Romans 1:1 “Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God,” (NKJV)

 I wasn’t planning on just dealing with verse one on its own, but as I read the first few verses, verse 1 kept standing out as if it was filled with wisdom that needed to be focused on. The phrase “bondservant of Jesus Christ” kept ringing in my head and I felt that what this meant really needed to be explored. So, let’s get exploring.

What is a bondservant? The Greek word here is “doulos” and is typically translated as servant, bondservant, or slave. The idea here is that of a bondservant who has chosen to stay and serve a master he/she loves even though their time of servitude is finished. The master would pierce the servant’s ear, and the servant was marked to show he/she now belongs to the master forever.

The word “slave” now a days is not “politically correct”; nor is calling yourself or someone else one. But, we must see it in light of God’s Word, so we know what it means to be a slave of Jesus Christ and the joy that it brings. After all, we see throughout scriptures that Paul did not shamefully wear the title slave of Jesus Christ, but instead repeatedly introduced himself in his epistles as a slave of Jesus Christ. He could have called himself grander things. Paul had studied under Gamaliel who was considered one of the greatest teachers of the Law in his time, so he could have introduced himself as a scholar. Paul could have given himself the title of Roman citizen; which held great benefits and freedom. 

Jesus did not think it shameful to be made a servant. Philippians 2:5-8 “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.” Should we then think it an insult to be a servant of our Lord who sacrificed Himself for us? John 13:16 reminds us “Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him.” Who are we not to humble ourselves as His slave? Are we not His creation?  

What is it to be a slave of Jesus Christ? 1 Cor. 6:19-20 says, “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.” How many times have we thought we could do what we want with our bodies, our life? As Christians we do not get to think like that any longer; we gave ourselves to Christ. We are now His, our ear is now pierced (Ex. 21:5-6) to show our permanent state of servanthood to God, and we are to do His Work and be obedient in every way to Him.

As we see in the rest of this verse, Paul was not just a slave of Jesus Christ. God did not call him to just be a Christian. God set him apart to spread the Gospel of salvation in Jesus Christ. He was given an assignment. When God called you, He did not just stamp your passport as a Christian; He also set you apart for a specific assignment. He designed you for a purpose, He gave you a passion in your heart that will not contradict His Word, and He gave you the knowledge and talent to fulfill it. Seek it out.

Lastly, we will look at Paul’s call to be an apostle. By what right does he call himself an apostle? To answer this, we first must know what an apostle is. The general word apostle means “one who is sent out”. It refers to one who has been sent with a message. An apostle is accountable to his sender and carries the authority of his sender. The requirements to be an Apostle are to have witnessed Christ after His resurrection, to have been directly chosen by Him, and that an apostle performed signs, wonders, and mighty deeds (Romans 12:12 and Acts 2:43).

   So, does Paul qualify? He had a face to face encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus where Jesus called him to be His “chosen vessel” (Acts 9:15-16). Acts 9 tells us of Paul’s story; his face to face encounter with Jesus, conversion, and his call to Christ’s service. Therefore, we see in Acts 9:15-16, Galatians 1:1 and 1:11-17 Paul does meet the first two requirements of an apostle. We see that Jesus Christ Himself sent Paul to a people and with a message. Paul was accountable to Jesus and given authority by Jesus. The gospel was not given to him through a person but revealed to him through a direct revelation from Jesus Christ. Acts 19:11 tells us that “God was performing extraordinary miracles by Paul’s hands”. This fulfills the last requirement.

There are other apostles mentioned in the Bible, but they are not Apostles of Jesus Christ, because they were not sent directly by an encounter with Jesus. They were sent by the church. Only the 12 Apostles and Paul can claim to be Apostles of Christ, because they were appointed directly by Jesus Christ. So, be warry of anyone today claiming the title of Apostle of Christ.  Ephesians 4:11 does say that Christ Himself gave the apostles, but we must remember the audience in who Paul is speaking to; the Ephesians. And, in what time he speaks to them. He was telling them the leaders that they were encountering. The consensus has been long held that this is speaking of the 13 Apostles (12 disciples and Paul), who laid the foundations of the church. The foundation of the church is laid, and because we no longer are building the foundation we no longer have this office. Ephesians 2:19-22 “¹⁹ Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, ²⁰ having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, ²¹ in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, ²² in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.” Also, keeping in mind the qualifications to be an Apostle of Christ; we see no one today can fulfill these requirements. To finish, there is no biblical evidence that their office of apostleship was refilled upon their deaths. 

Study by Sarah Misch

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