Our modern civilization thrives on independence and freedom of life and expressions. Thankfully, slavery is banned and made illegal in our modern society. In Bible times, God permitted slavery to exist because humans have not come to the realization of the equality of all men. Bible language also use slavery or bond-slave as a metaphor in our relationship with God (Romans 5:15-22). The apostle Paul considers himself a bondservant (from doulos – slave) of the Lord (Philippians 1:1). All Christians are to consider ourselves bondservants of our Lord Jesus (Ephesians 6:6; 1 Peter 2:16). Paul even regarded the ministry as being bondservants to the church (2 Corinthians 4:5). Being far in time from the days of slavery, most of us do not have any idea what being a slave or bondservant is like, and thus, cannot bring forth this understanding of servitude towards our Lord Jesus Christ.
A slave basically has completely no rights and everything he has, everything he does, and even everything of his offspring belongs to the master. We were all bought with a price by the blood of Jesus Christ and totally belong to Him (1 Corinthians 6:20; 7:22-23). Although we were made kings and priests in our Lord Jesus, we need to understand the concept of being bondservants to Jesus and being subject to all His commandments.
1. A slave does not own his time
One of the saddest parts about modern Christians is their lack of prioritization of our Lord Jesus. He is our Saviour but, in many lives, not the Lord. Our daily life of 24 hours is subdivided into things we want to do, and then when there is leftover time, we spare some time for our Lord Jesus. Such behaviour is definitely not the behaviour of a bondservant of our Lord Jesus. As bondservants in the Lord, we wake up every morning seeking our Master Jesus, and asking Him what He wants us to do in our daily lives. Our time belongs to Him and we prioritize whatever He wants to do first. This would include spending time at His feet worshipping and listening to Him, discerning what He wants us to do. And even when He has given a task and we complete it, we run straight to sit at His feet and ask Him what else He wants us to do.
Give to our Lord Jesus all our days and live only for Him. Live each day in His presence. Spending time at the feet of Jesus, is a priority to hear His voice and to listen to Him. We are to be like Elijah as one who learns to stand in the presence of God like the angels, ready to obey His every command (1 Kings 17:1; 18:15; Luke 1:19).
2. A slave and his property all belong to the Master
The apostle Peter states the fact that as a followers and disciples of Jesus, they had left all to follow Jesus (Mark 10:28). Jesus also required that the rich young man sell all that he had and follow Him (Mark 10:21). In spiritual essence this transfer is done, to everyone who has accepted Jesus as Lord and Saviour. In practical reality, this is voluntary and when it is done as part of the leading of the Holy Spirit, resulted in a great revival in the book of Acts (Acts 5:32-37). The sharing of material blessings became part of the ministry of the apostle Paul and the churches he planted (2 Corinthians 8:1-4). Paul speaks of an equality that results from the sharing of abundance through the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 8:10-15).
In the sermon on the Mount, our Lord Jesus states that we cannot serve two masters: either we will hate the one or love the other, or else we will be loyal to one and despise the other (Matthew 6:24). He goes on to emphasize that the Gentiles (representative of people without a covenant) seek material things but that we are to seek the kingdom of God first and have all material blessings added to us by our Father God (Matthew 6:32-33). Many Christians are still seeking to tap on the law of sowing and reaping when there is a higher law operating, where in surrendering all to Jesus and the gospel, we reap a hundredfold (Mark 10: 29-30).
3. A slave is a hundred percent dependent on the Master
The prosperity of the slave is dependent on the generosity and prosperity of the Master. Of course, our Lord Jesus treats us much better than any slave master can and He also considers us His friends and bless us with ruling with Him as kings and priests (John 15:14-15; Revelation 1:5-6). The trust that the disciples have on Jesus was absolute and when He sends them out without any money or purse, they obeyed Him (Luke 9:1; 10:4). When He asked them if they lack anything when He sent them out with nothing, they replied that they lack nothing (Luke 22:35). At another time when He sent them out before His crucifixion, He allowed them to take whatever money they had (Luke 22:36). In the earlier case, Jesus was still popular and they would be well received by the people they preached to but in the latter case, Jesus was going to be crucified and His disciples would be hunted and arrested. Our Lord Jesus knows all situations and was practical in all His commandments. Nevertheless, in both situations, the disciples have to rely on God and on our Lord Jesus one hundred percent.
Throughout the whole Bible, from Abraham to saints in the New Testament, it was implicit that those who love God, are called by God, and who serve God, be one hundred percent reliant on God. Like Paul advocates, he who preaches the gospel must live by the gospel; he advocates the right of those who live spiritually to have available material needs and that the labourer is worthy of their wages (1 Corinthians 9:3-14; 1 Timothy 5:17-18). God has also proven Himself in blessing those who left their all for Him, from making Abraham rich, to promoting Joseph, to giving favour to Daniel and in abundantly supplying all of the New Testament saints need. There is a risk to fully dependent on God to the natural man, but considering biblical history and the promises of God, this risk has been mitigated by innumerable case studies of God’s blessings upon all who trust in Him.
4. A slave has no spiritual pride in his success but remains humble to the Master
The title ‘servant of God’ is today exalted so much that it sounds like a mighty and haughty title to lord it over other ordinary men. Our Lord Jesus has emphasized that we must NOT be like the Gentiles who lord over one another (Matthew 20:25). He said that the Gentile world has the arrangement that those who are considered rulers lord it over the rest and their great ones exercise authority over the others (Mark 10:42). Our Lord Jesus is emphatic that we DO NOT lord over one another like the Gentile world; it must NOT be so among Jesus’ disciples (Matthew 20:26; Mark 10:43). Instead those who desire to be great or are great in our midst must be a servant (bondservant or slave) to all (Mark 10:43-44). Whoever desires to be first must be a slave (Matthew 20:27). He gave Himself as our example, that He came to serve and NOT to be served (Mark 10:45). Jesus emphasized that those of us who are considered greatest amongst us, be as one who is youngest and those who have authority to govern be as one who serves (Luke 22:26). He understands that in life, those who sit at the table is considered greater than he who serves and He states that He Himself came as One to serve (Luke 22:27).
Jesus has given us a kingdom and that we sit at His table to eat and to drink, and even sit on thrones (Luke 22:29-30). Yet He expects us to be like Him, to serve as He did. He did great signs and wonders because He was always obedient to the Father (John 14:9-14). The only way to do the great works of God and to demonstrate great faith is to learn to be a bondservant to hear and obey all of God’s commandments (Luke 17:5-9). And when we have done all things and have impressed the whole world by our witness and our success, we must merely acknowledge that we are just bondservants doing the will of our Master (Luke 17:9-10). The world is waiting to see the works of Jesus and the greater works of Jesus but the most important thing is to show forth the humility of our Lord Jesus through our own servanthood that replicates the servanthood of our Lord Jesus.
5. The greatest attribute of a slave is absolute humility and obedience to the Master
This world takes after the enemy who emphasizes pride, arrogance, and dominance over each other. Satan showed to Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and its glory under his dominion (Matthew 4:8). He offered it all to Jesus, asking our Lord Jesus to bow down and worship him but Jesus refused (Matthew 4:9-11). Jesus said that the devil has nothing in him (John 14:30). There is nothing that this world could give to Jesus and He wants us to have the same attribute. Anything which takes the place of God or that takes our dependence on God should be utterly refused. Abraham said that he would not take one shoe string or one thread from the king of Sodom, lest the king of Sodom boast that he had made Abraham rich (Genesis 14:23). Apparently, Abraham had lifted up his hand and promised God that he would only be one hundred percent dependent on God to bless and prosper him (Genesis 14:22). God appeared to him immediately after this event to confirm that He, and only He, is Abraham’s shield and exceedingly great reward (Genesis 15:1).
Of all the works of Jesus, the greatest achievement of our Lord Jesus is in going to the cross, dying for us on the cross and rising from the dead. This was achieved through His obedience and humility; He learned obedience by the things which He suffered (Hebrews 5:8). All the works of Jesus came through His humility and the ultimate work of Jesus was the cross, and it was the finest and highest example of pure humility and obedience. His whole life was an attribute of humility (Philippians 2:3-11). Our Lord Jesus humbled Himself, became obedient to the point of death, the death of the cross (Philippians 2:8). He should inspire humility within us, yet modern Christianity has not been a great example of humility, instead becoming like the arrogance and pride of power like Gentiles (which Jesus told us not to become). We need to once again re-learn the lessons of being a bondservant to achieve the greatness of humility that our Lord Jesus had.
In conclusion, let us all truly learn what is TRUE Christianity and what is FALSE Christianity. Any form or expression of Christianity that is prideful, selfish, self-serving and lacking all the humility and fruit of Jesus MUST be regarded as false forms of Christianity. They are the very opposite of what our Lord Jesus wants, becoming like the rulers and authorities of Gentiles which Jesus said we MUST NOT be like them. Who is there in our midst who desires greatness? Let them not argue but let them learn pure humility and learn to be bondservants of everyone!
Just before Jesus went to the cross, during the Lord’s Supper when Jesus inaugurated the New Covenant, the disciples of Jesus were all arguing and trying to establish who was the greatest among them (Luke 22:24-28). They had argued who was the greatest many times: after He revealed He was about to be betrayed and be crucified (Mark 10:30-37), along the last journey to Jerusalem when James and John wanted positions as the right hand of Jesus (Matthew 20:20-28). It was so easy for the disciples of Jesus to sink down to the level of the Gentile world and at critical moments of Jesus life, become engross in foolish arguments about greatness. This desire to dominate one another is sin nature and we live in a Gentile world that practices such things. Two thousand years of Christianity has seen these same prideful arrogant spirit creep into the church. At many points of church history, such pride has been displayed in arrogance and we all are ashamed of such displays that does not exemplify our Lord Jesus Christ.
Let us in this end time revival understand what is the true spirit of Christianity, and learn to be bondservants of our Lord to one another. This is the greatest core of Jesus’ attribute and it is important that we master the attribute of being humble like our Lord Jesus and become His bondservants to Jesus and to one another. The greatest among us must be the bondservant of all. Amen.