The Church as a Servant or Slave

Servant/Slave

1. Biblical texts

There are a few different Greek words that are translated as “Servant” or “Slave.” The two primary words that are most often used in a spiritual sense, especially when referring to the Church, are δοῦλος, and διάκονος. There are other Greek words like θεράπων which refers to Moses in Hebrews 3:5 and ὁ παῖς which is frequently used by Jesus to refer to himself. But the first two words will be the focus of this Bible study.

These words are expressed in many different ways, through parables, the author directly calling someone a servant servants/slaves, other believers calling themselves a slave, and in quotes from God or the O.T. In a holy sense, the word is used to designate the normal believer, part of someone’s body, the nation of Israel, John the Baptist, the Apostles, O.T. prophets, and Jesus.

δοῦλος

- is used 126 times in the new Testament with the majority of its uses in Matthew, Luke, and Revelation.

The key passages are:

1. Luke 2:29- Simeon expresses the idea of δοῦλος by directly calling himself God’s δοῦλος. This probably is best understood in the light of the Old Testament understanding of Servant.

2. Luke 17:7-10- Jesus expresses the concept of servant or slave in a short parable and a prophetic quote. In this short parable, or pronouncement story, in verses 7-9 Jesus is referring to the disciples (Verse 10-“so you too”). Then he uses δοῦλος again through a sort of prophetic quote of the disciples referring to themselves (Vs. 10)

3. John 15:15- Jesus expresses the idea of δοῦλος by directly saying that the disciples are no longer slaves. Notice they are no longer slaves in the relational sense that they are now “friends” of Christ.

4. Acts 2:18- Peter expresses the idea of δοῦλος by quoting Joel referring to all believers as Servants or slaves.

5. Romans 6:15-20= Here in chapter 6 Paul directly calls believers to be slaves of righteousness and reminds us that we are not longer slaved to sin. Out of the total of 7 times Paul uses the word δοῦλος in Romans, 6 of them are found in these 6 verses and the only other use of it is found in the beginning of the book when he referred to himself as a slave in Rom 1:1 (see below).

6. 1 Corinthians 9:27- Paul explains the need to train your body to be your slave. In order to make your slave follow and to be in subjection to you.

7. 2 Corinthians 4:5- Paul expresses the idea of δοῦλος by calling himself a bond-servant to the Corinthians.

8. Philippians 2:7- Paul describes how Jesus, though he was God, decided to take on the form of a δοῦλος.

9. Rom 1:1; Gal 1:10; Phil 1:1; Ti 1:1- Where Paul refers to himself as a slave of God or Jesus Christ.

10. James 1:1- James refers to himself as a slave of God and Jesus Christ

11. 2 Peter 1:1- Peter refers to himself as a slave of Jesus Christ

12. Jude 1:1- Jude refers to himself as a slave of Jesus Christ

13. Revelation 1:1- John refers to himself as a slave.

Διάκονος

- Is used a total of 29 times in the N.T. Often translated as “minister.”

The primary verses are:

1. Matthew 20:26-27- Jesus refers to the need to be a servant in order to be great.

2. Matthew 23:11- In the context of leadership Jesus encourages the crowds and disciples to be servants in order to become great.

3. Mark 9:35- Jesus uses servant-hood as true leadership or greatness.

4. Mark 10:43- Jesus again refers to the need to be a servant in order to be great.

5. Romans 15:8- Paul refers to Jesus as a servant.

6. 1 Corinthians 3:5- Paul refers to himself and Apollos as servants.

7. 1 Timothy 3:8- Paul uses the word Διάκονος for the office known as “deacon.”

2. Historical/ cultural background of slave or servant.

There is a significant cultural mix when it came to the views of slavery during the time of Jesus. “In the OT ‘servant’ is a frequent translation of the Hebrew ebed, the literal meaning of which is ‘slave.’ The idea of slavery in the O.T. wasn’t the same as what was pictured when the Greeks spoke of it during the time of Jesus. So one must take into account both understandings and draw conclusions from there.

In the Old Testament Jewish slaves had many rights and protection under the Mosaic Law. Servant was used in a number of ways “as a term of humble self-designation (2 Kings 8:13) and as a way of expressing political submission (Josh. 9:11). Even the soldiers of the king’s army referred to themselves as his servants (2 Sam. 11:24). ^[1] In the Old Testament this idea of slavery is something that is highly esteemed. Many from the Old Testament were referred to as slaves. Like Moses (Joshua 14:7), David (Psalm 89:3), and Elijah (2 Kings 10:10), and many more. There were even times where slaves was seen as something honorable “Often the title “slave of the king” meant that the person was an officer in the king’s service; it was a title of honor”^[2]

In the Greek world the word, δοῦλος, does not refer to a Servant as in free person serving someone else, but it refers to a slave. It often indicates one who is sold into slavery for another. In the Greek world, unlike the Jewish world, “the servant belongs to another and so has no legal rights.^[3] They were seen as just another form of personal property “to be used and disposed of in whatever way the owner may wish” ^[4] Do to the fact that they were merely property of someone else’s they were barely seen as human. “Since only the citizen class were, strictly speaking, human, slaves were merely chattels”.^[5] Freedom was very important to the Greeks, so a Greek would never say that they were a “slave” of anyone, even God.

3. Nature of the church

In the New Testament slave is used synonymously for Christian. Though the Old Testament set a precedent of slavery as something that was not a negative term, it is hard to ignore the severity of the negativity around the Greek understanding of being a Slave. It seems that the N.T. authors purposely used something that was considered lowly in the eyes of culture, constantly emphasizing Jesus’ ideals of being poor in spirit or least among all.

The Church, and especially its leaders, have been called to be Slaves to Christ and Slaves to those whom they serve. This means that they are to be willing to view themselves as less than those they are serving. Too often today the churches are not reflecting this attitude of Servant-hood. The Church is in need of reform to return to humility and an attitude of Slaves for the cause of Christ.

Another wonderful picture is found in Romans 6 where it speaks to us having been slaves to sin, but are now slaves to righteousness. The Church is called to be slaves of righteousness, allowing righteousness to rule over us.

In a sense of the word we are no longer slaves. In our level of intimacy with God we are no longer like slaves but are like friends. (John 15:15) We are in an intimate relationship with God.

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^[1]Achtemeier, P. J., Harper & Row, P., & Society of Biblical Literature. (1985). Harper's Bible dictionary. Includes index. (1st ed.) (929). San Francisco: Harper & Row.

^[2]Elwell, W. A., & Comfort, P. W. (2001). Tyndale Bible dictionary. Tyndale reference library (1207). Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers.

^[3]Achtemeier, P. J., Harper & Row, P., & Society of Biblical Literature. (1985). Harper's Bible dictionary. Includes index. (1st ed.) (929). San Francisco: Harper & Row.

^[4]Wood, D. R. W., & Marshall, I. H. (1996). New Bible dictionary (3rd ed.) (1110). Leicester, England; Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press.

^[5]Wood, D. R. W., & Marshall, I. H. (1996). New Bible dictionary (3rd ed.) (1113). Leicester, England; Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press.