Is Jesus Christ God, or Part of a Trinity, in Philemon?
“For love’s sake I prefer to appeal to you–I, Paul, an old man and now a prisoner also for Christ Jesus”—Philemon 1:9 ESV
In this short New Testament book of only 25 verses, Jesus Christ is specifically mentioned eight times, God two times, and the holy Spirit is not mentioned at all. In such a brief letter, only so much can be discussed, of course, so the holy Spirit’s omission is not surprising. This is especially so when we consider that the letter’s subject matter is not primarily doctrinal, but, instead, focuses on the relationship of the wealthy Christian Philemon with his runaway slave Onesimus, whom the apostle Paul in Rome has recently converted to Christianity, and is sending him back to Philemon in Colossae with this letter, appealing to Philemon to do the right thing (1:10-21).