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#2.
"The Slave of Christ."
pp. 126 - 128
What is Paul's own statement as to his relationship to the Lord Jesus Christ? "Paul, a
bond servant (doulos) of Jesus Christ". So opens the epistle to the Romans. After
speaking of the Risen Christ, Paul says:--
"By Whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among
all nations for His name" (Rom. 1: 5).
Then towards the close of this wonderful epistle the apostle says:--
"I written the more boldly unto you in some sort, as putting you in mind, because of
the grace that is given me of God, that I should be the minister of Jesus Christ to the
Gentiles" (Rom. 15: 15, 16).
In Galatians we have this utterance:--
"From henceforth let no man trouble me: for I bear in my body the marks (stigmata,
the brand marks upon slaves) of the Lord Jesus" (Gal. 6: 17).
In Ephesians, Paul says:--
"Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should
preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ" (Eph. 3: 8).
Philippians presents a deeper and more loyal love and service to Christ than has ever
been shown by mortal man:--
"With all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body,
whether by life, or by death. For to me to live--CHRIST" (Phil. 1: 20, 21).
Writing to Timothy years after the day of his conversion, Paul says:--
"I thank Christ Jesus our Lord Who hath enabled me, for that He counted me faithful,
putting me into the ministry: who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and
injurious" (I Tim. 1: 12, 13).
And again:--
"Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner"
(II Tim. 1: 8).
Paul rarely refers to the Saviour as "Jesus"; to him "Jesus is LORD" (I Cor. 12: 3).
"To us there is but ONE LORD Jesus Christ" (I Cor. 8: 6). The glory of the sevenfold
unity of the Spirit is the central figure, viz., "One Lord" (Eph. 4: 5) and looking forward
to the day that is coming this slave of the Lord could glory in the thought that then "every
knee should bow . . . . . and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of
God the Father" (Phil. 2: 10, 11). In the same introduction to the Romans where the