IT has been well said that the letter from Paul to his friend Philemon is the finest specimen of early, personal, Christian correspondence extant. It was written to commend a returning, runaway, thieving slave to his master, and with characteristic generosity and a deep sense of the importance of maintaining a standard of righteousness, Paul offers to be surety for this man, Onesimus, and agrees to meet every responsibility as to his past evil-doing. He knew that the life of Onesimus had been changed completely by divine grace, and so he unhesitatingly requested Philemon to receive him, no longer as a slave, but as a brother in Christ.
Luther said, “We are all God’s Onesimi.” For in this incident we have a striking picture of our lost condition by nature and practice, and of the activities of divine grace on our behalf. The letter sets forth most beautifully the great truths of forgiveness, on the ground of the expiatory work of Another, and acceptance in the Beloved.
“Once I stood of sin convicted,
Waiting thus the sinner’s doom,
Judgment was on Christ inflicted,
God has raised Him from the tomb.
Now I see in Christ’s acceptance,
But the measure of my own;
He who lay beneath my sentence,
Seated high upon the throne.”