New Testament · Letters

Philemon chapter 1

From Paul, a for the sake of , Jesus — along with Timothy, our brother. To Philemon, our dear friend and ,to Apphia our sister, to Archippus our , and to :May and be yours from God our Father and from the , Jesus the One.I always thank my God when I mention you in my prayers,because I keep hearing about your in the Master Jesus and your love for all .I’m praying that the way you with others becomes even more effective as you gain a deeper understanding of every good thing we have because of the One.Your love has given me so much joy and encouragement, brother, because you’ve the of .So, even though I have every right in the One to tell you what you should do,I’d rather to you on the basis of love. Here I am — Paul, an now, and currently a prisoner for the sake of the One, Jesus —and I’m making this appeal to you about , , whose father I became while I was in .There was a time when he was to you, but now he’s become to both you and me.I’m sending him back to you — and with him goes .I would have loved to keep him here with me so he could serve me in your place while I’m in chains for .But I didn’t want to do anything without your say-so, so that your kindness wouldn’t be something forced but something you freely chose.Maybe this is why he was from you for a while — so that you could have him back ,and no longer as a , but as something far better than a slave — as a . He’s already that to me, and how much more will he be that to you, both as a person and as someone who belongs to the Master.So if you consider me a , welcome him the same way you would welcome me.And if he’s wronged you in any way or owes you anything, .I, Paul, am : I will pay it back. And I won’t even mention that .Yes, brother — let me get some from you in the Master! in the One.I’m writing to you because I’m you’ll — and I know you’ll do even more than that.Oh, and one more thing — get a ready for me! I’m hoping that through your prayers, I’ll be to you., my in the One, Jesus, sends his greetings,and so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke — my .May the of the Master, Jesus the One, be with your .