Philemon was a dear friend of Paul and a coworker with him. Paul’s estimation of him was based on what he had heard from others because it is likely these two had never met in person; and as the saying goes, Philemon’s reputation preceded him. Paul was greatly encouraged by the testimony of Philemon’s love for the saints. Paul’s own love for the saints is clear from what we read of him, and it gave him great joy to have someone with a similar heart for the Lord’s people. This was a love for all the saints, not just a few chosen ones—certainly not limited to personalities he got along with the most. And this was an agape love that was not based on whether the person deserved it. He loved them because they were the Lord’s.

Believers had been refreshed by Philemon, and this also brings joy to Paul. Just as Paul could call Philemon, Timothy, Titus, and several others fellow workers, so we can be God’s fellow workers (1 Cor. 3:9). The Lord said, “Come to Me … and I will give you rest” (Mt. 11:28), and we can be used of Him to minister refreshment, or rest, to one another as we speak about Christ.

Paul seeks to channel Philemon’s characteristics toward one brother in particular: Onesimus: “If you consider me a partner,” Paul pleads, “welcome him as you would me” (Phile. 1:17). This runaway bondslave had come to know the Lord Jesus as his Savior, and now Paul appealed to Philemon that he would consider Onesimus a dearly loved brother. This Epistle is a wonderful display of love between and for the saints. There is not only a blessing as a result, but this is how the world will know that we are the Lord’s (Jn. 13:35).