ARCHIVES
DIVISION
Colossae District
| Name | PHILEMON OF COLOSSAE |
| Aliases | THE MASTER OF ONESIMUS / HOST OF THE CHURCH |
| Status | LIVING (AT LAST RECORD) / BELOVED FELLOW WORKER |
| Birth | 1st Century AD | Marks & Identifiers | NONE RECORDED |
| Place of Birth | COLOSSAE | Hair | DARK |
| Tribe | GENTILE BELIEVER | Eyes | DARK |
| Parentage | UNRECORDED | People | GENTILE / CHRISTIAN |
| Occupation | HOUSEHOLDER / HOST OF THE CHURCH | Species | HUMAN |
| Affiliation | CHURCH AT COLOSSAE | Calling | A MASTER CALLED TO FORGIVE |
| Primary Mission | RECEIVE ONESIMUS AS A BROTHER | Known Signs | THE APOSTLE'S APPEAL / THE RUNAWAY RETURNED |
| Covenant Role | BROTHER WHO REFRESHED THE SAINTS | Divine Access | BELOVED FELLOW WORKER OF PAUL - PHM 1 |
| Divine Encounter Level | NONE RECORDED | Classification | HOUSEHOLDER / BELIEVER |
| Covenant Status | BELOVED IN CHRIST | Known Miracles | NONE RECORDED |
| Divine Commission | CALLED TO RECEIVE AND FORGIVE | Threat Assessment | A WRONG TO BE PARDONED |
| Mission Status | APPEAL DELIVERED | Archive Category | FORGIVENESS / RECONCILIATION |
How Paul asked him to receive Onesimus: NO LONGER AS A SLAVE BUT MORE THAN A SLAVE, AS A BELOVED BROTHER
What Paul offered to repay: IF HE HAS WRONGED YOU, CHARGE THAT TO MY ACCOUNT
The subject was a believer of Colossae, a beloved fellow worker of Paul, whose home hosted the church that met there. He was known for a love and faith that refreshed the hearts of the saints.
His slave Onesimus had run away and, in the providence of God, met Paul in prison and was converted. Paul now sent him back, no longer merely a servant but a brother in the Lord.
In a short and tender letter, Paul appealed to the subject not by command but for love's sake, asking him to receive Onesimus as he would receive Paul himself.
Paul pledged to repay any debt the runaway had incurred, writing it in his own hand, while gently reminding the subject that he owed Paul his very self in the gospel.
The letter stands as a portrait of reconciliation: a wronged master asked to forgive, a returned servant made a brother, and the gospel dissolving the distance between them. The record leaves the subject with the choice, trusting he would do even more than was asked.
EYES ONLYRestricted // Sacred Record
- The gospel turns a runaway servant into a beloved brother.
- Christian love appeals and persuades rather than commands.
- Forgiveness charges another's debt to our own account.
