{"id":856,"date":"2021-04-16T10:05:50","date_gmt":"2021-04-16T10:05:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stevebelsheim.com\/?p=856"},"modified":"2024-01-17T01:21:54","modified_gmt":"2024-01-17T01:21:54","slug":"the-power-of-a-word-romans-11a-paul-a-bond-servant-of-christ-jesus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stevebelsheim.com\/?p=856","title":{"rendered":"The Power of a Word: Romans 1:1a “Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

INTRODUCTION<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The small group with whom I read the Bible in community just began reading Romans.  While I already knew about the richness of Romans, my understanding or comprehension of this richness was intensified when I read Romans 1:1a.  It seems that God answered my pre-Bible engagement prayer to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Before I open up Your Word today, I cry out to You for 20-20 spiritual vision with a laser-like focus to see and comprehend things I have never appreciated before and to clearly see Jesus like did the blind beggar after Jesus let him recover his sight.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Let me explain what is so special, at last for me, about the beginning phrase of Romans 1:1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ROMANS 1:1 \u2013 A BOND-SERVANT OF CHRIST JESUS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The entire letter begins with the simple expression that essentially says it all for Paul.  Romans 1:1a (NASB95) reads:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Before we look at the word \u201cbond-servant,\u201d let\u2019s learn something about \u201cChrist Jesus\u201d of whom Paul is a bond-servant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While there are many more attributes of Jesus, Paul expressed some attributes later in the passage (vv. 1-7) of which v. 1a is a part as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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the gospel of God, 2<\/sup> which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures, 3<\/sup> concerning His Son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh, 4<\/sup> who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord,<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

For our present purpose, the reference to \u201cChrist Jesus\u201d is that He is the promised Messiah who is the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spend some time and reflect on those truths.  Trying not to jump ahead, a sincere reflection on Christ Jesus ought to trigger a response to want to be \u201ca bond servant of Christ Jesus.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking at the meaning of \u201cbond-servant,\u201d the NASB95 translates the Greek word doulos<\/em> (Strong\u2019s No. 1401) as \u201cbond-servant.\u201d  The meaning of the word doulos<\/em> helps define Paul\u2019s relationship with Christ Jesus.  The Complete Word Study New Testament by Spiros Zodhiastes (AMG) defines doulos<\/em> as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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slave, one who is in a permanent relation of servitude to another, his will altogether consumed in the will of the other<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Mounce\u2019s Complete Expository Dictionary of New & Old Testament Words (Zondervan) says that doulos<\/em> is often used metaphorically to describe the sole commitment of one person to another. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to what AMG and Mounce\u2019s teach, a doulos<\/em> is sold out to his or her master.  When I ponder these definitions, my mind goes to Matthew 6:24 (NASB95):<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

24<\/sup> \u201cNo one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

By characterizing himself as a doulos<\/em> of Christ Jesus, Paul described himself as being completely sold out to the will of his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  While the will of Jesus Christ is broad, one very critical part of the will of Jesus Christ is that all men be saved.  Paul made this clear when he wrote 1 Timothy 2:3\u20134 (NASB95):<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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3<\/sup> This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4<\/sup> who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The Apostle Peter wrote the same thing in 2 Peter 3:9 (NASB95):<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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9<\/sup> The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

When Paul described himself as a \u201cbond-servant of Christ Jesus\u201d one thing he meant to convey to his audience was that he was completely \u201csold out\u201d to preaching the saving gospel of Jesus Christ. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

CONCLUSION<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is safe to say that Paul is a great role model for the 21st<\/sup> Century believer.  Therefore, it seems a 21st<\/sup> Century believer ought to be a \u201cbond-servant of Christ Jesus\u201d which means he or she is completely sold out to preaching the saving gospel of Jesus Christ. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The IVP Bible Background Commentary New Testament by Craig S. Keener presents an interesting fact:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A slave of someone in a high position had more status, authority and freedom, than a free commoner; the emperor\u2019s slaves were some of the highest-ranking people in the empire, as the Roman Christians would know.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

By the way, in light of what Keener wrote, a \u201cbond servant of Christ Jesus\u201d has an elevated status in the eyes of God. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The question for me to ask myself is does my life demonstrate that I am a \u201cbond-servant of Christ Jesus?\u201d  That is a question I am going to spend some time considering. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How about the same question for you?  What does your life demonstrate?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What I have written in this post may not make much sense to you.  This is especially the case if you do not have a relationship with God the Father through His Son Jesus Christ.  There is good news and bad news.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bad news is that in the absence of a relationship with the Father, when you die your eternal destiny is hell.  The good news is your eternal destiny can change. If you are not saved, today can be the day of your salvation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Please see my blog (https:\/\/stevebelsheim.com\/2020\/04\/20\/for-god-so-loves-you-2\/<\/a>) for a description of how you can be saved and a more concise description at my (https:\/\/stevebelsheim.com\/2020\/10\/20\/there-is-hope-even-when-there-seems-to-be-no-hope-2\/<\/a> ).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NOTICE OF PERMISSIONS<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am mindful of and respect the rights other authors and\/or publishers possess in their works.  I thus try my best to not violate any copyright rights other authors and\/or publishers possess in their works.  The below copyright permission statement is the result of my best efforts to understand that limited usage or \u201cfair use\u201d is available and\/or to secure direct permission for specific works.  The quotations from commentaries are considered to be \u201cfair use.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scripture quotations marked \u201cESV\u201d are from the ESV\u00ae Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version) copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.  Used by permission.  All rights reserved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scripture marked \u201cNASB95\u201d are taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE\u00ae, Copyright \u00a9 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scripture marked \u201cNCV\u201d is taken from the New Century Version. Copyright \u00a9 1987, 1988, 1991 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Scriptures marked \u201cNET\u201d are quoted are from the NET Bible\u00ae  http:\/\/netbible.com copyright \u00a91996, 2019 used with permission from Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. All rights reserved”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright \u00a9 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scripture marked \u201cGW\u201d is taken from the God\u2019s Word Bible that is a copyrighted work of God’s Word to the Nations. Quotations are used by permission.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

INTRODUCTION The small group with whom I read the Bible in community just began reading Romans.  While I already knew about the richness of Romans, my understanding or comprehension of this richness was intensified when I read Romans 1:1a.  It seems that God answered my pre-Bible engagement prayer to: Before I open up Your Word […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[321],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-856","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bible-study"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stevebelsheim.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/856","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stevebelsheim.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stevebelsheim.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stevebelsheim.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stevebelsheim.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=856"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/stevebelsheim.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/856\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2121,"href":"https:\/\/stevebelsheim.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/856\/revisions\/2121"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stevebelsheim.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=856"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stevebelsheim.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=856"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stevebelsheim.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=856"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}