Paul's Priority

Paul was writing to this group of Christians, while he was in prison. The Jews seized Paul, while he was in Jerusalem. And roman soldiers "rescued" Paul,  thinking he was a wanted criminal. And when they found out who he was, they held him, and sent him to Rome.

And what was Paul's perspective concerning the fact that he was being unjustly held in prison? (He had not committed a crime. The Jews seized him simply because he believed in, and proclaimed, Jesus.)

Paul realized that the most fundamental issue with humanity was its separation from God. It is the re-connection of God and man that fixes what is broken in the world. So, people understanding the problem, the solution, and all the results from it, became his foremost focus.

So, rather than viewing prison as a loss of opportunity, because it is a loss of freedom, he views prison as access to a new audience he would not have otherwise. He was able to share God's message to all of the soldiers, who were in Caesar's guard, as well as all of the staff.

Moreover, many other believers have gotten motivated to proclaim God's message.

Some received a fresh revelation of what re-connection to God means for individuals, and the world. So, they became strongly motivated to communicate God's message to people, who did not know him.

And Paul heard about others, who were trying to gain increased status from sharing the gospel. Paul was not worried about this. He agreed these people did not have pure motives. It would be infinitely better to share from love of God, and love of people.

But the foremost fact is: God's love is getting communicated to people, who do not realize it, know it, or experience it. Now, people have the opportunity to move into relationship with the Father, and to live as God designed.

God wants his family — as a whole, and as individuals — to communicate his love for all people, and his message, which is the answer for a broken humanity. And there are multiple reasons why this doesn't happen.

There are methods of proclamation that can only be done after special training, or with great expense, and preparation, which cannot be copied by most people. Many, who have gotten the training, or paid the cost, has gotten discouraged, because too much work was required for too little results.

Many Jesus followers do not emphasize what Jesus emphasized. There are different groups, who stress different parts of what it means to follow Jesus. These parts have been given priority. I don't want to minimize people's different convictions, or areas that God has revealed to different parts of his family. God is restoring his image to his people. Each of these areas is important to that process. But we do need to remember Jesus' priorities.

Jesus said that love demonstrates who are his disciples. And he said that unity in his family demonstrates that God really, and truly, did send Jesus. it is these areas that God's family needs to major in. It is these areas that God's family needs to be well-know for. God has other standards we need to proclaim, other truths we need to affirm. But these are number one. We need to affirm number two, and number five, without forgetting number one.

New Life is Contagious

One day, Paul met face to face with Jesus. And it turned his world upside down, and inside out. Scriptures indicates, that shortly after this meeting, Paul went on a retreat.

Because Paul was a scholar, he need to get his head on straight about all that had happened. Jesus revealed God to him in a revolutionary way. The Jewish scholars poured through Scripture, seeking answers to God, his purposes, his intentions, and plans. They all thought they had God figured out. They had his system down pat. Then comes Jesus! How did they get it so wrong?

After this retreat, he understood better what God's purposes are. He understood Jesus, the Law, the cross, and grace. He understood faith, and obedience. And he understood the effect the gospel could have on Jew, gentile, and the world. And he recognizes his place as a gospel pioneer in God's plan.

So, when he shares the gospel in a gentile city, and they have a similar "light bulb" moment, he develops a special joy for this city. The people in this new church — this community of Jesus followers — recognized the eternal ripples the gospel would generate. They recognized the expanding, positive effects the gospel would cause in their lives, and families, and countries.

Profoundly impacted by it all, they began to share what they knew all-along their relational lines. They told friends, family, and neighbors about Jesus. This was not a city-wide, door-to-door campaign. This was: "Hey, Joe! How's work? How's the family? Have you heard about this Jesus guy?"

Paul recognized the symptoms of new life in them. He knew them, because he had the same "disease." So, Paul prayed for their progress in their relationship with the Father, their transformation, and the increasing effect of their lives on their communities. And Paul knew that the Father was not finished yet.

One reason, Jesus was born into the world, was to demonstrate, to model, how people should be living. God intended each person to live like Jesus lived. Each person should have a spontaneous flow of God's love — to experience, and to share. And each person ought to share it freely, readily, and abundantly.

And yeah! none of us are there yet. But, we ought to be moving in that direction. And in today's atmosphere, it ought to be noticed … just like it was in the first century.

Slave of Christ

In several of his letters, Paul identifies himself as a slave of Christ. Slavery is not normally something one aspires to, or is proud of. At the time of Paul and Jesus, it is estimated that half of the population of the Roman empire were slaves. There is documentation of abuse of slaves. There is also documentation of maintaining skilled slaves. For example, one would have a physician as a slave, so one could charge for his services, and keep all the profits.

The Jews had slaves. But it was written in the law,  that the treatment of slaves should be handled differently than the rest of the world. A slave could not be "held" forever. They had to be freed after a set time.

There was a provision in the law, that if the slave chose, the slave could remain with his master for the rest of his life. The law said, that while living with his master, if the slave observes his master's conduct, and treatment, of his slaves, his family, property, and reasons that he is better, living as a slave with this master, he can choose to remain a slave.

The word "slave," that Paul users to describe himself, is usually translated into English as "bond servant," or "bond slave." The intention is to associate this term with the Jewish concept of "slave by choice."

And that is what Paul is identifying himself as. He recognizes who Jesus is, what Jesus gave him, and how he is viewed by God. He recognizes how he is treated, what Jesus did on his behalf, and what his heavenly Abba is ready, willing, and able to do on his behalf. So, he chose to be God's slave, because of the cross, and what it says of God's love for people.

God went over the top for people. He showed Paul his love, and his willingness to serve his people. So, Paul was willing to put himself into God's hands. He became God's slave, doing whatever God asked, because it would be the best for him, and the best for the world. And we are invited to do the same.