ESV Reformation Study Bible – Philemon 1:16
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Philemon 1:16

16 more than a slave. Paul seems to be asking Philemon to set Onesimus free. It is implied that the Christians’ common freedom in Christ is incompatible with the state of slavery, marked as it is by compulsion (v. 14 note), not to mention chains (v. 10, 13, 14; see 1 Pet. 2:18 note).