Philemon and Onesimus

 Philemon and Onesimus

Phm 1:1   Sha’ul, a prisoner of Messiah יהושע, and Timotiyos the brother, to Pileymon our beloved one and fellow worker,

Phm 1:2  and Apphia our sister, and Archippos our fellow soldier, and the assembly at your house:

Which assembly was Philemon from?

Colossians. How can we know this? In Philemon 1:2 Shaul the emissary greets Philemon along with Apphia and Archippos.

In the letter to the Colossians assembly Shaul the emissary asks to give instructions to Archippos.

Col 4:17  And say to Archippos, “See to the service which you have received in the Master, so that you complete it.”

The other verse to know this is from where Onesimus was from 

Shaul mentions him in his letter to the Colossians 

Col 4:7 ¶ All my state shall Tychicus declare unto you, who is a beloved brother, and a faithful minister and fellowservant in the Yahuah:

 8 Whom I have sent unto you for the same purpose, that he might know your estate, and comfort your hearts;

 9 With Onesimus, a faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They shall make known unto you all things which are done here.

We can see the picture of Onesimus from being a servant / slave to a son in the letter Paul wrote to Philemon.

Philemon in Greek means 'Friend' or 'friendly'. 

Onesimus was Philemon's slave before his conversion and had left Philemon and being in his journey away from Philemon he met Shaul when he was in his bonds and had come to know Yahusha through his ministry whom Shaul now calls him as a son. Shaul here was writing to Philemon from Colossians in whose house the assembly was pleading for Onesimus to take him back now as a brother in Messiah and not as a servant/slave. 

Phm 1:10 I beseech thee for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten in my bonds:

Phm 1:16 Not now as a servant, but above a servant, a brother beloved, specially to me, but how much more unto thee, both in the flesh, and in the Yahuah?

Shaul was sending Onesimus once a slave and now a son back to the one whose name means Friend ( spiritually standing for Messiah) as his brother.

 Heb 2:11 For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren,

Phm 1:15 For perhaps he therefore departed for a season, that thou shouldest receive him for ever;

We also see the journey from slave to son in the Torah and we know that the Torah is spirtual.

Ex 21:2 If thou buy an Hebrew servant, six years he shall serve: and in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing.

 3 If he came in by himself, he shall go out by himself: if he were married, then his wife shall go out with him.

 Le 25:40 But as an hired servant, and as a sojourner, he shall be with thee, and shall serve thee unto the year (shaneh) of jubile:

Deu 15:12  “When your brother is sold to you, a Hebrew man or a Hebrew woman, and shall serve you six years, then let him go free from you in the seventh year. 

13 And when thou sendest him out free from thee, thou shalt not let him go away empty:

 14 Thou shalt furnish him liberally out of thy flock, and out of thy floor, and out of thy winepress: of that wherewith Yahuah thy Elohim hath blessed thee thou shalt give unto him.

 15 And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt, and Yahuah thy Elohim redeemed thee: therefore I command thee this thing to day.

The Torah had transitioned from a physical Shemitah (6 year’s sowing and 7th year release which was one Shemitah cycle) the release of a slave to send him away in the 7th year if he wishes to but not empty handed as we read in Deut 15:13 -15. The Deuternomy text were instructions for a Hebrew brother and shouldn’t be mixed with Lev 25:40 which was instruction for a hired servant or sojourner who only was released in 7 x 7 + 1 = 50 which was a jubilee

For Hebrew brother sold as slave we can also refer to Exo 21:2 -3

Phm 1:10 I appeal to you for my child Onesimos, whom I brought forth while in my chains, 

Phm 1:11  who formerly was of no use to you, but now is of good use to you and to me,

Col 4:9  with Onesimos, a true and beloved brother, who is one of you. They shall let you know all the news here. 

It is not clear whether Onesimus was a Hebrew hired servant or from but his name Onesimus G3682 comes from the Greek word G3685 which means profitable 

This shows us he was from Hebrew origin in dispersion as was Pileymon.

The Shemitah had transitioned from the physical to spiritual but the essence of the release in Mashiyach Yahusha presided over mankind in all generations as the physical Torah finds its goal in Him.

Onesimus didn’t live up to his name meaning before his conversion to Mashiyach when Shaul was in prison and probably that’s why Shaul says in Phm 1:11 who formerly was of no use to you, but now of good use to you and to me.

Shaul requesting Pileymon to take back Onesimus was to keep the righteous requirement of the Torah in treating every slave now as a brother.

1Ti 6:2  And those who have believing masters, let them not disregard them because they are brothers, but rather serve them because they are believing and beloved ones, those receiving of the good service in return. Teach and urge these matters.

We see Shaul instructing servants in their behaviour towards their masters.

Eph 6:5  Servants, obey your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in sincerity of heart, as to Messiah; 

Eph 6:6  not with eye-service as men-pleasers, but as servants of Messiah, doing the desire of Elohim from the inner self,

Eph 6:7  rendering service with pleasure, as to the Master, and not to men, 

Eph 6:8  knowing that whatever good anyone does, he shall receive the same from the Master, whether he is slave or free. 

Eph 6:9  And, masters, do the same to them, refrain from threatening, knowing that your own Master also is in the heavens, and there is no partiality with Him.

In Ephesians assembly he gives instructions to both the servants and the masters

Col 3:22  Servants, obey your masters according to the flesh in all respects, not with eye-service, as men-pleasers, but in sincerity of heart, fearing Elohim. 

Col 3:23  And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Master and not to men, 

Col 3:24  knowing that from the Master you shall receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Master, Messiah, you serve. 

Col 3:25  But he who does wrong shall be repaid for the wrong which he has done, and there is no partiality.

Col 4:1   Masters, give your servants what is righteous and fair, knowing that you also have a Master in the heavens.

Hence we see the instructions laid out both for the masters and servants was a consummation in the Adon Yahusha ie. Do everything as unto Him and not according to the flesh. For He is the Adon (Master) and as He treated us in love putting on servant hood, we need to imitate Him.

What stands out deeply in the account of Philemon and Onesimos is that Sha’ul never merely solved a social problem between a master and a slave. He revealed a mystery of reconciliation in Messiah. The entire letter breathes the pattern of the Basharah itself.

Onesimos had become separated from his master, just as mankind became separated from Elohim. He was unprofitable, wandering, alienated, and under obligation. Yet in his separation he encounters Sha’ul in bonds, and through a suffering prisoner he is begotten anew. This itself mirrors the pattern of Yahusha, because through the bonds, suffering, and afflictions of Messiah, many sons are brought unto glory.

Sha’ul becomes a mediator figure between Philemon and Onesimos. Notice how he places himself in the middle of the debt:

“if he wronged you or owes you whatever, charge that to me.”

This is the language of substitution. Onesimos cannot restore himself. Sha’ul takes the burden upon himself and intercedes. In this we see a shadow of Messiah standing between the Father and fallen man. Humanity departed from the Father’s house and squandered what belonged to another, becoming “unprofitable,” yet Messiah says, “lay their debt upon Me.”

This is why the transition from servant to son is so powerful in the letter. A slave has no inheritance, no permanence in the house, and no familial standing. But a son abides forever. Yahusha speaks this same mystery:

“If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.”

The freedom in Messiah is not merely release from bondage; it is adoption into household sonship. Onesimos was not merely emancipated. He was elevated.

There is also something beautiful in the fact that Onesimos returns voluntarily. Sha’ul could have retained him:

“whom I wished to keep with me…”

Yet he sends him back. This reflects the spiritual principle that redemption does not abolish righteousness and order; it fulfills it. Messiah does not redeem us into lawlessness but restores us rightly before the Father. Onesimos returns transformed, not compelled outwardly but changed inwardly. Before, he served according to fleshly bondage. Now he returns in love and brotherhood.

This is the same transformation spoken of in Romans. Before Messiah, mankind served sin unwillingly and fearfully. After Messiah, we become “slaves of righteousness,” yet paradoxically this slavery becomes true freedom because love replaces compulsion. The old bondage crushed the man; the new bond-service to Messiah restores the man into what he was created to be.

There is another layer in the phrase:

“receive him as myself.”

This is astonishing language. Sha’ul asks Philemon to see Onesimos through his own standing. This mirrors how believers are received by the Father in Messiah Himself. We are accepted “in the Beloved.” The Father receives the redeemed as identified with His Son.

So Onesimos returns carrying not merely a letter but an identity. Formerly he stood before Philemon as a runaway slave; now he stands clothed in apostolic intercession and brotherhood. Likewise, we come before Elohim clothed not in our former state but in Messiah.

There is a movement throughout Scripture from external release to internal liberation. YasharEL experienced physical redemption from Mitsrayim, but the prophets already pointed toward something deeper — circumcision of heart, cleansing of conscience, release from sin itself.

The Torah’s servant laws were prophetic rehearsals. The seventh-year release foreshadowed release from bondage to sin and death. Jubilee ultimately pointed toward restoration of inheritance. In Adam mankind lost inheritance, sonship, and rest. In Messiah the true Jubilee is proclaimed:

“to proclaim release to the captives.”

So the story of Onesimos is almost a miniature Jubilee narrative. A man separated from his rightful standing is restored permanently through grace and mediation.

And there is something else remarkable. Onesimos likely carried both Colossians and Philemon together back to Colossae. Imagine the assembly hearing Colossians publicly read:

“Onesimos, a faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you.”

The entire assembly now sees him not as property but as brother. The old identity dies publicly. Heaven does this with us also. The adversary remembers the old name, but Elohim publicly declares a new standing.

The contrast between names is also striking spiritually. Philemon means affectionate, friendly, loving. Onesimos means profitable or useful. Sin made mankind unprofitable. Shaul the emissary even uses this wordplay deliberately:

“formerly useless… now useful.”

This echoes humanity itself. Man was created for glory and fruitfulness, yet through sin became vain and corrupted. In Messiah the image is restored so that man once again becomes fruitful unto Elohim.

There is also a subtle echo of Yoseph here. Yoseph himself was a servant/slave who later became a life-giver to his own brethren. Likewise Messiah “took upon Himself the form of a servant.” The path to exaltation came through humiliation. Sha’ul repeatedly calls himself a bondservant because in Messiah the highest freedom is found in willing servitude to Elohim.

The Roman world understood slavery as ownership. Sha’ul transforms this entirely. Believers are “bought with a price,” yet the Master who owns them dies for them. Earthly masters demanded service to enrich themselves; Messiah empties Himself for His servants. Thus the entire master-servant relationship becomes inverted in the Kingdom.

This is why Yahusha washes feet.

The true Master kneels.

And in kneeling He raises slaves into sons.

So the letter to Philemon is not a side personal letter disconnected from doctrine. It is the Basharah enacted in living form: separation, debt, mediation, transformation, reconciliation, brotherhood, and restoration into the household forever.

“For perhaps he departed for a season, that thou shouldest receive him for ever.”

That line reaches beyond Onesimos. It is the story of redeemed humanity itself.