Paul was longing to visit Philemon and the church: (1:22)
Paul was released from prison soon after writing this letter. As per the records, he made extensive visits to all the churches he founded. In one of his trips, he went to Colossae, where he saw for himself how Philemon had treated Onesimus.
Half a century later the church Father Ignatius, in Smyrna on his way to martyrdom in Rome, he wrote a letter to the Ephesian church. In that letter he writes, “I received your large congregation in the person of Onesimus, your bishop (pastor) in this world, a man whose love is beyond words” (cited in Cyril C. Richardson, ed., Early Christian Fathers [New York: Macmillan, 1978], p. 88) and again in the “Early Christian writings” in the “Epistles of St. Ignatius” pg.39 point [5] Father Ignatius death probably occured sometime in (A.D. 98-117). Onesiumus was a teen when Paul wrote to Philemon (A.D. 60). So it was quite possible Onemus was the Bishop leading the church in Ephesus who came to meet Father Ignatius. This is a fitting tribute to Philemon’s forgiveness and Paul’s spiritual nourishment to both Philemon and Onesimus. What a wonderful story!
Let’s look at the incident in a contemporary context.
The Social angle: We can study from the point of view of slavery. Some are shocked that Paul made no attempt to abolish slavery. They argue that although he writes about it in his letters, he never suggests that it should be stopped. But such critics are misinformed. In fact, Paul does condemn slave trading along with murder, adultery and lying (1Tim.1:10). His unwillingness to seek the abolition of slavery can be explained by the fact that about two-thirds of the population of the Roman empire were slaves. To argue for its abolition would have been to argue for chaos in society. Paul preferred to be known as a preacher of the Gospel rather than a champion of social cause.
It was hard for Onesimus to go back, hard for Philemon to accept the slave and also treat him as a brother in the Lord, very hard for the Church to accept the runaway slave as an equal brother or Christian. Yet accepting the Lord Jesus as our personal Saviour means doing the very hard things.
Paul’s statement of IOU (I owe you) was actually taking Onesimus’ debt upon himself (1:19).
Instead he just broke slavery from the inside by changing the relationships and attitudes involved. So he urged Philemon to see Onesimus as a brother, not as a piece of property. He writes about Onesimus as ‘my son’ who is ‘dear to me’. In his letters to the Colossians and the Ephesians he suggests that masters and slaves should have new attitudes to each other. He knew that eventually such a perspective would undermine the very foundations of slavery.
Spiritual angle:
This is a touching picture of Salvation and picture of Calvary. Christ found us as runaway slaves, law-breakers, rebels, but He forgave us and identified us with Himself. We were of no use but He went to the cross and paid the debt for us. This is the picture of Justification. To impute means “to put to one’s account.” Our sins were put to Christ’s account, and His righteousness was put to our account when we believed on Him. What a marvellous grace! “Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity” (Ps.32:2; Rom. 4:1-8). Our sins were put on “His account, even though He committed no sin” (2 Cor.5:21). Our sins were laid on Christ, and His robe of righteousness was imputed to us. Onesimus is to be received as a brother and we have a picture of sanctification. Now Onesimus is useful to his master.
The ethical angle:
Paul was simply doing for the slave Onesimus what Jesus had done for him. He was saying to Onesimus: Jesus paid for your sins, redeemed you and recreated you and sent you back to serve God by serving others. In other words, our relationships to others are conditioned by what Christ has done for us. We must recycle people and sent them back to the Father. We must be willing to pay the price for them, as Christ paid the price for us. Just as Paul said “dear Philemon, I am sending Onesimus back to you”, in the same way, Jesus said “Father I have not lost any one, I am leaving them to you, I am sending back to you as totally different” (Jn.17:12). Once we were useless, ran away from God, but now we are useful to God.