<p>1:12 <i>He is as my very heart</i>- Paul's spirit or heart was in Onesimus; they thought the same way. In this sense the spirit of Christ was in Noah and as it were preached to people in 1 Pet. 3:18, although Christ Himself was not there in Noah's time; the spirit of Christ was in the prophets although He didn't exist then (1 Pet. 1:11); Paul's spirit was present at the church gatherings in Corinth even though he was absent (1 Cor. 5:4). So in Onesimus, insofar as he had the spirit of Christ and Paul did too, Paul's spirit / mind / presence was standing before Philemon. This is &quot;the unity of the Spirit&quot;.&nbsp;</p><p><i>And it is he whom I have sent back to you</i>- That might seem obvious, but the idea is 'My very heart is in his very own person'.</p>