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Philemon 1

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📖 Philemon introduction

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1Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, to Philemon, our beloved fellow worker, ✦ 2to the beloved Apphia, to Archippus, our fellow soldier, and to the assembly in your house: ✦ 3Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. ✦ 4I thank my God always, making mention of you in my prayers, ✦ 5hearing of your love, and of the faith which you have toward the Lord Jesus, and toward all the saints; ✦ 6that the fellowship of your faith may become effective, in the knowledge of every good thing which is in us in Christ Jesus. ✦ 7For we have much joy and comfort in your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, brother. ✦ 8Therefore though I have all boldness in Christ to command you that which is appropriate, ✦ 9yet for love’s sake I rather beg, being such a one as Paul, the aged, but also a prisoner of Jesus Christ. ✦ 10I beg you for my child, whom I have become the father of in my chains, Onesimus, ✦ 11who once was useless to you, but now is useful to you and to me. ✦ 12I am sending him back. Therefore receive him, that is, my own heart, ✦ 13whom I desired to keep with me, that on your behalf he might serve me in my chains for the Good News. ✦ 14But I was willing to do nothing without your consent, that your goodness would not be as of necessity, but of free will. ✦ 15For perhaps he was therefore separated from you for a while, that you would have him forever, ✦ 16no longer as a slave, but more than a slave, a beloved brother, especially to me, but how much rather to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord. ✦ 17If then you count me a partner, receive him as you would receive me. ✦ 18But if he has wronged you at all, or owes you anything, put that to my account. ✦ 19I, Paul, write this with my own hand: I will repay it (not to mention to you that you owe to me even your own self besides). ✦ 20Yes, brother, let me have joy from you in the Lord. Refresh my heart in the Lord. ✦ 21Having confidence in your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even beyond what I say. ✦ 22Also, prepare a guest room for me, for I hope that through your prayers I will be restored to you. ✦ 23Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, greets you, ✦ 24as do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow workers. ✦ 25The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen. ✦

Tap any verse for its study page. Underlined terms mark a concept, person, or place; ✦ marks verses with cross-references.

Where this chapter connects

Phlm 1 ·12Col 4 ·8Phil 1 ·7Phil 2 ·62 Cor 7 ·5Col 1 ·51 Th 2 ·51 Cor 16 ·4

Christ at the center

The plea to receive a runaway slave as a beloved brother, charging his debt to Paul's account, is a living picture of how Christ receives us and pays what we owe.

How Philemon 1 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Resources, by level

Lay

  • ★ Start hereAudioThrough the WordThrough the Word · ~10 min/chapter · Free · evangelical

    A clear ~10-minute audio teaching for every one of the Bible's 1,189 chapters — the most systematic free way to study chapter by chapter.

Pastoral

  • SermonChuck Smith — C2000 SeriesChuck Smith · Free · evangelical

    Free verse-by-verse audio through the entire Bible from the founder of Calvary Chapel.

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