Titus Study - Being a Slave to Christ.

Verse one of Titus reads,

“Paul, a bond-servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God's elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness,”

The second word in this verse is the word, “bond-servant.” In the original Greek, this is the word δουλος (pronounced “Doo-Lahs”) which means, quite simply, a “slave.” Paul, the apostle of Christ, terms himself firstly and foremost, a slave.

What does this mean? What is being a slave of God?

After some thought, I would argue a few points concerning being a slave, and specifically, a slave of God Almighty.

The first thought is, naturally, all of us are slaves of God. And this is not a voluntary action. We, all, as human creatures that are under the power of a higher being, as subject to His will regardless of whether we like it or not. If God commands something, His creatures obey it, period. He may be long-suffering, and He may be gracious to His slaves, but at the end of the day, His will is going to be done, and as His creatures, we must acknowledge that He is the Master that we serve. We can make a choise to acknowledge and bow, or rebel, but even the rebellious slave will be overpowered and brought to kneel in the end, at a much higher price, like a disobedient child being punished severely. Thus, we must remember that, like Paul, we are all slaves.

Secondly, slaves do not get to decide whether or not they are slaves. Slaves are bought and paid for with a price, and thus, belong to someone besides themselves. They are not their own master. They are the property of a higher Master, who does with them as He wishes. Still bear in mind, not even speaking in theological terms, this is simple worldly fact. This is the real world. This is simply what a slave is, not even touching on what it implies. Slaves are the property of their Master, whether they like it or not, and are constrained to obey him, either voluntarily, or by force.

On another note, slaves, at least, good slaves, do what is commanded of them without question, argument, or opposition. Who heard of a slave, that was considered a good slave, that defied his Master? While in human terms, it is possible to defy a human master for a good reason, it still by definition means he may have been being a good man, but still a bad slave. This, a good slave is slave that does his Master's bidding without question. Centurion, anyone?

In addition to this, we can bear in mind that we are all slaves, and, thus, all have equal status under Christ. We are all bound to obey the same commands, the same Word, the same Creator, and no slave is above another in terms of worth, strength, or revelation.

It is the comfort of being slaves of God to realize that 1) We are slaves of the Light, not of the darkness, and that the Light now owns us as a people. Also, the comfort of being a slave is not having to be a Master; being able to trust in the perfect will of Christ who takes perfect care of His people, leaving us without any legitimate worry or burden.

Finally, thus, in application: We are slaves of God, bought and paid for by His blood. (2^nd Timothy 2) Whether we like it or not, He made us, He bought us, and we belong to Him. As such, then, obedience and surrender to His will is not just required; it exists whether we acknowledge it or not. Voluntary submission is simply easier than being pressed by force into your work, or even worse, “reaping what you sow” by disobeying commands from an all-wise Creator. 

~Alex

Phil. 4:13