Philemon 1:1-11

From Paul, a prisoner of the Anointed One, Jesus, and Timothy our brother, to Philemon, our precious friend and companion in this work. To the church that meets in his house, along with our dear sister Apphia and our fellow soldier Archippus. May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ pour out his grace and peace upon you. I am always thankful to my God as I remember you in my prayers because I’m hearing reports about your faith in the Lord Jesus and how much love you have for all his holy followers. I pray for you that the faith we share may effectively deepen your understanding of every good thing that belongs to you in Christ. Your love has impacted me and brings me great joy and encouragement, for the hearts of the believers have been greatly refreshed through you, dear brother. Even though I have enough boldness in Christ that I could command you to do what is proper, I’d much rather make an appeal because of our friendship. So here I am, an old man, a prisoner for Christ, making my loving appeal to you. It is on behalf of my child, whose spiritual father I became while here in prison; that is, Onesimus. Formerly he was not useful or valuable to you, but now he is valuable to both of us.