Chapter 3 notes for Slave by John Macarthur

• From the teaching of Jesus we learn that slaves are not greater than their master; neither are they privey to the Masters plans
• Jesus used slave language to define the reality of what it means to follow Him. Discipleship, like slavery entails a life of total self-denial, a humble disposition toward others, a wholehearted devotion to the master commands in everything an eagerness to serve Him in his absence, and motivation that comes from knowing he is well pleased.
• A slaves's life was one of the couplete surrender, submission, and service to the master- and the people of recognized the parallel
• Exclusive ownership: Roman law considered slaves to be property in the absolute control of the owner.
• As Paul told the Romans, "thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of Righteousness (Rom 6:17-18)
• As Christians, we are part of a people for his own possession (Titus 2:14), having joined the multitude of those who belong to Christ Jesus(Gal 5:24) and who worship Him as our Master in heaven(col 4.1) Just as first century slaves would receive new names from Christ.
• Rev. 3:12 "I will write on him the name of My God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God, and my new name." Believers in the eternal state will serve the Lord as his slaves forver, and his name will be on their foreheads (Rev 22:4)
• As Christ is Lord, so the Christian is slave, even bondslave, owing unquestioning, obedience. Paul explicitly compares spiritual with literal slavery (e.g. Colossians 3:22-24)
• You are not your own, you are bought with a price
• To be akive at all means fruitful labor- the slaves exist only to work!(1 corintians 6:19,20, Philippians 1:22) So represented, consecration is complete moral submission to Christ's absolute claim and ownership.
• 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 Don't you realize your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a huge price. So you must honor God with your body.
• "By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep his commandments."
• As slaves we are expected "to obey Jesus Christ(1 peter 1:2), "to present [our] bodies as living and Holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is our spiritual service of worship" (rom 12:1), and to keep his commandments and do the things that are pleasing in his sight(1 john 3:22)
• you have been bought with a price Paul told the corinthians therefore Glorify God in your body (1 corinthians 6:20) Whatever you eat drink or whatever you do it all for the Glory of God.
• We cannot simultaneously serve God & money, worship the true God and idols, or live according to the spirit and the flesh. 1 cor 10:31;Col 2:12;3:17 1 Thess 2:12
• Believers are to please him in all resects (col 1:10)
• 1 Thess 4:1 ...and to do that which is acceptable to God (rom 14:18). We are called to seek his glory in everything we do, longing to conduct ourseves in a manner worthy of his name 1 cor 10:31; col 2:12; 1 Thess 2:12
• Matthew 6:31-33
• Those who make pleasing God their highest priority can be confident that he will take care of them.
• No one understands this principle better then the Apostle Paul. As a "slave to Christ,"he had given everything to serve his master. Paul's ministry was not an easy one. Paul had been beaten, imprisoned, endangered, and threatened with death. Yet in spite of it all, God always provided Paul with all that he needed to faithfully accomplish his ministry.
• Paul wrote "Be anxious for nothing" He wrote to the Philippians, "but in everything by prayer & suplication... let your requests be made known to God" (4:6)

• Paul tells timothy "If we have food & covering with these we shall be content" 1 Tim 6:8)
• Based on Lifetime of trusting his master, Paul could confidently tell the Phillipians , "My God will supply all your needs according to his riches & Glory in Jesus Christ (4:19)
• Paul told the corinthians, "God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything you may have abundance for every good deed" 2 cor 9:8) Paul himself relied daily on Christ resting in God's promise to him: "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness (2 cor 12:9)
• Rom 8:55
• The desire to please the master is heightened by the knowledge that each one of us will give an account of himself to God (Rom 14:12)
• For we must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done" 2 cor 5:10

Chapter 2 notes for Slave by John Macarthur

1 Corinthians 7:21-23

New Living Translation (NLT)

²¹ Are you a slave? Don’t let that worry you—but if you get a chance to be free, take it. ²² And remember, if you were a slave when the Lord called you, you are now free in the Lord. And if you were free when the Lord called you, you are now a slave of Christ. ²³ God paid a high price for you, so don’t be enslaved by the world.^[a]

Footnotes:1 Corinthians 7:23 Greek don’t become slaves of people.

• Roughly one fifth of the empire's population were slaves totaling twelve million at the outset of the first century AD
• The institution of slavery itself was never really questioned. Slaves may have resented their bondage but given the chance they acquired slaves themselves. When freed, they simply moved up a notch in the system, becoming themselves masters and mistresses.  
• Household slaves received greater honor than other slaves because they worked more closely with their masters.
• A wicked slave was a greeat liability and would cause serious damage to the owners welfare.
• Slavery offered a certain amount of social and economic protection to whose masters were kind of well respected these slaves sole concern was carrying out interests of their owner.
• If a master was a prestigious or powerful member of the community such as government official his slaves would also be respected because of their relationship to him A great deal of honor would be given to the slaves of someone highly regarded by roman society.
• To be a slave was to be totally in someone's else's possession, totally subjected to one's master in everything.
• ***Greek philosopher Aristotle defined a slave as a human being who was considered an article of prosperity, someone who belonged completely to another person.***
• The only thing that slaves had in common with the 1st century is that each of them had an owner. 
• A person's experience with slavery depended entirely on the slave owners family & customs. The character of the owner & class of society.

Out of Egypt

• Hebrew word for slave, 'ebed, appears in the Old Testament 799 times as a noun and another 290 times as a verb.
• The King James Version for example, never translates ebed as slave opting instead for servant or manservant the vast majority of the time.
• Slavery was apart of Israel's history from her earliest days as a nation. Even before Issac was born, in Genesis 15, God revealed to Abraham that his descendants would one day experience great suffering as slaves in foreign land.
• The exodus from Egypt did not give the Israelites complete autonomy Rather,it used them into different kind of bondage. Those who had once been the property of pharoah was now the property of the Lord.

"You shall be my own possession among all the peoples," God told them as they camped at foot of mount Sinai(EX 19:5) Later he told mosses, For the Israelites are my slaves I brought out of the Land of Egypt I am the Lord your God (Lev 25:55HCSB).

• To call oneself an israelite was the same as calling oneself a slave of God.
• Having been rescued from egypt centuries before, God's people again founf themselves in wholesale captivity (shows the connection between Babylonian captivity & exodus; In a great reversal of God's deliverance in the exodus: in the exodus he will enslave Israel & her enemies Jer 17:4 
• Many of Israel's heros including Abrham moses, Joshua, David, Elijah and the prophets are specifically referred to as his slaves.
• Non-Jewish slaves on the otherhand were regarded and treated like chattels or movable property (Lev 25:44-46)

The Master's Law

• James did not boast about being Jesus' half brother but instead called himself James, A slave of God & of the Lord Jesus Christ (James 1:1: 4CSB)
• The word doulos or slave is even used throughout the book of relationship to describe the believer's eternal relationship.
• The words doulos or slave is even used throughout the book of Revelations to describe the believer's eternal relationalship to the Lord.

Chapter 1 notes for Slave by John Macarthur

Chapter One

• During the second century believers of Jesus faced imprisonment, torture, or death by the roman empire.
• I AM A CHRISTIAN

     - Entire identity found in Jesus

            A. Name

            B. Citizenship

            C. Social status

• To the second century believers of Christ their entire existence was summed up by following Jesus Christ. The second century believed nothing else mattered even to the point of losing their life.
• For Second century believers the name Christian was more than just a religious designation it defined their entire  existence.
• For Second Century followers of Christ CHRISTIAN was not simply a title, but an entire new way of thinking-one that had serious implications for how they lived -and ultimately how they died.

What does it mean to be a Christian?

• For some being a Christian is primarily cultural & traditional.
• For some being Christian is political.
• For most people it is described as a past religious experience, general belief in Jesus, or desire to be a good person.
• Followers of Jesus Christ were not called Christians until 10-15 years after the church started before they were known as Saints, brothers, disciples, followers of the way
• Acts 11:26 First time followers were called Christians.
• The term Christian was orginally coined by unbelievers as an attempt to deride those who followed crucified Christ.
• Christian greek = Christianoi
• Followers of Caesar were known as Kaisarianoi They showed deep loyalty to Roman empire.
• To be a Christian, in true sense of the term is to be a wholehearted follower of Jesus Christ.
• John 8:31 If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow me Luke 9:23 John 12:26
• Calling ourselves Christians we proclaim to the world that everything including of self identity is found in Jesus Christ.

A Word that Changes Everything

1. Scripture describes us as Aliens
2. strangers of God
3. citizens of heaven
4. lights to the world
5. members of the body
6. sheep in his flock
7. Ambassadors

• We are called to 

1. compete like athletes 
2. fight like soldiers
3. to abide like branches on a vine
4. desire his word as newborn babies for milk

• Outsiders called them Christians. People in the know called themselves slaves.

Lost in translation

• Scriptures prevailing description of the Christians relationship to Jesus Christ is the slave/master relationship
• Slave = Doulos in greek
• Key distinction servants are hired slaves are owned.
• The gospel is not simply an invitation to become Christs associate; it is a mandate to become his slave.