The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ ... - Notes, 2 Timothy 4:22.

The subscription to the Epistle is of no authority, but in this case is undoubtedly correct. Compare the remarks at the close of 1 Corinthians, and Titus.

Remarks On Philemon

Having now passed through with the exposition of this Epistle, it may be proper to copy, for comparison with it, one of the most beautiful specimens of epistolary composition to be found in profane literature, an epistle of Pliny, written on a similar occasion, and having a strong resemblance to this. As a matter of taste, it is of importance to show that the sacred writers do not fall behind the most favorable specimens of literary composition to be found in uninspired writings. The epistle of Pliny was directed to his friend Sabinianus, in behalf of his manumitted slave who had offended him, and who was consequently cast out of his favor. It is in the following words:

C. Plinius Sabiniano, S. (in Latin)

Libertus tuus, cui succensere te dixeras, venit a.d. me, advolutusque pedibus meis, tanquam tuis, haesit: flevit muitum, multum rogavit, maltum etiam tacuit: in summa, fecit mihi fidem poenitentiae Vere credo emendatum, quia deliquisse sentit. Irasceris scio; et irasceris merito, id quoque scio: sed tune praecipua mansuetudinis laus, cure irae causa justissima est. Amasti hominem; et spero amabis: interim sufficit ut exorari te sinas. Licebit rursus irasci, si meruerit; quod exoratus excusatius facies.

Remitte aliquid adolescentiae ipsius; remitte lachrymis; remitte indulgentiae tuae; ne torseris illum, ne torseris etiam te. Torqueris enim cum tam lenis irasceris. Vereor, ne videar non rogare, sed cogere, si precibus ejus meas junxero. Jungam tamen tanto plenius et effusius quanto ipsum acrius severiusque corripui, destricte minatus, nunquam me postea rogaturum. Hoc illi, quem terreri oportebat; tibi non idem. Nam fortasse iterum rogabo, impetrabo irerum: sit mode tale, ut rogare me, ut praestare te, deceat. Vale. Epistolar. Lib. ix. Ephesians 21.

Caius Pliny to Sabinianus, health (English translation)

'Thy freed man, with whom thou didst say thou wert incensed, came to me, and having thrown himself at my feet, grasped them as if they had been thine. He wept much; pleaded much; and yet pleaded more by his silence. In short, he fully convinced me that he was a penitent. I do sincerely believe that he is reformed, because he perceives that he has done wrong. I know that thou art incensed against him; and I know also that thou art justly so; but then clemency has its chief praise when there is the greatest cause for anger. Thou hast loved the man; and I hope that thou wilt love him again. In the meantime, it may suffice that thou dost suffer thyself to be entreated for him. It will be right for thee again to be offended if he deserves it: because, having allowed thyself to be entreated, you will do it with greater propriety.

'Forgive something for his youth; forgive on account of his tears; forgive on account of thine own kindness: do not torment him; do not torment thyself - for thou wilt be tormented when thou, who art of so gentle a disposition, dost suffer thyself to be angry. I fear, if I should unite my prayers to his, that I should seem not to ask, but to compel. Yet I will write them, and the more largely and earnestly, too, as I have sharply and severely reproved him; solemnly threatening him, should he offend again, never more to intercede for him. This I said to him, because it was necessary to alarm him; but I will not say the same to thee. For perhaps I may again entreat thee, and again obtain, if now that shall be done which it is fit that I should ask and you concede. Farewell."

Those who compare these two epistles, much as they may admire that of Pliny as a literary composition and as adapted to secure the end which he had in view, will coincide with the remark of Doddridge, that it is much inferior to the letter of Paul. There is less courtesy - though there is much; there is less that is touching and tender - though there is much force in the pleading; and there is much less that is affecting in the manner of the appeal than in the Epistle of the apostle.

The Epistle to Philemon, though the shortest that Paul wrote, and though pertaining to a private matter in which the church at large could not be expected to have any direct interest, is nevertheless a most interesting portion of the New Testament, and furnishes some invaluable lessons for the church.

1. It is a model of courtesy. It shows that the apostle was a man of refined sensibility, and had a delicate perception of what was due in friendship, and what was required by true politeness. There are turns of thought in this Epistle which no one would employ who was not thoroughly under the influence of true courtesy of feeling, and who had not an exquisite sense of what was proper in intercourse with a Christian gentleman.

2. The Epistle shows that he had great tact in argument, and great skill in selecting just such things as would be adapted to secure the end in view. It would be hardly possible to accumulate, even in a letter of fiction, more circumstances which would be fitted to accomplish the object which he contemplated, that he has introduced into this short letter, or to arrange them in a way better fitted to secure the desired result. If we remember the state of mind in which it is reasonable to suppose Philemon was in regard to this runaway servant, and the little probability that a man in his circumstances would receive him with kindness again, it is impossible not to admire the address with which Paul approaches him. It is not difficult to imagine in what state of mind Philemon may have been, or the obstacles which it was necessary to surmount in order to induce him to receive Onesimus again - and especially to receive him as a Christian brother.

continued...

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit - By using the plural, ὑμων, your, the apostle in effect directs or addresses the epistle, not only to Philemon, but to all the Church at his house.

Amen - Is wanting as usual in the best MSS.

The subscriptions are also various, as in preceding cases.

Versions:

The Epistle to Philemon was written at Rome, and sent by the hand of Onesimus. - Syriac.

Through the help of God the epistle is finished. It was written at Rome by the hand of Onesimus, servant to Philemon. - Arabic.

To the man Philemon. - Aethiopic.

It was written at Rome, and sent by Onesimus. - Coptic.

Vulgate, nothing.

The Epistle to Philemon, Apphia, and Archippus: the end of the Epistle to Philemon and Apphia, the master and mistress of Onesimus; and to Archippus, the deacon of the Church at Colosse: it was written from Rome by Onesimus, a servant. - Philoxesian Syriac.

Manuscripts:

To Philemon. - To Philemon is finished. - To Philemon, written from Rome by Onesimus - Onesiphorus. - From Paul, by Onesimus, a servant. - From the presence of Paul and Timothy. - The Epistle of Paul the apostle to Philemon. - The common Greek text has, To Philemon, written from Rome by Onesimus, a servant.

As some have thought it strange that a private letter, of a particular business and friendship, should have got a place in the sacred canon, others have been industrious to find out the general uses which may be made of it. The following are those which seem to come most naturally from the text: -

1. In a religious point of view, all genuine Christian converts are on a level; Onesimus, the slave, on his conversion becomes the apostle's beloved son, and Philemon's brother.

continued...

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen. Not with his spirit only, but with the spirit of Apphia and Archippus, to whom also the epistle was sent; and therefore the word is in the plural number; and the Syriac version adds pertinently enough, "my brethren": the salutation is the same as in all the epistles; the form of it agrees with Galatians 6:18 the subscription of the epistle is,

written from Rome, to Philemon, by Onesimus, a servant; that is, it was written by the Apostle Paul when at Rome, and sent to Philemon by the hands of Onesimus, who was his servant, and upon whose account the letter was written.

Grace - with your spirit

As in Galatians 6:18, with the omission here of brother. See on 2 Corinthians 13:14. Out of many private letters which must have been written by Paul, this alone has been preserved. Its place in the New Testament canon is vindicated, so far as its internal character is concerned, by its picture of Paul as a christian gentleman, and by its exhibition of Paul's method of dealing with a great social evil.

Paul's dealing with the institution of slavery displayed the profoundest christian sagacity. To have attacked the institution as such would have been worse than useless. To one who reads between the lines, Paul's silence means more than any amount of denunciation; for with his silence goes his faith in the power of christian sentiment to settle finally the whole question. He knows that to bring slavery into contact with living Christianity is to kill slavery. He accepts the social condition as a fact, and even as a law. He sends Onesimus back to his legal owner. He does not bid Philemon emancipate him, but he puts the christian slave on his true footing of a christian brother beside his master. As to the institution, he knows that the recognition of the slave as free in Christ will carry with it, ultimately, the recognition of his civil freedom.

History vindicated him in the Roman empire itself. Under Constantine the effects of christian sentiment began to appear in the Church and in legislation concerning slaves. Official freeing of slaves became common as an act of pious gratitude, and burial tablets often represent masters standing before the Good Shepherd, with a band of slaves liberated at death, and pleading for them at judgment. In a.d. 312 a law was passed declaring as homicide the poisoning or branding of slaves, and giving them to be torn by beasts. The advance of a healthier sentiment may be seen by comparing the law of Augustus, which forbade a master to emancipate more than one-fifth of his slaves, and which fixed one hundred males as a maximum for one time - and the unlimited permission to emancipate conceded by Constantine. Each new ruler enacted some measure which facilitated emancipation. Every obstacle was thrown by the law in the way of separating families. Under Justinian all presumptions were in favor of liberty. If a slave had several owners, one could emancipate him, and the others must accept compensation at a reduced valuation. The mutilated, and those who had served in the army with their masters' knowledge and consent, were liberated. All the old laws which limited the age at which a slave could be freed, and the number which could be emancipated, were abolished. A master's marriage with a slave freed all the children. Sick and useless slaves must be sent by their masters to the hospital.

Great and deserved praise has been bestowed on this letter. Bengel says: "A familiar and exceedingly courteous epistle concerning a private affair is inserted among the New Testament books, intended to afford a specimen of the highest wisdom as to how Christians should arrange civil affairs on loftier principles." Franke, quoted by Bengel, says: "The single epistle to Philemon very far surpasses all the wisdom of the world." Renan: "A true little chef-d'oeuvre of the art of letter-writing." Sabatier: "This short epistle gleams like a pearl of the most exquisite purity in the rich treasure of the New Testament."

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.

25. be with your spirit-(Ga 6:18; 2Ti 4:22).

1:23-25 Never have believers found more enjoyment of God, than when suffering together for him. Grace is the best wish for ourselves and others; with this the apostle begins and ends. All grace is from Christ; he purchased, and he bestows it. What need we more to make us happy, than to have the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ with our spirit? Let us do that now, which we should do at the last breath. Then men are ready to renounce the world, and to prefer the least portion of grace and faith before a kingdom.