Charles Ellicott Commentary Philemon 1:7

"For I had much joy and comfort in thy love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through thee, brother." — Philemon 1:7 (ASV)

The bowels of the saints are refreshed by you.—This same idea is continued here. St. Paul declares that his special joy was that the bowels (i.e., the hearts) of the saints, have been refreshed through you. The word “refresh” is the very word used by our Lord in His gracious promise: Come unto Me, all you who travail and are heavy laden, and I will refresh you (Matthew 11:28). It is ultimately in Him that the hearts of the saints are refreshed.

But in this case, it was through the instrumentality of Philemon, by “the communion of faith,” to which his active love was the means of welcoming them, and in which they had fellowship in Christ, both with the Father and with His children. (Compare to 1 John 1:3.)

St. Paul often uses the word “refresh” to express the relief and rest given by Christian fellowship on earth. (See Philemon 1:20 below; and compare to 1 Corinthians 16:18; 2 Corinthians 7:13.) We find it in the Apocalypse applied to the rest with Christ in heaven (Revelation 6:11; Revelation 14:13).

Brother.—This name is given to Philemon here and in Philemon 1:20 with a marked emphasis of affection. This evidently implies some special intimacy of friendship, not apparently at Colossae , but perhaps at Ephesus, during St. Paul’s long stay there.

Probably Philemon (whose son Archippus is supposed to have been) was St. Paul’s equal in age. Although actually his convert, he is not addressed (as usual) as his “son in the faith.”

Moreover, in this place, the title “brother” has a peculiar appropriateness, for the Apostle has been speaking of the love of Philemon, which made him a brother indeed to all in the family of Christ.