Philemon is the Book of Doing the Right Thing. Paul the Apostle chooses not to exercise any apostolic authority. Instead, he exhorts Philemon to do the right thing concerning his runaway slave, Onesimus. Although Philemon & his wife Apphia hosted the local church of Colossae in their home, Philemon is a personal letter rather than an address to a local church body. Although Philemon & his wife Apphia hosted the local church of Colossae in their home, Philemon is a personal letter rather than an address to a local church body. In Paul’s appeal on behalf of Onesimus, we find the greatest illustration of Jesus Christ’s substitutionary work of atonement. In Paul’s appeal on behalf of Onesimus, we find the greatest illustration of Jesus Christ’s substitutionary work of atonement.
“To Philemon” is named for the recipient of the epistle.
The Apostle Paul, with the scribal assistance of Timothy, is the author of this prison epistle. This Book was written during Paul’s first Roman imprisonment.