The Script
This letter is from Paul and Timothy, slaves of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:1
The Plot
During the time that Paul wrote his letter to the church at Philippi, the concept of slavery was very different than we think of today. During that time, people became slaves as prisoners of war or when they couldn’t pay off the debts that they accumulated. Many times, slaves were born into slavery. The relationship between slave and slave owner was often affectionate. One author writes, “Though by nature an inferior being, the slave was a member of his master’s family, one whom the master ‘loved’ and punished paternally and from whom he expected obedience and ‘love’ in return.”
According to the custom of the day, the ultimate outcome of owning a slave was to set it free. A slave could buy freedom or someone could pay a price for a slave’s freedom. It was considered wrong for a slave to ask to be set free, but could go to another slave-owner and ask him to petition the master for the slave’s freedom.
Paul often associated salvation through Jesus to slavery for once we were “slaves to sin” but through Jesus’ death and ressurection, he purchased us from our old master. This image of the master and slave is important for the way Paul describes our relationship to God through Christ Jesus. It is not an image that should make us think of a brutal existence and an impersonal servitude. Rather, we should be grateful to be set free from our former enslavement and now to have the most gracious and loving Master. Not only this, but we have also been set free from slavery and have been adopted as children of God.
Walk Through
- Are you a slave to sin or have you become a slave to God?
- Do you live your life as if someone purchased your freedom?
- How does a person live as a slave to Christ Jesus?
Ad Lib
Paul not only referred to himself as a slave to Christ but also as a slave to the people he served. This week, think of some things that you can do to serve others, and then do them!