the genuine Christian character of Philemon, and having all confidence in the glorious experience of Onesimus, is perfectly assured of his joyous reception by his Christian master, who will be so delighted with his thrilling testimony to the mighty work wrought in his heart, that, forgetting all about his former slavery, he will gladly receive him as a brother beloved in the Lord.

William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

16. Not now as a servant. His relation is changed. He is more than a servant, a Christian brother, beloved, specially to me. See verse 12. How much more unto thee. He has both temporal, fleshly relations to thee (those of master and servant), and besides is your brother in Christ. Both these ties ought to bind him to you. The gospel held Christian masters responsible for both the moral and the physical welfare of their servants.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

16. οὐκέτι. Not μηκέτι as though it would depend on the reception of him by Philemon. “The ‘no more as a slave’ is an absolute fact, whether Philemon chooses to recognise it or not” (Lightfoot).

ὡς. δοῦλος Onesimus is and will remain, but not ὡς δοῦλος.

δοῦλον. He has kept the word back till he has been able to put οὐκέτι ὡς before it, and until he has hinted that Onesimus and Philemon have entered into everlasting relations.

ἀλλὰ ὑπὲρ δοῦλον, “but beyond a slave.” Cf. Phm 1:21, Mat 10:24 bis, 37 bis. For the thought, but from the point of view of the slave, see 1Ti 6:2.

ἀδελφὸν ἀγαπητόν. See Col 4:7, note. The additional πιστός of Col 4:9 has been already implied in our epistle (e.g. Phm 1:11).

μάλιστα ἐμοί. Doubtless referring to the compound thought “a brother beloved.” Many commentators have remarked on the oxymoron of μάλιστα … πόσῳ δὲ μᾶλλον, with which ἐλαχιστότερος (Eph 3:8) might be compared. But it is hypercriticism to insist that μάλιστα must have its full exclusive force. In all languages superlatives become weak. Here it is no more than “especially,” or even “very greatly,” cf. Act 26:3.

πόσῳ δὲ μᾶλλον σοὶ. πόσ. μᾶλ. elsewhere in St Paul’s writings only Rom 11:12; Rom 11:24.

καὶ ἐν σαρκὶ. Of earthly as contrasted with spiritual relations (ἐν κυρίῳ), cf. Col 3:22.

καὶ ἐν κυρίῳ. Phm 1:20, see Col 3:18; Col 3:20; Col 4:7; Col 4:17.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

16.] And that, in a different relation from the one before subsisting. But οὐκέτι ὡς δοῦλον does not imply his manumission; rather the contrary: the stress is on ὡς and ὑπέρ—‘no longer as a slave (though he be one), but above a slave.’

μάλιστα, ‘of all other men,’ of all those without thy house, with whom he has been connected: but πόσῳ μᾶλλον σοί, with whom he stands in so near and lasting a relation.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

16. οὐκέτι ὡς δοῦλον: ‘no longer as a slave.’ Ὡς denotes the subjective conception of Onesimus’ relation to his master, without reference to the external relation; i.e. Paul does not say that Philemon is to receive Onesimus freed, and no longer a slave, which would be δοῦλον simply, but that, whether he shall remain a slave or not, he will no longer be regarded as a slave, but as a brother beloved. The relation between the master and the slave is transformed. The slave, even without ceasing to be a slave, is on a different and higher footing with his master. Both are in Christ. (See 1Co 7:20-24; Col 3:11.) The relation is conceived absolutely, without special reference to Philemon’s view of it.

ὑπὲρ δοῦλον: ‘above a slave’; ‘more than a slave.’ For this sense of ὑπὲρ, see Mat 10:24, Mat 10:37; Act 26:13; Win. xlix.

ἀδελφὸν ἀγαπητόν: Explaining ὑπὲρ δοῦλον.

μαλίστα ἐμοί: ‘especially to me’ whose spiritual child he is.

πόσῳ δὲ μᾶλλον σοὶ: ‘but how much more to thee.’ Because he is your property. There is a hint that the property relation involves more than mere ownership and receiving of service. Ownership should be a basis for Christian fraternity and its mutual ministries.

καὶ ἐν σαρκὶ καὶ ἐν κυρίῳ: ‘both in the flesh and in the Lord.’ Explaining πόσῳ μᾶλλον. In the mere external relation (ἐν σαρκὶ) Onesimus will be a better servant; in the spiritual relation (ἐν κυρίῳ) he will be on a higher footing, and will have acquired a new value as a Christian brother.

The main point of the letter is at last reached, backed by an appeal to Philemon’s fellowship with Paul. Paul has sent Onesimus back (vs. 11). He prays Philemon to give him a kindly reception.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Not now [ουκετι] . Rev., more correctly, no longer. The negative adverb oujketi states the fact absolutely, not as it may be conceived by Philemon [μηκετι] . However Philemon may regard Onesimus, as a fact he is now no longer as a slave.

Above [υπερ] . Rev., more than. More than a slave - a whole man. Especially [μαλιστα] . Connect with beloved. Especially to me as compared with other Christians.

How much more [ποσω μαλλον] . Beloved most to Paul, how much more than most to Philemon, since he belonged to him in a double sense, as a slave and as a Christian brother : in the flesh and in the Lord. "In the flesh Paul had the brother for a slave : in the, Lord he had the slave for a brother" (Meyer).

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

16. ὡς δοῦλον] St Paul does not say δοῦλον but ὡς δοῦλον. It was a matter of indifference whether he were outwardly δοῦλος or outwardly ἐλεύθερος, since both are one in Christ (Col. iii. 11). But though he might still remain a slave, he could no longer be as a slave. A change had been wrought in him, independently of his possible manumission: in Christ he had become a brother. It should be noticed also that the negative is not μηκέτι, but οὐκέτι. The negation is thus wholly independent of ἵνα ... ἀπέχῃς. It describes not the possible view of Philemon, but the actual state of Onesimus. The ‘no more as a slave’ is an absolute fact, whether Philemon chooses to recognise it or not.

J. B. Lightfoot, St Paul's Epistles to the Colossians and Philemon: a revised text with introductions, notes and dissertations (London: Macmillan, 1875) — public domain. Electronic text from Project Gutenberg (ebook #50857). Covers Colossians and Philemon only (the verse-by-verse notes; introductions and dissertations are omitted); Lightfoot's companion Galatians and Philippians volumes are not included, as the available public-domain scans carry garbled Greek that cannot be faithfully reproduced.