We Believers in Christ must be Slaves of God and of Jesus Christ in the Church Life

It is quite impressive and amazing to see how God Himself, Christ, became a man and lowered Himself, humbled Himself, and emptied Himself to be found in fashion of a man and even become a lowly slave to serve God and man. God could have accomplished His purpose in His majesty and greatness, but He chose to lower Himself and humble Himself to be a lowly slave, dying the death of a cross, to fulfill God’s purpose and redeem man back to God.

The Lord Jesus truly was the fulfillment of Exo. 21:1-6; He loved the Father (and thus became the Slave of God to fulfill God’s purpose by dying on the cross to redeem man), He loved the church (and thus gave Himself up for her on the cross), and He loved the believers (and thus served them as a slave – and He’s still serving us until we become His overcomers, enjoying the wedding feast with Him in the kingdom).

When Paul and John and Peter and the disciples saw how the Lord Jesus was the Slave of God serving God and man, they also became slaves of God and of Jesus Christ in the church life. The apostles did not consider themselves above the other believers; rather, they introduced themselves as slaves of God, and they were fellow slaves with their co-workers.

In the church life today we all should be slaves; we have Christ in us as the Slave of God, and we should let Him live in us the serving life for the fulfillment of God’s purpose and for the gaining of others. We cannot fulfill God’s purpose and we cannot obey His word unless we have the spirit of a slave, the love of a slave, and the obedience of a slave.

We cannot remain in the church life permanently and we cannot practically build up the Body of Christ unless we are slaves of God and of Jesus Christ in the church life. We need to pray to the Lord that He would reproduce Himself as the Slave of God in us all so that we may serve God and man for the fulfillment of God’s purpose and for the gaining of man for God.

We Believers in Christ must be Slaves of God and of Jesus Christ in the Church Life

In the church life we all should be slaves; there is no one higher or lower, but we all are slaves of God and of Jesus Christ in the church life (see Phil. 1:1; Col. 1:7; 4:7, 12; 2 Pet. 1:1). When we see how the Lord loved the Father, the church, and the believers, and so He became the Slave of God to serve God and man, we will realize that this One now lives in us.

Because Christ is in us, we also love the Father, we love the church, and we love the believers, and therefore we are willing to be slaves of God and of Jesus Christ. On the one hand the church life is wonderful: here we eat, drink, and breathe in Jesus; on the other hand, in the church life we are all slaves of God.

The elders in the church life are not higher than the saints; they only have been entrusted with the function of overseeing the saints, but they really are slaves of God and of the saints. There’s no rank in the church life – none is higher or lower; rather, we are all brothers in the Lord, Christ is our Head and our Teacher, and we all must serve as slaves.

We may know a lot about the Lord, we may dig into the word of God and enjoy much concerning the Spirit, the divine life, the church, the Body of Christ, and the New Jerusalem; however, to practice all these teachings in the Bible, we need to have the spirit of a slave. If we do not have the spirit of a slave in the church life, we will not remain here. Many saints in the church love the Lord and love the other saints, but because they are not willing to be a slave, they leave the church life.

The Apostle Paul was wrongly accused by the saints in Corinth, but yet he still served them as a slave in love; many in Asia have turned away from him, but he still served God and the saints. No matter how the saints treat us, we have no choice but to remain in the church life because we are nothing – we are only slaves of God. Where else can we go? The church life today is the home of our Father and of all His children, our fellow believers.

We are simply the Lord’s slaves, we love Him, we love the church, and we love all the children of the Lord; what we know is only to serve the Lord and the saints as a slave. If we have such a spirit and attitude, the Lord will bless the church life, we will grow in life, and we will be very useful to the Lord. We need to remember: only those who are willing to be slaves can remain permanently in the church life (Rom. 12:11).

If we want to “work our way up” to be someone in the church life, we will soon realize there’s no “up” we can work our way to. If we have a certain portion in the Body, the Lord will give us that portion, but if we don’t, no matter how much we desire it – we will never get it. As slaves of God we should be content with what we are by the grace of God, and the Body knows what we are and what our portion is. It is good to pray to the Lord,

Lord Jesus, we love You, we love the church, and we love all the believers in Christ. Even if we have the freedom to go out, we don’t want to leave the church life. Lord, we want to be Your slaves in the church life today. Grant us the spirit of a slave, the love of a slave, and the obedience of a slave. May we remain permanently in the church life enjoying You with the saints and serving You as a slave. Oh Lord, may we be content with what we are by the grace of God, and may we function in the church life as slaves of God!

Learning from the Lord Jesus to Lower ourselves and Serve others as Slaves

The Lord Jesus was the Teacher and the Master, but He lowered Himself and washed His disciples’ feet; He laid aside His outer garment and tool a basin of water and a towel, and He washed their feet one by one; then, He told them to do the same to one another (see John 13:1-5, 12-15).

The Lord set a pattern for us to follow: He served us as a slave, and He washed our feet; now we need to follow Him and do the same. Among us in the church life there should be no one greater or smaller, but we all should humble ourselves, lower ourselves, and have no desire to be exalted, but rather we should serve the saints as slaves.

We should not desire to be great but we should serve others as slaves. Actually, the more we serve others as a slave, the greater we will be in the eyes of the Lord (Matt. 23:11-12). The leading one and those who serve full-time should not consider themselves to be “higher” or “more important” than the saints; rather, they are the slaves of the saints, serving them before the Lord to help them grow in life.

If we consider ourselves higher than others, we will fall into the snare of Satan, who rebelled against God because of his desire to be exalted (see Isa. 14:13-14). The apostles and the elders don’t have “higher positions” in the church; they are slaves to the churches, serving in the Word, in the gospel, and in being a pattern to the saints. The Lord even said that we should not call one another “teacher” or “master” because the Lord is our Teacher, and we are all brothers (Matt. 23:8).

The others in the world may thirst after power and position, but in the church life we have no high position – only Christ is the Head, and we all are brothers and fellow slaves with the saints.

The Lord Jesus taught us not to be “above others” but instead to place ourselves lower than others and be their slaves. In the church life we have no rank: none is higher and none is lower; rather, we all are brothers, and we must all serve as slaves (see James 1:1; Jude 1; Rev. 1:1; 6:11; 10:7; 11:18; 22:3, 6).

We all who believe into Christ, belong to Him, and have His life of service and sacrifice should take Him as our pattern by learning to be slaves, loving God, the church, and God’s people. With such a love for God, for the church, and for the saints as our motivation, we need to be slaves sacrificing ourselves and serving God and others by the sacrificing life of Christ in us (see Mark 10:42-45; Phil. 2:5-8; Gal. 5:13; Eph. 5:2; Rom. 1:1).

We shouldn’t take the freedom in Christ for granted but we should take Christ as our pattern and live as slaves of God who sacrifice and serve. This is the way to carry out God’s New Testament, we need to have the spirit of a slave, the love of a slave, and the obedience of a slave (Phil. 2:5; 1 Cor. 9:19).

Lord Jesus, shine in our mind and expose our way of thinking about ourselves; expose our ambition, our rivalry, and our competition. Put in us the spirit of a slave, the love of a slave, and the obedience of a slave. Lord, we love You and we tell You from our whole being: we love You as our Master, we love the church, and we love the saints, we would not go out free! We want to follow Your pattern and wash one another’s feet in the church life, serving one another as slaves in love for the building up of the Body of Christ!

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 Exodus, msg. 68 (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 Church Life.
• All Bible verses are taken from, Holy Bible Recovery Version.
• Hymns on this topic to strengthen this burden:
  # Holding Christ, as members growing, / Each his function must observe; / Christ receiving, Christ partaking, / To His Body Christ we serve. (Hymns #912)
  # I love my Master, and I will not go out free. / For He has died for me, the highest price He has paid for me. / I love my Master, I will serve Him willingly. / Remaining near, and close to Him this my plea. (Song on Serving as a Slave)
  # Lord, I give myself to You again today / I open to You so that You may have a way / To work in me that I / Might serve You my whole life / Lord, I love You alone. (Song on Serving God)