Paul’s sweetest epistles are from prison cells, and of those epistles, Philemon is the most personal letter written during his imprisonment. Consider this, Paul, a prisoner under house arrest in Rome (vv. 1, 23), notes a letter to his dear friend, Philemon, urging him to accept his former slave Onesimus. It is believed that Onesimus had stolen from Philemon (v. 18), run away from his master, and met Paul while imprisoned (v. 10). Paul writes this personal letter to Philemon to remind him that where true repentance exists, reconciliation and restoration are to follow. Paul sends a new Onesimus back to Philemon, reminding him to offer Onesimus the same refreshment he had once provided to Paul (v. 7), “For I have derived much joy and comfort from your love, my brother, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you.”
The story of Onesimus is a story of refreshment. Like Onesimus, prisoners today find themselves behind bars for some wrong they have committed. Many of them ponder the crime itself, the conviction, and the current situation they find themselves in. This leads them into despair, depression, and a weariness that can fatigue both the body and soul. Yet, in bonds, Onesimus found refreshment in the gospel (v. 16). Paul shared with joy and comfort (while imprisoned himself), knowing fellow saints and Philemon had experienced this refreshment (v. 7). The gospel offers refreshment to the incarcerated by providing reconciliation and restoration.
Reconciliation
The incarcerated are refreshed through reconciliation. Paul appeals to Philemon that Onesimus is now his son (v. 10). The phrase may easily be overlooked when reading, but “my son” are the words Paul uses to identify a new Onesimus to Philemon. The one Philemon once knew as an enslaved person, a runaway, and a thief, Paul now knows as a son. Paul spends most of his letter urging Philemon to receive Onesimus (v. 17) as he would have welcomed the apostle himself. Paul, a master rhetorician, praises Philemon for his love of the church (vv. 4–7) and now uses this argument to urge him to love Onesimus.[1] That is to say, to reconcile with Onesimus. Philemon is to receive Onesimus as he is now, a son, not as what he once was, a thief. But how? How can an estranged relationship between two parties come to reconciliation?
It is safe to assume Philemon knew what reconciliation is. Paul writes, “To Philemon our beloved fellow worker” (v. 2) to appeal to his position in the New Testament church. Philemon was a good man, loved by Paul, and seen as a “fellow worker” (which was likely used to refer to gospel ministers). Paul follows this by referencing those gathering for worship, “the church in your house” (v. 2). From the beginning of Paul’s letter, he points toward Philemon as a gospel minister and a church member who gathers in his home to worship the Lord. Paul continues to build his argument by praising Philemon. Paul remembers him (v. 4), Paul delights in his love for the church (v. 5), Paul highlights his faith in Christ (v. 5), Paul prays for him (v. 6), Paul enjoys him and has found his testimony a refreshment (v. 7). It is safe to say, according to how and what Paul writes, that Philemon’s estranged relationship as a sinner with a holy God had been made right. Philemon’s relationship had been reconciled. Because of his testimony, Paul writes, “because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you.” The stories of reconciliation, of a harmonious relationship between two parties, bring refreshment to the hearts of the church.
Whether it is Paul’s, Philemon’s, Onesimus’, or your own story of reconciliation, they all serve as stories of refreshment to both the individual and the church. Inmates find themselves in a similar situation as Onesimus did. A crime is committed, and running away from it seems best, but a penalty and restoration are required to make the relationship right. Onesimus steals and runs away, but before his relationship is restored with Philemon, his relationship with the Lord must be reconciled. The same is true of many inmates today. A crime has been committed, a sentence is given, but reconciliation needs to be made with God before it can be made with the individual, they have done wronged. Paul’s appeal to Philemon. You are reconciled to God (v. 2–7); therefore, you should reconcile with Onesimus (v. 8≠14). For Onesimus, this “is perhaps why he was parted from you” (v. 14). It took prison to bring him to Christ.
Therefore, the gospel is refreshing for the incarcerated. Prison can be a place where people take the time to reflect on their lives and consider where they have been and where they want to go. It is not uncommon for God to use that event to get people thinking seriously about their purpose in life. Unfortunately, inmates can fall into despair and deep depression during this time as they reflect on their past decisions. Yet, the gospel offers them refreshment. It provides them with the good news of how sinners are made right before a holy and just God and with a path for making wrongs right. Prison is an unfortunate circumstance for anyone. Perhaps for some, it is the means the Lord uses to convict inmates of their sin, see their need for reconciliation, and confess their faith in Christ Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Joseph, sold into slavery, was elevated to high rank in Pharaoh’s house. Moses ran for forty years before leading the Israelites. Onesimus ran away from the wrong he did to become useful to Philemon. John Calvin summarizes, “He prudently softens everything, by calling the flight a departure, and adding that it was only for a time.”[2] Christ would have his church learn how to sympathize with their Christian brothers and sisters who have been refreshed by the power of the gospel behind bars.
Restoration
The incarcerated are refreshed through restoration. Paul’s climax to his argument comes in verses 15–19. Because you, Philemon, have been restored to God, restore Onesimus to your household and church. Paul moves to “contrast the perpetuity of the advantage with the short duration of the loss.”[3] Paul’s point explains that had not Onesimus come to Rome (imprisoned), he may have never found Christ. Paul teaches Philemon that God’s purposes make greater sense of the situation than he could imagine. This was God’s doing. The same is true of many inmates today. It is hard to make sense of where they are in life. But for some, God may have produced a time of separation, separation from their spouse, children, families, and friends in order to affect a restored person and permanent union in Jesus Christ.[4] However, Paul’s following words bring about refreshing acts of restoration for our inmate, Onesimus.
Paul reminds Philemon that this restoration is multidimensional, “that you might have him back forever” (v. 15). First, Philemon might have him back. Second, and more importantly, he will have a restored relationship with him for eternity. Considering how their previous relationship had been severed, this restoration brings about both earthly and spiritual implications. Once a slave, now a brother in Christ. Yes, his restoration brings him back into the right relationship between the two. Still, now it’s a spiritual relationship that finds their common bond in an elder brother, Jesus Christ, which will remain for eternity. What a refreshing truth it is for an inmate today who can feel as if they have lost so much. Maybe they have lost their spouse, parents, sons, daughters, and friends they held in high regard. Through the restoration offered in the gospel, inmates are provided with a new family, new spiritual parents, new brothers, and sisters, and the most refreshing change, a new identity, union with Christ. Paul’s argument comes to its pinnacle when he writes to Philemon, “… receive him as you would receive me. If he has wronged you or owes you anything, charge that to my account… I will repay it—to say nothing of your owing me even your own self. Yes, brother, I want some benefit from you in the Lord. Refresh my heart in Christ. (vv. 17–20).
But how can Paul make promises to repay Philemon for Onesimus’s debts? Even if churches provided income for Paul during this imprisonment, would it be enough to cover the debts of Onesimus? Some commentators have gone as far as calling this a ridiculous promise” on Paul’s part.[5] Here is the refreshment. Paul is reminding Philemon that he, too, was in debt. Onesimus’s debt was financial, yet Philemon’s debt to Paul was spiritual. Through hearing the gospel under Paul’s ministry, Philemon was set debt-free, being restored to a holy God through the payment of Jesus Christ. Paul asks Philemon to consider Onesimus the same. This analogy provides inmates with the gospel message. Matthew Henry notes,
By way of allusion, this may illustrate Christ’s undertaking for us. We had revolted from God and by sin had wronged him, but Christ undertakes to make satisfaction, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us unto God. “If the sinner owes thee aught, put it upon my account, I will pay the debt; let his iniquity be laid on me, I will bear the penalty.”[6]
His new identity in Christ comes paid in full, for he is completely restored to the Father. It is refreshing to consider one to be genuinely pardoned of his spiritual debt. Like Onesimus, inmates who are truly penitent and have been restored to the Father are an encouragement to the church.
The gospel is refreshing for the inmate because it reconciles and restores them to a right relationship with God. It brings them joy in the darkest of places. It makes their wrongs right. It grants them a new identity in Christ. And it allows them to sign with the hymnist, “Redemption full the Lord has made, and all my debts has fully paid, from law to set me free. I fear not for the wrath of God, For I’ve been sprinkled with His blood, it wholly covers me.”
[1] Osborne, Grant R. 2016. Colossians & Philemon: Verse by Verse. Osborne New Testament Commentaries. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[2] Calvin, John, and William Pringle. 2010. Commentaries on the Epistles to Timothy, Titus, and Philemon. Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.
[3] Calvin, John, and William Pringle. 2010. Commentaries on the Epistles to Timothy, Titus, and Philemon. Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.
[4] Osborne, Grant R. 2016. Colossians & Philemon: Verse by Verse. Osborne New Testament Commentaries. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[5] Calvin, John, and William Pringle. 2010. Commentaries on the Epistles to Timothy, Titus, and Philemon. Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.
[6] Henry, Matthew. 1994. Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible: Complete and Unabridged in One Volume. Peabody: Hendrickson.
