John Calvin Commentary Philemon 1:15

"For perhaps he was therefore parted [from thee] for a season, that thou shouldest have him for ever;" — Philemon 1:15 (ASV)

For perhaps he was separated. If we are angry about offenses committed by men, our minds should be soothed when we perceive that those things done through malice have been turned to a different end by God’s purpose. A joyful result may be regarded as a remedy for evils, offered to us by God’s hand for erasing offenses. Thus Joseph—when he considers that God’s wonderful providence brought it about that, though sold as a slave, he was nevertheless elevated to that high rank from which he could provide food for his brothers and his father—forgets the treachery and cruelty of his brothers and says that he was sent ahead on their account (Genesis 45:5).

Paul therefore reminds Philemon that he should not be so greatly offended at his slave’s flight, for it was the cause of a benefit not to be regretted. As long as Onesimus was a runaway at heart, Philemon, though he had him in his house, did not truly benefit from him as his property; for he was wicked and unfaithful, and could not be of real advantage. He says, therefore, that Onesimus was a wanderer for a short time so that, by changing his location, he might be converted and become a new man. And Paul prudently softens everything by calling the flight a “departure,” and adding that it was only for a time.

That you might receive him forever. Lastly, Paul contrasts the permanence of the benefit with the short duration of the loss.

But above a servant, a beloved brother. Paul next presents another benefit of the flight: Onesimus has not only been corrected by means of it, so as to become a useful slave, but he has also become the “brother” of his master.

Especially to me. Lest Onesimus’s heart, wounded by the still fresh offense, should be reluctant to accept the name “brother,” Paul first claims Onesimus as his own “brother.” From this, he infers that Philemon is much more closely related to Onesimus, because both of them shared the same spiritual relationship in the Lord, while according to the flesh, Onesimus was a member of Philemon’s household. Here we see Paul’s uncommon modesty, as he bestows on a worthless slave the title of brother, and even calls him a dearly beloved brother to himself. And indeed, it would be excessive pride if we were ashamed to acknowledge as our brothers those whom God considers His sons.

How much more to you. By these words Paul does not mean that Philemon is higher in rank according to the Spirit; rather, the meaning is: “Since he is especially a brother to me, he must be much more so to you, for there is a twofold relationship between you.”

We must hold it as an undoubted truth that Paul does not rashly or lightly (as many people do) vouch for a man he knows little about, or praise his faith before he has confirmed it by strong proofs. Therefore, Onesimus presents a memorable example of repentance.

We know how wicked the dispositions of slaves generally were, so that scarcely one in a hundred ever became truly useful. Regarding Onesimus, we can conjecture from his flight that he had been hardened in depravity by long habit and practice. It is, therefore, an uncommon and wonderful virtue for him to lay aside the vices that polluted his nature, so that the Apostle can truly declare that he has now become a different man.

From this same source comes a profitable doctrine: that the elect of God are sometimes brought to salvation by a method that would not have been believed—contrary to general expectation, through roundabout ways, and even through labyrinths. Onesimus lived in a religious and holy family; banished from it by his own evil actions, he deliberately, so to speak, withdrew far from God and from eternal life. Yet God, by His hidden providence, wonderfully directed his pernicious flight, so that he met Paul.