Serve One Another

Building Up One Another 8. Serve One Another

A budding artist once painted a picture of the Last Supper. He took it to the writer, Leo Tolstoy for his opinion. Carefully and understandingly, the Russian master of words studied the canvas. Then pointing to the central figure, he declared, “You do not love Him.”

“Why, that is the Lord Jesus Christ,” exclaimed the artist.

“I know,” insisted Tolstoy, “but you do not love Him. If you loved Him more, you would paint Him better.”

Few of us are budding artists in this sense, but the Bible teaches we’re all to be servants—servants of the Lord Jesus Christ and of one another. With this in mind, we can easily reword Tolstoy’s statement to read, “If you loved Him more, you would serve Him better.” Furthermore, “If we loved one another more, we would serve one another better.” As Paul wrote to the Galatians, “You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love” (Gal. 5:13).

Building Up One Another 8. Serve One Another

A budding artist once painted a picture of the Last Supper. He took it to the writer, Leo Tolstoy for his opinion. Carefully and understandingly, the Russian master of words studied the canvas. Then pointing to the central figure, he declared, “You do not love Him.”

“Why, that is the Lord Jesus Christ,” exclaimed the artist.

“I know,” insisted Tolstoy, “but you do not love Him. If you loved Him more, you would paint Him better.”

Few of us are budding artists in this sense, but the Bible teaches we’re all to be servants—servants of the Lord Jesus Christ and of one another. With this in mind, we can easily reword Tolstoy’s statement to read, “If you loved Him more, you would serve Him better.” Furthermore, “If we loved one another more, we would serve one another better.” As Paul wrote to the Galatians, “You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love” (Gal. 5:13).

A budding artist once painted a picture of the Last Supper. He took it to the writer, Leo Tolstoy for his opinion. Carefully and understandingly, the Russian master of words studied the canvas. Then pointing to the central figure, he declared, “You do not love Him.”

“Why, that is the Lord Jesus Christ,” exclaimed the artist.

“I know,” insisted Tolstoy, “but you do not love Him. If you loved Him more, you would paint Him better.”

Few of us are budding artists in this sense, but the Bible teaches we’re all to be servants—servants of the Lord Jesus Christ and of one another. With this in mind, we can easily reword Tolstoy’s statement to read, “If you loved Him more, you would serve Him better.” Furthermore, “If we loved one another more, we would serve one another better.” As Paul wrote to the Galatians, “You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love” ().

We Are to be Servants

There are four basic words in the language of the New Testament that are often translated “serve,” “servant,” or “serving.” All in all, this basic concept is used over 300 times (about 130 times in the Gospels and Acts and approximately 170 in the Epistles).

The two words that are used more frequently are

δουλεύω (douleuō) and διακονέω (diakoneō)

and

διακονέω (diakoneō)

δουλεύω (douleuō)

comes from the root word doulos meaning slave. So it literally means to be a slave, to serve, to obey, to submit. It’s used in both a good and bad sense. On the positive side, the word means to serve God and others in a context of Christian love. On the negative side, douleuō means to become a slave to some base power. For example, in Paul’s Letter to the Romans he taught that people can be “slaves to sin” ().

διακονέω (diakoneō)

Diakoneō means to “minister” to someone. In a more specific sense, New Testament writers used this word to describe someone who serves people food and drinks, someone who cares for others’ material needs. In a more general sense, it describes those who attend to anything that may serve another’s interest. It is from this concept that we get the word “deacon.”

It’s clear from these definitions that the first word, douleuō, is the stronger in meaning. Some form of the word is used approximately 160 times in the New Testament. A doulos was a slave, a bondman, a person who served. In its strongest sense, this word describes someone who has given himself up completely to another’s will. And this is the concept that Paul used when he wrote, “serve [douleuō] one another in love” (). He was writing about serving one another in the most devoted sense. As believers, we are to give ourselves totally to one another—to literally become slaves to one another.

What a contrast to the emphasis in modern society! Look at the newsstands and survey the titles of current magazines with their focus on “me” and “myself.” The thrust of these publications are that I am important; my rights are what are the most significant thing. If my rights conflict with your rights, I come first. If you cannot meet my needs and I cannot meet your needs—if we can’t work it out together—you go your way and I’ll go mine. We see this in the church in America as well. I like this program, or I like this worship. In fact I think this is how many Christians choose their church. They look at what the church has to offer and what it can do for them. This concept of Libertarian Identity and Free Will of I make the rules for myself is truly an unbiblical model.

Improving Your Serve

In his book Improving Your Serve, Chuck Swindoll identified this emphasis with a verbal pyramid. At the top is “I,” moving down to “me,” “mine,” and “myself.”

I

ME

MINE

MYSELF

In his book Improving Your Serve, Chuck Swindoll identified this emphasis with a verbal pyramid. At the top is “I,” moving down to “me,” “mine,” and “myself.”

Why do people function this way? The Bible answers this question. It reflects the sin principle that is active in us all. Ever since Adam and Eve disobeyed God, all of us have become self-oriented. This is our natural bent. But Paul provides a solution to this problem.

WE ARE TO SERVE ONE ANOTHER

I

Jesus Christ made it possible for all of us to break out of our self-oriented mold. In Christ, we are set free to minister to others, to love others as ourselves (). When we become Christians, we are given new life—eternal life—and with that great gift we are given the potential and the power to get beyond ourselves and experience the fulfillment that comes to those who serve others. This is what Jesus Christ meant when He said, “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it” ().

ME

Christianity is relational.

MINE

It involves a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

We become Christians, not just by acknowledging that the Lord Jesus Christ is the Son of God, but by receiving Him as our personal Savior. John wrote that “to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” (). And when we receive Jesus Christ in this sense, we have a unique relationship with Him.

it involves a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. We become Christians, not just by acknowledging that the Lord Jesus Christ is the Son of God, but by receiving Him as our personal Savior. John wrote that “to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” (). And when we receive Jesus Christ in this sense, we have a unique relationship with Him.

MYSELF

But a new relationship to Christ and with Christ is more than vertical. It is also horizontal. We become members of Christ’s body, the church. By one Spirit we are all placed into one body ().

As we talked about in September, we are members of one another. Each of us is related and interconnected to all other parts of the church body.

SERVE ONE ANOTHER IN LOVE

Serving one another must be guided by true love. Paul told the Galatian Christians they were “called to be free.” However, they were not to use that “freedom to indulge the sinful nature” (). In other words, it is possible to serve others in an inappropriate and carnal way.

What should guide us in our relationships with others? We are, Paul wrote, to “serve one another in love.” To make the point even clearer, he reminded the Galatians that “the entire law is summed up in a single command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’” (v. 14).

We looked at the concept of loving one another earlier this fall and looked at agape and phileo love are used over 300 times each about half the time. A lot has been made by some pastors over the difference between agape and phileo, but in reality they are used interchangeably and mean really the same thing.

Love, as it is defined in Scripture, is the guiding principle in all Christian relationships, including the process of serving one another. Without Christlike love, our relationships will be dominated by selfishness and painful bondage. Serving others becomes a negative experience rather than a positive one. But guided by the divine principle of love, serving others becomes a powerful illustration of corporate Christlikeness.

FREEDOM TO SERVE

For me, and I think for most people, it is really hard to serve that person that just rubs us the wrong way. I have worked in schools for a number of years now, and one thing you will often here from the staff is that the hardest part of working in schools aren’t the kids it the other adults that are hard to deal with. I can remember at time when I was at the High School where I had a stipend position as the technology representative. All this meant was that I would help teachers with computers problems before and after school. There was a teacher at that time who was technology challenged and it seemed like everyday they would have some computer crisis and would call me in the middle of class and expect me to drop everything and come right over and fix the computer. Needless to say I couldn’t do that. It got to the point where I found myself intentionally not wanting to even answer the service tickets they put in out of spite. I think we can all think of a time when something similar happened in our lives. We would be willing to bet that as I told this story a name and face popped into your mind of that person for you. I simply was not exhibiting Christ like love nor an attitude of service, and eventually God confronted me with that sin. Last week we looked at our freedom in Christ, purchased with his blood on Calvary. Christ exhibited the greatest love, that while I was still a sinner he died for me. As a Christian I needed to change my attitude toward this teacher and exhibit Christ like love and service.

Last week I talked about the physics of flight and how the 747 Jumbo Jet could overcome the law gravity using the laws of aerodynamics and lift. This principle is also true in the spiritual realms. The “law of sin and death” is active in every human being who has ever lived (). But the Scriptures also reveal a law that is greater and more powerful and which can be activated, not by human engineering, but by God Himself. It is the “law of the spirit of life” that was made available by the coming of Jesus Christ (v. 2). It is this law that sets us free to serve God and others in love. This is why Paul discusses serving in the context of freedom. If we are not “free in Christ,” we cannot be “free to serve” as God intended. Paul wrote, “For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another” ().

LIFE IS RELATIONAL

As people, we are part of a human family. It is impossible to live apart from some kind of human relationship that has certain reciprocal responsibilities. We do not—and we cannot—live in isolation from one another. We are dependent on each other to meet one another's needs—physically, emotionally, socially—and yes, spiritually.

This is by design—God’s design. It has been true from the beginning of time. When God created Adam, He said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him” (). Consequently, God created a woman for Adam. This began the human family and its responsibilities.

As believers in Jesus Christ, we are part of a unique family—the family of God. Not only is it a family with human dimensions, but also with divine dimensions. And when Paul exhorted the Galatian Christians to “serve one another in love” (5:13), he was well aware of the relational realities of life, both in the human family as well as in the Christian family. Thus, before he issued this “serving” directive, he wrote, “Do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature” (v. 13).

THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT

Paul warns us to not use our freedom as an opportunity to sin, in fact he goes on later is this chapter of Galatians to elucidate that acts of a sinful life. Paul then warns the Galatians that those reveling in this lifestyle will not inherit the kingdom of God as they are not really Christians at all. So how then do we recognize a Christian.

They will manifest the fruit of the Spirit in their relationships with others. Paul outlined these qualities next (). In his prayer for the Philippians, he identifies these qualities as the “fruit of righteousness” (): Love, Joy, Peace Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, Self-Control

Love, Joy, Peace Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, Self-Control

These qualities are in stark contrast to the “acts of the old nature.” So Paul concludes, “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other” ().

Along with the notes sheet, you probably also picked up a survey sheet. I would like you to spend some time tonight or this week rating our church on the questions. The scale is 1 to 7 where 1 is never visible and 7 being always visible. Please do not put your name on it or anything I would just like to gather this information as I think it will be valuable in helping the leadership think through some next steps for our church. It would also be worth while to think through how well you personally are fulfilling some of those characteristics as well.

Practical Steps for Serving One Another In Love

Step 1: Evaluate how much you and others in your church may be reflecting “the acts of the sinful nature” in your relationships rather than “the fruit of the Spirit.”

One way to get at this information is to begin with the following questions. The answers give indication of Christian maturity in a body of believers. A seven-point scale is included to help you measure various manifestations of Christlikeness. The number 1 signifies that the particular characteristic being evaluated is never visible. The number 7 indicates it is always visible. The numbers in between represent degrees of visibility.

Make sure you are not guilty of allowing your old nature to dominate your relationships with others.

Commit to modeling among yourselves the Fruits of the Spirit to other in our church.

Some Christians do not believe the “acts of the old nature” are visible in their church because ther is no flagrant sexual immorality, debauch

Getz, G. A. (2011). Building up one another. Colorado Springs, CO: David C Cook.

Getz, G. A. (2011). Building up one another. Colorado Springs, CO: David C Cook.

Begin to pray for others in the church-but only after you have made sure your own lives are in order.

Carefully guard against “spiritual pride” and “pseudo-spirituality.”

Attitudes of superiority and spiritual pride create more problems than solutions.