Having confidence in thy obedience I wrote unto thee, knowing that thou wilt also do more than I say.
Paul wrote this short, intensely personal letter to a man named Philemon, a wealthy Christian whose slave Onesimus had run away — likely stealing from him in the process. Onesimus eventually crossed paths with Paul while Paul was imprisoned, became a follower of Jesus, and proved deeply helpful to Paul in his work. Now Paul is writing to ask Philemon to welcome Onesimus back — not as a piece of property to be punished, but as a fellow believer and brother. This verse near the letter's close is Paul expressing full confidence that Philemon will not merely do what's requested but will go even further. Most scholars read this as Paul strongly implying that Philemon should free Onesimus entirely. It is one of the shortest books in the Bible, and one of the most morally charged.
Lord, thank you for the people who have believed in us before we believed in ourselves. Help me be that for someone else — to call out the best in them, to trust them toward growth, and to hold the door open for more than what is merely required. May grace move through me that generously. Amen.
Notice what Paul does not do here. He does not guilt-trip Philemon, does not pull rank as an apostle, does not threaten consequences. He says: I know you. I know who you are. And I know you will do even more than I ask. There is something quietly disarming about being known like that — about someone naming the best version of you before you have acted and then simply stepping back. Think of someone in your life who is sitting on a hard decision, holding a grudge they cannot seem to release, or stuck in a pattern they know is wrong. Paul's method here is worth studying. He appealed to Philemon's identity and to the trust between them — not to guilt, not to obligation, not to fear of judgment. That is how real change tends to move. Not under pressure, but when someone believes in you enough to say out loud, without flinching: I think you will surprise yourself. Be that person for someone.
Paul chooses to appeal rather than command, even though as an apostle he had real authority to do the latter. What does this reveal about how Paul understood Christian relationships and the nature of genuine moral change?
Has anyone ever expressed this kind of confidence in you — expecting your best before you had shown it? What did that do to you, and how did it affect what you actually did next?
Paul asks Philemon to receive a runaway slave as a brother — a radical social reversal in the first century. Do you think Paul should have been more explicit in condemning slavery itself, or does his approach accomplish something different? How do you hold that tension?
How does expressing genuine belief in someone — rather than applying pressure or cataloguing their failures — change the dynamic of a difficult conversation in your own relationships?
Is there someone in your life you could approach this week the way Paul approached Philemon — not with an ultimatum or a guilt trip, but with expressed confidence in their capacity to do the right thing? What would that actually look and sound like?
And I wrote this same unto you, lest, when I came, I should have sorrow from them of whom I ought to rejoice; having confidence in you all, that my joy is the joy of you all.
2 Corinthians 2:3
Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:
Philippians 1:6
And I myself also am persuaded of you, my brethren, that ye also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another.
Romans 15:14
I write to you [perfectly] confident of your obedient compliance, since I know that you will do even more than I ask.
AMP
Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say.
ESV
Having confidence in your obedience, I write to you, since I know that you will do even more than what I say.
NASB
Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I ask.
NIV
Having confidence in your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say.
NKJV
I am confident as I write this letter that you will do what I ask and even more!
NLT
I know you well enough to know you will. You'll probably go far beyond what I've written.
MSG