Philemon 1:16 (YLT)

Passage

no more as a servant, but above a servant--a brother beloved, especially to me, and how much more to thee, both in the flesh and in the Lord!

Nearby Context

Philemon 1:14 and apart from thy mind I willed to do nothing, that as of necessity thy good deed may not be, but of willingness,

Philemon 1:15 for perhaps because of this he did depart for an hour, that age-duringly thou mayest have him,

Philemon 1:16 no more as a servant, but above a servant--a brother beloved, especially to me, and how much more to thee, both in the flesh and in the Lord!

Philemon 1:17 If, then, with me thou hast fellowship, receive him as me,

Philemon 1:18 and if he did hurt to thee, or doth owe anything, this to me be reckoning;

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "servant", "above", "servant--a", "brother", "beloved", "especially", "much", and "thee". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "servant" and "above", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 15's "for perhaps because of this he did..." into verse 17's "If then with me thou hast fellowship...", so "servant" and "above" belong inside that flow. In Philemon context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "servant" and "above" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.