Philemon 8 8Therefore, though I have great confidence in Christ to order you to do the proper thing, 9I appeal instead on account of love, as such being Paul, an old man, and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus.
Paul now begins the body of the letter and gets to the subject at hand. However, he does this in a round about way and does not mention Onesimus by name until verse 10. In these two verses, Paul prepares for the specific request by appealing to Philemon on an emotional and spiritual level. Verse 8 begins with a concessive participial clause that shows what Paul could do but he will not. He could order (epitassein) Philemon to do as he appeals in verse 17. Paul has much to say in preparing for his later appeal in behalf of Onesimus. He may do this for several reasons, which will come out in the following verses, but he basically “puts the ball in Philemon’s court” to give him an opportunity to grow and express his faith and love.
Paul could order Philemon to act in the proper way because of his great confidence in Christ. This phrase implies the close bond between Paul and Christ and that Paul could appeal to this in a boastful or spiritually superior way, but that is not the way of Christ or of love. Paul could use his apostolic authority given to him by Christ to order Philemon to do what was right, but that is not the way of love and not the way Christ showed in his servant attitude. There were points in his letters where Paul did appeal to his authority and did boast of his spirituality (though cloaked in suffering), such as in 2 Corinthians 11-12. But even in those places, Paul had to back down and return to the theme of dependence upon Christ. We have to discern Paul’s rhetorical methods carefully in both types of passages. The proper thing (anēkon) will be highlighted in verse 17 when Paul asks Philemon to accept Onesimus back as a brother and not a slave.
Instead of a forceful, boastful, or authoritative way, Paul appeals to Philemon on account of love. He mentions love for the third time in the letter. He uses his ethos (persuasive character qualities) as an old man and prisoner of Christ Jesus. Old man or elder (presbytēs) could be interpreted in literal age, since Paul would have been considered elderly by this point (possibly 50s-60s since he was young man in Acts 9 and had experience over thirty years of difficult travels and ministry). In that culture, older people were given respect. Philemon likely knew of the hard trials of Paul. Paul’s age demanded a certain degree of respect.
Paul repeats his self-designation as a prisoner of Christ from verse 1. He puts himself in a position of weakness and vulnerability from a worldly perspective. He is powerless to do anything except to appeal to Philemon’s faith in Christ and emotional connection to the mission. He basically is pulling at Philemon’s heart strings. Instead of uses authority, he approaches the situation relationally and puts a lot of trust in Philemon to act in the way fitting of those who have been transformed in Christ.
There may be times to appeal to one’s position or authority, but this often backfires. If both parties, who involved in a situation that calls for intervention or negotiation, are mature in their faith and relationship with Christ, then love should be the primary motive and method to resolve the situation and move forward in a way that would honor Christ and preserve the mission.
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