Greeting and Thanksgiving
Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother,
To Philemon our dear friend and fellow worker, 2 to Apphia our sister, to Archippus our fellow soldier and to the church that meets in your home:
3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
As he addresses Philemon, both here and later in the body of this epistle, Paul emphasizes not his apostolic authority but the fact that he is a prisoner for the gospel’s sake. It is a prisoner, but certainly not an ordinary prisoner, who sends Philemon this special plea. Paul calls himself “a prisoner of Christ Jesus.” The apostle rightly regards his imprisonment not as a disgrace but as a badge of honor, because it resulted from his faithful service to the Lord. He is confident that all the details of this imprisonment, as well as its final outcome, are in the hands of the Lord, who governs the whole universe in the interest of his church. Paul’s reference to his imprisonment for Christ’s sake both here and again in verse 9 is certainly also part of his tactful appeal to Philemon.
Philemon was to understand that the special request of this letter was coming from one so deeply committed to the cause of Christ that he had surrendered his very freedom for it. How could Philemon refuse to honor such a request? Philemon might reflect on the fact that although he was outwardly a free man, he was not necessarily free to do what he pleased. As a servant of Christ, he was free to do what was right. Timothy, Paul’s associate and a brother in faith of both Philemon and the apostle, joins Paul in sending greetings. He agrees with all that Paul is about to say to Philemon in his brother-to-brother request.
Paul calls Philemon “our dear friend and fellow worker.” Love for the Lord Jesus joined Paul, Philemon, Timothy, and the whole family of believers together in a special union. On the basis of that love, Paul will make the appeal of this epistle. He is confident that Philemon will respond on the basis of that same love. By calling Philemon a “fellow worker,” Paul refers favorably to the manner in which Philemon has given evidence of his faith, especially among his fellow believers. Some of the specific ways in which he did that will be mentioned later, especially in verses 5 to 7. It is sufficient to note here that Paul addresses Philemon respectfully, as an active lay leader of the church, a man who worked according to his ability for the cause of the gospel. Still today, the efforts of believers like Philemon help the visible Christian church to survive and to flourish.
“Apphia our sister” and “Archippus our fellow soldier” are so closely associated with Philemon that the apostle mentions them in the same greeting. The inference here seems to be that Philemon is the head of the family to which Apphia and Archippus also belong. It is generally assumed that Apphia was Philemon’s wife. Archippus was probably their son.
The encouragement that Paul gives to Archippus in Colossians 4:17 seems to indicate that Archippus was the pastor in charge of the Colossian congregation, at least during the time that Epaphras was in Rome with Paul. Paul addresses him here as a fellow soldier, a companion in arms who stands together with the apostle in the forefront of the battle against sin and the forces of the devil.
Philemon, of course, is the person to whom this letter is first of all directed. It is he, and only he, who will have to decide on the matter Paul sets before him, but Paul wants those who are close to Philemon to hear the letter too, so that they can encourage Philemon to decide on a Godpleasing course of action. Paul also wants them all to have their Christian knowledge increased and their spirit of forgiveness broadened.
Finally, Paul also greets the church that meets in Philemon’s house. In the first and second centuries, church buildings were practically non-existent. Families would usually hold worship services in their homes for their own households. Those who had larger homes would often invite other families to join them in their worship. Mary, the mother of John Mark, did this in Jerusalem (Acts 12:12); Lydia did it in Philippi. Philemon seems to have had a large house, which he offered as a place of worship for the believers in Colosse. This was one of the many ways in which Philemon made his love for the Lord and his fellow believers evident. Paul acknowledges this here and then takes the opportunity to extend greetings to all who gathered for worship in Philemon’s house.
The greeting in this epistle is Paul’s familiar “grace and peace.” Upon Philemon, Apphia, Archippus, and the members of the Colossian congregation, Paul pronounces God’s forgiving love. He reminds them that the love of God in action, Christ’s substitutionary death for a world of sinners, brings sinners peace of heart and conscience, because through Jesus’ blood they are reconciled to God. These basic and vital spiritual blessings have their source in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus. It is to one he knows has been deeply affected and greatly blessed by God’s grace and peace that Paul addresses this epistle with its special appeal. The apostle is confident that God’s grace and the peace with which God’s forgiving love has filled Philemon’s heart will move Philemon to show the same kind of forgiving love to the penitent Onesimus.