Welcome back to The Back Porch Bible Study. There's plenty of lemonade and tea, grab a plate over there and fill it up with
some of those homemade goodies and come and sit 'a spell with us, while we study today's lesson together!
At our last gathering we just got started on Philippian's Chapter 1, verse 1. We had read the little letter/book of Philippian's
through and then we talked about being a bond-servant. I shared with you about how I had been in bondage to something other
than Jesus, due to a bad experience in my childhood, negative conditioning from a school teacher, among other things. Then,
we talked about giving our bondage over to Jesus, and we read His promise to us that He would take on our heavy loads and
give us rest from them, if we would trust in him.
Today, we are going to dig deeper into this thing about being a bond-servant. There's a lot more there than what first
meets the eye.
Let's begin with prayer:
Father, we thank you for those who have come here to The Back Porch, to study Your Word and to Fellowship together. We
pray God that all that is said and done will Glorify you. That it will be in the Spirit of Truth. And, that it will draw your
children closer to you. Guard over the words of our mouth and the thoughts of our hearts, that all would be pleasing to you.
Father, you tell us that wherever two or more are gathered together in your Name, and touching anything and believing,
and in accordance with Your Will, it would be done. So, in that promise, we pray for the needs and the desires of the heart
of each one gathered here in YOUR NAME, each one who belongs to you, and ask that YOUR WILL be done. We also pray for any
among us who have not yet found the freedom that you offer through your Son, Jesus Christ, that today would be their day of
liberation, from death to life! Guide us now in this study. Amen.
We read in Philippians 1:1 That Paul and Timothy are referring to themselves as "Bond-Servants of Christ". Today
we are going to "expand" upon that a little bit. And in doing so, we're going to get ready for a great "Revelation".
In Phil. 1:1, Paul and Timothy proclaim that they are "bond-servants to Jesus Christ". We are going to talk
about that word, "bond-servants" in today's study. The word used in the Greek is douloi which is the plural of doulo
(pronounced doolo-o). It's found over 100 times in the New Testament. There are numerous Greek words in the New Testament
that are or could be translated in to our English word "serve" or "servant". As a matter of fact there
are at least 8 different words that can be translated "servant" in the New Testament, and each one gives a different
meaning to the text!
One instance of this is Mt 20:28 - "...just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give
His life a ransom for many ." Now, the word in Mt.20:28 here that is translated "served" and "to serve"
is from an entirely different Greek word which is "Diakoneo". This word means "to minister to". This is
where we get the term "diaconal" that we use to refer to "diaconal ministers". These are "servant"
ministers, and in the Liturgical churches, they usually are given a towel at ordination, rather than a stole (which is that
of the office of "minister"). Jesus used a towel when He bent down to wash Peter's feet.
What is the difference? Doulo means to be a bond-slave to and Diakoneo means to be a servant-minister to. There's a big
difference in ministering to someone, caring for their needs, and being a slave of someone! One is by choice and the other
is by bond.
Let's dig a little deeper. There is still yet another word, "therapon" and it is used in Heb 3:5 - "Now
Moses was faithful in all His house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken later;" This
suggests that Moses had a choice. Moses chooses to be faithful in God's house, as a testimony. Moses wasn't compelled by bond
to be faithful. So, this is a different type of service than what Paul is referring to in Phil.1:1 where Paul declares that
he and Timothy are "bond-servants" to Christ.
Now, stick with me here, no matter how much you might be wondering, "So what's the big deal?" I believe the
Holy Spirit has a gem waiting for us at the end of this tunnel. That's what this study-thing on our Back Porch is about, it's
about digging for gems. That's appropriate since where I live is in one of the Gem Capitals of the USA! We used to find them
in our back yard when I was a kid! Emeralds! Now there are gem mines around here where people go digging. I know from experience
that you don't just walk out and find those gems lying on top of the ground. You have to get in there and get your hands into
it, and your mind into the search. Then, if you search and you work, and you put yourself into, "eureekah", you
find what was there for the one who was willing to look and to dig for it!
So far we have found that there are three types of servant: the slave who is owned by bond, the minister who is there
by choice, and the servant who is there by choice. Now, before I get humpteen letters from ministers, I know that you are
by call...or at least you had better be called to your ministry! But, you had a choice to answer that call with an affirmative
or a negative! No one is going to slap you in jail for running away. God might let you go through some trials and tribulations
so that you might see the Light, but He still gives you the ultimate choice to say yes or no. And, the same for servants.
A servent might be there because the final pay is going to be good, such as Moses, who knew that the reward was coming, the
Promised Land was ahead. So, he remained faithful to the service that he was called to.Yes, all of these can be and in various
translations are translated into our one English word, "servant".
There's more though than just these three types of servant, there is also "Misthios". A "misthios"
is a "hired servant", someone who gets paid for the work or the service that they perform. We find this in the parable
that Jesus told of the "Prodigal Son" in Lu 15:19 where the young son returns home with plans to profess before
his father, "I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me as one of your hired men." in the NAS or as the
KJV puts it, "...hired servants".
Then, there is also the Greek word, "oiketes". This seems to be a general word for servants, such as in our
English word. I say this because it is used in Philemon to refer to Onesimus, who we know is a slave that had at one time
ran away, and Paul sent him back to his master, asking that he not be punished. It's also used in Lu 16:13 - "No servant
can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the
other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon." And, in various other places where it speaks of house-hold servants.
"Huperetes" is another type of servant in the New Testament. This is where your office as "Minister"
or "Servant to the King", or "Officer to the King" comes in. It is a station that one holds.
There is also "Sundoulos", which is "fellow-servant", a colleague. An attorney may say of an another
attorney, that they are "fellow-servants" of Justice, or of Law. A doctor may say of another doctor that they are
"fellow-servants" of medicine or psychiatry.
Next we have "pais", which is relational, such as "maid-servants", and "boy-servants", and
"children", and is what we find in the account in Mt:2-18 "...slew all the male children who were in Bethlehem
and all its vicinity, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the magi." It
is also the same word used by God to describe His relationship with Jesus, when John baptizes Jesus and a voice is heard from
heaven saying, "...this is my beloved servant..." (Mt. 12:18)
So there we have it, thirteen different Greek words for the word which can be translated "servant". So, what
is Paul trying to tell us? Let's keep digging. The word "Doulos" which is what we have in Philippians 1:1 is used
two times in Philippians, once here and then, as we suggested in our first Back Porch study, in Php 2:7 - "But made (Jesus)
himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men.."
In Php 2:7 the word here is for "bond-servant", which means one who is bought and paid for, one who is owned.
Jesus took on the form of a bond-servant for us because he loved us and he had to pay for us. Jesus was a "free man"!
But, he gave his freedom up. What was he free from you ask? He was free from sin. He was free from the curse that Adam and
Eve, in their rebellion against God had brought upon all of creation. Jesus was free from that! He was the only man since
the fall who walked the face of the earth who was a "free-man", who had never fallen under the curse! But, so that
we could not only know life, but have life--eternal and abundant life, Jesus gave up his "free man" status and took
on the status of "bond-servant"! He took our place on the "auction block" and when the hammer fell, God
said, "Sold"...and we were bought. All who claim the Name of Jesus Christ, the ticket price to Salvation and Heaven,
have the mark of the curse erased from their foreheads and God stamps another seal on our foreheads, which says that we belong
to Him! We are bought with a price, and thus we become, by choice, "bond-servants" of Jesus Christ, of God! Can
I get an Amen! How much better to be a bond-servant of Jesus Christ than a bond-servant of death, of the fall, of the curse,
and eventually to be bound in hell!
Now, I want to carry this thought of "bond-servant" over even further into "Revelation". Because,
while this word "doulous" is used only twice in Philippians, it's used 13 times in the Book of Revelation (and folks
on my Back Porch, hear me, it's not Revelations...there was only ONE Revelation in that Book! It was THE REVELATION of JESUS
CHRIST..It was the UNVELING (which is what Revelation means) of JESUS...The UNVEILING that He is the Messiah, the King of
The World!...that's another study for another time though)!
And so is this! Join us here at The Back Porch Bible Study next time, for a more in-depth look at what Paul and Timothy
are telling us when they proclaim, "We are Bond-servants" to Jesus Christ!"
Father God, Go with each one as they leave our Back Porch Bible Study. Make their path straight and narrow, as they journey
on growing closer and closer to you. Take the seeds that have been sown here today and bless them according to Your good-will,
that they have fallen on good ground and will bear much fruit. We offer this prayer in the Name of the Great Bond-servant,
who broke the bonds, and set us free, Jesus Christ, our King. Now let us gladly, and with great honor and humility, proclaim
with Paul and Timothy, we are Bond-servants of Jesus Christ. Amen
Y'all come back! Have a safe trip Home!
