Philemon 1:5
“Hearing of thy love and faith, which thou hast toward the Lord Jesus, and toward all saints;”
King James Version (KJV)
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Read Full Chapter →Paul names the reason for his thanksgiving: Philemon's well-known love and faith directed toward the Lord and toward all believers.
What Does Philemon 1:5 Mean?
Paul continues his prayer of thanks, now giving its cause. Reports have reached him, even in confinement, of Philemon's reputation. Two virtues are joined: faith toward the Lord Jesus and love toward all the saints, the fellow believers.
Faith and love belong together; faith rises to the Lord, love flows out to His people. Philemon's heart for all the saints is exactly the soil in which Paul's coming request can grow, for Onesimus too is now one of those saints. Praising a true grace in someone is not flattery but a way of calling them to live up to what God has begun. Paul is reminding his friend of who he already is.