As Bondservants of Christ - Part 1

Ephesians 6:5-8
November 10, 2019
Abraham Hong

Sermon Script

One of the most amazing truths about our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is the way that he saved us. And the way that he saved us is this. Never forget this. Jesus saved us as a servant.

This is mind blowing. Jesus is God. Jesus is the sovereign master and ruler and king of all creation. And on his day of judgment, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess his holy and glorious name. Jesus is the maker of the law and the giver of the law. Jesus speaks and the wind and the sea obey him. And his kingdom will be without end. Jesus has defeated sin and death and Satan. Jesus is the tip of the spear, the first fruits, and the preeminent possessor of resurrection life and the new heavens and the new earth. And he is the best.

But he became the worst. For your sake. For your salvation. Jesus emptied himself of his glory. Jesus humbled himself. And he took the form of a servant. Jesus took on human nature and was born of the Virgin Mary. Jesus came underneath his own law and obeyed it. Jesus suffered and died on the cross for you. And he did it freely and submissively and in light of the eternal covenant of redemption with the Father and the Spirit. He did it because of the joy that was set before him. He did it out of love… for you. Jesus saved us as a servant.

And so when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. During supper, Jesus rose and laid aside his outer garments. He took a towel and he tied it around his waist and poured water into a basin. And then, to the amazement of the disciples, Jesus began to do what only the lowliest of servants did in their time. Jesus began to wash their feet (John 13:1-5). Jesus did this in order to show us what kind of master he is and the manner in which he would love us and save us. Jesus saved us as a servant.

And now we serve him. We are bondservants of Christ.

Back in Paul’s day, a bondservant was someone who came under the ownership of a master and served in the master’s household. This seems bad at first because this sounds like slavery. But slavery in Paul’s day was a bit different than the slavery that most of us picture in our minds today. Some people became bondservants freely and willingly in order to pay off a debt or gain protection or live a better life. Other people were left to die as infants and then picked up and taken care of by their masters. It was not unusual for bondservants to end up being high ranking managers and overseers of the labor in the households of their masters. It was not unusual for beloved bondservants to stay with their masters for life and be buried with their families. It is certainly possible, given the sinful nature of man, for bondservants to have it bad. And I’m sure that a good number of them did experience what we would consider to be evil and dehumanizing slavery.

But when Paul describes Christians as bondservants of Christ, he is not being inappropriate. We are indeed bondservants of Christ because we have now come under his ownership. We are indeed bondservants of Christ because we now serve in his household. You are not your own. You were bought with a price (1 Corinthians 6:20). You were redeemed by the body and the blood and the life and the death and the obedience and the righteousness and the love of Jesus. Jesus, who is your master, freely and willingly paid off the debt for your sin. Jesus, who is your master, gives you protection now as you wait for his return. Jesus, who is your master, promises you a better life in his kingdom in the new heavens and new earth. We were dead in our sin and as infants we were born dead in our sin. But we were buried with him in baptism and raised with him in glory. And now we are his beloved. Now we belong to his family.

It is in this good sense that Paul declares himself to be a slave or a bondservant or a servant for Christ (Romans 1:1; Philippians 1:1; Titus 1:1). It is in this good sense that we have been set free from the bondage of sin and have become slaves or bondservants or servants of God (Romans 6:22). It is in this good sense that we are now slaves or bondservants or servants of obedience and righteousness (Romans 6:17-19). It is in this good sense that whoever would be great among us must be a servant, and whoever would be first among us must be a slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many (Matthew 20:26-28).

Dear brother, dear sister, you are a bondservant of Christ. Just imagine what a real servant or a real bondservant or a real slave in Paul’s day would have felt when he or she heard Ephesians 6:5-8. Their minds would have been blown away knowing that they have an ultimate master in heaven who is above their earthly masters in this old and fading world. Their hearts would have been melted by the fact that Jesus Christ took the time to address all the wives in the church, then all the children in the church, and then, yes, even them, even all the servants and bondservants and slaves in the church. Because the sovereign master and ruler and king of all creation cares about them and their relationships with their earthly masters. Because while their masters might say “You belong to me” or “No, you are not assistant regional manager, you are assistant TO THE regional manager” and while their society might see them and define them one way, Jesus says, “You ultimately belong to me” or “Well done, good and faithful servant…. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much…. Enter into the joy of your master….” and the kingdom of heaven sees them and defines them another way. Because Jesus loved them.

Dear Highland, we are bondservants of Christ. And this changes the way that we work for our earthly masters. Paul’s day was very different from our modern day. But the application and relevance is plain and simple. Our heavenly master commands us to obey our earthly masters. And that obedience is ultimately our service to Jesus, not to our earthly masters. This is a game changer. We are to be great at our work because we ultimately work for Jesus. We do the will of God from the heart and render service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man. We do what is good in our jobs and workplaces because our ultimate rewarder is Jesus. We approach our earthly bosses with fear and trembling and with a sincere heart because we approach Christ with fear and trembling and with a sincere heart. Do you see how this works? It’s elegant but powerful. And you don’t need to read a plethora of books about how to be a Christian in the workplace. Ephesians 6:5-8 is huge enough. Your ultimate master is your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

This means that we are to be excellent in our work. We don’t fake our productivity by way of eye-service. We don’t play office politics as people-pleasers. We respect and follow our bosses and higher-ups who manage and oversee us with biblical fear and trembling. We are truthful and joyful in our work and we genuinely care about our coworkers because Jesus has given us new hearts, new sincere hearts.

It is often true that good workers have good bosses. May you be so excellent at your work and so good toward your bosses and higher-ups that people around you give you a salt and light moment and ask you, “Why do you do what you do?” May you be so excellent at your work and so good toward your bosses and higher-ups that people around you might start to realize that there is something undeniably different about how you work. May you be so excellent at your work and so good toward your bosses and higher-ups that people around you begin to understand that your master is better than theirs, that you have the best boss ever, and that his name is Jesus.

Soli Deo Gloria