One of the unique things that we notice right off the bat about this book is that Paul doesn’t use his title as Apostle when he begins addressing this church. He begins by calling himself and Timothy servants. Paul is the writer of Philippians but he includes Timothy in the greeting possibly because of Timothy’s love for the church (2:19-24). He is another proven example of a Spirit-filled servant.
What Is A Servant
The only other time the Greek word for servant or slave “Doulos” is used in this epistle is in 2:5-7 to describe Jesus. So Paul identifies as a servant in order to model one of the things that he is trying to teach in this epistle. That is, a life of authentic joy is found in being totally dedicated in service to Jesus. He identifies as a servant (literal translation is a slave). Check out what Jesus said in Matthew 20.
Matthew 20:25-28 Jesus called them over and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those in high positions act as tyrants over them. It must not be like that among you. On the contrary, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave; just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Being a slave to Christ doesn’t mean Christ needs our “labor.” It does mean we live to serve Christ often through serving others. When we live our lives as servants of God we become the beneficiary of sanctification and life – JOY.
Service Leads To Joy
Romans 6:20-22 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free with regard to righteousness. So what fruit was produced then from the things you are now ashamed of? The outcome of those things is death. But now, since you have been set free from sin and have become enslaved to God, you have your fruit, which results in sanctification — and the outcome is eternal life!
When we live in service to Christ we become the beneficiary of sanctification and life – JOY. Whatever your occupation is, you are a servant of God. So when you “clock in” tomorrow morning, you are serving God. When you “clock out” and go home to your family you are serving God. Our attitude is not one that expects service. We do not want to position ourselves to make ourselves look good. We don’t exist to build our own platforms. Our goal is NOT to make our name known, but Christ’s name known. Like John the Baptist – He increases, we decrease.1 Unfortunately, we have turned this verse into I must increase, so he can increase. As if The Holy Spirit needed our platform.
We Are Servants
We don’t get to make the rules, we’re just servants. Our job is to show up and follow Jesus. Being a servant means we think of others and not just our own interests. As Paul begins this book that is overflowing with a joy-filled life he immediately starts with a life of serving. This is counter-cultural to what the world says. The world says you need to look out for yourself in order to find true joy. Even though Paul was mightily used by God, he introduces himself as a servant. This reminds us that we are simply servants of Jesus.
This is an updated edition of a post originally published on Thriving In Exile.
Featured Image by mepa melson from Pixabay
