Last week, we began our study of the book of Romans, and we surveyed the first seven verses, commonly referred to as Paul’s introduction to the letter. What we learned last week, is that it is far more than a mere introduction; it is far more than the appetizer before the main dish of the letter.

NOT AN APPETIZER

Far from being the appetizer before the main dish, we found that Paul’s introduction is full of deep theological truths about the identity of a believer, in light of the identity of Christ Jesus. When you and I look into the mirror – the physical mirror or the proverbial mirror of our own souls – we do not often see what Jesus sees, which ought to be his own reflection in and through us. But this is a struggle is it not? Look at the words Paul uses in our text…

1Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, 2which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, 3concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh 4and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, 5through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among the nations, 6including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ, 7To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

WORDS IN THE HALL AND DEEP WATERS

Di you catch all of the words of identity in our passage? The words that float around the hallways of our souls do not often sound so pretty. Even the most arrogant among us only exudes that arrogance like a cheap cover for the insecurity that wages war up and down the hallways of his or her soul. What we all need the most is to take our souls into the deep end of the swimming pool of God’s gracious, and refreshing, and renewing waters of transformed identity in Christ Jesus.

That is where I will attempt to take us – by the power of the Holy Spirit – in the coming months as we soak in the deep end of our new identity in Christ Jesus as outlined in Romans 1:1 – 7. This will not be a topical series in the traditional sense. We will not pick a topic and then go on a hunt for supporting passages. The deep waters of our identity will require, what I call, three circles of context.

THREE CIRCLES OF CONTEXT

Over the next few weeks, we are going to work through three circles of context as we study each identifying characteristic as Paul has laid it out. What we are basically going to do is, we are going to hunt down the theological significance of each theme throughout the book of Romans, and then in some of Paul’s other writings, and then in the rest of the Bible.

This is what I refer to as the “Three Circles of Context”. The first circle is constrained to the immediate context of the book. The next circle widens to include the author’s other writings outside the current book. And then the third circle is widened even further to include other material from the rest of the Bible. This method of studying the Bible protects us from taking Scriptures out of context, and misinterpreting them, and then misapplying them.

By way of example, I like to use the shortest passage in all of Scripture in John 11:35, which says, “Jesus wept”. Without any context, you and I could build all sorts of wrong theology: Jesus was a crybaby, Jesus was mentally unhinged, Jesus suffered from depression, Jesus’ tears were precious and life-giving, etc. Contextual study, on the other hand, would show us that Jesus grieved – not necessarily the loss of his friend Lazarus, whom he knew would be resurrected shortly, only to die again in the future, and to be resurrected again into eternity – but he grieved the presence of death itself on this earth and the pain it causes his creation, and therefore he came to do something about it through his life, death, and resurrection. His grief drives his mission and purpose on this earth.

Can you see how important context is? This is why we will study each of the defining, characteristics of our identity in Christ Jesus from Romans 1:1 – 7 over the next number of weeks, while utilizing this “Three Circles of Context” method to dive into the deep waters of who we really are in Christ Jesus. My hope is that you will not only be deeply transformed by what we study together, but that you might lay hold of a more transformative way of studying God’s Word in your own daily study.

A SERVANT OF CHRIST JESUS

The first characteristic we will look at this week, is this phrase that Paul uses at the very beginning of our text where he says, “Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus”. What a fantastic way to start things out! Notice that Paul does not list his credentials as being the most studied – although he was the most studied and he did make it known in another place in Scripture to defend himself against wolves who were seeking to devour the flock – and he also did not make a list of churches that he had written letters to or even planted for that matter.

He simply sates his name and says that he is a servant of Christ Jesus. Paul does not feel the need to impress people with his credentials. His identity in Christ as a servant or a slave or a bondservant (as the original language is often rendered) is more than adequate. I wonder, what would change in our lives, if we could see ourselves as servants of Christ Jesus – first thing in the morning when we look into the physical mirror or when we look into the mirror of our proverbial souls. What would change in your life?

IDENTITY AND OUR BEHAVIOR

It has been said that our behavior – all of it from the way we treat others, to the way we handle our possessions, to the way we fight temptation and sin, to the way we handle anxiety and depression – all of that flows out of the deep recesses of our identity. Identity drives our behavior. I wonder, are you able to see the connection between the hurts, and the hangups, and the habits in your life and the image you see in the mirror? There is a direct line there if you are willing to look for it.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A SERVANT?

So, here we have Paul referring to his identity as “a servant of Christ Jesus”. But, what does it mean to be a servant of Christ Jesus? Well, a servant, or a slave, or a bondservant – as the original Greek often translates here – gives us the image of someone who is under the ownership, and control, and direction of another. In this case, we are reminded that a believer is no longer owned, no longer under the control of, and no longer under the direction of Satan, Sin, and Death and all their devices – physically, psychologically, or spiritually speaking. The cross and the empty tomb of Jesus has set us free from the effects of the darkness that we once were enslaved to.

A servant of Jesus Christ is someone who has been saved, redeemed, and rescued from the old slave masters of guilt, shame, sin, and death. A believer is now transformed into the image of the One who saved him. A believer is now owned by, controlled by, and under the direction of a new master, Christ Jesus.

And yet we still struggle against the darkness, don’t we? Could it be that our struggle with that darkness flows out of a lost connection with who and whose we are? What could change in our lives if we captured a vision for what it means to be a servant of Christ Jesus? Let’s keep that question in mind as we take a look at those three circles of context briefly.

#1: A SERVANT OF CHRIST IN ROMANS

There are a number of references throughout the book of Romans that describe what it means to be a servant of Christ Jesus. What will become clear as we take a brief look at each one of those references, is that Paul expected his humble understanding of his identity and role as a servant of Christ to be reflected in the identity of every believer. The bottom line is this, you and I were created to be servants; it is tightly woven into the fabric of our beings.

We will always be the servant or slave to something or someone. The question is – and has always been – who do we serve or to whom are we enslaved to? Who do we bow down to in servitude? Do we serve that which continues to enslave us to death? Or do we serve the One who sets us free to live as we were designed to live?

With that said, let us take a brief look at the rest of Paul’s use of the word “servant”throughout the book of Romans and then we will summarize what we learn before we move onto the next circle of context.

In Romans 6:5 – 6, Paul says, “For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to (servants to, mastered by) sin.”

Then in verses 15 – 21 of chapter 6, Paul says “What then? Are we to sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means! Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves (or servants), you are slaves (or servants) of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves (or servants) of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and having been set free from sin, have become slave of (servants of, mastered by) righteousness. I am speaking in human terms (using human metaphors), because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members (your entire beings) as slaves to (or servants of) impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members (your entire beings) as slaves (or servants) to righteousness leading to sanctification. For when you were slaves of (servants of, mastered by, bowing down to) sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of (servants of, mastered by, bowing down to) God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

In Romans 7:6, Paul says, “But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in (are enslaved to) the new way of the Spirit and not the old way of the written code.”

Then in verses 24 – 25 of chapter 7, he says, “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve (am enslaved to, or bow down to) the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve (am enslaved to) the law of sin.”

In Romans 8:14 – 15, Paul says, “all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to (you are not a servant to, or meant to bow down and) fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’”

Romans 12:1, says, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice (as a servant, or slave, or bondservant) holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”

Romans 13:4, teaches us that governments are meant by God to be “God’s servant (slave, or bondservant) for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant (slave, or bondservant) of God, and avenger who carries out God’s wrath…”.

In Romans 16, at the end of the letter, Paul gives us a list of people in his crew that were trustworthy servants of Christ Jesus and then he also gives a warning to avoid people who “do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naïve” (vv. 17 – 18).

To summarize this first circle of context, Paul teaches us that this identity of being a servant is something that is deeply woven into our beings. We will either serve sin or serve God. To be a servant of sin is to practice lawlessness, and disobedience to God. To serve the Lord Jesus Christ, is to walk in obedience to him, because he has set us free from the slave master of sin and has become our new slave master who gives us eternal life instead of the eternal death we were once headed towards.

He also reminds us that in Christ Jesus, we have been set free from serving a list of rules and the eternal consequences that come with it, and that we are now enabled by the indwelling Spirit of God to live in righteous obedience to God. Not only that, but when we fail, as we all do, we wage war against the flesh which serves sin, even as we commit our minds to serving God. The war between our minds and our flesh is real; it is a constant fight to maintain a posture of serving freedom in Christ Jesus instead of captivity in sin.

We also learned that being a servant of Christ Jesus is tightly woven into our adoption as sons and daughters of the Living God. We are not to serve fear because we have been transformed into sons and daughters of God who need not live in fear. Instead of fear, we serve God in our sacrificial worship, even as we bind ourselves to other servants of Christ Jesus, and avoid those who are wolves, as we submit to a government that has forgotten what it means to serve God.

Can you see how important and deep this theme of being servants of Christ Jesus really is, just in this first small circle of context in the book of Romans? Can you see how this identity as servants of Christ Jesus affects everything from the way we fight sin, to the way we relate to others, to the way we handle false wolves, and even in submission to a rogue government? And we are not done yet! We still have two other circles of context to consider!

#2: A SERVANT OF CHRIST IN PAUL’S OTHER WRITINGS

Our second circle of context basically widens the circle to include Paul’s other letters. Now to be honest, we could probably fill the next couple of hours at least with an explanation of Paul’s other uses of this word “servant”! But I promise to be brief, and to basically whet your appetite for other places to study on your own this coming week. So rather than a firehose, let me use a squirt gun for a few minutes and just lob a few rounds out to you in hopes that you will dive in later this week.

In 1 Corinthians 7:22 – 23, Paul says, “he who was called in the Lord as a bondservant (a slave, or a servant) is a freedman of the Lord. Likewise, he who was free when called is a bondservant (slave, or servant) of Christ. You were bought with a price; do not become bondservants (slaves, or servants) of men.” It does not matter what condition you were in when Christ saved you; once saved, you belong to and therefore are a slave, or a servant, or a bondservant, of God.

This is why Paul says later in chapter 9 and verse 19 that, “though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant (slave, or bondservant) to all, that I might win more of them.”So even in evangelism, we are servants of Christ Jesus as we serve those who do not know him.

In Galatians 1:10, Paul says, “am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant (a slave, or a bondservant) of Christ.” Then in Galatians 5:3, he says, “every man who accepts circumcision (as a way of earning salvation) he is obligated to keep (to serve, to bow down to, or to be mastered by) the whole law.”

In Ephesians 6:5 – 6, Paul says, “Bondservants, obey your earthly masters (today it would be our bosses) with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ, not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man, knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord whether he is a bondservant or free.” People who understand their true identities as servants of Christ Jesus, make the very best employees because in seeking to serve Christ, they serve their bosses exceptionally well!

In Philippians 2:7 – 8, Paul says, that Jesus did not try to impress people, but instead he had the mind of a humble servant as he “emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant (a slave, or a bondservant), being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” Is this not the ultimate example of what our identity as servants of Christ Jesus not only flows from but ought to look like as we lay our lives down for the sake of Christ being made known as he has been made known to us in our salvation?

In 1 Thessalonians 1:9, Paul encourages the believers in the Thessalonian church by informing them that their reputation as people who have “turned to God from idols to serve (or to be enslaved to, or to being bondservants of) the living and true God” is being made known everywhere. What if more believers laid hold of this identity as “servants of Christ Jesus” to the extent that it became the reputation of the church across the world?

In 2 Timothy 2:4, Paul says that “No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please (to serve or be enslaved to or a bondservant of) the one who enlists him (who is obviously Christ Jesus).” Servants of Christ Jesus do not get caught up in the things of this earth because we have been enlisted by the work of our crucified, risen, and returning Savior. We serve our Savior, not the evil pursuits of the world around us.

Finally, in Philemon, Paul pleads the case of a man named Onesimus, who had come to faith in Christ after running away from his master Philemon, but was now heading back to make amends with Philemon. So, Paul pleads with Philemon in verse 16, to treat Onesimus “no longer as a bondservant but more than a bondservant, as a beloved brother”. Paul literally takes this theology of our identity as “servants (slaves, or bondservants) of Christ Jesus” to its most logical end as he expects the relationship between an actual slave master and a slave to be reconciled through the shed blood and broken body of the Savior who saves slaves and slave masters alike!

Is not this theology of what it means to be a servant of Christ Jesus, more than mere walking orders to serve one another? Can you see all of the themes of reconciliation, and humility, and sacrifice, and more, all tied up in this mark of identity? Can you see how much this mark of identity could radically change not just your life but the entire world, if everyone laid hold of it?

#3: A SERVANT OF CHRIST IN THE REST OF THE BIBLE

Now, here is the thing, we just made it through Romans and the rest of Paul’s letters, and we still have the rest of the Bible to go for our final circle of context!! Again, allow me to touch on a few passages that I think are really important before we land the plane! We will begin first with the New Testament. Since Paul wrote nearly two thirds of the New Testament, this will be brief!

In Matthew 20:25 – 28, Jesus says, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your 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.” The identity of a believer, once again, is wrapped up, not in having power and authority over others, but in being a sacrificial servant as Christ was for us.

In Hebrews 9:14, the author reminds us that our good deeds or our observance of the law does not make us into servants of Christ, because it is only “the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify(ies) our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.”

The bottom line here is that these passages in the New Testament along with the rest of the New Testament, teach us that our identity as servants of Christ Jesus is tightly woven into the image of Christ as our servant, who gave his life, and shed his blood, and allowed his body to be broken as it was nailed to a tree. Christ is our servant/slave/bondservant who saved us which makes us his servants/ slaves/bondservants on this earth.

Now as far as the Old Testament is concerned, Deuteronomy 28 teaches us that God’s people have always been called by God to serve him and him alone; to put off the identity of idol worshippers or idol servers and to put on the identity as God-servers or servants of God.

The identity of a servant of God in the Old Testament, was the identifying title for many of the Old Testament characters such as Abraham (Gen. 26:24), Moses (Exod. 14:31), Joshua (Judg. 2:8), David (2 Sam. 3:18), and others.

Joshua even challenged the Israelites to “love the Lord your God, and to walk in all his ways and to keep his commandments and to cling to him and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul” (Josh. 22:5). Later, Joshua challenged Israel to choose each day whom they would serve as a reflection of whom they belonged to or whom they gave themselves to or whom they bowed down to (24:15).

Back in Deuteronomy 28, God made it clear that if his people chose to serve anything or anyone other than God, they would reap the benefits in the form of a life that was full of curses and hardship and suffering in consequence for their sin.

Alternatively, if God’s people chose to live in obedience and full reliance upon him, then they would experience a blessed life – not one that was void of suffering in this broken world – but one that was marked by the saving and sustaining presence of God himself.

CONCLUSION…

In conclusion, to tie everything together, when Paul identifies himself as a servant of Christ Jesus, and then later uses that same designation for every believer, we can see that it is not just a one-off title, it is the identity of every child of God. It is an identity that is meant to be life changing as Christ saves us from a life of slavery to Satan, Sin, and Death and then sets us free to serve him as we worship him with our lives.

Everything Paul says about our identity as servants of Christ Jesus is not only founded on the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, but it was also built into the relationship between Israel and God as far back as the Garden of Eden. The Fall of Adam and Eve, was essentially the starting point where humanity chose to serve that which looked pleasing, sounded pleasing, and tasted pleasing instead of remaining faithful to serving God alone (Gen. 3).

This is why Joshua’s challenge to “choose you this day whom you will serve” (Josh. 24:15)and his declaration that “as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (regardless of what Israel does or does not do) is such a pivotal and important challenge for us today. His challenge back then, along with every other challenge we have in the Scripture, from Joshua, to the Prophets, to the New Testament authors – to serve God alone, is wound up in our being able to see ourselves as blood-bought children who serve God, by faith, no matter what happens.

If you and I could see ourselves as servants of Christ Jesus – transformed by his work at that bloody cross, that empty tomb, in light of eternity – imagine what could change, in our relationships, in our finances, in our mental health, in our jobs, in our families, across the earth.

As we close our time together today, I hope you will ask the Spirit to show you where he wants to bring healing, restoration, and renewal in your life as you begin to see a clearer image of yourself as a servant of Christ Jesus – the One who lived the perfect life in your place, died the death to pay the price you could never pay, and left the tomb empty so that you could live in service to him as his a blood bought child and servant of God for the rest of eternity. – Amen!!

1 Unless otherwise specified, all Bible references are to the English Standard Version Bible, The New Classic Reference Edition (ESV) (Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers, 2001).