Philemon 1:18 If he has wronged you, or owes you ought, put that on my account; The verb used here for "put to the account of" is a very rare word; and perhaps the singular phrase may be chosen to let another great Christian truth shine through. Was Paul's love the only one that we know of which took the slave's debts on itself? Did anybody else ever say, "Put that on mine account"? We have been taught to ask for the forgiveness of our sins as "debts," and we have been taught that there is One on whom God has made to meet the iniquities of us all. Christ takes on Himself all Paul's debt, all Philemon's, all ours. He has paid the ransom for all, and He so identifies men with Himself that they are "received as Himself." It is His great example that Paul is trying to copy here. Forgiven all that great debt, he dare not rise from his knees to take his brother by the throat, but goes forth to shew to his fellow the mercy he has found, and to model his life after the pattern of that miracle of love in which is his trust. It is Christ's own voice which echoes in "put that on mine account." (A. Maclaren, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: If he hath wronged thee, or oweth thee ought, put that on mine account;WEB: But if he has wronged you at all, or owes you anything, put that to my account. |
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