Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ, and Timothy our brother,
unto Philemon our dearly beloved,...
Philemon 1:1
"There is little doubt that Paul wrote this epistle, since he refers to himself at least three times (in verses 1, 9 and 19). Its canonicity was widely recognized in the early church, particularly by Ignatius, Tertullian, Origen, Eusebius, Marcion, and in the Muratorian Canon. Even destructive critics do not
question its authenticity.
unto Philemon our dearly beloved,...
Philemon 1:1
"There is little doubt that Paul wrote this epistle, since he refers to himself at least three times (in verses 1, 9 and 19). Its canonicity was widely recognized in the early church, particularly by Ignatius, Tertullian, Origen, Eusebius, Marcion, and in the Muratorian Canon. Even destructive critics do not
The letter from Paul to Philemon was of a very personal nature. Paul was a prisoner at the time (verses 1 and 9), so this is one of the four “prison epistles,” along with Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians, which Paul wrote during his first Roman imprisonment.
This epistle is the story of three main characters, Onesimus, Philemon and Paul and their interaction. Onesimus, a slave in Colossae, had evidently robbed Philemon, his master (verse 18), and run away. During his flight, Onesimus encountered Paul in Rome, and through his ministry came to faith in Christ.
Subsequently, Onesimus became a helper to Paul (verses 12-13). But Paul recognized Onesimus’s duty to his master, so sent him back to Philemon, along with Tychicus, who carried Paul’s letter to the Colossian church at the same time." BooksOfTheBible
