What Is Paul's Purpose Of The Letter To Philemon

Having concluded his appeal in verse 16 to both his interests and Philemon's, Paul makes three requests, telling Philemon what his next steps should be. The first request is that Philemon would “receive him as you would receive me” (1:17) and it is a strong request that puts Onesimus on the same level of respect as Paul. The second request is to forgive Onesimus's debt and “charge that to my account”(1:18). Here, Paul is asking Philemon to do something extraordinary - forgive Onesimus for having stolen from him – reflecting Christ's forgiveness of the mankind. Paul's third request is to “refresh my heart in Christ” (1:20), which goes back to the motif of “heart” that Paul used in the introduction of his petition, compelling Philemon to affect
the life of Onesimus in the same way “the hearts of the saints have been refreshed” (1:7) through him. In the conclusion of the letter, Paul uses the literary technique of appealing to the emotions of the audience, putting his trust in Philemon, knowing that he will go beyond the expectations to reconcile with Onesimus.
In his typical writing style, Paul extends greetings from various coworkers in Rome and sends blessings on “your spirit” (1:25), referring not just to Paul, but to the entire Christian community. In order to accurately understand the complexity of the situation, it's worth looking at the historical context in which the letter was written. The letter was written by Paul from his prison in Rome, circa 62 A.D. The letter was addressed to Philemon, a wealthy Christian who lived in the city of Colossae. Having heard the gospel and been saved, Philemon began serving for God's cause in the colossan community, generously lending his house for a group of Christians to meet there regularly
(1:2). Slavery was one of the primary features of life in the Greco-Roman culture and it was tightly interwoven with the society. It is crucial to understand that slavery in the ancient world was very different from slavery in the modern world; it was a social-economic issue, rather than an issue of race and ethnicity. Slaves were viewed as property and people could voluntarily sell themselves into slavery, in order to pay off debt or to try to achieve Roman citizenship. Some slaves were doctors, some were philosophers, and others had authoritative roles. In general slavery was not a cruel process that it was in American slavery; in fact, Philemon was a Christian slave-owner, whose love “refreshed the hearts of the saints” (1:7) and it's safe to say that his attitude toward his slaves was founded on love. Onesimus was a slave who had run away from Philemon, evidently stealing money from him (1:18).
Naturally, Onesimus fled to Rome, the biggest city in the Roman Empire, where he could remain safe from the government. Subsequently, however, Onesimus met Paul, who had converted his master to faith, and he changed “both in the flesh and in the Lord” (1:16). Punishment of runaway slaves was fully up to the discretion of the owners, since slaves were considered property; it was uncommon for slaves to be beaten or put to death. Paul was fully aware of the severity of the punishment, so it made sense for him to write a strong petition on behalf of his new friend Onesimus, to whom he became like a “father”
(1:10). It is worth noting that Paul addressed the letter not only to Philemon, but also “the church in your house” (1:2). Paul knew that this issue would be an appropriate example to instruct the believers on the sovereignty of Christ's love over law. Paul intended the outcome of this situation to serve as an example for the church as a whole, highlighting the theme of Christ's redemption of people, giving a chance to escape eternal punishment. In addition, Philemon would be held accountable by the christian community in how he responds to Paul's request. Having examined the historical background of the epistle, it is appropriate to tie literary sound of the letter with its history to form a message that will benefits contemporary readers in today's