My prayer is that our fellowship with you as believers will bring about a deeper understanding of every blessing which we have in our life in union with Christ.

Philemon 1:6 GNT

In the eleventh episode of our “Letters from Paul” video series, you’ll explore Philemon 1:4-7, which contains Paul’s praise of a faithful believer named Philemon.

Paul wrote this letter to Philemon, a Roman citizen and influential church leader from Colossae. Like many people in his time, Philemon owned slaves, including one man named Onesimus. Onesimus had run away from Philemon after a serious conflict with his master. Shortly after running away, Onesimus met Paul and professed faith in Jesus Christ. He also became a valuable assistant to Paul in his ministry, which prompted Paul to write to Philemon and make a bold request: forgive Onesimus, receive him as a brother in the Lord, and release him from slavery so that he could continue to help building the kingdom of Jesus Christ.

In this passage, Paul focuses on his personal relationship with Philemon and the ways he has been blessed through Philemon. We can aspire to many of the traits Paul describes, including Philemon’s love for all of God’s people and his strong faith. Paul includes an insight on Christian fellowship, which should lead us to a deeper understanding of our blessings in Christ. Throughout the passage, Paul shows us what it looks like to celebrate friendship and faithful service to Jesus Christ.

Watch and be inspired by Paul’s words of praise for a follower of Jesus.