Doulos/ Bondservant

There was this amazing, elderly, faithful woman I knew named Sister Trudy. Everyday she wore a pin with the word 'doulos' on it in Greek writing. Doulos means bondservant. Someone who had sold himself into slavery to another person either for a specific amount of time or indefinitely. She was proud to be a bondservant of God and she also wore it to remind herself of how she belonged to God.

In Romans 1:1, it reads 'Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God'. The word he used for servant was the Greek word 'doulos'. It can sometimes be difficult to translate words from one language into English because English doesn’t always capture the full depth or spectrum of meaning. This translation (NKJV) doesn't do a bad job however in order to expound I did want to add another (MSG)" 'I, Paul, am a devoted slave of Jesus Christ on assignment, authorized as an apostle to proclaim God’s words and acts. I write this letter to all the believers in Rome, God’s friends.'

In this modern day and age, persons with status love to introduce themselves based on said status, can you imagine introducing yourself as (your name), a bond servant or slave of God? Does this seem appealing to you? I listened to a BBC podcast some years ago that compared Americans to... believe it or not Greeks ... and while Americans like to introduce based on status such as "Hi I am Michelle, I am a lawyer" even in settings outside of their jobs, although Greeks value their accomplishments they think it quite odd to even mention status when meeting someone. They value relationships, character, and shared heritage over professional titles or social status.

This was not the case in Paul's time within the Roman Empire. Not only did they value status and power, but Paul himself once held a great deal of both in the eyes of non-Christians. Let’s delve into this a little, because understanding what Paul gave up helps us grasp the depth of his humility and devotion.

Paul was a citizen of Rome, and that place knew power . They were the most powerful and wealthiest nation at the time, conquering nations and extending territories all the way to modern day Turkey/ Türkiye . Paul was from a religion of God's chosen people the Jews. Judaism was one of the few religions that had official legal recognition in Rome meanwhile there was no real key religion that represented Rome at the time to contend, just paganism and idolatry really. Chosen religion, citizen from the most powerful place on earth ... there's more. Paul was brilliant and was chosen from young to be trained by the top and best Jewish scholars to become a scholar himself. This led him to rise to prominence very quickly being senior to many at a young age.

He was well-off, highly educated, had power in the most powerful place on the earth at that time, and prominence from young, made his family very proud. Sitting very pretty in the eyes of his fellow men, he left it all behind to follow Jesus who at the time was known to perform miracles and teach but without any prestigious educational background, no visible riches on earth and no prominence in society. Jesus was a joke to many Jews especially the elite Jews. Paul left everything behind to say "not only will I follow Jesus, I will be his slave, his bondservant."

Was Paul crazy? No. Paul learnt true power, saving power, heavenly power. True riches, riches you can 'store up for yourselves ... in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal' Matthew 6:20. God said in Isaiah 55:9 'my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.' and God gave Paul some of His wisdom. Paul suffered alongside the same people he persecuted, walking with people many thought beneath them and serving a carpenter who was put to death on a tree. Let me remind you, Jesus did not have the prominence in Paul's time that He has now. Yet, Paul was not embarrassed. Before he said he was an apostle, before he said his purpose, he proudly said, he was a servant of Christ Jesus.

God does not ask us to leave our lives and riches behind. There was a purpose for this in Paul's life. God does ask us to put our lives as secondary and to put Him first. If someone of Paul's standing could humble himself before God, how much more should we?

The word 'doulos' is seen in other places in the Bible but I just want to close with one other verse reference. Mark 10:44-45 states 'and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.' Once again posturing us to that place of humility, this time not just serving God but serving all.

Romans 6 states we are either to be a slave to sin or a slave to righteousness. Therefore even if you don't like the word 'slave' applied to yourself, you are a slave of one of the two, which do you want to serve? If you want to serve Christ but do not know how to, check out my two videos on the homepage. If you do know how to, then let's be proud to be a bondservant to God and not just seek only what our master can do for us, but how we can serve Him and others.