New Testament · Letters of Paul · World English Bible
Philemon
"No longer as a slave, but more than a slave, a beloved brother."
— Philemon 16 
The Reading LensEvery verse pulled to the top of a book is chosen by three questions: Where is God’s heart here? Who is He protecting? Who is being saved by the action? It marks the place where those answers come into clearest focus — a “look at this, in this book.”
About the Letter
Twenty-five verses — the shortest of Paul’s letters, and the only one dealing with a single private matter. It is addressed to Philemon but also to Apphia, Archippus and the church meeting in his house, which puts the private matter in front of witnesses.
Onesimus, a slave belonging to Philemon, has ended up with Paul in prison. Paul is sending him back carrying this letter, and asking Philemon to receive him no longer as a slave but as a beloved brother — in the flesh and in the Lord.
Paul says plainly that he could command and is choosing to appeal instead. He offers in his own handwriting to cover whatever is owed, then notes that Philemon owes him his own self. The letter never states what Onesimus did, never states what Philemon decided, and its place in the long argument over slavery has been claimed by both sides.