I have a question I was hoping to maybe get some answers on from non-Trinitarians. Here goes: Using scriptural proofs, what would you say is the difference between serving the man Jesus Christ and serving God? I ask because this question presents itself in the following passage of scripture:
22 Bondservants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh, not with eye-service as men-pleasers, but in sincerity of heart, fearing God. 23 And whatever you do, do it heartily, as unto the Lord and not to men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. Serve Christ the Lord. 25 But he who does wrong will be repaid for what he has done, and there is no partiality. (Colossians 3:22-25)
What is a Bondservant and who are the masters?
There is no escaping the controversy of law vs no law. No matter how you try it all comes back to the law.
according to the flesh.. we are speaking of the law. What does the law say concerning Bondservants and masters?
Lev 25:38 I
am the LORD your God, which brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, to give you the land of Canaan,
and to be your God.
Lev 25:39 And if thy brother
that dwelleth by thee be waxen poor, and be sold unto thee; thou shalt not compel him to serve as a bondservant:
Lev 25:40 But as an hired servant,
and as a sojourner, he shall be with thee,
and shall serve thee unto the year of jubile:
Lev 25:41 And
then shall he depart from thee,
both he and his children with him, and shall return unto his own family, and unto the possession of his fathers shall he return.
Lev 25:42 For they are my servants, which I brought forth out of the land of Egypt: they shall not be sold as bondmen.
Lev 25:43 Thou shalt not rule over him with rigour; but shalt fear thy God.
Lev 25:44 Both thy bondmen, and thy bondmaids, which thou shalt have, shall be of the heathen that are round about you; of them shall ye buy bondmen and bondmaids.
Lev 25:45 Moreover of the children of the strangers that do sojourn among you, of them shall ye buy, and of their families that
are with you, which they begat in your land:
and they shall be your possession.
Lev 25:46 And ye shall take them as an inheritance for your children after you, to inherit them for a possession; they shall be your bondmen for ever:
but over your brethren the children of Israel, ye shall not rule one over another with rigour.
I'm thinking of the conversation with Jesus and Peter concerning who pays tribute.
Mat 17:25 He saith, Yes. And when he was come into the house, Jesus prevented him, saying, What thinkest thou, Simon? of whom do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute? of their own children, or of strangers?
Mat 17:26 Peter saith unto him, Of strangers. Jesus saith unto him,
Then are the children free.
Mar 9:33
tribute 'Gr. didrachma, in value fifteen pence.' Exo 30:13; Exo 38:26;
This tribute seems to have been the half shekel which every male among the Jews paid yearly for the support of the temple, and which was continued by them, wherever dispersed, till after the time of Vespasian.
We live in a different world today. A lot of the rules I don't necessarily understand concerning the laws that Israel received.
But what I see from these passages is, God allowed "gentiles" to be brought into the fold through bondsmanship.
They were to serve their "masters" Israel, and also become partakers of their inheritance.
Israel was to be God's ambassadors on earth. Bringing the truth and the knowledge of God to the world.
Regardless if they failed in this mission and the baton was then given to others to carry, the fundamental rules of God's Kingdom never ended.
God set some in the church to lead the people in the truth and knowledge of God's Kingdom and how it operates.
When the Gentiles began joining the church, they too were brought in through a means of bondmanship.
We became partakers of the promise. But not through the law, but rather through faith in God.
We read the Bible. The Bible was written by Jews. We trust the Bible is the Truth. We trust the Bible is the Word of God.
We submit ourselves to this written word as it were unto God himself.
We submit ourselves to the words written by Israel to become partakers of the inheritance of the Lord.
We submit ourselves to the Lord through the written word of men, of Israel, who were to be the lights in an ever darkening world.
Now, there is neither Jew nor Greek as we are all under the same instructions.
These instructions Paul gives us throughout all his letters are the new and improved laws that were given to Israel at Mt. Sinai.
The laws given at Mt. Sinai were superficial and revolved around the way the physical world turned.
The instructions Paul gives in his letters revolve around the heart and the spiritual way the world turns.
The only thing that changed in the law was the application from flesh to spirit.
And a lot of things that were in the law that led to Christ were needed no more.
The "masters" are supposed to be the shepherds that lead the "sheep" Jews and the "goats" Gentiles to the Lord.
It is the role of the "master's" to lead the goats into the sheep herd, where they also become partakers of the inheritance and the promises of God.
These "master's" would be the Apostles and their letters written in the Bible.
When you believe and obey the Bible, you are believing and obeying those who wrote the Bible, as if God himself put pen to paper and wrote to us himself.
22 Bondservants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh, not with eye-service as men-pleasers, but in sincerity of heart, fearing God. 23 And whatever you do, do it heartily, as unto the Lord and not to men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. Serve Christ the Lord. 25 But he who does wrong will be repaid for what he has done, and there is no partiality.
Gal 3:26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.
Gal 3:27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
Gal 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
Gal 3:29 And if ye
be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.
Lev 25:42 For they
are my servants, which I brought forth out of the land of Egypt: they shall not be sold as bondmen.
Lev 25:43 Thou shalt not rule over him with rigour; but shalt fear thy God.
This "rigour" I believe is addressed in Colossians Chapter 3,
Col 3:8 But now ye also
put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.
Col 3:9 Lie not one to another, seeing that
ye have put off the old man with his deeds;
Col 3:10 And have put on the new
man, which is
renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:
Col3:11 Where thereis
neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all,
and in all.
Col 3:12 Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of
mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;
Col 3:13 Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.
2Ti 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed,
rightly dividing the word of truth.
Psa 119:142 Thy righteousness
is an everlasting righteousness, and
thy law is the truth.
Dan 9:13 As
it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us: yet made we not our prayer before the LORD our God, that we might turn from our iniquities,
and understand thy truth.
That's how I see it.
Hugs