What is a Servant?
Ephesians • Sermon • Submitted
0 ratings
· 15 viewsNotes
Transcript
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
Text
Text
Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ; Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart; With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men: Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free. And, ye masters, do the same things unto them, forbearing threatening: knowing that your Master also is in heaven; neither is there respect of persons with him.
Introduction
Introduction
It may seem strange that right in the midst of Paul’s teaching on the home he transitions into a section about servants. But in the day Paul was living it was common to have servants and Paul had some instruction for the servant as well as the master. It would be easy for us to conclude that since we no longer live in that type of a society there is not much relevance in this teaching and we would be wrong.
Consider what Jesus said:
But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant.
Definition: The word servant has the idea of ministering or to wait on someone. A slave, a bondman, one who is in subjection to another.
Paul considered himself a servant and he described it this way:
Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ, and Timothy our brother, unto Philemon our dearly beloved, and fellowlabourer,
yet for love’s sake I rather beseech thee, being such an one as Paul the aged, and now also a prisoner of Jesus Christ.
We have been set free from sin and have become “Servants” of righteousness
Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness. I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness. For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.
Transition
Transition
As we look at this section of Paul’s letter to the Christians at Ephesus we can notice some important aspects of being a servant. I want us to look at 4 of these.
I. The Loyalty of a Servant
I. The Loyalty of a Servant
Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ;
Servants should have a loyalty to their masters - in the context it is dealing with our earthy responsibility in this matter. Christians should be the best employees in the workforce. This does not mean we need to be trampled over or put up with unethical practices.
Illustration:
In a spiritual sense we must remember that ultimately our loyalty is to Christ. He is our Lord and Master!
Loyalty is very similar to faithfulness/obedience
A. The Reason for our loyalty
God is faithful -
Know therefore that the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;
B. The Response in our loyalty
Our response should be loyalty!
It is reasonable considering what Christ did for me!
“…therefore brethren” - the therefore is the way of God - his ways to love and redeem!
O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counseller? Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen. I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are my ways higher than your ways, And my thoughts than your thoughts.
II. The Heart of a Servant
II. The Heart of a Servant
“in singleness of your heart”
What does this mean?
Can our hearts be divided?
A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.
The term heart in the Bible is sometimes synonymous with our minds - in other words...what we are thinking.
Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
Does God have your thought life? Does God have your heart?
Keep thy heart with all diligence; For out of it are the issues of life.
III. The Duty of a Servant
III. The Duty of a Servant
With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men:
“doing service”
Servants are hired to do a task to complete a mission or a project
We are not worth much if we cannot produce anything
Whoso boasteth himself of a false gift Is like clouds and wind without rain.
Application: we are to work for man like we are working for the Lord - this is the kind of work ethic Christians ought to represent.
Side Note - we should not just work for man - we should also be busy about the Lords work!
A. Earthly Duty
Our duty to man is summarized here - we work for man like we would work for God
B. Heavenly Duty
Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
We have a higher duty than our duty to man
What is our duty? - to work outwardly what God has already worked inwardly
IV. The Reward of a Servant
IV. The Reward of a Servant
Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free.
A. Earthly Benefits
In all labour there is profit: But the talk of the lips tendeth only to penury.
B. Heavenly Benefits
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.
Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour.
And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.
Conclusion
Conclusion
It does not matter if you are in a position of leadership in this world or a position of subordination we all have a responsibility to carry out our business in a way that directs what we are doing to God.
As we have seen, it is a heart issue!