Verse 12
‘Whom I have sent back to you in his own person, that is, my very heart,’
Paul now further stresses that he has sent him back to Philemon in his own person. And then he reveals just how much Onesimus now meant to him. He describes him as ‘his very heart’. Paul had developed a genuine and deep-seated spiritual love for the young man Onesimus. He saw him very much as a son.
In all this we see what we saw in the introduction. Paul’s determination that Onesimus would do what was right whatever the cost with no half measures. And his own equal determination that it would be so. He was demonstrating by example how important it is that we do not respond to God in a half-hearted way, but are scrupulous in our obedience. He was also demonstrating the right kind of attitude to have when dealing with people, not that of overbearing authority, but rather that of an approach in love.
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