Philemon 4–7

4 Paul begins almost all of his letters with thanksgiving (cf. Rom. 1:8; 1 Cor. 1:4; Eph. 1:16; Phil. 1:3; Col. 1:3; 1 Thess. 1:2; 2 Thess. 1:3). The use of the first-person singular form of the verb, eucharistō, points to Paul as the primary voice in this letter. Yet the reference to Timothy in the opening greetings indicates that he certainly would have agreed with Paul’s comments.

Paul begins by informing Philemon (“you” is singular in Gk.), “I thank my God always when I remember you in my prayers.” Similar expressions of constant thanksgiving, using the term pantote (“always”), are common in Paul’s letters (cf. Rom. 1:10; 1 Cor. 1:4; Phil 1:4; Col. 1:3; 1 Thess. 1:2; 2 Thess. 1:3). Thankfulness is a continual state for Paul, reflecting the attitude commanded for God’s people in the Psalms (e.g., Pss. 33:2; 100:4; 105:1; 106:1; 118:1; 136:1). As Moo comments, it is impressive that Paul can say such a thing to numerous believers in various churches around the Mediterranean Sea.¹ We are left in no doubt that prayer was a priority for Paul.

5 Paul provides reasons for his thanksgiving. Specifically, he refers to what he hears of Philemon’s love for all the saints and of his faith in the Lord Jesus. The structure of the Greek text demands attention. The two nouns indicating attitudes are placed together in the first half of the verse, while the two objects of these attitudes are together in the second half. So the Greek literally reads, “hearing of your love and faith which you have in the Lord Jesus and toward all the saints.” The content of this phrase is very similar to Colossians 1:4 (“since we heard [or, “having heard”] of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints”), and comparison with the verse in Colossians seems to clarify the sense. While it is conceivable that Paul might have intended a double reference of love toward both the Lord Jesus and the saints, it would make little sense to imagine a similar double reference for faith. It would appear, then, that Paul intends a chiastic (X-pattern) structure in which the first verb relates to the second object, while the second verb relates to the first object (which we might represent as A-B-B'-A'), as follows:

1. A. Hearing of your love
   1. B. and your faith
   2. B'. in the Lord Jesus
2. A'. toward all the saints.

This arrangement suggests that Paul regards faith in Jesus and love for the saints as intimately intertwined. It is a commendation of Philemon that reports concerning him emphasized these two admirable characteristics. There was perhaps a measure of convention in Paul’s language (cf. Philem. 5 with Col. 1:4), but we should not diminish the impact of Philemon’s character. Philemon, it seems, was living a life reflecting the grace and peace of the gospel. This would have encouraged Paul to believe that his appeal to Philemon would be well received.

6 This verse is difficult (cf. Pao for a helpful discussion of the issues²), and several matters require consideration. First, we must clarify what the conjunction hopōs (“so that”) refers to. Most modern translations see the connection with Paul’s act of praying (verse 4) and so insert “I pray that” or some similar phrase to make this clear (so ESV, NIV, NET, NASB). Then there is the question of what hē koinōnia tēs pisteōs sou means. Does it mean “the fellowship created by your faith” (in the sense of the community created by Philemon’s and others’ believing in Jesus); or “your sharing in the faith” (in the sense of Philemon’s active engagement in the Christian faith); or “your partnership [with us] in the faith” (in the sense of Philemon actively coworking with Paul); or “the sharing of your faith” (in the sense of evangelistic communication of the gospel)? It is not possible to be certain. A significant clue to the correct interpretation, however, is the use of a related term in verse 17 (ei oun me echeis koinōnon; “So if you consider me a partner” [AT]). In that verse there is no doubt that the sense of the word is “partner.” This suggests that Paul has partnership in mind here also. When we consider the use of the same term in Philippians 1:5, where the context indicates that Paul is speaking of the Philippians’ “partnership in the gospel” (tē koinōnia hymōn eis to euangelion), the argument for “partnership” as the preferable translation seems strong. The ESV opts for a fairly neutral translation, “the sharing of your faith.”

What does Paul pray that this partnership might achieve? The ESV translation of verse 6b indicates that Paul prays that Philemon’s partnership in the faith “may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ.” The word energēs is used only three times in the NT (Philem. 6; Heb. 4:12; and with a somewhat different sense, 1 Cor. 16:9). BDAG (s.v. ἐνεργής, italics original) defines the term as “pert[aining] to practical expression of capability, effective, active, powerful.” The term epignōsis (BDAG, s.v. ἐπιγνωσις: “knowledge, recognition,” italics original) is fairly common, particularly in the Prison Epistles, the Pastoral Epistles, and 2 Peter. It is connected with the phrase “of every good thing.” Paul desires Philemon’s partnership in the faith to become effective in the “knowledge of every good thing.” What “good thing” is in view? The phrase “every good thing” (which is in the genitive case) is followed by an article functioning as a relative pronoun (“that”) and then a short prepositional phrase, en hēmin, “in us.” The final phrase, eis Christon, has been translated in various ways due to the flexibility of the preposition eis in Hellenistic Greek. Paul might be referring to every good thing we have “in Christ,” and it would be possible to understand the preposition eis in that way. Since the context suggests cooperation in gospel partnership, however, “for Christ” (or “for the sake of Christ”; ESV) is perhaps the most appropriate translation, although it should be advocated with a measure of reserve.

7 Paul’s statement indicates the personal affection between Paul and Philemon. The first part of the verse is a personal expression of the benefit Paul himself has received from Philemon. The term “joy” (charan) is used widely in the NT. In Paul it is used particularly frequently (as one might expect) in Philippians and (as one might not expect!) in 2 Corinthians as well. It is used once in both Colossians and Philemon. Here it is brought to the beginning of Paul’s sentence, possibly suggesting particular emphasis on the word. This view may be supported by the qualifying adjective, “much” (pollēn). Not only has Paul had joy; he has also had paraklēsin. BDAG (s.v. παράκλησις) indicates this noun can signify either the act of giving “encouragement” or “exhortation” or the experience of the same. It is related to the verb parakaleō, found in verses 9 and 10.

The second part of the verse describes Philemon’s impact on the Christian community more generally. However, it is linked to the first part of the verse by the conjunction hoti (“because”), indicating that Paul received personal benefit from Philemon because Philemon has brought refreshment to the hearts of the saints. This latter phrase (“the hearts of the saints have been refreshed”) is distinctive. Three out of eight occurrences in the Pauline letters of the noun splanchnon (“heart,” either as the “seat of the emotions” or as “the feeling itself, pl. love, affection”; BDAG, s.v. σπλάγχνον, italics original) are found in Philemon (2 Cor. 6:12; 7:15; Phil. 1:8; 2:1; Col. 3:12; Philem. 7, 12, 20), indicating the deeply personal nature of Philemon’s ministry to fellow believers. The warmth of the expression is emphasized by a further use of familial language at the end of the sentence: “my brother” (in Gk., simply the vocative adelphe with no additional pronoun).