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Your welcoming spirit

Philemon 1:17-20 (JDV)

Philemon 1:17 So if you consider me a partner, welcome him as you would me.
Philemon 1:18 And if he has wronged you in any way, or owes you anything, charge that to my account.
Philemon 1:19 I, Paul, write this with my own hand: I will repay it — not to mention to you that you owe me even your very self.
Philemon 1:20 Yes, brother, may I benefit from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in Christ.

Paul’s use of the word koinōnos in verse 17 carries far more weight than the English word partner suggests. It describes a relationship marked by shared mission, shared responsibility, and shared identity. A koinōnos is not a casual associate but someone welcomed into the deepest circle of trust and labor. Paul knew exactly what he was doing when he used this word. He was inviting Philemon to see Onesimus not as a former servant, not as a runaway, not as a liability, but as someone who now belonged in the same circle of gospel partnership that Paul and Philemon already shared.

Paul was uniquely positioned to make this appeal. He knew Philemon’s character, his faith, his love for the saints, and his commitment to the mission. He also knew Onesimus’s transformation firsthand. Paul stood between them as a spiritual father to both, urging Philemon to extend to Onesimus the same grace that Christ had extended to him.

Graves and Addington capture the heart of this appeal when they describe what true partners do: they make decisions together, shoulder burdens together, and celebrate victories together. They welcome one another as equals because they understand that they are bound to the same mission for the long haul. This is the kind of welcome Paul envisioned for Onesimus.

Their reflection presses the point even further. The way believers treat one another reveals how they regard God himself. When a congregation forms cliques, ignores newcomers, or overlooks long‑time members, it is not merely a social failure—it is a spiritual one. To slight a brother or sister is to slight the God who redeemed them. To welcome a brother or sister is to honor the God who calls them his own.

Paul’s appeal to Philemon therefore becomes a mirror for every Christian community. The question is not simply whether believers can forgive a wrongdoer, but whether they can embrace that person as a koinōnos—a partner in the gospel, an equal in Christ, a fellow laborer in the mission. The church is healthiest when every believer, regardless of background or past, is welcomed with the same warmth and dignity that God has shown.

A welcoming spirit is not optional. It is the visible expression of the gospel itself.

LORD, make us welcoming persons.

Graves Stephen R and Thomas G Addington. Deep Focus: Devotions for Living the Word. 1st ed. Jossey-Bass 2003.