But without your consent would I do nothing; that your benefit should not be as it were of necessity, but willingly.
All Commentaries on Philemon 1:14 Go To Philemon 1
John Chrysostom
AD 407
This is a strategy that is particularly flattering to the person asked. The idea is that since the act proposed is a thing profitable in itself, it is brought forward in such a way as to win Philemon’s concurrence. For two good effects are thus produced: the intercessor gains his point, and the other person is rendered more secure.
