God does not want a master to serve his servant, the maid to be a lady, a prince to serve the beggar. For He does not want to destroy the government. But the apostle means that one person should serve the other person spiritually from the heart.
Even if you are in a high position and a great lord, yet you should employ your power for the purpose of serving your neighbor with it.
Thus everyone should regard himself as a servant. Then the master can surely remain a master and yet not consider himself better than the servant.
The same thing applies to other stations in life. God did not give us all equal grace. However, a ministry is much more flexible. It is only governed by the principles of Christianity without the protocols of a church. It may or may not have pastor s , elder s , deacon s , etc. It should be noted that one is not better than the other. However, one may be a better fit to the minister who has decided to answer their call.
Some of the words, although Greek, are not completely foreign to us. Leitourgia is used to describe the ministry that Jesus has received as our High Priest Hebrews In Philippians and 1 Timothy it denotes an office in the church. But almost everywhere else, the word is used in a more general sense. It refers to apostles, preachers and lay members more often than it does to deacons. Paul said that many of his co-workers were also servants: Phoebe Romans , Tychicus Ephesians ; Colossians , Timothy 1 Timothy and Epaphras Colossians Jesus said that his followers should be servants Matthew ; ; John All Christians must be servants.
We are deacons of Christ, of his message and of one another. Jesus told parables about servants who were expected to prepare food and serve their masters Luke ; Diakoneo can refer to more general types of service, too. Jesus served his disciples Matthew ; Mark When we serve others, we are showing love to God Hebrews Some people served Paul in prison Philemon 13 ; 2 Timothy Serving can include financial assistance: Several women served Jesus from their own possessions Luke Paul collected an offering to serve the saints in Jerusalem Romans Diakoneo often means manual labor, but service to others can also be done through speaking.
When Jesus said that he served his disciples, he included his teaching. The gospel is included when Paul says that the Corinthian church was a result of his serving 2 Corinthians If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides. Everyone should serve in a general sense , but each serves in a different way — some serve by speaking and some serve by manual labor. It is this latter type of service that forms the core of the office of deacon 1 Timothy , No matter what type of serving is done, it should be done with the strength God provides, so that he gets the praise and glory 1 Peter Diakonia is another word in the diakonos family.
Famine relief was also called a ministry Acts ; ; Romans ; 2 Corinthians ; , When Macedonian believers supported Paul, it was a ministry to him 2 Corinthians Diakonia is often used to refer to a spiritual ministry. All members are encouraged to have a ministry. Those who have been given a gift of ministry should use that gift Romans Those who have other gifts should likewise use them to serve others 1 Peter Paul frequently called himself a doulos — a slave or servant of Jesus Christ.
In Jewish society, a doulos was usually a servant. In Greek society, he was usually a slave. However, this type of service is not restricted to slaves and apostles — it is commanded for all Christians.
This is another description of our ministry. In Christianity, greatness is measured by service. Service is part of what it means to be a Christian. Doulos also has metaphorical uses — sinners are slaves of whatever has power over them 2 Peter
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