“…Christ has become a servant…” Romans 15:8a

The Living Word became a servant of Israel to fulfill The Word given to them concerning God’s intent to bless the entire world through them (Genesis 18:18, 22:18&27, 26:4, 28:13-14; Psalm 86:9, 96:3; Daniel 7:14; Isaiah 42:1, 49:6, 60:1-3; Malachi 1:11; Acts 3:25, 10:45, 11:1, 28:28; Galatians 3:8&14), and it was done through the reconciling actions of Jesus’ life and death. That’s a lot to take in… think about it a bit. Did you read all the references I provided? Do you see how God’s plan had been at work from the very beginning?

At first, God’s covenant was one based on fulfilling the requirements of the law. The new covenant is based on grace. The promises of both are completely fulfilled through Christ. Paul described it to the Corinthians this way:

“For no matter how many promises God has made, they are (all) ‘Yes’ in Christ.”              (2 Corinthians 1:20)

The word for “servant” in today’s focus is the Greek word, “diakonon”. Servants in Roman culture were poor free citizens who offered themselves to perform household, business, and property management for those with means to hire them. Each servant had a specialized function. In Christ, we discover His specialized service through His death – to reconcile both Jew and Gentile to God (v.8b-c).

As we grow in our relationship with Christ, we become more like Him (1 Corinthians 11:1; 2 Corinthians 3:17-18, 5:17; Ephesians 4:22-24; 1 John 2:6, 3:2-3) – being a servant of God to fulfill a specific assignment which will glorify God. For some it may mean dying as Christ did; for most it means living for Him as a light in darkness. In either case, God is glorified.

God’s promise included you and me… He said, “Yes!” to you! And to me as well! We also ought to say, “Yes!” to Him: yes to walking in His way; yes to denying sin; yes to loving others; and yes to being transformed into His likeness (Romans 8:29-30; 1 Corinthians 15:46-49; Philippians 3:21; Colossians 3:10).

Have a blessed day…