Onesimus was a slave who stole from his master Philemon and ran away to Rome, where he encountered Paul in prison. Under Paul's ministry, Onesimus was converted. Paul then wrote the letter to Philemon — one of the most tender and tactically brilliant letters in all of Scripture — sending Onesimus back to his master, not as a slave, but "more than a slave — a beloved brother" (Philemon 16). Paul played on the meaning of the name: "who once was unprofitable to you, but now is profitable [euchrestos] to you and to me" (Philemon 11). Onesimus is a living illustration of the transforming power of the gospel: the useless runaway becomes the useful brother. He is also a picture of what the gospel does to every slave of sin — it sets free and restores relationships that sin had broken. Early church tradition holds that Onesimus later became bishop of Ephesus and was martyred for Christ. The "useless one" became the "useful one."