Philemon 1:1-7
You Have Refreshed the Saints
1Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, To Philemon our beloved fellow worker,
2to Apphia our sister, to Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the church that meets at your house:
3Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
4I always thank my God, remembering you in my prayers,
5because I hear about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints.
6I pray that your partnership in the faith may become effective as you fully acknowledge every good thing that is ours in Christ.
7I take great joy and encouragement in your love, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the saints.
Berean Standard Bible
Paul is writing to a man he knows well, about something delicate, and the first thing he tells him is that he is in chains. No apostle, no office, no standing. A prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy alongside him.
Then comes the address, and this is where a private letter stops being private. Philemon is named first, a fellow worker. Apphia is named, a sister. Archippus is named, a fellow soldier. And then the church that meets in Philemon's house, which means the letter is addressed to more people than Philemon. Whatever Paul is about to ask, it is addressed to a household and a church and not to one man on his own.
After the greeting comes the thanksgiving, and it runs long for so short a letter. Paul prays for this man and thanks God for him, because of what he keeps hearing from other people: that Philemon trusts Jesus and loves all the saints. None of it is invented. Paul is passing on secondhand news and saying he was glad to get it. Then he prays for something.
I pray that your partnership in the faith may become effective as you fully acknowledge every good thing that is ours in Christ.
Partnership is a word he will reach for again before the letter is finished, and when he does, there will be something attached to it. The thanksgiving then closes with a picture of Philemon at his best.
I take great joy and encouragement in your love, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the saints.
Refreshed is his word for what Philemon has done to the hearts of the saints, and the news of it had reached Paul in prison and cheered him up. That word comes back later too, pointed at the same request.
So the opening is doing two jobs and only owns up to one of them. It thanks a generous man honestly, in front of his own congregation, for the very qualities the rest of the letter will need from him. Nothing here is flattery. Every word of it could be checked by the people sitting in that room, and all of it is already leaning toward a request Paul has not made yet.
How We Know
The praise in this opening is built out of the same words as the request that follows it, and the letter never points that out. A run that tight is strong evidence that opening and request belong to one design rather than to coincidence, and no evidence at all about how Philemon answered.
Verse 6 is a prayer that Philemon's partnership in the faith may become effective. Verse 17 asks him to act on it: if you consider me a partner, receive him.
Verse 7 says Philemon has refreshed the hearts of the saints. Verse 20 asks for one more: refresh my heart in Christ.
Verse 5 names his love for all the saints. Verse 9 says Paul would rather appeal on the basis of love than give an order.
Three words of praise, each collected later in the same letter. Nothing in the text draws attention to the pattern.
Questions
1 When somebody says something kind to you, how do you work out whether they mean it?
AnswerUsually by whether they want something. Paul thanks Philemon for his faith, his love and the hearts he has refreshed, and all of it is news that reached him from other people and made him glad. He is not inventing compliments to soften a man up.
2 The first thing Paul says about himself is that he is a prisoner. Why not lead with being an apostle?
AnswerHe is about to ask for a favor rather than give an order, and opening as a prisoner puts him low rather than high. The letter does not say why he chose the title. It is also the plain fact of where he is sitting while he writes.
3 Who is going to hear this letter besides Philemon?
AnswerApphia, Archippus, and the whole church that meets in Philemon's house. A matter inside one household gets addressed to a congregation, so whatever Philemon decides, he decides it with his neighbors listening.
4 Two words from the thanksgiving come back later in the letter. Which ones?
AnswerPartnership and refreshed. Paul prays that Philemon's partnership in the faith may become effective, and thanks God for the hearts he has refreshed, and both words return attached to what Paul wants from him. He says the true thing first and collects on it afterward.
What This Means for Us
Paul said the true thing before he needed it, which is the whole difference between preparing somebody and using them. He is not manufacturing compliments. Philemon really did refresh those people, other people really did report it, and Paul really was glad to hear it. The test is whether the praise would still have been said with nothing coming afterward.
Most of us fail that test quietly. We save our appreciation for the conversations where we want something, and the people closest to us learn to hear a request coming.
So think of somebody whose good qualities you have left unsaid, and say one true thing to them this week with nothing attached to it.
Prayer
Father, we save our kind words for when we want something, and people can tell. Thank you for a letter that begins with gratitude and means it. Make us people who say the true thing early, and who are worth asking. Amen.