by Dennis Stackhouse<\/p>\n
Notice the statement made by Paul in I Corinthians 4:1:\u00a0“Let a man regard us in this manner, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.”<\/em>\u00a0 Be especially careful to recognize that Paul identifies himself and his fellow workers as “servants of Christ.”\u00a0 Does that seem a bit strange?\u00a0 Is it right to think of one of God’s apostles as being a servant?\u00a0 Shouldn’t we expect Paul and his fellow preachers to be served by others?\u00a0 As a matter of fact, developing the heart of a servant is a completely Scriptural concept; there is no doubt that Christian people are encouraged to take on the role of a servant.<\/p>\n It all begins with our Lord and Savior.\u00a0 In Mark 10:45 Jesus said:\u00a0“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”<\/em>\u00a0 Jesus Christ, the Son of God left the glory and splendor of heaven, the adoration of the heavenly hosts to become a servant. \u00a0Seems rather counterintuitive, doesn’t it?\u00a0 The very One who, above all others, should have been served came to this world to provide the ultimate example of what it means to be a servant.\u00a0 Our Lord spoke about the typical ways of mankind in Mark 10:42, indicating that rulers and great men exercise authority over those living under them.\u00a0 But a further insight was given to the apostles in Mark 10:43-44 that likely astounded them:\u00a0“But it is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant; and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave of all.”<\/em><\/p>\n This is certainly consistent with what we learn from other Scriptures in regard to how a Christian should view servanthood.\u00a0 The apostle Paul pointed to the contrast between living in the world and living as a Christian in Romans 6:18:\u00a0“And having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.”<\/em>\u00a0 Do Christians often think of themselves as “slaves of righteousness”?\u00a0 We should.\u00a0 Speaking about the different gifts or abilities Christians have and the fact that we should be exercising them, Paul went on to say in Romans 12:7:\u00a0“If service, in his serving.”<\/em>\u00a0 Some people have a greater capacity to serve than do others and they should be using that ability to the utmost.\u00a0 Paul obviously recognized his obligation to function as a servant from his words recorded in Romans 15:25:\u00a0“But now, I am going to Jerusalem serving the saints.”<\/em><\/p>\n In Galatians 5:13 we read:\u00a0“For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.”<\/em>\u00a0 Christians are to be united\u00a0“For the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ”<\/em>\u00a0(Ephesians 4:12).\u00a0 \u00a0Paul stated it plainly in Colossians 3:24:\u00a0“It is the Lord Christ whom you serve.”<\/em>\u00a0 And in I Peter 4:10 we’re told:\u00a0“As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.”<\/em>\u00a0 Christians serve one another and by so doing they also serve God and Christ, furthering the Lord’s cause and expanding the borders of the kingdom.\u00a0 If we truly have the desire to be great, our Lord gave us the one sure path by which greatness can be attained: develop the heart of a servant.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Dennis Stackhouse Notice the statement made by Paul in I Corinthians 4:1:\u00a0“Let a man regard us in this manner, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.”\u00a0 Be especially careful to recognize that Paul identifies himself and his fellow workers as “servants of Christ.”\u00a0 Does that seem a bit strange?\u00a0 Is…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[1122,574,462],"class_list":["post-46600","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-leadership","tag-service","tag-serving-others"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":35313,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-do-we-need-both-redemption-and-forgiveness\/","url_meta":{"origin":46600,"position":0},"title":"Why do we need both redemption and forgiveness?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 16, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I've read\u00a0The Living Redeemer\u00a0article. But why do we need redemption and forgiveness? (Ephesians 1:7; Colossians 1:14). Is redemption not enough? Kindly explain. Answer: \"In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace\" (Ephesians 1:7). \"In whom we have redemption\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":41877,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/man-as-the-head\/","url_meta":{"origin":46600,"position":1},"title":"Man as the Head","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 13, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doy Moyer Let's start with this well-known statement: \"For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body\" (Ephesians 5:23). The immediate thought seems to be that the man is where \"the buck\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":84181,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-would-a-servant-do\/","url_meta":{"origin":46600,"position":2},"title":"What Would a Servant Do?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 7, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Chadwick Brewer \"But Jesus called them to him and said, \"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\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":86860,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/coercive-christianity\/","url_meta":{"origin":46600,"position":3},"title":"Coercive Christianity","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 28, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doy Moyer Christians desire to see people do what is right. We look at a society that has lost its way and wonder, with echoes of Habakkuk, how long this will continue before God acts in righteous judgment. We want to see people come to Jesus and submit to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":42050,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/service-or-power\/","url_meta":{"origin":46600,"position":4},"title":"Service or Power","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 17, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doy Moyer \"I wrote something to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to have first place among them, does not receive our authority\" (III John 9). Refusing the authority of the apostles and seeking to take first place among others, like Diotrephes, is a fundamental betrayal of the fellowship\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":32018,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-there-any-scriptural-evidence-of-deaconesses\/","url_meta":{"origin":46600,"position":5},"title":"Is there any scriptural evidence of deaconesses?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 28, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Is there\u00a0any scriptural evidence of\u00a0deaconesses? Answer: The word \"deacon\" is a derivative transliteration of the Greek word\u00a0diakonos. The word is means a servant and it can be translated as servant, minister, deacon, or waiter. Typically translators try to use \"minister\" when\u00a0diakonos\u00a0is being applied to a preacher. \"Who then is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46600","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46600"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46600\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46600"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46600"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46600"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}