One of the fascinating aspects of the letter to Philemon is Paul’s pastoral finesse as he seeks to bring the two alienated parties together. It can be seen in the very first words of the letter where Paul identifies himself as “a prisoner of Christ Jesus” instead of referring to himself as an apostle as he so often does in his other letters (cf. Romans 1:1; 1 Corinthians 1:1; Titus 1:1 ). Paul is not going to base whatever appeal he makes to Philemon on his authority as an apostle. He does, however, call himself an “old man” (Phm 9) which likely means that Paul was in his mid-50s when the letter was composed.
By identifying himself as “a prisoner of Christ Jesus”, Paul indicates he is in prison although it is unclear from the letter whether he is imprisoned in Rome, Philippi, or Ephesus.
Wherever Paul is, he knows Philemon and a few other members of the Colossian church who meet in Philemon’s house (Phm 1-2). He refers to Philemon as his “beloved” (agapetos; NIV and NRSV have weaker “dear friend”) and as a “co-worker” (Phm 1, 17). It is very probable that Paul was responsible for Philemon’s conversion to Christ (Phm 19b). While imprisoned, Paul has witnessed the birth of another spiritual child, Philemon’s slave Onesimus (Phm 10).
Who else is present with Paul when he is writing this letter to Philemon?
Related post: The Philemon Files: Introduction
