We live in a very proud and egotistical generation. It is now considered acceptable and even normal for people to promote themselves, to praise themselves, and to put themselves first. Pride is considered a virtue by many. Humility, on the other hand, is considered a weakness. Everyone, it seems, is screaming for his own rights and seeking to be recognized as someone important. Everyone wants to be a master and no one wants to be a servant.
The preoccupation with self esteem, self love, and self glory is destroying the very foundations upon which our society is built. No culture can survive pride run rampant, for all of society depends on relationships. When a mass of people are all committed first of all to themselves, relationships disintegrate. And that is just what is happening, as friendships, marriages, and families fall apart.
As with other traces of worldliness that has seeped into the Church, the preoccupation with self has found its way into the Church as well.
Self esteem, self love, and self glory all go against the grain of biblical servanthood. Scripture is clear, however, that selfism has no place in Christian theology. Jesus repeatedly taught against pride, and with His life and teaching He constantly exalted the virtues of humility and servanthood. Nowhere is that more clear than in John 13.
(John 13:1 NKJV) Now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.
John writes that Jesus knew He was about to die--Jesus knew His hour had come.
Jesus was about to die. There is something about the prospect of dying that causes the dying person to look at life differently.
* Some people begin to “settle their estate” i.e., they pay their bills. Some make more bills.
* Others make peace with their enemies. Some pay their life insurance up to date.
* Parents attempt to spend more time with their children.
* Preachers preach the things considered crucial to the preservation or well-being of their flock.
So it was with our Lord Jesus.
Now it is the day before Jesus' death, and rather than being preoccupied with thoughts of His death, sin bearing, and glorification, He is totally consumed with His love for the disciples. Knowing that He would soon go to the cross to die for the sins of the world, He is still concerned with the needs of His twelve disciples.
In what were literally the last hours before His death, Jesus kept showing them His love over and over. John relates this graphic demonstration and writes, “…when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.” (John 13:1-2 NKJV)
"To the end" in the Greek is eis telos, and it means this: He loved them to perfection. He loved them to the uttermost. He loved them with total fullness of love. That is the nature of Christ's love, and He showed it repeatedly-even as He was approaching His death.
* When He was arrested, He arranged that the disciples would not be arrested.
* On the way to the cross, He tenderly encouraged many of the women who were on the roadside not to weep.
* While He was on the cross, He made sure that John would give Mary a home and care for her as his own mother.
* He reached out to a dying thief and saved him.
* He asked His Father to forgive those who did not know what they were doing
It is amazing that in those last hours of carrying the sins of the world, in the midst of all the pain and suffering He was bearing, He was conscious of the needs of others.
Dr MacArthur says, “He loves utterly, absolutely, to perfection, totally, completely, without reservation. At the moment when most men would have been wholly concerned with self, He selflessly humbled Himself to meet the needs of others. Genuine love is like that.”
Verse two of our text says, “And supper being ended, the devil having already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray Him…(John 13:2 NKJV)
By this time, Judas was already infected with Satan’s deception. He was already possessed with greed as John records in the previous chapter:
(John 12:1 NKJV) Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was who had been dead, whom He had raised from the dead.
(John 12:2 NKJV) There they made Him a supper; and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with Him.
(John 12:3 NKJV) Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.
(John 12:4 NKJV) Then one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, who would betray Him, said,
(John 12:5 NKJV) "Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?"
(John 12:6 NKJV) This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it.
It is important for us to take note of John’s comment concerning Judas in verse 2 of our text because it strengthens a point I will be making later in this message.
Last week Minister Jim spoke of the duties of the servant. Today I want to continue on with the theme of servanthood and speak concerning the heart of the servant. In this message we will be looking at several characteristics of biblical servanthood.
The Key Characteristic of the Servant is Humility
True Servants Love and Serve Even Their Enemies
True Servants Serve From an Inner Humility Not an Outer Conformity
The Key Characteristic of the Servant is Humility
(John 13:3 NKJV) Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God,
Here, John by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit wants us to know that Jesus was fully cognizant of who He was. He also wants us to see that Jesus is deity—meaning that Jesus is God.
Notice the words John uses in verse 3:
“The Father had given all things into His hands” – refers to His authority
Jesus realized accomplishments and claimed the authority ascribed only to divinity.
* He forgave sins (Matt. 9:6) and sent others to do His bidding, claiming all authority "in heaven and in earth" (Matt. 28:18-20).
* He is the only way to eternal life, a status held by deity alone. John 3:36 says, “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him." (John 3:36; 14:6; compare Acts 4:12; Rom. 10:9).
* The New Testament pictures Him as worthy of honor and worship due only to deity. John 5:22-23 has these words, “For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him”. (John 5:23; Heb. 1:6; Phil. 2:10-11; Rev. 5:12).
* He is the Creator. Colossians 1:15-16 Paul writes, “For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.”(John 1:3; Col. 1:17; Heb. 1:3).
* He raised the dead (John 11:43-44), healed the sick (John 9:6), and vanquished demons (Mark 5:13).
* He will oversee the final resurrection of humanity either to judgment or to life (Matt. 25:31-32; John 5:27-29). The Bible says in John 5:28-29, “…for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth; those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.”
The Father had given all things into His hands. In verse 3 of our text, John also says of Jesus that:
* “He had come from God” – refers to His incarnation. Matthew 1:23 says, "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel," which is translated, "God with us."
* “He was going to God” – refers to His glorification. In Mark 14:61 the high priest asked Him, saying to Him, "Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?" Jesus said, "I am. And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven."
Taking all this into consideration listen again to the words of John:
(John 13:3 NKJV) Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God,
(John 13:4 NKJV) rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself.
(John 13:5 NKJV) After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded.
Wait a minute!!! Does Jesus have a split personality? We have just seen the Scripture declare Him to be God now we read that God is bending over washing men's feet.
Is this the same Jesus of whom Paul says in Colossians, “…is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created” and “…He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.”?
Is this the same person of whom the writer of Hebrews says, “upholds all things by the word of His power”?
Is this man, who was willing to get on His knees to wash the dirty feet of sinful men, the same one of whom John wrote in John 1:2, “He was in the beginning with God” and “All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.” and “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.”?
Yes, this is Jesus, the God-man washing the feet of sinful men. Think about this: the majestic, glorious God of the universe comes to earth. That's humility. Then He kneels on the ground to wash the feet of sinful man. That's indescribable humility. (MacArthur)
Humility is the key to biblical servanthood. Notice how this principle is illustrated in a classic passage of Scripture on the topic of humility:
(Phil 2:3 NKJV) Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.
(Phil 2:4 NKJV) Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.
(Phil 2:5 NKJV) Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,
(Phil 2:6 NKJV) who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God,
(Phil 2:7 NKJV) but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.
(Phil 2:8 NKJV) And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.
(Phil 2:9 NKJV) Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name,
(Phil 2:10 NKJV) that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth,
(Phil 2:11 NKJV) and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Jesus, who is Greatness personified voluntarily humbled Himself and God exalted Him. Humans who are "dirt personified" normally go straight for the top and then have to get forcefully humbled.
However, in the family of God, the perquisite for greatness is genuine humility and the greatest illustration of humility you will find none other than God Himself voluntarily taking the form of a menial slave, washing the feet of sinful men.
(John 13:4 NKJV) (Jesus) rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself.
(John 13:5 NKJV) After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded.
It will help you to get a better grasp of what is going on here if I explain the cultural significance of foot washing.
Foot-washing was needed in Palestine. The streets were dusty and people wore sandals without socks or stockings. It was a mark of honor for a host to provide a servant to wash a guest’s feet; it was a breach of hospitality not to provide for it (cf. 1 Sam. 25:41; Luke 7:40-50; 1 Tim. 5:10). Wives often washed their husbands’ feet, and children washed their parents’ feet. Most people, of course, had to wash their own feet.
Customarily, a host provided guests with water for washing their own feet. In our day, it is not unusual for a guest in your home to use your restroom to wash his hands before he sits down to eat with you.
In Palestine, the host would set some water out for guests to wash their feet—he wouldn’t wash them himself. Ordinarily, the cleansing of feet was done before the meal by the lowest-ranking servant in the household; it was the duty of the lowliest slave.
When guests came, he had to go to the door and wash their feet - which wasn't a pleasant task. In fact, washing feet was probably his most abject duty, and only slaves performed it for others. One Bible commentator writes that foot washing was regarded as such a lowly task that you couldn’t even ask a Hebrew slave to do it.
I remember back when I was attending Catonsville Community College one of the faculty had surgery. I was about 19- years old and went to Baltimore County hospital to see him. I was a new Christian and I must confess that I wasn’t going to visit this man to minister to him; I didn’t know anything about ministry. Although he was a very likeable man and gave us students his time and attention, he wasn't my reason for visiting.
My real reason for visiting him was because he was married to a beautiful woman who had a very beautiful voice. In fact, she was a featured soloist for Norman Conners, who produced the cuts, You Are My Starship and This Is Your Life.
When I entered this man’s hospital room, the first thing I saw was his wife, this famous singer, cleaning his feet and clipping and filing his toenails. I was taken back with her intimate display of love and affection for her husband.
In Palestine, the best hosts around would not so much as touch your feet, let alone wash your feet for you--he would set some water for you to wash your own feet--unless he had a slave in his home to do the dirty work.
As Jesus and His disciples all arrived in the upper room, they found that there was no servant to wash their feet. Only days before, Jesus had said to the twelve, "Whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave" (Matthew 20:2627). If they had given their heart to His teaching, one of the twelve would have washed the others' feet, or they would have mutually shared the task.
It’s something how we let Holy Spirit-orchestrated opportunities for Christian growth pass us by. Here was a wonderful opportunity for the disciples to put into practice the truths they had learned just days earlier, but it never occurred to them because of their selfishness. A parallel passage in Luke 22 gives us an idea just how selfish they were and what they were thinking about that very evening:
"And there arose also a dispute among them as to which one of them was regarded to be greatest. And He said to them, "The kings of the gentiles lord it over them; and those who have authority over them are called `benefactors.' but not so with you, but let him who is the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as the servant " [vv. 2426)
It seems that the disciples all wanted to be the greatest in the kingdom but none of them were willing to assume the posture of a servant, so Jesus got up and began to wash His disciples’ feet.
It is hard to find many folk who don’t mind doing the dirty work. It is hard to find people who are willing to do the grunt work and not expect a pat on the back for it.
Hudson Taylor, the great missionary who carried the Gospel to the interior of China, was approached by a man with one leg. This man said, "I want to go to China as a missionary." Rev. Taylor asked, "Why do you think you can be a missionary when you have only one leg?" The man replied, "Because I don't see any men with two good legs going."
Jesus exemplified the character of a servant-leader. This is one who, though a leader, leads by serving and is willing to serve in the areas where few are willing to go and do the tasks that few are willing to do.
There are going to be times when no one is going to budge when it comes to doing what is considered "menial."
There are going to be times when a task will go undone unless you do it.
There are going to be times when you call a meeting and more than half of the people who were supposed to be there do not show.
If Mike, our facilities manager, scheduled a church-wide cleanup day I can tell you by experience that the same faithful few will come. But if he announced that we would have a crab feast for everyone who showed up, we not only would have double the normal amount of people from our church but some of y'all would bring your family members, coworkers and neighbors to help us clean God's church.
A leader will quite frequently have to take the lead in exemplifying servanthood. You are not a true leader unless you are willing to do this.
Jesus begins to wash His disciples feet and verse 6 of our text tells us that Jesus came to Simon Peter and Peter said to Him, "Lord, are You washing my feet?"
To stress the gravity of Peter's refusal, the Greek construction places "you" and "my" first in the sentence. Literally, Peter is saying, "You, my feet are washing?" This illuminates the sharp contrast of persons.
Peter wasn't the only to respond when Jesus switched roles. John the Baptizer responded to Jesus' request to baptize Him in this way: "I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?"
Back in our text in John 13:7 Jesus answers Peter's objection and says to him, "What I am doing you do not understand now, but you will know after this."
Peter objects again and says to Jesus, "You shall never wash my feet!"
In this verse Peter is using the Greek double negative ou me and is essentially saying, "Absolutely never shall You my feet wash." (John 13:8a NKJV)
Jesus answered him, "If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me." (John 13:8b NKJV)
There is profound meaning in Jesus' words. You see, the typical Jewish mindset could not accept the Messiah humiliated. In Peter's mind, there was no place for Christ to be humiliated like this.
Jesus must make him realize that Christ came to be humiliated. If Peter could not accept this act of humiliation, he would certainly have trouble accepting what Jesus would do for him on the cross.
There is yet another, more profound, truth in Jesus' words. He has moved from the physical illustration of washing feet to the spiritual truth of washing the inner man. Throughout John's gospel, when He dealt with people, Jesus spoke of spiritual truth in physical terms. He did it when He spoke to Nicodemus, the woman at the well, and the Pharisees. Now He does it with Peter.
He is saying, "Peter, unless you allow Me to wash you in a spiritual way, you are not clean and you have no part with Me."
All cleansing in the spiritual realm comes from Christ, and the only way anyone can be clean is if he is washed by regeneration through Jesus Christ (Titus 3:5).
(1 John 1:7 NKJV) But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.
(Rev 1:5 NKJV) ….Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood,
(Titus 3:5 NKJV) not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit,
No man has a relationship with Jesus Christ unless Christ has cleansed his sins. And no one can enter into the presence of the Lord unless he first submits to that cleansing.
(John 13:9 NKJV) Simon Peter said to Him, "Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head!"
Thinking that the Lord was speaking of physical cleansing, Peter offered his hands and head-everything. He still did not see the full spiritual meaning, but he said in essence, "Whatever washing you've got to offer me that makes me a part of You, I want it"
(John 13:10 NKJV) Jesus said to him, "He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you."
Instead of the Greek word niptein (for "washing" in general), a new word is introduced. "Bathed" is from louein (Gk.), the word for bathing the whole body. An added symbolism is also introduced. Those who have experienced the bath of regeneration need only to be washed of the daily stains picked up in life (cf. Titus 3:5; 1 John 1:9).
Jesus, still speaking of spiritual washing, said, "He who has bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean" (v.10). There is a difference between a bath and a foot washing. In the culture of that day, a man would take a bath in the morning to get himself completely clean. As he went through the day, he periodically had to wash his feet from time to time, because of the dusty roads, but he didn't have to keep taking baths. All he needed was to wash the dirt off his feet when he entered someone's home.
Jesus is saying this: once your inner man has been bathed in redemption, you are clean. Once you have been washed by the waters of regeneration you are clean. From that point on, you do not need a new bath. You do not need to be redeemed again every time you commit a sin. All God has to do is daily get the dust off your feet. Positionally, you are clean (as He told Peter in verse 10), but on the practical side, you need washing every day, as you walk through the world and get dirty feet.
That spiritual washing of the feet is what 1 John 1:9 refers to: "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us [literally, keep on cleansing us] from all unrighteousness."
In verse 11 of our text we get our second point:
2.) True Servants Love and Serve Even Their Enemies
(John 13:11 NKJV) For He knew who would betray Him; therefore He said, "You are not all clean."
Jesus had washed the feet of His disciples who were. But guess the other pair of feet He washed? Judas.
With a backdrop of the blackness of sin, the grace of God shines brighter. The Bible says, "Where sin abounded, grace abounded much more…" (Romans 5:20)
Set against the backdrop of Judas' hatred, Jesus' love shines even brighter. We can better understand its magnitude when we understand that in the heart of Judas was the blackest kind of hatred and rejection.
Here the holy Spirit purposely creates a contrast between the hatred of Judas and the love of Christ.
The more men hated Jesus and desired to hurt Him, the more it seemed He manifested love to them. It would be easy to understand resentment. It would be easy to understand bitterness. But all Jesus had was love. In a little while He would be kneeling at the feet of Judas, washing them.
Like Jesus, servants of Christ are to display love and exercise humility even to those who would be considered as our enemies—even to those who would deliver us to death--those who would consider our lives to be worth no more that a handful of change.
(John 13:12 NKJV) So when He had washed their feet, taken His garments, and sat down again, He said to them, "Do you know what I have done to you?
After giving a brief object lesson on salvation, Jesus gets back to the lesson He is teaching His disciples: that they need to become true servants, they need to begin to operate on the basis of humility.
Let's look at our last point:
3.) True Servants Serve From an Inner Humility Not an Outer Conformity
(John 13:13 NKJV) "You call me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am.
(John 13:14 NKJV) "If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet.
(John 13:15 NKJV) "For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you.
If the Lord of glory is willing to gird Himself with a towel, take upon Him the form of a servant, act like a slave, and wash the dirty feet of sinful disciples, it is reasonable that the disciples might be willing to wash each other's feet.
Someone said that some things are better caught than taught. The visual example Jesus taught did more good than a lecture on humility ever would have. I told our ministers that some thrush are better modeled in our lives; so it is with biblical servanthood.
Many people believe that by washing His disciples' feet, Jesus was instituting an ordinance for the church. Some churches practice foot washing in a ritual similar to the way we have baptism and communion but I do not feel that this is being taught in this passage. Jesus was not advocating a formal, ritualistic foot washing service.
Verse 15 says, "I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you." The word "as" is a translation of the Greek word kathos, which means "according as" if He were establishing foot washing as a pattern of ritual to be practiced in the church, He would have used the Greek word ho, which means "that which." Then He would have been saying, "I have given you an example that you should do what I have done to you."
He is not saying "Do the same thing I have done;" He is saying, "Behave in the same manner as I have behaved." The example we are to follow is not: Jesus washing His disciples’ feet. It is His humility; it is His servant's attitude.
Imagine for a moment if we were to begin instituting an ordinance of “Foot Washing.” Let’s say we would schedule it for the first Sunday evening of each month. The character trait of humility would be relegated to only these times.
Perhaps the "foot washers" would begin to see themselves as “spiritual” much like the many in some churches who strut up to the tithe box in the front of the church when the pastor calls for “all tithers to come forward.”
Let's not minimize the lesson of Jesus by trying to make foot washing the important point of John 13. Jesus' humility is the real lesson and it is a practical humility that governs every area of life, every day of life, in every experience of life—not just an outward conformity that occurs during a scheduled event.
(John 13:16 NKJV) "Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him.
(John 13:17 NKJV) "If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.
When it came to sacrificing to serve others, there was nothing Jesus was unwilling to do. If Jesus, the Greatest One, our Master, was willing to stoop low, shouldn't we strive to have the same attitude? Are we greater than the lord?
I am not saying that since Jesus was willing to wash His disciple’s feet we should also be willing to wash each other's feet. What I am saying is that the lesson focus is Jesus' humility--a humility that sprang from a heart of love and it is this kind of practical humility that should govern every area of life, every day of life, in every experience of life.
Jesus said in Matthew 23, 11-12, “…he who is greatest among you shall be your servant and whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
The Key Characteristic of the Servant is Humility
Andrew Murray said, "The humble man feels no jealousy or envy. He can praise God when others are preferred and blessed before him. He can bear to hear others praised while he is forgotten because...he has received the spirit of Jesus, who pleased not Himself, and who sought not His own honor.
True Servants Love and Serve Even Their Enemies
Abraham Lincoln was once being criticized for his attitude towards his enemies. "Why do you try to make friends with them? a colleague asked. "You should try to destroy them." Am I not destroying my enemies." the President asked gently, "when I make them my friends?"
True Servants Serve From an Inner Humility Not an Outer Conformity
One stormy night many years ago an elderly couple entered the lobby of a small hotel and asked for a room. The clerk explained that because there were three conventions in town, the hotel was filled. "But I can't send a nice couple like you out in the rain at 1 o'clock in the morning," he said. "Would you be willing to sleep in my room?" The couple hesitated, but the clerk insisted.
The next morning when the man paid his bill, he said, "You're the kind of manager who should be the boss of the best hotel in the United States. Maybe someday I'll build one for you." The clerk smiled, amused by the older man's "little joke." A few years passed. Then one day the clerk received a letter from the elderly man, recalling that stormy night, and asking him to come to New York for a visit. A round-trip ticket was enclosed.
When the clerk arrived, his host took him to the corner of 5th Avenue and 34th Street, where stood a magnificent new building. "That," explained the man, "is the hotel I have just built for you to manage." "You must be joking," said the clerk. "I most assuredly am not," came the reply. "Who -- who are you?" stammered the other. "My name is William Waldor Astor." That hotel was the original Waldorf-Astoria, and the young clerk who became its first manager was George C. Boldt.
F. B. Meyer once said: "I used to think that God's gifts were on shelves one above the other; and that the taller we grew in Christian character the easier we could reach them. I now find that God's gifts are on shelves one beneath the other. It is not a question of growing taller but of stooping lower; that we have to go down, always down, to get His best gifts."
Application
Don't wait to be told to do something--do it without having to be told
Don't always take the easy way out--purpose to attack the difficult tasks. Philippians 3:14: I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Serve with the attitude and mindset that you are serving God not man.
Ephesians 6:5-7: Bondservants, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in sincerity of heart, as to Christ; not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, with goodwill doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men,
Don't test the waters when it comes to service--i.e., don't wait and see what others are going to do.
Don't let your flesh make your decision whether or not to serve--service even when you do not feel like it. Romans 8:1: There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.
Give gifts of service to your enemies. Romans 12:20: Therefore "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head." Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
The key characteristic of biblical servanthood is humility. Humble people are not conscious of being humble. As Dr. M. R. De Haan used to say, "Humility is something we should constantly pray for, yet never thank God that we have."
