If thou count me therefore a partner, receive him as myself.
Parallel translations
- WEB If then you count me a partner, receive him as you would receive me.
- BSB So if you consider me a partner, receive him as you would receive me.
- NKJV If then you count me as a partner, receive him as you would me.
- NASB If then you regard me as a partner, accept him as you would me.
- NLT So if you consider me your partner, welcome him as you would welcome me.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Paul asks Philemon to receive Onesimus just as he would receive Paul himself. He stakes their partnership on this gracious welcome.
Overview
If Philemon counts Paul a "partner" in the gospel, then he must extend to Onesimus the same warm reception he would give Paul. This is a striking picture of imputation: the offending slave is welcomed on the credit of another's standing. It mirrors the gospel itself, where God receives sinners as He receives His own beloved Son, for the sake of Christ our Partner and Advocate.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 16
- 2 Cor 8:23Whether any do enquire of Titus, he is my partner and fellowhelper concerning you: or our brethren be enquired of, they are the messengers of the churches, and the glory of Christ.
- Matt 10:40He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.
- Phlm 1:12Whom I have sent again: thou therefore receive him, that is, mine own bowels:
- Matt 18:5And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me.
- Eph 3:6That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:
- Matt 25:40And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
- Acts 16:15And when she was baptized, and her household, she besought us, saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there. And she constrained us.
- Matt 12:48–50But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren?
- Jas 2:5Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?
- Heb 3:1Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus;
- Phil 1:7Even as it is meet for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart; inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace.
- 1 Pet 5:1The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed:
- 1 Jn 1:3That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.
- Phlm 1:10I beseech thee for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten in my bonds:
- Heb 3:14For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end;
- 1 Tim 6:2And they that have believing masters, let them not despise them, because they are brethren; but rather do them service, because they are faithful and beloved, partakers of the benefit. These things teach and exhort.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 1:17 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.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.