“I, Paul, am writing with my own hand. I will repay—not to mention to you that you owe me even your own self besides.”

I, Paul, am writing with my own hand.

Paul placed himself under a legal contract by writing with his own hand.  This is equivalent to a personal autograph.  Paul puts his signature to the book of Philemon. 

I will repay—

Paul says, “I will make good the debt Onesimus owes you, Philemon.  I do not care about the cost.”

not to mention to you that you owe me even your own self besides

Paul speaks of restitution.  It is a just act toward Philemon to return Onesimus and pay back whatever he had stolen. 

Philemon owed a debt to Paul, his salvation.  Philemon was a man to whom Onesimus owed a debt, but Philemon owed a debt as well.  Philemon’s debt was greater than Onesimus’ debt – his was an eternal debt to God.  He also owed a debt to Paul for sharing the gospel with him, so Philemon had a double debt. 

PRINCIPLE: 

We all are indebted to someone, so we should never hold grudges against anyone. 

APPLICATION: 

If someone acts unjustly toward us, we need to remember that we are debtors as well.  We owed an eternal debt we were unable to pay, so none of us has the right to hold grudges against anyone.