Onesimus

Onesimus was a slave who had run away from his master Philemon, a believer in Colossae. Reaching Rome, he encountered the imprisoned Paul and was converted — becoming, Paul says, "my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten in my bonds" (Philemon 10).

"Profitable" indeed

Paul plays gently on the meaning of his name ("useful/profitable"): once "unprofitable" to Philemon, Onesimus was now "profitable to thee and to me" (Philemon 11). Though Paul would have liked to keep him, he sent Onesimus back to his master, carrying the letter of Philemon.

No longer a slave, but a brother

Paul appealed to Philemon to receive Onesimus "not now as a servant, but above a servant, a brother beloved" (Philemon 16) — offering to pay any debt himself. The short letter became a profound statement of how the gospel transforms human relationships, dignifying even a runaway slave as a beloved brother in Christ. Paul also commends him in Colossians as "a faithful and beloved brother" (Colossians 4:9).