The Lord Jesus, the Son of God, came to earth not as a King or someone high in the society but as a Slave – He came to serve God and man, and He willingly forsook all His rights so that, out of love for God and man, He would serve God by accomplishing His purpose and serve man to the uttermost by laying His life down for man.
According to the predetermined counsel of God in eternity past, the second of the Divine Trinity stepped into time to be incarnated and be a man; this Man was not born in the palace of the king, neither was He like God – He was found in fashion as a man, lived as a man, and served God and man as a Slave.
In the gospel of Mark especially we see that Christ is the Slave-Savior – He didn’t just come to save us but even more to serve us, caring for us to the uttermost and even laying down His life for us. As the Slave of God, Christ saves us and makes us also slaves of God, those who love God and serve Him and man.
Nobody likes to be a slave, and in today’s modern world everyone fights for his rights; but we as believers are slaves of God to serve Him by having Christ as the Slave of God living in us.
Having the Spirit of a Slave – the Spirit of Service and Sacrifice to Obey God out of Love
The spirit of the ordinance in Exodus 21:1-6 is the spirit of a slave, the spirit of service and of sacrifice. Because the slave loved his master, his wife, and his children, he willingly decided to remain a slave forever and not go out free.
Today nobody wants to be slave but rather they fight for their rights, hiring attorneys and lawyers to do this. Furthermore, people are not willing to keep the law but would rather try to escape it and live the way they want.
When God gave His people the Ten Commandments, He spoke of the people loving Him and said that He would show mercy to those who love Him (Exo. 20:6). We can’t keep God’s commandments unless we love God; if we try to keep the commandments, at one point our flesh will not want this.
There is a prerequisite in keeping all the detailed ordinances of the law – being willing to be a slave. A slave doesn’t stand on his own rights or claim his benefits; he simply serves and is concerned for others. The spirit of the ordinances in Exodus 21-23 is the spirit of a slave.
To be a slave is to have the spirit of sacrifice. If we all would be slaves of God, the world will be such a peaceful and wonderful place. But today people fight with one another and even go to court to fight for their rights. However, because we, the believers in Christ, love the Lord as our Master, the church as our beloved wife, and the believers as the “children” the Lord gave us, we are willing to be slaves of God.
Love is the base of our continual service to the Lord, and it is only when we love the Lord that we can be slaves with the spirit of sacrifice.
How can we be slaves of God? In ourselves we cannot be slaves and we don’t want to be slaves; but when we look at the Lord Jesus who loved us and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savor (Eph. 5:2), we will be filled with love for Him and for man.
Paul, Peter, and James all were slaves of God – they were not recommending themselves as “great apostles of Jesus” but simply slaves of God (see Rom. 1:1; Titus 1:1; Phil. 1:1; James 1:1; 2 Pet. 1:1).
Love is the basis of a slave’s service (Exo. 21:5; 2 Cor. 5:14; 12:15); when we realize that the Lord loved us so much that He died for us so that we may not die, we will serve Him as slaves out of love. The love of a slave is followed by obedience (John 14:31; Phil. 2:8).
For example, because the parents love their children, in a very real sense they are “slaves” to their children in love. It is amazing how much a mother is a slave to her children, not imposing her view and opinions but even listening to them so that she may raise them up in a proper way. Similarly, because the children love their parents, even though many times they may disagree with what they ask them to do, they obey their parents.
Because we love the Lord, we obey Him; because we love the Lord, we have the spirit of a slave to serve Him and sacrifice ourselves for His sake and for the sake of the saints.
Lord Jesus, we love You, we love the church, and we love all the saints; we don’t want to go out free but remain in Your service to be Your slaves. Lord, give us the spirit of a slave, the spirit of serve and sacrifice to obey God in love. Increase our love for You. Cause us to see Your great love toward us and Your supreme sacrifice for us. Lord, may we not stand on our own rights but know only to serve and to sacrifice as slaves of God and of Jesus Christ in the church life today!
Christ is the Slave of God who Sacrificed Himself to Serve God and God’s People
The slave in Exodus 21:1-6 is a type of Christ; Christ is the Slave of God, the One who sacrificed Himself to serve God and His people (Matt. 20:28; Eph. 5:2, 25). Christ loved the Father and came to fulfill His purpose, obeying the Father to the uttermost, and giving up His soul life and even His physical life for the accomplishing of the Father’s plan.
Christ loved the church so much that He gave Himself up for her; He loved each one of us to the point that He laid down His life for us, His sheep (John 10). In the Gospel of Mark in particular we see Christ as the Slave of God, the Slave-Savior; He came not to “be served” but to serve (Mark 10:45).
In Mark’s Gospel are the fulfillment of the prophecy concerning Christ as the Slave of Jehovah in Isaiah 42:1-4, 6-7; 49:5-7; 50:4-7; 52:13—53:12 and the details of the teaching regarding Christ as the Slave of God in Philippians 2:5-11. His diligence in labor, His need of food and rest (Mark 3:20-21; 6:31), His anger (3:5), His groaning (7:34), and His affection (10:21) display beautifully His humanity in its virtue and perfection. His lordship (2:28), His omniscience (2:8), His miraculous power, and His authority to cast out demons (1:27; 3:15), to forgive sins (2:7, 10), and to silence the wind and the sea (4:39) manifest in full His deity in its glory and honor. What a Slave of God! How lovely and admirable! Such a Slave served sinners as their Slave-Savior, with His life as their ransom (10:45), for the fulfillment of the eternal purpose of God, whose Slave He was. (Witness Lee, Life-Study of Mark, pp. 7-8)
When the Lord Jesus was on the earth, He was a Slave who had no rights; He came to express God and accomplish God’s purpose, and He served man by caring for man, healing their diseases, feeding them, casting out demons, teaching them concerning the kingdom of God, and eventually dying for them.
In His human living Christ took the form of a slave, serving God and man (Phil. 2:7; Acts 3:13; Mark 10:45). In His gospel service the Lord Jesus was a slave not only to God but also to man (see Matt. 20:28; Luke 22:24-27; Phil. 2:7; Acts 3:13).
As the Slave of God, the Lord Jesus served sinners even with His life, His soul; by giving His life as a ransom for sinners, the Lord Jesus accomplished the eternal purpose of God, whom He served as a slave.
He also taught His disciples – at the very time they were striving to be first – to take the position of a slave (Mark 10:35-45). James and John wanted to be on the Lord’s left and right side when He came into His kingdom – they were ambitious for power and position; the Lord Jesus taught them not to be as the people in the world are by lording it over others and ruling over them to “be great” but rather, the one who wants to be first and great should be the slave of all.
The Lord is among us as One who serves, and He tirelessly serves God and man as a slave. In order for us to be slaves of God and of Jesus Christ, we need to empty ourselves and humble ourselves as the Lord Jesus did (Phil. 2:7-8).
Even though Christ was equal with God and had the highest rank in the universe, He became a person of the lowest level of society – He became a slave to serve God and man. We need to follow His pattern and also empty ourselves and humble ourselves to be as He is, a slave of God sacrificing himself for God and for His people.
Lord Jesus, we want to follow Your pattern of being a slave of God who sacrificed Himself to serve God and God’s people. Lord, we empty ourselves and we humble ourselves before You; we have no rights – You purchased us, we belong to You, and You are our Master whom we love and serve in love. Dear Lord Jesus, thank You for the pattern You set before us. Live in us today the same kind of Slave-of-God-life that You lived while on earth.
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Inspiration: the Word of God, my Christian experience, brother Ron Kangas’ sharing in the message for this week, and Life-study of Mark, msgs. 1-2 (by Witness Lee), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Crystallization-Study of Exodus (2), week 5 / msg 5, Christ as the Slave of God and the Believers as Slaves of God and Christ Jesus in the Chuch Life.
- All Bible verses are taken from, Holy Bible Recovery Version.
- Hymns on this topic to strengthen this burden:
# As mercy, You reached me. / You laid aside Your glory. / You’re God, Lord, the Almighty, / Yes You became a slave for me. / What kind of love You have for man, / Beyond our power to comprehend! / I love You, Lord Jesus. (Song on Loving the Lord)
# I love You Master, from You I will never leave. / You are my liberty, and my joy complete. / I love my Master, and I will not go out free. / To Him I give my all, my life eternally! (Song on being a slave of God)
# I love my Lord, but with no love of mine, / For I have none to give; / I love Thee, Lord, but all the love is Thine, / For by Thy love I live. / I am as nothing, and rejoice to be / Emptied, and lost, and swallowed up in Thee. (Song on Loving the Lord)
If we would keep the divine ordinances, we must be slaves. God’s law requires this. Those who are not willing to be slaves cannot keep God’s law. As One who Himself became a slave, the Lord Jesus taught His disciples, at the very time they were striving to be first, to take the position of a slave. He said to them, “Whoever wants to be first among you shall 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” (Matt. 20:27-28). (Witness Lee, Life-study of Exodus, p. 809)