Christ the True Sphere of Action
A. Maclaren, D. D. Philemon 1:20 Yes, brother, let me have joy of you in the Lord: refresh my bowels in the Lord. If Philemon receives his slave for Christ's sake and in the strength of that communion with Christ which fits for all virtue, and so for this good deed a deed which is of too high and rare a strain of goodness for his unaided nature then "in Christ" he will be helpful to the apostle. In that case, the phrase expresses the element or sphere in which the act is done. But it may apply rather, or even also, to Paul, and then it expresses the element or sphere in which he is helped and refreshed. In communion with Jesus, taught and inspired by Him, the apostle is brought to such true and tender sympathy with the runaway that his heart is refreshed, as by a cup of cold water, by kindness shown to him. Such keen sympathy is as much beyond the reach of nature as Philemon's kindness would be. Both are "in Christ." (A. Maclaren, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: Yea, brother, let me have joy of thee in the Lord: refresh my bowels in the Lord. WEB: Yes, brother, let me have joy from you in the Lord. Refresh my heart in the Lord.