John Calvin Commentary Philemon 1:5

"hearing of thy love, and of the faith which thou hast toward the Lord Jesus, and toward all the saints;" — Philemon 1:5 (ASV)

Hearing of your love and faith. This praise, which he bestows on Philemon, includes briefly the whole perfection of a Christian. It consists of two parts: faith in Christ, and love towards our neighbors, for to these all the actions and all the duties of our life relate. Faith is said to be in Christ, because it especially looks to him; in the same way, God the Father can be known only through him, and only in Him can we find any of the blessings that faith seeks.

And towards all saints. He does not in this way limit this love to the saints, as if there should be none towards others; for, since the doctrine of “love” is that we should not despise our flesh (Isaiah 58:7), and that we should honor the image of God which is engraved on our nature, undoubtedly it includes all mankind. But since those who are of the household of faith are united with us by a closer bond of relationship, and since God particularly recommends them to us, for this reason they justly hold the highest rank.

The arrangement of the passage is somewhat confused, but there is no obscurity in the meaning, except that it is doubtful whether the adverb always (in the 4th verse) is connected with the first clause, I give thanks always to my God, or with the second clause, making mention of you always in my prayers. The meaning may be explained in this way: whenever the Apostle prayed for Philemon, he interwove thanksgiving with it; that is, because Philemon’s piety provided a reason for rejoicing, for we often pray for those in whom nothing is found but what gives reason for grief and tears. Yet the second interpretation is generally preferred, that Paul “gives thanks for Philemon, and always makes mention of him in his prayers.” Let my readers be at full liberty to judge for themselves; but, for my own part, I think that the former meaning is more appropriate.

In the rest of the passage there is an inversion of the natural order; for, after having spoken of “love” and “faith,” he adds, “towards Christ and towards saints,” while, on the contrary, the contrast would demand that “Christ” should be put in the second part of the clause as the object to which our faith looks.