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This may come as a surprise to you
when you read this, but the metaphor chosen by the Holy Spirit that best describes our relationship with Jesus
Christ comes from the Greek word doulos,
translated in our verse for today by the word “bondservant.” This Greek word beautifully encapsulates with
brevity and clarity the precise nature of not only Peter's relationship with God but ours as well!
Unlike modern slavery, slavery in the Roman Empire was not based upon race; many slaves were simply prisoners of war, for example, and considered property of their owners. Generally speaking, the Gentile slave owner had a complete legal right over the disposition of his property, hence, slaves and slave families, along with his live stock, and other properties to do as he deemed fit (cf. Eph 6:9).
Unlike modern slavery, slavery in the Roman Empire was not based upon race; many slaves were simply prisoners of war, for example, and considered property of their owners. Generally speaking, the Gentile slave owner had a complete legal right over the disposition of his property, hence, slaves and slave families, along with his live stock, and other properties to do as he deemed fit (cf. Eph 6:9).
Treatment of slaves could be very harsh
and cruel without legal recourse against a slave owner. The will of the slave
was expected and demanded to be the will of the master, and slaves had no ownership;
they were property, like goats and sheep. As Rome expanded its Empire mistreatment
of slaves by their master began to be addressed in favor of the slaves. The
stigma of slavery, however, was considered to be the lowest rung on the social ladder
in Roman society, and freemen who were once slaves were still considered having
a stain in social circles, having come from the wrong side of the "tracks."
The percentage of slaves among the
population of the Roman Empire in the first century is as uncertain as the
population of the Empire during this time. Some historians estimate a
population of 56 million (some less, some more) in the first century A.D., with
roughly a third of the population being enslaved (around 18.5 million), that
number being somewhat debatable as well. It would be safe to say that slavery
was common and permeated the Roman Empire.
Now imagine Paul preaching to the
Gentiles of becoming a slave of Jesus Christ. Such spiritual slavery was obviously
nothing like the physical cruelty of Roman slavery, yet the Holy Spirit
utilized some of its characteristics (involving the will of the master, purchased,
and owned, for instances) to describe our relationship with God.
Without a doubt the word “slave” remains
an abrasive and ugly word today though slavery is not as expansive as in
ancient times. For our own nation the Civil War though primarily a conflict
over state rights became embroiled over another kind of slavery – race.
Admittedly, the term “servant” would be a less offensive word, but some would
argue, “I’m no servant to anyone!” But translating doulos as “servant” is nothing more than an accommodation, a watered
down version of the word “slave.”
I would counter and throw my hat in to
support a literal interpretation of doulos
because (1) the Holy Spirit selected it usage for a particular purpose, (2) word
avoidance should never be influenced by the times when it comes to the Scripture,
and (3) in the first century the word slave was an even uglier term not less
and way more disliked when Paul spoke of it while spreading the Gospel message
than it is today. The thing is when Peter, Paul, James, or whoever mentioned the word doulos, the hearer knew exactly what it meant and entailed.
If ever slavery was abhorred to
freemen and slaves alike it was in the first century. To a Roman the idea of
being a personal slave to anyone was an absurdity and an abhorrence; to a slave
it was baffling – adding another form of slavery to an existing bondage, not to
mention the potential danger if the slave owner got wind of one of his slaves
being someone else’s slave, spiritually or not, because the question of
allegiance may come into view (cf. Eph 6:5-8; 1 Tim 6:1-2).
If you read the Authorized Version (KJV) you will never find
doulos translated as "slave" anywhere
in the New Testament, only as “servant” with the exception of "bond" (six times) and "bondman" (once), [Lexicon results from Blueletterbible.org]. I read where one respected Bible scholar said
that doulos is best translated “bondservant,”
but even he acknowledged that doulos has
lost its force in translation. Duh. It didn’t have to lose it at all if translators
would have been more concerned over retaining the richness of a literal
translation of doulos (slave) than being politically correct in translating it
“servant” or "bondservant" to avoid any explosive terminology that might influence book sales…?
Admittedly, something is always lost in translation as in the case of "servant" or "bondservant" versus "slave," but in this instance, our English word "slave" would have preserved the richness of doulos to a greater extent than the other two word choices. Maybe some scholars prefer not to think of our loving relationship with God in terms of spiritual slavery? The Holy Spirit could not have been any plainer during the inspiration of Scripture with utilizing doulos.
Admittedly, something is always lost in translation as in the case of "servant" or "bondservant" versus "slave," but in this instance, our English word "slave" would have preserved the richness of doulos to a greater extent than the other two word choices. Maybe some scholars prefer not to think of our loving relationship with God in terms of spiritual slavery? The Holy Spirit could not have been any plainer during the inspiration of Scripture with utilizing doulos.
Let me be clear here; this is not a mere case of semantics. Indeed, all slaves are servants, but not
all servants are slaves (e.g., diakonos,
a hired servant who is not a slave). Doulos
represents one of those paradoxical truths in Scripture: to go up we must go
down; to live we must die; to get we must give away; before honor is humility;
to be free we must become a slave, and et cetera.
Allow me to sidetrack for a moment. You know why I love the translation of
love as “charity” in 1 Cor 13, KJV? Because it reflects a love that gives and
that is what agape love does; it is a giving love. We have a tendency to lose
that nuance in our understanding of love toward one another. I said that just
to let you know that I am not anti-KJV; I fed off of this precious translation
for thirty years before moving to NKJV, a big leap for me.
I am sure, however, this
Michael-gram will be considered “heretical” by the “King James Only” folk. I
really mean no offense or intentional provocation, but I’m sticking with my
guns on the treatment of doulos, and
its importance in our perspective of the Christian walk. By the way, I don’t
care for the NKJV translating doulos as
“bondservant” either. It is nothing more than a beating around the bush in an
attempt to say, “slave” without offending anyone in particular, but it lacks
force as well.
What about Gal 4:7? This has to do
with bondage under the Law. Nowhere in the NT is there any advocation that
believers are not a slave of God though they enjoy sonship! Look at other
appositives by Paul (Rom 1:1; Php 1:1; Titus 1:1), James, the Lord’s
half-brother, (Jas 1:1).
Other references revealing the concept
of our slavery are also seen here: Mt 25:23; Acts 20:28; 1 Cor 6:19-20; 7:23;
Titus 2:14; 1 Pet 1:18-19; Rev 5:9.
What does this mean to us personally? The
only way to become a slave of Christ is to trust Christ for salvation (Rom
10:13; Titus 3:5). All slaves of Christ possess the Holy Spirit at regeneration
(Rom 5:5; 8:9; 1 Cor 3:16; Gal 4:6; 5:22-23; Eph 1:13; 4:30). It reminds us
that our will must be lost in the will of the Master for we have been bought
with a [terrible and costly] price (contrast what happens when we let our faith
vegetate, 2 Pet 1:8-9). We are not our own, and therefore required to glorify
God in our body (this is our Master’s will).
Nothing belongs to us; everything
is on loan, everything. Everything we are or will ever be, everything we own or
will ever own or hold dear are because of God and belongs to God. But our
slavery showcases our dependence upon the Master; this is humility, considered
to be a social stain in our culture. There is more freedom in slavery than in
rebellion (running away from His will). It doesn’t pay to run from God’s will
(ask Jonah).
When we placed our trust in Christ as
our Lord and Savior, the penalty of our sin (eternal separation from God) was
judicially placed upon Christ by His work on the cross in our behalf. He
redeemed us from the slave market of sin and set us free to enjoy and serve Him
(eternal union). There are only two forms of spiritual slavery: a slave to sin or
a slave to Christ. The former ultimately leads to eternal death and the latter
to life eternal. Until we recognize our slavery and humble ourselves to the
point that our will is lost in the will of the Master, we will never be
victoriously free over the worldly entanglements that constantly seek to drag
us down and pulling us further away from God’s will for our lives.
One of the petitions of the disciples’ prayer on the Sermon on the
Mount was, “Your will be done on earth as it
is in heaven (Mt 6:10).” Herein lays the key to revealing the kind of practical
relationship we actually have with the Father. It all revolves around His will
and our heart’s desire and reaction to it. Remember, a slave is one whose will
is lost in the will of the Master.
How is the will of God done in heaven? It is performed immediately and completely. Our practice in the here and now (not just when His kingdom comes) is to accomplish that very thing of doing God’s will (always in accordance with the teaching of Scripture) immediately and completely. Delay and halfway may indicate that we are really just runaway believer slaves, and our lives are indicating the tale of the tape: practically blind, barren, unfruitful, and forgetting we have been redeemed (2 Pet 1:8-10).
How is the will of God done in heaven? It is performed immediately and completely. Our practice in the here and now (not just when His kingdom comes) is to accomplish that very thing of doing God’s will (always in accordance with the teaching of Scripture) immediately and completely. Delay and halfway may indicate that we are really just runaway believer slaves, and our lives are indicating the tale of the tape: practically blind, barren, unfruitful, and forgetting we have been redeemed (2 Pet 1:8-10).
Yeah, a proper understanding of doulos is a pretty big deal when you get
right down to it. Are you a HI-HO (half in-half out, one foot in church and the
other in the world, a runaway slave) or is your will truly lost in the will of
the Master, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ? We all need to re-check the “immediately
and completely” meter!
[28] “Come to Me,
all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. [29] Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me,
for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. [30]
For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Mt 11:28-30).
This is spiritual slavery 101 for the
believer. Let’s get back to the basics of being a slave (doulos) of Jesus Christ. This is where the true freedom is found for a believer in the here and now when our will is lost in the will of the Master! <><
