Bondservant and Slave

In reading Titus, Paul’s opening statement caught my attention. In the New American Standard version of Titus 1:1, Paul calls himself a bond-servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ. The Amplified Bible also shows Paul calling himself a bondservant of God. All other translations of the Bible show that Paul called himself a slave or servant of God. Why are there differences in the translations between the first two and all the others? Why did Paul call himself a servant/slave of God? What did it mean in Bible times to be a servant or slave of someone else? How does this relate to anything having to do with us in the 21^st century?

In researching, I have come across a theory as to why the New American Standard and Amplified Bibles read “bond-servant” and all others read servant or slave. It is a unique theory. The thought is that the term slave or servant has a negative connotation since different people groups around the world in the 17^th-19^th centuries enslaved people based on their race. The editors of these two translations were trying to be more politically correct. In addition, they could not imagine why Paul would call himself a slave; the word has such negative connotations. I must admit, if this was the reasoning of the editors of the NASB and AMP versions of the Bible, I can understand their desire to use a word without negative connotations. However, I must note that the Greek word, doulos, that is translated as bondservant here and in Romans and Philippians is the same word translated as slave and servant elsewhere in the New Testament. So, it seems that the word servant or slave is the more correct word to use in Paul’s introductions. Doulos, according to Greek Lexicon, means one who is in a servile position.

Another consideration we must understand is the feeling toward slaves in the biblical times. In the Old Testament, slaves (in Hebrew it is ebed) were people from conquered nations or people who could not pay their debt and sold themselves into slavery/servanthood to pay the debt. If the person was of Hebrew descent, his or her length of servility lasted only until the jubilee year, year 7, at which point all Jewish slaves were given their freedom, their property, and their possessions again. (See Exodus 21 and Leviticus 25:39-43.) You will also notice that the Hebrew slave was not to be treated like a slave from another nation, but as a hired man. He was to be given rights and the master was to treat him with respect. This was not the case for non-Jews. In the New Testament, to be a servant or slave was looked down upon and neither the Romans nor Greeks would ever call themselves a servant or slave or allow themselves to be taken as one. Here we must remember that Paul was a Roman citizen as well as a Hebrew. He was raised in the Greek city of Tarsus and, at the time of his ministry, was a Christian. Each of these distinctions brings its own element to Paul calling himself a servant of God.

Paul’s calling himself a servant of God brought to realization to the readers and hearers of his letters an awareness of how Paul looked at himself in comparison to God. As a man who was born into the Hebrew nation, Paul recognized Yahweh God as greater than himself. As a Levitical priest, trained in the Jewish Law and Prophets, he recognized his “called-out-ness” by God to lead His chosen people. As a man raised in the Jewish Diaspora of Tarsus, a Greek port city, Paul acknowledged the necessity to retain his identity as a Jew. As a Christian called by Jesus Christ through his Damascus road experience (Acts 9:3-18), Paul acknowledged his own smallness in comparison to Jesus’ greatness. Paul recognized his unworthiness as a persecutor of Christians to be saved from his sinful life and called to take the Gospel to the Gentiles. These were the realities Paul faced and acknowledged to be true about himself. They were what brought him to the realization that he was worthy of nothing more than to be a servant of the true God who actually gave him freedom. This reality confronts many of us during our lifetimes and how we react to this reality shows who and whose we are. Paul’s servanthood encompassed his teachings about Jesus and his life in total – actions, attitudes, and speech. His was a conscious choice to recognize his inferiority compared to God and Jesus and to act upon his acknowledgement of their supremacy. Paul chose to be a servant of God. He chose not to be a servant of sin and Satan, but to turn around and give up his life to go where God led him, speak what the Spirit brought to his mouth, endure trials and persecutions, and live with nothing to call his own. Paul chose complete submission to the will of God for his life in the world where God led him.

That brings us to the question of what a bondservant is. A bondservant according to the dictionary is someone who serves without wages. That sounds like abject poverty and leaving oneself open to the possibility of abuse. The answer to that statement is that a bondservant can and often was abused. We must understand the distinction between a bondservant and a servant. A bondservant was unlike a slave who was worked doggedly night and day and had no rights. According to the Bible encyclopedia at http://bibleencyclopedia.com/slave.htm, Hebrew slaves had rights like freedom, justice, elevation, and good treatment. To understand this better, we can read Paul’s writings to slave masters about their responsibilities to slaves and servants and to servants and slaves as to their responsibilities to the master. In Ephesians 6:5-9, Paul wrote,

Slaves, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in the sincerity of your heart, as to Christ; not by way of eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart. With good will render service, as to the Lord, and not to men, knowing that whatever good thing each one does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether slave or free. And masters, do the same things to them, and give up threatening, knowing that both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no partiality with Him. [NASB]

The word “slave” here is the word doulos. Slaves have the responsibility to be obedient with sincerity. Act to please Christ and not the people who watch, for by acting to please Christ, they show the attitude and heart of Christ in their service. Not only will the slave show Christ to his or her master, but he or she will receive a reward in heaven. Masters are also to enact their rights as master of slaves/servants just as the servant/slave is told. Both the master and the servant will be rewarded in heaven. Paul went even further in Galatians 3:28 when he stated, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” In relation to each other, Jesus broke down the distinctions humans put in place. In essence, no one is better than anyone else is because we are all one, the same, in our acceptance and following of Jesus Christ.

This, then, makes Paul’s opening statement in his letters even more remarkable (also Peter, James, Timothy, and Jude). For a man who taught that all are one in Christ, he purposely called himself and put himself in the position as a servant of God. This is what the Amplified and New American Standard Bibles translated doulos in these instances as bondservant. Paul understood that in relation to other humans, we are all the same when we become believers in Jesus Christ. We serve others in love (John 13:34-35). Additionally and more importantly, Paul recognized his relationship to God as being unworthy of God’s love, salvation, and being counted as one of Jesus’ apostles. In recognition of his relationship with God, Paul described his relationship as being a bondservant; he intentionally, voluntarily, and with all understanding made himself a servant of God for life and all eternity. His response to what God the Father and Jesus Christ did for him and meant to him was to bow in humility and life to them. He made himself a bondservant. It was of Paul’s choosing to give up his life – actions, words, and attitude. God was his master and he recognized this and made it known publicly.

We now come full circle with our final question: How does this relate to anything having to do with us in the 21^st century? First, let us remember who God is. God is the creator of the entire universe, including humankind. Our relationship to Him from the beginning is Creator to created. As the Provider of all needs, our relationship to God should still recognize our dependence on Him and our smallness and unworthiness to be taken care of. As the One who loved us so much He could not stand by and see us fall permanently to our own failures (sin), God provided the only means of salvation to cleanse us entirely and eternally, a Savior through His Son, Jesus the Christ. Our relationship to Him acknowledges our unworthiness and thankfulness. Even 2000 years after the death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus to heaven, God continues to offer this means of salvation. Our relationship to Him is still unworthiness and gratefulness. Hence, the essence of being bondservant is as relevant now as it was when Paul called himself a servant of God in the first century AD. Consider this, too, God called Abraham His servant in Genesis 26:24.

Servanthood is relevant even today in the 21^st century. God is still real. Jesus is still relevant and alive. A relationship with Him is still available. Our response to His love and our unworthiness still provokes a response of absolute devotion and humility in the face of who God is and what He has done for us. It all comes down to us: will we accept God’s love gift of salvation through His Son, Jesus? When we do, not only do we receive forgiveness and eternal life with the triune God, we also recognize His supremacy and out unworthiness. We are returned to a right relationship to God and humankind. We are bondservants to God and servants with other believers in this world living out Jesus’ attitude, words, and actions of love. We are no longer servants of sin and Satan. What prevents you from accepting God’s gift of forgiveness and salvation for eternal life with Him?

Are You Listening?

On April 16^th this year, I wrote an article called “FIRE: It’s a Relationship.” Since then, people have asked me more about FIRE and the basis for it. This article is an expansion on that article.

            John, in his gospel, writes many things. His whole book is written with the sole purpose being “that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name” (John 20:31 [NASB]). John showed throughout his book ways that we as hearers and readers could know Jesus as the Son of God. He told us his personal testimony. He told of the testimony through Jesus’ signs and miracles, through the Spirit, and through the Word (God’s inspired Word). Yet, there is something we must do. Paul in Romans 10:14-15a states it this way, “How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? How will they preach unless they are sent” [NASB]? Unless we who know God personally tell others about Jesus, the salvation of the world, most will not know Jesus.

            In John 13:15, Jesus used the word “example” only once to His disciples. After being with the disciples for almost 3 years teaching them by word and action, before the Feast of the Passover, Jesus washed the feet of His disciples. He took His tunic off and wrapped a towel around Himself as a servant would. This is the example Jesus gave His disciples; they are to be servants to each other. Jesus reinforced this "example" He showed and spoke. Later in chapter 13, Jesus told the disciples in verse 34-35, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another" (John 13:34-35, [NASB]). Previously, Jesus said He was the fulfillment of the Law but stated that they must follow the Shema. The Shema is a Jewish Law combining Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18, “YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND; AND YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF” (Luke 10:27 [NASB]). This Jesus called the greatest commandment. At the end of His time with His disciples, He added another, John 13:34-35, they were to love each other so that all people will know they are His disciples. These two commands cover love of God, love of others (outside the faith), and love among disciples.

            How are people to know Jesus? They are to come to know Jesus by us coming to know them. In the gospel of John, John states many times that Jesus knew what people were thinking, what their past was, that they were grumbling or complaining, and that certain persons needed a miracle or sign so they could believe. Jesus knew and knows all people. Jesus spoke into their lives at the point of their need. Consider Mary and Martha. Jesus could have gone to their home in Bethany before Lazarus died, but He knew them and He wanted God to receive glory. Mary and Martha believed Jesus is God’s Son and believed there would be a resurrection on the last day. They did not know that Jesus had power over life and death. By waiting until Lazarus was truly dead (4 days after his death), Jesus’ power over life and death would not be doubted, God would be given the glory, and Mary and Martha’s faith will have grown. You can look at other miracles in John and see this same thing occur – Jesus’ power over that part of life would be revealed, God would receive glory, and the faith of people would increase or occur for the first time. Jesus knows people and what they need. He meets people at the point of their need, when they are at the end of their understanding and knowledge, so that any good/miracle that occurs can only be explained as being from God. The question remains: how are people to know Jesus?

            More often than not, people come to know Jesus through His disciples speaking truth into their lives. Let me say it again; people come to meet and know Jesus through us getting to know them. By getting to know them, we hear them tell us about themselves, their families, their interests, and their religious experiences. We listen intently and we hear where they are hurting. We hear they are human, too. We hear with our ears and with the heart that Jesus regenerated in us through His love. We hear their physical and spiritual needs. In the process of listening, we earn that person’s trust. In the process of listening to them, we remember where Jesus met our need, physically and spiritually. We remember where Jesus came to us, met us, healed us, and forgave us, and where we gave our lives to Him. Remember what Jesus said in Matthew 6:26 that the birds of the air wear beautiful plumage, have their food requirements met, and are sheltered in God’s beautiful trees and bushes. The birds did nothing; God provided for their needs. God will provide more so for the needs of His created people. Jesus stated that in Matthew 6. God provides for spiritual needs as well as temporal needs. Jesus built relationships or strengthened them at the point of a person’s need. He wants to be the provider of everything humankind needs. We must also build relationships and through building these new relationships and listening, we are given the opportunity by the other person to speak about Jesus and show how He has changed our lives, how He has met our needs, temporal and spiritual, and how He can be the fulfillment of all their own needs now and for eternity.

            Consider the I AM statements in John’s gospel. Jesus said seven things that John recorded. Jesus said, I AM the Bread of Life; I AM the Light of the world; I AM the gate for the sheep; I AM the good Shepherd; I AM the resurrection and the Life; and I AM the True Vine. Each of these has a temporal and spiritual element to it. Jesus came to be everything a human being ever needs –bread, light, shelter, guidance, life and hope, and eternal sustenance/salvation. Jesus is the fulfillment of all our needs before we ever know we have the need for them. God provided manna in the wilderness for the Israelites to feed them for a day. Jesus became the Bread that would feed our spiritual need forever. God gave a light of fire before the troops of Israelites as they found their way to the Promised Land. Jesus is the Light to lead us to eternal life in God’s Kingdom. God provided a gate by which to keep out the wolves. Jesus is the gate that keeps the devil and his demons out when we have given our lives to Him. God provides shepherds for the sheep who protect them, such as David was for the actual sheep of his father and for God’s people Israel. Jesus is the Shepherd who will not run away but will fight the wolves to keep us protected in His hands. He protects those who are His own. No one before Jesus had ever beaten death and come back to life. Jesus died to be victorious over death so His children would be resurrected from the grave at the end of the time. Death does not have any hold on those who call themselves His disciples. Jesus gives eternal life to His disciples. God provides sustenance and guidance now to His children. He also provides eternal life forever. God provides the eternal guidance and remembrance of all He has taught us through our lives and the ones who have gone before us through His indwelling Holy Spirit. He gives us hope and guidance as the True Vine. We are His, adopted by Him, and grafted into His vine so that nothing can separate us from Him. This is what Jesus gives us for now and eternity and what He stated in the seven I AM statements.

            We must get to know people as Jesus knows people. We must hear them express themselves, their life, and their beliefs. Only be listening will we gain their trust to speak into their lives. Only by listening will we be able to contextualize the message of Jesus’ salvation for that particular person at that specific moment in their lives. This is relationship and our telling the gospel to them after hearing is contextualizing the Gospel for them. That is how FIRE helps us. FIRE is Family, Interests, Religious experiences, and Evangelism. FIRE makes us intentional in getting to know Jesus better each day, to have a growing relationship with Him. We must have a daily relationship with Jesus where we are learning more through His Word and through prayer with Him. Without this daily relationship, we may not know a passage of Scripture a person needs to hear as they are speaking to us. FIRE lets us know a person’s thoughts on their needs so we can show them how Jesus can fill their needs here and eternally. FIRE is how Jesus met us through others and it is how He will meet other people more often than not.

            The questions now to consider include the following. How is your relationship with God? Are you close or has it been a while since you read His Word or prayed to Him? How are your listening skills? Are you a keen listener and often hear a word from God? Are you a listener of other people or do you hear some of what they say and then begin thinking about what you will say also? We must be in an active vertical relationship with God. We must also know how to have a horizontal relationship with other people. This is what Jesus did well. He was very relational and showed us by example how to be in a relationship with God ( vertical relationship) and with one another (horizontal relationship). (These two relationship beams make a cross.) Jesus died on the cross because of these relationships, obedience to the Father and love for us created human beings.

Each of us has to make a decision: are we willing to get to know people like Jesus knows each of us so we can tell them the great news of Jesus Christ?