What Is Paul's Purpose Of The Letter To Philemon

Having concluded his appeal in verse 16 to both his interests and Philemon's, Paul makes three requests, telling Philemon what his next steps should be. The first request is that Philemon would “receive him as you would receive me” (1:17) and it is a strong request that puts Onesimus on the same level of respect as Paul. The second request is to forgive Onesimus's debt and “charge that to my account”(1:18). Here, Paul is asking Philemon to do something extraordinary - forgive Onesimus for having stolen from him – reflecting Christ's forgiveness of the mankind. Paul's third request is to “refresh my heart in Christ” (1:20), which goes back to the motif of “heart” that Paul used in the introduction of his petition, compelling Philemon to affect
In his typical writing style, Paul extends greetings from various coworkers in Rome and sends blessings on “your spirit” (1:25), referring not just to Paul, but to the entire Christian community. In order to accurately understand the complexity of the situation, it's worth looking at the historical context in which the letter was written. The letter was written by Paul from his prison in Rome, circa 62 A.D. The letter was addressed to Philemon, a wealthy Christian who lived in the city of Colossae. Having heard the gospel and been saved, Philemon began serving for God's cause in the colossan community, generously lending his house for a group of Christians to meet there regularly
Naturally, Onesimus fled to Rome, the biggest city in the Roman Empire, where he could remain safe from the government. Subsequently, however, Onesimus met Paul, who had converted his master to faith, and he changed “both in the flesh and in the Lord” (1:16). Punishment of runaway slaves was fully up to the discretion of the owners, since slaves were considered property; it was uncommon for slaves to be beaten or put to death. Paul was fully aware of the severity of the punishment, so it made sense for him to write a strong petition on behalf of his new friend Onesimus, to whom he became like a “father”