What does Philemon 1:3 mean?

This verse begins with Paul's typical greeting, referring to grace and peace. These are said to be from "God our Father," which emphasizes their common faith. This is also said to be from "the Lord Jesus Christ." Using both of these titles, together, implies that Jesus is divine. This also challenges social norms. To traditional Jews, calling Jesus "Christ," or Anointed One, and equal to God, was blasphemy. To Gentiles, calling Jesus "Lord" meant giving allegiance to a leader above the Roman Emperor. Jesus was God to both Jew and Gentile, and this phrasing is used more than 60 times in the New Testament, mostly by Paul.

"Lord Jesus Christ" serves as Jesus' title in the opening of all for of Paul's Prison Epistles. It is used in every letter by Paul except 2 Timothy. The title "Lord Jesus Christ" was first used in Acts 11:17, when Peter explained that Gentiles had come to faith in Jesus just as Jews had. The term became popular even in the earliest churches, used by James (James 1:1; 2:1) and Jude (Jude 1:17) as well as by the apostle Peter in both of his letters.