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The disciple is a SERVANT. His serving is prompted by the fact that he has a Master, he is in voluntary slavery, and he has a cause to serve. The very roots of the word servant give its meaning. The word servant means to be a slave, in bondage, in service to another, attendant, minister, deacon, or to work in service of someone else. What is intended in the Biblical understanding is a servant or bond-slave is one by choice, and by choosing the Master who owns us willfully and gladly.
There seems to be a paradoxical situation where our Lord said, "I am among you as one who serves not to be served".2 This statement really shows what Lordship He has in that He can be both Master and Servant. He is Master by appointment, and He is Servant by choice and example. We serve because He served, and because we have no other appointment.
Servants are slaves. In all of history the Christian is the only successful slave because his slavery is voluntary. If it were otherwise, as it is in other cases, there would be little joy or depth of serving. When our Lord Jesus calls someone to follow, He is also calling them to serve.1 If being served is greater than serving, then the Kingdom and the new life in Christ are not yet understood. All servants within the Kingdom stand in exactly the same position. That is, as servants to the Master. None are considered higher or lower than the other. All are servants.
The term fellow servant (see # 3 Body Fellowship) takes on a new strength because the disciple has the fellowship of God, and the fellowship of other common servants. His own self-worth is lost in loyalty to the Master, and serving the same lost world that He served. Acts 8:35 tells us, "Then Phillip opened his mouth, and beginning with scripture, he told him the good news of Jesus".3 That is the beginning and the end of serving. Proclaiming the good news of Jesus!
Serving is feeding, teaching, caring, loving, healing, binding, carrying and lifting people up in the Name of our Lord Jesus. Serving is normal and expected for Kingdom people.
Additional Scripture References:
Acts 16:17
Titus 1:1
1 Peter 2:16
Phillipians 2:7
Galatians 1:10
1 Corinthians 7:22-24
Ephesians 6:6
1. Matthew 4:19, Mark 2:14
2. Matthew 20:26-28
3. Acts 8:35
© Copyright 2001 Lighthouse Ministries. All Rights Reserved.
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