Daily Meditations on the Bible / We stand with Israel
All who are under the yoke of slavery should consider their masters worthy of full respect, so that God’s name and our teaching may not be slandered.
Summary: Thinking about slavery may seem like an outdated concept, but there are modern applications for what Paul is teaching here.
Looking back in history, it is difficult for us to get our heads around the way things were done two thousand years ago.
Continue reading “1 Timothy 6:1 – The Yoke”
… by taking the very nature of a servant,
Summary: This passage provides a critical description of Jesus’ character. Understanding Jesus requires that we try to understand what it means to have the “nature of a servant.”
To avoid using his “equality with God” as an advantage, Jesus did things that run counter to our natural instincts for self-preservation. One of those things was “taking the very nature of a servant.”
Continue reading “Philippians 2:7b – The Nature of a Servant”
He is coming with Onesimus, our faithful and dear brother, who is one of you. They will tell you everything that is happening here.
Summary: This passage introduces us to the subject of another letter Paul wrote which we know as “Philemon.” In the letter, we learn about Onesimus and his very interesting life story.
Obviously, traveling alone on foot over one thousand miles is not on the Triple AAA list of “Top Ten Safe Vacations.” Paul himself talks about fighting off “wild beasts” when he was in Ephesus (1 Corinthians 15:32). He also mentions the dangers of traveling by sea (shipwrecks!), not to mention crossing rivers and dealing with roving bandits (2 Corinthians 11:26).
It took courage in those days to venture out, and if we knew nothing else about Tychicus other than he was willing to travel the world to carry a message to a distant church, we would know he was brave. But he didn’t go alone. Onesimus traveled with him.
Continue reading “Colossians 4:9 – Redemption”So also, when we were underage, we were in slavery under the elemental spiritual forces of the world.
Summary: This passage is a bit obscure in its meaning. This leaves us with a mystery on our hands. What did Paul mean?
Continue reading “Galatians 4:3 – Slaves to Ignorance”What I am saying is that as long as an heir is underage, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate.
Summary: The age of majority is no longer a simple milestone that children look forward to in anticipation of becoming an adult.
Continue reading “Galatians 4:1 – Rule Changes”There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
Summary: In this passage, Paul makes an astounding claim. God doesn’t see differences between people like we do. So what does God see?
Continue reading “Galatians 3:28 – What They Wanted to Hear”And masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Do not threaten them,
Summary: Paul has been admonishing slaves to work, as if they were serving the Lord. Now, he turns his attention to those who have authority over others.
Continue reading “Ephesians 6:9a – The Test of Authority”
They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity—for “people are slaves to whatever has mastered them.”
Summary: Nobody is free without Jesus.
Continue reading “2 Peter 2:19 — Trapped”
The past couple of days we have been talking about what it means to be a slave to sin. Jesus has made the case that anyone who sins is a slave to sin. It seems to me that the concept of being a slave to sin has a lot of ramifications. One of the most obvious ramifications of being a slave is that a person no longer has the freedom do what they think is right. A slave must do what he or she is told to do, there really is no choice.
So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
By the time this discussion between Jesus and the Jews happens, Jesus is well known as one who speaks his mind and backs up what he says with amazing miracles. The culture at that time included a large number of slaves, people who were servants of someone. How they came to be servants or slaves varied greatly. Some were born into slavery, some were conquered peoples. Some actually came into hard times and sold themselves into slavery as a means of staying alive. Regardless of how they came to be in the service of someone else, a slave was not part of the family.
Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever.
Prior to this Jesus says, “…everyone who sins is a slave to sin.” Well, that would have to include everyone except Jesus. While Jesus is very careful about not confronting people directly in situations like this, he clearly means that everyone on the planet is a slave to sin, and technically has no place in God’s family. Unlike the slaves, the son cannot not be part of the family.
Continue reading “Slave or Son?”