Limitless Word
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Philemon 1:3 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
  • KJV Grace to you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
  • NKJV Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
  • NASB Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
  • NLT May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.

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 pronounces his customary blessing of grace and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. These twin gifts ground the whole appeal that follows.

Overview

"Grace and peace" is Paul's standard greeting, joining a Greek and a Hebrew salutation and filling both with gospel meaning. Grace is God's unmerited favor and peace its fruit, both flowing equally from the Father and from Jesus Christ, an implicit witness to Christ's deity. The grace Philemon has received will become the very pattern for the grace he is asked to extend to Onesimus.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 3

  • Rom 1:7To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
  • Eph 1:2Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
  • 2 Cor 13:14The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Philemon videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Philemon 1:3YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on PhilemonMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    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 1:3 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.