The Lord’s Bondservant

by Chris Simmons

In I Corinthians 4:1, Paul asked that others simply regard himself as a servant of Christ and a steward of the mysteries of God. Paul, James, Peter and Jude all began their epistles by citing that they were a “bond-servant of God” or a “bond-servant of Jesus Christ.” It’s evident that they were proud of who they served and wanted all to know their humble relationship with the Father and the Son. The term “bond-servant” here comes from the word Greek word “doulos” and is defined as: “a slave, bondman, man of servile condition. One who gives himself up wholly to another’s will. One who is devoted to another to the disregard of one’s own interests.” On its basic level, a bondservant is one who simply follows his master to the complete disregard of his own will, emotions and desires.

In many societies throughout history, becoming a bond-servant was not a matter of choice. Paul reminds us that we are not under compulsion to become a bond-servant of Jesus Christ but rather make a personal choice to do so. Paul wrote in Romans 6:16-19, “Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness? But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.” We have the choice of who we present ourselves to – we have the choice of whom we will obey. Serving the Lord can only be accomplished when our choice is to try and please God rather than men. Paul wrote in Galatians 1:9-10, “As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to that which you received, let him be accursed. For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ.” One of the fundamental requirements of being a bond-servant of Christ is that we simply cannot be men-pleasers but rather please the One who enlisted us in His service (II Timothy 2:4).

Paul more specifically addresses the qualifications and duties of a bond-servant of Jesus Christ in II Timothy chapter 2. In verses 19-22, Paul notes that a bond-servant of Christ is one who maintains moral purity by abstaining from wickedness and ungodliness. He flees youthful lusts while also pursuing faith, love and peace, striving to become “useful to the Master.” A bond-servant who is focused on the lusts of the flesh is of no use to the Master in His service. We just need to have the attitude of Samuel who said to God in I Samuel 3:10, “Speak, for Thy servant is listening.”

In verses 24-26 of II Timothy 2, Paul goes on to mention five specific characteristics of the Lord’s bond-servant that we need to make sure we both understand and exercise in our lives.

1. Is not quarrelsome. A true servant of the Lord doesn’t go through life looking simply to argue and pick a verbal fight just for argument sake. Paul had just admonished in the previous verse, “refuse foolish and ignorant speculations, knowing that they produce quarrels.” “Foolish and ignorant speculations” refer to issues and matters which God’s word has not addressed. We speculate about those things which haven’t been revealed to us and arguing about such things is both “foolish” and “ignorant.” God has revealed what we need to know (Deuteronomy 29:29) and we need to take our stand against any deviation from such (Galatians 1:8-9). A true bond-servant of Christ is not to be known as a quarrelsome individual.


2. Kind to all. The Greek word for “kind” is “epios” which Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words defines as a word which was “used by Greek writers as characterizing a nurse with trying children or a teacher with refractory scholars.” In other words, it refers to the ability to teach, train, correct or discipline without being ugly about it. It is noted in scripture how that the apostle Paul reasoned, explained and persuaded with others about the truth of the gospel (Acts 17:2, 17; 18:4; 19:8; 26:28) which we should emulate in our efforts to be “kind to all.” Paul taught in Galatians 6:1 that our attempts to restore the brother who is walking according to the flesh and has been ensnared in sin are to be carried out in a “spirit of gentleness.”


3. Able to teach. Simply, in the words of Paul to Timothy, able to be one who is “handling accurately the word of truth” (II Timothy 2:15). The ability to teach and handle God’s word “accurately” only comes from relentless and diligent study and meditation. We also must remember that we must learn to practice what needs to be taught because teaching without practice is simply hypocrisy. Ezra displayed the proper sequence when he “set his heart to (1) study the law of the Lord, and to (2) practice it, and to (3) teach His statutes and ordinances in Israel” (Ezra 7:10). Over time, God’s expectation is that we all progress to the point that we can become able teachers of His word (Hebrews 5:12).


4. Patient when wronged. We will suffer when we stand for what’s right and try to defend the truth of God’s revealed word and when we do, we need to endure it with patience. Patience with those who don’t treat us as we deserve to be treated. Patience with those who antagonize us personally. Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words notes that the word for “patient” (Greek: “epieikeia”) refers to the “quality of self-restraint in the face of provocation which does not hastily retaliate or promptly punish.” We must refrain from retaliation when provoked and we must exercise restraint when we’re unfairly treated. It is part of the worthy walk of a Christian (Ephesians 4:1-2) and is a quality that is to be “put on” and never taken off (Colossians 3:12).


5. Gently correcting those in opposition. We are not to acquiesce or exercise indifference to those who oppose the truth of God’s revealed word. Rather, God expects His servants to attempt to gently correct such men. We are commanded to “contend earnestly for the faith” (Jude 3) and the church desperately needs men with the ability “both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict” (Titus 1:9). We are to do so, Paul says, “gently” – that is with humility and an overriding concern and love for the souls of others. We are to speak the truth but Paul adds that it must be spoken in love (Ephesians 4:15). Those who espouse and practice error need to be warned (Ezekiel 3:16-21) but we must ensure that we follow Paul’s direction in Colossians 4:6 to season our speech with grace, as it were, “with salt, so that you may know how you should respond to each person.”

In fact, our relationship with our Father in heaven and the Lord Jesus Christ is actually much more than simply obedient and humble bond-servants. Jesus said to His disciples in John 15:14-15, “You are My friends, if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.” Jesus points out that a slave or bond-servant doesn’t serve knowing the overall plans and intentions of his master. But as servants of Christ and His Father, we can know of God’s plans from before the foundation of the world and His scheme to redeem man from his sin. Furthermore, Paul wrote in Galatians 4:4-7, “But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, in order that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’ Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God.” For those who serve him faithfully, humbly and obediently, not just a slave but a friend, and an adopted son, and an heir. Is there anything greater?