Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle… (Rom 1:1a)
As part of his greeting to the Romans, we see Paul refer
to himself as a bondservant of Jesus Christ.
What did Paul mean by this? You don’t see the term bondservant used very
often in scripture and in some translations they just use the word
servant. Is there a difference between
being a servant and being a bondservant?
A servant is a person who performs duties for others;
this may be domestic duties, acting as a personal assistant, or something as
simple as rendering assistance when someone needs a helping hand. We are definitely called to serve
others. Jesus told us this much in Mark
9:35, “Sitting down, Jesus called the
twelve and said, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and
servant to all.”” Jesus also
provided multiple examples for us to follow in serving others. One prominent example is when Jesus washed
the disciple’s feet in John 13:1-20.
How about a bondservant?
In order to understand the difference we need to look at the word Paul
used in the Greek to express what he wanted to convey here. The word Paul used and is actually used in
many places in the New Testament is doulos.
The translation of doulos
from the Greek is slave. Some
theologians even say it was actually the most wretched expression for slave in
the ancient Greek language. Describing a servant so totally sold into slavery
that he had no destiny of his own, that he was perpetually obligated to do the
bidding of his owner. And this is the
word Paul used in Romans 1:1.
Does it seem strange that Paul would refer to himself as
a slave? People generally don’t take it
lightly when you talk about slavery today.
Especially in reference to themselves.
That wasn’t the case in the early church. They were called Christians but they referred
to themselves as slaves of Christ (1 Cor 7:22, Gal 1:10, Eph 6:6, and Col
4:12). Peter and Jude also make the same
reference to themselves (2 Ptr 1:1 and Jude 1).
John MacArthur, in his book Slave,
summed up our relationship with Christ this way, “He is the Master and Owner. We are His possession. He is King, the Lord, and the Son of
God. We are His subjects and His
subordinates. In a word, we are His slaves.”[1] This is how
the early church saw it.
Although doulos
is used about 124 times in the original text, it is not translated well in
modern bible translations. Current
translations consistently substitute doulos
with the word ‘servant’. Ironically,
there are at least half a dozen words that can be used for servant in the
Greek; doulos is not one of
them. It does not matter if you are
looking at the New Testament or in secular Greek literature, doulos always means slave.
So, what is the difference between a servant and a
slave? Put simply, a servant is hired, a
slave is owned. We have been told we are
to serve, and Jesus set the example for us.
Most of us have no problem there.
But being a slave of Jesus Christ takes things to a whole new
level. True Christianity is not about
adding Jesus to our lives, it is about devoting ourselves completely to Him and
Him alone. We are to submit our whole
being to His will. Seeking to please Him
above all else. Dying to self and
following our Master’s call, no matter the cost.
This is not just blind devotion or following for the sake
of following. Looking back into the Old
Testament you can see a perspective that, I believe, takes it to a higher level
and is fundamental for our beliefs. Go
back to Ex21: 5-6, here we see a slave who willingly commits himself to serve a
master he loves and respects.
One other thing that is important to note. Slavery in the
Roman Empire was different than what we normally think of when we think of
slavery today. Today we usually think of
people in chains, abuse, poor living conditions, and other such circumstances. It is estimated that approximately one-fifth
of the population of the Roman Empire was a slave. Initially most of these slaves we taken in
military conquest, eventually most slaves inherited their place in Roman
society by being born into slavery.
Slaves worked in a variety of positions with varying
levels of responsibility depending on their training and their master’s needs. On the street it may have been difficult to
distinguish between slaves and non-slaves.
There wasn’t any difference in dress or even the responsibilities in
what you might find a slave or a free person doing on a daily basis. Slaves could even be held in high regard due
to the position held by their master in society.
Not to say it was all wine and roses for slaves, they
were considered property, not a person.
They had no legal rights, basically no legal status whatsoever. If their master was abusive or cruel, they
would have lived a life of pain and misery.
However, if their master was gracious, they could be provided some level
of social and economic protection, they would not have to worry about their
next meal or even where they would sleep.
In return for their good service they were taken care of.
So it’s more than just a master and slave. It is a Master who paid the full and complete
price for us and His slaves who totally devote their entire being to Him, not
because they have to, but because they want to. As part of the relationship the Master provides
for the needs of the slaves, looking out for them and taking care of them.
[1]MacArthur,
J. (2010). Slave: The Hidden Truth About Your Identity in Christ (1).
Nashville, TN: W Pub. Group.
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