Philemon 7 7For I have much joy and comfort from your love, because the hearts of the holy ones have been refreshed through you, brother.
Paul now reflects on how God has answered his prayer thanksgiving in verse 5 for Philemon’s love. There is no indicator here to whom Philemon’s love is shown, but this verse builds on the ambiguous verse 5 where love could be pointed to the Lord Jesus or to the saints, or both. Word had gotten back to Paul of Philemon’s love. This may have come through Epaphras, the founder of the Colossian church who was with Paul at that time.
When Paul heard of how Philemon was growing in love, he had much joy and comfort. This may have been what prompted the prayer of thanksgiving in verse 4. Joy (charan) comes to leaders when they see spiritual growth in the people whom they lead or teach. Comfort (paraklēsin) accompanies joy by providing assurance to leaders that all is well for those they lead. This word can also mean encouragement. Philemon brought a sense of well-being to Paul even though they were far apart. Paul carried a load of concern for the spiritual growth of the churches. This is the burden of a leader. To hear back that persons like Philemon are growing in their faith would inspire a leader not to give up but keep pressing forward.
The reason Paul felt this way about Philemon is that his growth had refreshed the hearts of the saints. The word for hearts (splangchna) is not the typical word for “heart” (kardia) in the New Testament. The word is sometimes translated as compassion or sympathy. It is the feeling one experiences deep within the “bowels,” which is a cognate to this word. The deep inner parts of the holy ones (“believers”) has been refreshed by Philemon’s faithfulness and love. The verb refreshed (anapepautai) is perfect tense indicating that what Philemon was doing for the believers began in the past and just kept going. He was growing, and the evidence of this was in the lives of others. Philemon was a good example of the power of the gospel to transform people. With these opening verses of thanksgiving and prayer, Paul has endeared Philemon and prepared him to receive Paul’s request in the following verses. The last word in this section is brother, which attempts to draw Paul and Philemon together in relationship. This was not the command of a superior to an inferior but of an appeal out of love from one brother to another.
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