The Body Beautiful
Part 5
Sold into Slavery
Today we conclude
This series called
The Body Beautiful
If you have missed any of this series
You need to get the CD and study this series
The conclusion of this series
Amazed me
I didn’t expect the Holy Spirit
To take us to this topic
In today’s world,
Just the word I’m about to say
can cause people to put up defenses
The word for today’s conclusion
To the Body Beautiful is
Slave
Slave” is the word
that almost every English translation of Scripture
has avoided using,
in favor of the term “servant.”
However, the image of a slave
is absolutely critical
for understanding what it means to follow Jesus
as a part of the Body Beautiful
This study has elevated my understanding
of what it means to say Jesus is Lord
and what it means
When I say I am His
Those of us who truly believe
and are genuinely converted
and have at least a understand of the gospel,
can understand
being a slave
and yet becoming a friend
a son
a citizen
and a joint heir
with him –
this is a strange concept
especially to Americans
But it is a new way to understand slavery,
not in terms of the
Abusive African slave trade
but in terms of
being owned by a master
who loves me and wants to provide
everything in his limitless resources
out of that love
to make my life eternally joyful.
This type of slavery
Is easily embraceable
If we could only believe it to be true
2 Corinthians 4:5
“For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants [slaves] for Jesus’ sake.
Being a slave conjures up very negative images …
and for good reason.
Humans have enslaved each other
for thousands of years
treating people worse than animals
No person desires to be
That type of slave
And no person deserves to be treated that way
However,
the Bible speaks about Christians,
as being “slaves” of Christ.
If there is anything in the Bible
that makes this progressive world cringe
its slavery.
In the Old Testament
Slavery is humanely regulated
Through the legal system
and in the New Testament
slave masters are exhorted
to show kindness to their slaves
But listen, nowhere in the Bible
is there anything
which can be interpreted as
a disapproval of slavery.
People of our generation,
Christians included,
tend to have a very hard time with the idea
of God not considering slavery to be immoral.
Part of the problem
is that we have false ideas
about what slavery was like.
Society today has
minds which are brainwashed
by means of Television
In the Old and New Testament times,
The life of a slave was not easy,
but we get an exaggerated idea
of the hardships of slavery
from watching movies
or even by reading historical material
that is written to distort the truths of the time
In most cases
the life of a slave
was not much different
from the life of any lower-class worker.
Those who have been in the military
have experienced something like it
by being legally bound to an employer
and to a job
that one cannot simply “quit” at will,
not free to leave without permission,
subject to discipline if you disobey
And yet we know
that the daily life of a good soldier
is not cruel or especially hard.
This is kind of what it was like to be a slave.
Another problem is,
when we discuss slavery
we have a tendency to relate it
to the horrible manner in which
The black race in America,
Was treated –
And we then confuse slavery with racism
A third reason
why Christians today
have a hard time understanding
the Bible’s treatment of slavery
is that we tend to confuse morality
with political values.
Today everything is politicized
including the Gospel.
In this era of political correctness
“Racism,” “sexism,” “homophobia,”
are the really serious sins
while the principles of ordinary
old-fashioned morality
are downplayed and even denied.
This political correctness
is not merely a fad,
it is a planned result of
the politicization of morality,
a new morality
based upon political ideas of right and wrong.
In recent years the principle of equality
has been raised to the status
of a Religious Doctrine in liberal churches.
This is illustrated
by the following statement
made by an Episcopal bishop
following his church’s decision
to appoint a homosexual bishop
The “Right Reverend” John Bryson Chane
Said this:
When I look at where gay, lesbian, and transgender persons are, they have been excluded from the full sacramental life of the Episcopal Church in the United States — and, in fact, excluded from the full sacramental life pretty much within the Anglican Communion. What I have to say to that is if, in fact, we believe theologically that God created human beings in the good image of God as creator, and if we, in fact, believe that everybody is equal in God’s eyes, then how in God’s name can we say that we don’t have enough theology to work this issue through? And how can we say that a person’s sexuality does not allow them to enter into the full life of this communion? (2)
“Everybody is equal in God’s eyes”
is the premise,
but when applied to not only spiritual matters
but Church Government
we have a problem.
Many pastors
have been expressing frustrations
with how many Christians
are minimalist
or comfortable believers
identifying with the faith only nominally
We need to establish a baseline today
To get the Body of Christ
On the same page
Take the rich young ruler.
He runs to Jesus and he says
“what do I do to inherit eternal life?”
and if Jesus says to him “believe in me,”
he’s going to say “okay, I’ll believe in you”
and if Jesus says “pray this prayer,”
he would have prayed the prayer.
But instead
Jesus went after the issue of who is Lord.
He wanted to get to the heart of the matter
Let’s find out who’s in charge of your life.
“Sell everything you have,
give your money to the poor.”
And come follow me
And immediately he turned and left
He wasn’t about to let somebody else
tell him what to do with his money.
That’s a lordship issue.
That’s what Jesus is saying –
Are you going to acknowledge me as Lord
and are you going to deny yourself
and give your life to me?
It’s like the First Commandment –
have no other gods,
Deuteronomy 6,
love the Lord with all your heart,
all your soul, all your might, all your strength,
leaving no room for any other gods.
That’s why Jude 4 says
that Jesus Christ
is our only master and Lord.
So what is a slave?
And do we want to be one?
And if so why?
Slave - A Greek word
that appears almost 140 times
in the New Testament —
as “doulos” —
has been mainly mistranslated
into English as “servant”
rather than “slave”.
So what’s the big deal?
Well, the word “doulos”
is used to describe the Christian’s relationship to Christ.
Christians are “slaves of Christ”,
owned by Him,
rather than mere hired servants.
nothing could be better
than being a “slave of Christ”.
When we see our identity this way,
it changes how we serve our “Master”
and how we see ourselves.
The Greek word
has been substituted
with the softer word
"servant."
"Ironically, the Greek language
has 5 words
that can mean servant.
The word doulos is not one of them.
What is the greek translation for the word slave?
The Greeks had 5 words in this category. By far, the most common is "doulos" (1401) which has as its primary definition, "slave, - either voluntary or involuntary." The Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (University of Chicago Press, 1979) comments that the use of the word 'servant' instead of 'slave' is "largely confined to [English] Biblical translations and early American times ... in normal usage at the present time the two words are carefully distinguished."
The original Greek, which did not have different words for "servant" and "slave." Instead, "servant" and "slave" are two different English translations of the same Greek word "doulos." Therefore, even though the two English words are distinguished in our usage and carry different subtleties of meanings today, according to the Greek language of the New Testament, they are interchangeable and equal in meaning
(which was something I did not know before doing this study).
The next word is "oikatase" (3610), meaning "a domestic or house slave." This is the word used in Philemon.
Next is "pais" (3816), meaning "a child slave" like the Hebrew "na-ar." Next is "diakonos" (1249), meaning "waiter, attendant." This is where we get our word "diaconate" or "deacon" and is also applied to the office of the ministry, indicating one who serves God.
Finally, the word "theratone" (2324) meaning "a menial servant." It is used only once in reference to Moses (Heb 3:5).
G1401
δοῦλος
doulos
doo'-los
From G1210; a slave (literally or figuratively, involuntarily or voluntarily; frequently therefore in a qualified sense of subjection or subserviency): - bond (-man), servant.
So now we know what a slave is
Do you want to be one?
I do – I am
It is a place where although we are free
We willingly
Live our life sold out to Him
The Body of Christ
The Body Beautiful
Is transformed as each of us
Is sold out to Him
Our life is no longer our own
So, Why do we want to be a slave?
It is the most protected life imaginable
The most blessed life
The life of a slave to Christ
Is one of completeness –
The scripture:
John 15:11 (KJV)
These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.
He has called us slaves
And once we call ourselves slaves
And live as His slaves
Sold out to Him
And His plans
Our joy is full – complete
Society today is so excited about
Having the government
Take care of our health
Take care of our education
Take care of our children
Take care of our retirement
Provide us with cell phones
Housing, food and clothing
But God meant for Him
To be our provision
Our provider
The one who is the shelter we run to
In times of trouble.
O, how far we have moved away
From the principles of the Bible
And the Gospel
Its time we get back
Its time we as Christians
Make that decision
To be sold out for Him
The amazing part of all this is
The biblical concept of a slave
Is one who is Well protected
Well fed, well clothed
Well cared for,
Loved and treated with grace and mercy
He provides the roof over our head
The food for our belly
And then
He fills us with joy and great hope
For a future with Him in eternity
My God
You are Awesome
We serve an awesome God!
To truly come to grips with
Being a part of the Body of Christ
We have to come to the crossroads
Of this decision
To be a slave to Christ
Or a slave to our desires
It is just not possible to live our life
To the fullest God has planned for us
If we are unwilling to be His slave
I can see a time
When the church
The Body of Christ
Will once again cry out for Christ
To lead us and guide us
We will repent of our selfish ways and desires
And truly understand that
The best life we can live
Is the life the creator designed for us
Worry about your loved ones
Is all wiped out
When we choose to be His slave
Fear about the future here
Our future
Our eternity
Are all wiped away
When we choose to be His slave
Anxiety about life –
Struggles with sickness
Emotional distress
Relational hurts and pains
Your past
And all the wrong decisions we made
All of it
Are wiped away
When we choose to be His slave
He does not take away our freedom
Or our free will
Or our desires
He enhances our freedom
He respects the free will He Gave us
And He loves to fulfill our deepest desires
All of it is available
As Slaves of Christ
The Body of Christ
You are an integral part
1. Created to Worship Him – To bring Him glory
2. Designed by God who has high hopes for us
and a desire to see us live a successful life
3. Our life should be a Life of Thanks. Thanks to God
for designing us to Perfectly Fit within His Body–
we are all important member of the Body Beautiful
4. We are an integral and vital part of a Well Oiled Machine, designed
to work in unity with Him as the head
5. And most importantly we are called to be Slaves of Christ
we are not our own – Our wills are designed to be submitted to
and as each of us yields to Christ - the Body operates effectively
and is transformed into “ The Body Beautiful”
If you are ready
To be transformed
A crucial and vital part of the Body of Christ
There is no better day than today
No better time than the present
Come – run to the altar
Run to the mercy seat of Christ
