Apostles as Slaves ~ 20230507 ~ Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

05/07 Philippians 1:1; Apostles as Slaves; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20230507_philippians-apostles-slaves.mp3


Philippians is a letter, and as an ancient letter, it follows the standard letter format for the time; author, readers, greeting, body and conclusion.

Letter Greetings

It starts with who it’s from; this would serve like the return address on our envelopes; you know who it’s coming from before you start reading the contents. It is interesting to compare this letter with other letters we have in the collection we call the New Testament.

Romans 1:1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God,

1 Corinthians 1:1 Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes,

2 Corinthians 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, ...

Galatians 1:1 Paul, an apostle— not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead—

Ephesians 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, ...

Colossians 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

1 Timothy 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope,

2 Timothy 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God according to the promise of the life that is in Christ Jesus,

Titus 1:1 Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God's elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness,

1 Peter 1:1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,

2 Peter 1:1 Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ:

That’s not all the letters, but it’s enough to see something strikingly different in the introduction to Philippians. In 9 of his 13 letters, Paul referst to himself as an apostle; an apostle of Christ Jesus 6 times; apostle of Jesus Christ once; servant and apostle twice; a prisoner of Christ Jesus once. He just gives names with no titles twice; 5 times he mentions specifically the will of God; once the command of God; twice that he was called, once specifying that it was not from men nor through man, bu through Jesus Christ and God the Father (Gal.). We read here in Philippians:

Philippians 1:1 Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons:

Only once, here in Philippians does he simply refer to himself as a servant of Christ Jesus without mentioning his apostolic commission.

Apostles of Christ Jesus

Paul and Peter are apostles, and they are not afraid to write it in their letters. It’s worth taking a minute to understand what an apostle is or was. First the word itself; apostle is a Greek word [ἀπόστολος], not an English word. It means ‘one who is sent’; specifically one who carries the authority of the one who sent him. [ἀπόστολος] is the noun form of the verb [ἀποστέλλω] which means to set apart or send out. We see this for instance in Jesus’ words to his disciples in John 13

John 13:16 Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger [ἀπόστολος] greater than the one who sent [πέμψαντος] him.

We see the disciples named apostles in Mark 3.

Mark 3:13 And he went up on the mountain and called to him those whom he desired, and they came to him. 14 And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles [αποστολους]) so that they might be with him and he might send them out [ἀποστέλλῃ] to preach 15 and have authority to cast out demons. 16 He appointed the twelve: … (cf. Lk.6:12-16)

He called them, he appointed them – notice ‘so that they might be with him. He intends to send them out with his authority to preach and to cast out demons. But they must first be with him. We see these ‘sent ones’ with Jesus in Mark 3-5 as he teaches, heals, rebukes, calms the storm, casts out demons, even raises the dead, And then in Mark 6,

Mark 6:7 And he called the twelve and began to send them out [ἀποστέλλειν] two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. 8 He charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in their belts— 9 but to wear sandals and not put on two tunics. 10 And he said to them, “Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you depart from there. 11 And if any place will not receive you and they will not listen to you, when you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.” 12 So they went out and proclaimed that people should repent. 13 And they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them. (cf. Mt.9:37 – 10:42; Lk.9:1-6)

Then we see them return from their mission in Mark 6:

Mark 6:30 The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. (cf. Lk.9:10)

Sent out with his authority, then returning to give report to the one who sent them out with his authority.

At the end of Luke’s gospel, Jesus again commissions his disciples; but here he speaks of another sent one;

Luke 24:47 and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things.49 And behold, I am sending [ἐξαποστέλλω] the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”

He picks up the story in Acts 1; he commands his disciples to wait for the promise of the Father; he wrote of:

Acts 1:1 ...all that Jesus began to do and teach, 2 until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen.

And then he says to his apostles:

Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

John also connects this commissioning of his sent ones with his authority and the giving of the Holy Spirit.

John 20:21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent [ἀπέσταλκέν] me, even so I am sending [πέμπω] you.” 22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”

17 times in John’s gospel, Jesus refers to himself as sent [ἀπέστειλεν] by his Father. Jesus himself is called in the book of Hebrews (3:1) ‘the Apostle and High Priest of our confession’.

Jesus is our great Apostle, sent to earth by his Father. The requirement to fill the number of the 12 according to Acts were “men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us—one of these men must become with us a witness to his resurrection.” (Acts.1:21-22). And Paul,

1 Corinthians 15:8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. 9 For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain….

These are the ‘capital A’ Apostles of Christ Jesus, sent out personally by him. Others, like Barnabas (Acts.14:4, 1Cor.9:5), Epaphroditus (Phil.2:25), Titus and the other brothers (2Cor.8:23) are called ‘apostles’ (usually translated ‘messengers’) in that they were sent out by the churches. In this sense we have apostles who are sent out by our churches, although I wouldn’t use the term because it would confuse the issue.

Servant/Slave

Here in Philippians, Paul doesn’t use his title ‘Apostle’; rather he simply refers to himself as a servant, really a slave. The Old Testament law contained much protection for slaves, and kidnapping people to sell as slaves carried the death penalty (Ex.21:16). A slave could become a slave voluntarily or through circumstances, often a debt he couldn’t pay. Slave/master relationships could be good, even to the point that the slave voluntarily gives up his opportunity for freedom and chooses to remain a slave for life. Like Joseph in Potiphar’s house, and like many of Jesus’ parables, a slave could be a house-manager, in charge of and responsible for the master’s resources, even placed over other slaves. But at the bottom of it, the relation of a slave to his master is that of a total claim; the slave does what his master commands or suffers the consequences. The slave is not free to do what he wills. He is bound by and subject to his master’s will. Jesus spoke of the absurdity of having more than one master (Mt.6:24). This is the whole context of redemption; that we were bought with a price.

1 Corinthians 6:19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

As a believer in Jesus, I am not my own. We were slaves to sin (Jn.8:34). But now we belong to another, to Christ. We were purchased ‘with the precious blood of Christ’ (1Pet.1:19), ‘who gave himself for us to redeem us ...a people for his own possession’ (Titus.2:14). When we say ‘Jesus Christ is Lord’ (Rom.10:9), we are owning him as master, who holds absolute right over his slaves. We exist to do his bidding.

This is the badge Paul is wearing, this is his identity. He is an Apostle, but he is first a slave of Christ Jesus. He acknowledges Jesus as his Master.

It is with this understanding that Paul can write to slaves:

Ephesians 6:5 Bondservants, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ, 6 not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, 7 rendering service [δουλεύοντες] with a good will as to the Lord and not to man, 8 knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a bondservant or is free. 9 Masters, do the same to them, and stop your threatening, knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and that there is no partiality with him.

The gospel transforms and obliterates the master/slave hierarchy. Slaves are ultimately slaves of Christ, and should make it their aim in all things to please him. Masters have a master who is the master of their slaves, so they ought to be very careful how they treat God’s property.

The gospel transforms the way we interact with people. The gospel turns our social structures on their head. Jesus’ kingdom is an upside-down kingdom. Jesus’ teaching causes us to rethink what we think we know about leadership and authority. When James and John’s mother came to Jesus asking him to give them positions of authority in his kingdom, he rebuked her and them, ‘you do not know what you are asking’ (Mt.20:22; Mk.10:38).

Mark 10:41 And when the ten heard it, they began to be indignant at James and John. 42 And Jesus called them to him and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 43 But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant [διάκονος], 44 and whoever would be first among you must be slave [δοῦλος] of all. 45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served [διακονηθῆναι] but to serve [διακονῆσαι], and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Greatness in Jesus’ kingdom is measured not by authority but by selfless self sacrificial service to others. Jesus challenges his apostles in Luke 17:

Luke 17:7 “Will any one of you who has a servant plowing or keeping sheep say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and recline at table’? 8 Will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper for me, and dress properly [περιζωσάμενος], and serve [διακόνει] me while I eat and drink, and afterward you will eat and drink’? 9 Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded? 10 So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.’”

Servants serve. That is their duty. They don’t look for a reward for doing what they are obligated to do. They have an obligation to their master. Servants owe service to their masters; masters require service from their slaves. Jesus reminds his apostles (Lk.17:5) that they are his servants. He is the one sending them out to serve.

But Jesus radically transforms our thinking on everything! Remember James and John’s attempted manipulation of Jesus to secure positions of authority in his kingdom? They didn’t understand! They didn’t understand on one level, what Jesus taught them in Matthew 10:
Matthew 10:16 “Behold, I am sending you out [ἀποστέλλω] as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. 17 Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues, 18 and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles. ...22 and you will be hated by all for my name's sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. 23 When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next, for truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes. 24 “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant [δουλος] above his master. 25 It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household.

They didn’t understand the cost of authority. They thought prestigious positions meant luxury and ease. But not in Jesus’ kingdom. Jesus came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom. If he is the master they are serving, they should expect to be like their master in suffering.

Butt they didn’t understand on another level the radical upside-downness of Jesus’ kingdom. They wanted to secure positions of authority in Jesus’ kingdom. Jesus said in Luke 12:

Luke 12:32 “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

They attempted to manipulate their way into power; the Father freely gives them the kingdom. Freely you have received, freely give (Mt.10:8).

Luke 12:33 Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

What are you pursuing? What is it you treasure? What is it you love?

Luke 12:35 “Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning, 36 and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and knocks.

Listen how upside-down Jesus’ kingdom is!

Luke 12:37 Blessed are those servants [δοῦλοι] whom the master finds awake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for service [περιζώσεται] and have them recline at table, and he will come and serve [διακονήσει] them.

This is not just hypothetical. This is not just empty philosophy and fine sounding rhetoric. Jesus showed us just how upside-down his kingdom is.

John 13:3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, 4 rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. 5 Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

John 13: 12 When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you? 13 You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. 14 If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. 15 For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. 16 Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger [ἀπόστολος] greater than the one who sent [πέμψαντος] him. 17 If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.

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2023.05.07 Sermon Notes

Apostles as Slaves; Philippians 1:1

Apostles

apostolos (noun); one sent with authority

apostello (verb); to set apart or send out

Mark 3:13-15; 6:7-13, 30

Jesus sent the Spirit to empower and authenticate

Luke 24:47-49; Acts 1:1-2, 8; John 20:21-23

Acts 1:21-22; 1 Corinthians 15:8-10

Paul’s primary identity is a slave

Matthew 6:24; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20; John 8:34;

1 Peter 1:19; Titus 2:14; Romans 10:9

The gospel transforms social structures

Ephesians 6:5-9

Jesus turns leadership upside-down

Mark 10:41-45; Luke 17:7-10; Matthew 10:16-17, 22-25

Jesus shows us what Christian leadership looks like

Luke 12:32-37; John13:3-5, 12-17

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Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org