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Maybe it happened at work. Someone introduced you as “the one who fixes the spreadsheets.” Or at home, where you’re the one who cooks, drives and remembers the birthdays. Or at church, where everyone knows you as the person who never says no.
None of it is unkind. But one day you notice something. If you stopped being useful, you’re not sure anyone would still want you around.
There is a man in the Bible who lived inside that fear more literally than any of us ever will. His name was Onesimus. And his name meant “useful.”
Who Was Onesimus in the Bible?
Who was Onesimus? He was an enslaved man who belonged to Philemon, a Christian in the town of Colossae, in what is now western Turkey. Onesimus ran away. Somewhere along the road he met the apostle Paul, who was in prison, and he became a follower of Jesus. Paul then sent him home with a short letter. That letter is the book of Philemon, the shortest letter of Paul’s we have.
His name is the key to the whole story. In Greek, Onesimus means “useful,” “helpful” or “profitable.” It was a common name for slaves. Think about what that means. A slave usually did not choose their own name. So every time his master called him, he was being called by the job he was bought to do. His name was a price tag you could say out loud.
Then he ran. And a runaway slave named “Useful” had become, in his master’s eyes, the most useless thing in the house.
The Pun Paul Made on Onesimus’s Name
When Paul writes to Philemon, he does something you can easily miss in English. He makes a joke on the man’s name. Here it is:
“I beseech thee for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten in my bonds: Which in time past was to thee unprofitable, but now profitable to thee and to me.” (Philemon 1:10-11, KJV)
Paul doesn’t use the same Greek word as the name. He picks two words that play on its meaning. “Unprofitable” is achrēstos, which means “no use.” “Profitable” is euchrēstos, “very useful.” It’s like saying: “Mr. Useful was no use to you. Now he’s really useful.”
You can almost see Paul smile as he writes it. It’s a friend’s wink to break the tension. Philemon would have felt it right away.
Some scholars think there may be a second layer too. In Paul’s day, the Greek word chrēstos (“useful”) sounded almost the same as Christos (“Christ”). Some Roman writers even mixed the two up. So “unprofitable” can sound a little like “without Christ.” Nobody can prove Paul meant that. But if he did, the joke says something big: the change in Onesimus’s usefulness came from meeting Christ.
Useful Is Not the Word Paul Lands On
Here is where the story turns. If Paul had stopped at verse 11, the message would be: “Good news, Philemon. Your property works again.” That would be a sales pitch for a repaired tool.
Paul doesn’t stop there. Look at where the sentence goes a few lines later:
“For perhaps he therefore departed for a season, that thou shouldest receive him for ever; Not now as a servant, but above a servant, a brother beloved, specially to me, but how much more unto thee, both in the flesh, and in the Lord?” (Philemon 1:15-16, KJV)
“A brother beloved.” That is the word Paul lands on. Not “worker.” Not “useful.” Brother.
And look at how Paul talks about him before that. In verse 10 he calls Onesimus “my son.” In verse 12 he calls him “mine own bowels.” That sounds strange to us, but in Greek it’s the word splanchna, the gut-deep word for love and mercy. It’s the same root we looked at in our study of the Greek word for compassion. Paul is saying: “Sending him to you is like sending my own heart.”
Paul even admits he would rather keep him: “Whom I would have retained with me, that in thy stead he might have ministered unto me” (Philemon 1:13). Onesimus really was helpful to Paul. But Paul doesn’t use that to decide what Onesimus is worth. He sends him back anyway, because the relationship needed to be made right. His usefulness was real. It just wasn’t the point.
The Second Pun, Aimed at the Master
This is the part almost everyone reads past. Near the end of the letter, Paul makes the joke a second time. But this time, he points it at Philemon.
“Yea, brother, let me have joy of thee in the Lord: refresh my bowels in the Lord.” (Philemon 1:20, KJV)
In Greek, “let me have joy of thee” is one word, onaimēn. It comes from the same root as Onesimus. It means something like “let me get some benefit from you.”
Think about what Paul just did. For the whole letter, the question was whether Onesimus could be useful again. Now Paul turns it around and asks the master to be the useful one. Philemon, you be the Onesimus now. The only “profit” Paul wants is for Philemon to open his door and welcome a brother.
The man who owned “Useful” is asked to be useful. And the only thing he’s asked to produce is love.
What Happened to Onesimus?
We don’t have Philemon’s reply. But we do have another clue. In Colossians, a letter to Philemon’s own church, Paul writes about the messengers he is sending:
“With Onesimus, a faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They shall make known unto you all things which are done here.” (Colossians 4:9, KJV)
Look at the three things Paul says. “Faithful” is a word for someone you can trust, spoken about a man who once ran. “Beloved brother” is the same family word from Philemon. And “one of you” means he’s not an outsider. He’s theirs. Paul even trusts him to share the news with the whole church. The runaway comes home as a messenger.
After that, the Bible goes quiet. But history adds a possible last chapter. Around AD 110, a church leader named Ignatius wrote a letter to the church in Ephesus. He named their bishop: a man called Onesimus. Ignatius described him as “a man of inexpressible love” (Ignatius, Letter to the Ephesians, chapter 1).
Was that the same Onesimus? Maybe. In the 1930s, the American scholar John Knox (not the Reformer of the same name) argued that it was. He pointed out that Ignatius uses the same “let me have joy of you” wording Paul used in Philemon 20. That could be a knowing wink back to Paul’s letter. But Onesimus was a very common name, and about fifty years had passed. Nobody can prove it. The honest answer is: it’s possible, and we don’t know.
We should also be honest about one more thing. Paul did not write “set him free” in this letter. He did write, “knowing that thou wilt also do more than I say” (Philemon 1:21). Many readers hear freedom in that line, but it doesn’t say so. And sadly, some people in later centuries used this letter to argue for sending escaped slaves back. They had to skip “a brother beloved” to do it. We look at that history in why did God allow slavery in the Bible.
When Your Worth Feels Tied to Your Usefulness
Now come back to you, the person who fixes the spreadsheets, drives the kids and never says no.
You have probably heard Philemon taught as a lesson about forgiveness. It is that, and we wrote about it in what the book of Philemon teaches about forgiveness. But look at Onesimus himself for a minute, and you’ll find a different gift.
Onesimus’s name said his worth was his work. His running away said he had lost even that. And the gospel didn’t answer by saying, “Don’t worry, you’ll be useful again.” It answered with a new name: brother. A brother isn’t valued for what he produces. A brother belongs because of whose family he’s in.
That is how God sees you. Not as a tool that is working or broken, but as a child who belongs. Paul put it this way in another letter: “Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ” (Galatians 4:7).
Your usefulness is real, and it’s good. People really do need your help. But it was never meant to be your name. And on the days you feel like the “unprofitable” one, the one who let everyone down, you are standing exactly where Onesimus stood. That’s the very spot where he was called beloved.
And then there’s the second pun. Maybe you’re the Philemon in someone’s story. Someone in your life might be known only for what they do for you. The Bible asks you to be “useful” in one way only: to welcome them as family.
Actions to Take Today
- Write your “job names.” Take one minute and list the names people use for you based on what you do: “the fixer,” “the driver,” “the reliable one.” Then, underneath, write the name Paul gave Onesimus: a brother beloved (or a sister beloved). Read it out loud once.
- Thank someone for who they are. Think of one person you mostly value for what they do for you: a cleaner, a coworker, a parent, a spouse. Send them a short message today that thanks them for who they are, not for a task. For example: “I’m really glad you’re in my life.”
- Rest without earning it. Choose ten minutes today to sit, walk or pray without producing anything. No phone, no chores, no to-do list. If guilt shows up, remind yourself that Onesimus was called beloved before he’d done a single useful thing on the road home.
Journaling Prompts
- If you stopped being useful to the people around you tomorrow, what do you fear would happen? Where did that fear first come from?
- Onesimus went back to face the person he had wronged, carrying a letter that called him beloved. What would it change for you to walk into a hard situation already knowing you are loved?
- Who in your life might feel like an “Onesimus” around you, valued mainly for what they do? What would it look like to treat them as family this week?
A Prayer for When You Feel Valued Only for What You Do
God, I’m tired of feeling like my worth is my to-do list. On the days I’m useful I feel wanted, and on the days I fail I feel like I should disappear. Thank You that You call me Your child, not Your tool. Help me believe that I belong to You even when I have nothing to show for the day. And help me see the people around me the same way, as family and not as help. Amen.
Discussion Question
Why do you think Paul chose to joke about Onesimus’s name instead of just asking Philemon plainly to forgive him? Did the humour help, or was it risky? Share your thoughts in the comments below. We read every one.
Share This
- “Onesimus means ‘useful.’ He ran away and became ‘useless.’ Paul called him something better than both: a brother beloved.” #Philemon
- “I never noticed that Paul makes the same joke twice in Philemon. First about the runaway slave named Useful. Then he asks the master to be the useful one, by welcoming him home. That second one got me.”
- “Your usefulness is real. It was never meant to be your name.”
Questions About Onesimus in the Bible
Who was Onesimus in the Bible?
Onesimus was an enslaved man who belonged to Philemon, a Christian in Colossae. He ran away, met the apostle Paul while Paul was in prison, and became a follower of Jesus. Paul sent Onesimus back to Philemon with the short letter now called the book of Philemon, asking Philemon to receive Onesimus “not now as a servant, but above a servant, a brother beloved” (Philemon 1:16).
What does the name Onesimus mean?
The name Onesimus comes from Greek and means “useful,” “helpful” or “profitable.” It was a common name for slaves in the Roman world. In Philemon 1:11 Paul plays on the name, saying Onesimus “in time past was to thee unprofitable, but now profitable to thee and to me,” and in Philemon 1:20 Paul uses a word from the same root to ask Philemon, “let me have joy of thee in the Lord.”
Why did Onesimus run away from Philemon?
The Bible does not say why Onesimus ran away from Philemon. Philemon 1:18 says “If he hath wronged thee, or oweth thee ought, put that on mine account,” which has led many readers to think Onesimus may have taken money or caused a loss when he left. The letter itself does not give details.
What happened to Onesimus after the book of Philemon?
Colossians 4:9 names Onesimus as “a faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you,” sent with Tychicus to bring news to the church in Colossae. Around AD 110, Ignatius of Antioch wrote to the church in Ephesus and named its bishop as Onesimus. The scholar John Knox argued this bishop was the same man, but Onesimus was a common name and the link has never been proven.
Did Paul tell Philemon to free Onesimus?
Paul did not directly tell Philemon to free Onesimus. He asked Philemon to receive Onesimus as “a brother beloved” and wrote that he was confident Philemon would “do more than I say” (Philemon 1:21). Many readers understand that line as a hint toward freedom, but the letter does not state it plainly.
