Servant of God: about the metamorphoses of the meaning of the word. Servant of God - why a slave? Why are people called servants of God?
Ecology of knowledge: Many even sincerely believing Christians are sometimes jarred by the word "slave", which they call them in the church. Someone does not pay attention to this, others consider it a reason to get rid of pride, others ask questions to the priests. What does this concept really mean?
Green willow over the swamp
A rope is tied to the willow,
Rope morning and evening
A learned boar walks in a circle.
(translation into Russian of the Polish version of the poem by A.S. Pushkin “At the Lukomorye there is a green oak ...”)
Many even sincerely believing Christians are sometimes jarred by the word "slave", which they call them in the church. Someone does not pay attention to this, others consider it a reason to get rid of pride, others ask questions to the priests. What does this concept really mean? Maybe there is nothing offensive in it at all?
About the meaning of the word "slave"
Of course, the Bible was written at a time when the language and meanings of words were completely different, and besides, it was translated many times from one language to another. It is not surprising if the meaning of the texts has been distorted beyond recognition. Maybe the word "slave" had a completely different meaning?
According to the Church Slavonic Dictionary of Prot. G. Dyachenko the concept of "slave" has several meanings: inhabitant, inhabitant, servant, slave, slave, son, daughter, boy, young man, young slave, servant, student. Thus, this interpretation alone gives hope to the “servants of God” in preserving human dignity in their Christian virtue: after all, they are also a son or daughter, and a disciple, and simply an inhabitant of the world created by God.
Let us also recall the social structure of those times: the slaves and children of the owner of the house lived, by and large, in equal conditions. The children also could not argue with their father in anything, while the slaves were, in fact, members of the family. The student was in the same position if the master of some craft took him into service.
Or maybe "rob"?
As Agafya Logofetova writes, referring to Fasmer's etymological dictionary, the word "slave" is borrowed from the Church Slavonic language and in Old Russian it had the form "robe", "robya", from which the plural form "robyata" is still found in some dialects. In the future, the root "rob" turned into "reb", from where the modern "child", "guys", etc. came from.
Thus, again, we return to the fact that an orthodox Christian is a child of God, and not a slave in the modern sense of the word.
Or "raab"?
The already mentioned Dyachenko dictionary includes another meaning: “Raab or slave is the name of Jewish teachers, the same as a rabbi.” "Rabbi" comes from the Hebrew "rabbi", which, according to Collier's dictionary, means "my master" or "my teacher" (from "rab" - "great", "lord" - and the pronominal suffix "-and" - " my").
Unexpected rise, right? Perhaps the "servant of God" is a teacher, a bearer of spiritual knowledge, called to convey it to people? In this case, it remains only to agree with the phrase of Hieromonk Job, in the world of Athanasius Gumerov (said, however, initially in a slightly different context): “The right to be called a servant of God must be earned.”
Modern language
One thing is certain: the way of life and the mentality of the people of that time was too different from ours. The language was different, of course. Therefore, it was not a moral problem for a Christian of that era to call himself a “servant of God,” nor was it an exercise in getting rid of the sin of pride.
Sometimes parishioners on the forums suggest: "... if the Bible has been translated many times, and the meaning of the word "slave" has changed during this time, why not replace it with a more appropriate value?" For example, such an option as “servant” was voiced. But, in my opinion, the word "son" or "daughter" or "disciple of God" is much better suited. In addition, according to the Church Slavonic dictionary, these are also the meanings of the word "slave".
instead of a conclusion. A bit of humor about the metamorphoses of concepts
The young monk was given the task of helping the rest of the ministers of the church rewrite the sacred texts. After working like this for a week, the newcomer noticed that copying was not done from the original, but from another copy. He expressed his surprise to the father rector: “Padre, if someone made a mistake, it will be repeated after that in all copies!”. The abbot, thinking, went down to the dungeons where the primary sources were kept and ... disappeared. When almost a day had passed since his disappearance, the worried monks went down after him. They found him right away: he was banging his head against the sharp stones of the walls and shouting insanely: “Celebrate!! The word was “celebrate”! Not “celibate”!”.
(Note: celebrate (eng.) - celebrate, glorify, glorify; celibate (eng.) - vowed celibacy; celibacy) published
Vladislav, Omsk
Why are we “servants of God” and not His children?
In other countries where the Orthodox faith is present, people are called "child of God", but only in Russia they are called "servant of God". Why is it so?
Good! After reading your question and "running around" on the Internet, I turned to acquaintances who visit other states that call themselves Orthodox. It turned out from a survey and a survey that the name "child of God" is not universal abroad, most likely it is a tradition of a particular parish or community.
Remembering the words of Christ:
From now on, I do not call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master does, but I called you friends, because I told you everything that I heard from My Father (John 15:15),
but before:
If you keep My commandments, you will continue in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and continue in His love (John 15:10).
We may recall 1 Cor. 7:20-21: "... the servant called in the Lord is the Lord's free; likewise, he who is called free is the servant of Christ».
At St. Basil the Great and other Fathers of the Church have the idea that a person, becoming a church member, i.e. approaching Christ, by “essence”, and not “by name”, passes through three stages:
- The first is "slave". The slave is driven by fear, he is afraid of punishment. The servant of God asks for help from the Master in order to avoid sin, to gain the fear of God's wrath - for him this is the only way to stop sinning. This is an honest position, without cunning and self-deception - you simply admit that you are a slave to your passions, in fact, you are a slave to Satan. The Apostle Paul says: Who works for whom is the slave» (Rom. 6:16)
- The second stage is the “mercenary”, he is driven by the desire to receive a reward for his labors and spiritual exploits, abstinence, prostrations, etc. Probably, we can say that when obvious sins cease, i.e. "crimes of the Law", the emerging hope of inheriting the Kingdom is the main driving force at this stage.
- And, finally, the last and, probably, the most difficult state to achieve is Sonship, when a person renounces his passions and surrenders himself to the Will of the Heavenly Father, the true state to which a person is destined. Man is driven by Love for the Father, for the World He created, for everything that He cares about. The desire to help every creature of God, the fear of grieving the beloved Father - this is the perfection of the fear of God, and not in the unwillingness of "frying pans and boiling oil."
You can, out of the corner of your eye, look at the Arab princes, well, or at our "majors". " We can do anything - our parents will solve all issues"!.. The gift given to us" Be a child of God”(John 1:12) there is also the greatest responsibility, it is necessary and internally correspond to the title. We can be adopted by God through Christ, by baptism. Salvation is a process, a journey throughout our lives, not a one-time event. With every minute of our lives, we can exercise our sonship to God (1 John 3:1-10) or show that we are “ children of the devil” (see John 8:44). The choice is solely ours. The servant of God cares about his Master, not thinking how to please someone else. Do we get it like this? Maybe not always? Probably, everyone, remembering even one day of his life, will find something wrong. We can call ourselves differently, but there is a danger already here to feel like a “child” of God, at a time when everyone else is “slaves”. But, until you take a closer look at the spiritual quality of your everyday life, I completely agree with you, the “child of God” is exactly me. When you look at yourself, then no ...
How to call yourself, in my opinion, is not paramount. It is important to feel the GIFT, which is just a GIFT, and not our merit. I recall the parable of the prodigal son, who left, squandered his inheritance, but realized his sin and wanted to be hired by his father. The merciful Lord will accept us, but it would be nice if after all our “journeys”, even having “corrected”, we remember the words of Christ:
So also you, when you have done all that is commanded to you, say: We are worthless servants, because we have done what we had to do” (Luke 17:10).
May the Lord grant us all spiritual intelligence, humility and Christian love for near and far!
Everyone knows that slavery is a terrible thing. Getting into slavery, a person loses freedom, the ability to think and move independently. Why, then, do many Christians proudly call themselves servants of God.
To understand what a servant of God means in Orthodoxy, the Holy Scripture - the Bible - will help us.
The Bible Explains the Term "Servant of God"
Slave or son
According to Jewish concepts, there was nothing derogatory in the word “slave”, as the workers in the house were called, who were sometimes treated as members of the family. If the Roman slave owners did not consider their servants as people, then the Jews treated them completely the opposite. On Saturdays, the slave owner was obliged to release the servant from work, because according to the laws of the Jews, it is a sin to work on this day.
Read about the Orthodox faith:
If only the fear of God lives in a person, then he will do everything well, correctly, but without much joy. This is slavery for the sake of salvation, thank God that in this way many people come to eternal life. The Son of God, whether Orthodox or Catholic, rejoices in fellowship with the Father and the Savior, he hears the Holy Spirit and knows his rights in the spiritual world.
Prayer to God
The Son of God has complete freedom from sin:
- lies and hypocrisy;
- worship of other gods;
- theft;
- parental disrespect.
In a letter to the Romans, the apostle Paul utters a contradictory ordinary people the phrase that only having been freed from sin, one can become a slave to God. (Rom. 8:22) Paul continues his thought in the epistle to the Corinthians, emphasizing that a huge price has been paid for every Christian, so you should not fall back into the slavery of sin. (1 Corinthians 7:23)
The Ephesian church also received instructions about the slavery of the Lord, which says that the will of the Creator can be done by the servants of Jesus. (Eph. 6:6)
St. John, after being in the kingdom of heaven, in "Revelation" (Rev. 19:5) writes a command that all the servants of God can praise Him.
Now we see that being a servant of the Creator, surrendering to Jesus as a slave is a great honor and reward.
Jesus, through the Apostle Paul, says that the time will come when the Holy Spirit will be poured out on the servants of God. (Acts 2:18) Paul did not write that the Holy Spirit would come only to the disciples, he emphasized that this grace would be given to those who gave themselves into spiritual slavery to the Savior, dressed in bright clothes of heavenly purity.
Spiritual slavery in this case implies calmness and confidence in the future, humility and humility. The Holy Spirit will never descend where there is rebellion and impurity.
During a Catholic service, a priest often refers to parishioners as both slaves and children of God.
The Virgin Mary, having heard the news of her pregnancy, called herself a slave, one that surrenders to the power of her master with humility and gratitude. (Luke 1:38)
In the New Testament, all the apostles called themselves the servants of God, so to be in bondage to Jesus is the highest blessing. In the Bible, the word "Doulos" is found, which means:
- servant;
- subject.
Three stages of growth. The servant of our Lord Jesus Christ serves his Lord, fulfilling His commands, becoming a type of His hands, helping people.
Jesus, for the sake of sinful humanity, put on the dirty clothes of sin and slavery, humbled himself for the sake of love, descended into hell, becoming like a man. (Phil. 2:6-8)
The true believing heart will seek to imitate the Savior by honorably being called a servant of God.
There are slaves by law, and there are by love. In the 15th chapter of the gospel of John it is written that Jesus no longer calls the disciples slaves, but treats them as friends, passing on to them everything "that he heard from the Father."
Jesus Christ calls the disciples not slaves, but friends
People who consider themselves Christians, but do not want to be transformed into His image, to know His will, forever remain slaves in spirit, but this is not a slave of His Master, who wants to grow up to the state of a friend, a son, filled with a new degree of relationship.
The son has power in his father's house, he has the right to inherit.
What do the priests say about it?
According to Deacon Mikhail Parshin, the phrase about slavery confuses only those people who have not known the nature of God. It is scary to fall into the hands of a tyrant, but it is a real pleasure to give your life to a loving Creator, the source of all beauty on earth. This includes:
- love;
- true;
- truth;
- Adoption;
- forgiveness and other virtues.
Deacon Parshin emphasizes that more people knows God, the more deeply he realizes sinfulness.
An interesting discovery was made by Archpriest A. Glebov, who studied the Old Testament and came to the conclusion that many thousands of years ago only kings, then prophets, had the right to be called servants of God. By this, the chosen persons of Israel showed that there is no other power over them, except God.
In the parable of the evil vinedressers, hired laborers worked, and the king's servants, who were the prototypes of the prophets of Israel, through whom the Creator communicated His will to the people, looked after them.
Calling oneself a servant of God, a person emphasizes his exclusive position, namely, a personal relationship with God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Video about why we call ourselves servants of God
Servants of God - what does this mean in Orthodoxy? To know this is the duty of every person who lives with unshakable faith in his heart. The question of what a servant of God means in Orthodoxy, we will try to reveal in as much detail as possible within the framework of this article. The topic is difficult from a religious point of view. But it is very important for understanding Christian dogma and human experience. So, let's begin.
son of man
The figure of Jesus Christ is fundamental not only for Christianity, but for all mankind as a whole. The letter to the Corinthians says that he became poor for us. In the epistle to the Philistines we can read that Christ destroyed, having devastated himself, took the form of a slave, humbled himself. The Son of Man, the Lord, the Lamb of God, the Eternal Word, Alpha and Omega, the Retributor, the Lord of the Sabbath, the Savior of the world - these are the epithets and many others that are applied to Jesus. Christ Himself calls himself the way, the truth, and the life, and in spite of such majestic names, he took on the form of a servant, being the son of God. Jesus is the servant of God, Christ is the son of God.
Christians are servants of God
What does servant of God mean? At the mention of the word "slave" there are associations with inequality, cruelty, lack of freedom, poverty, injustice. But this refers to the social slavery that society has created and fought against for many centuries. The victory over slavery in the social sense does not guarantee spiritual freedom. Throughout the history of the church, Christians have called themselves the servants of God. One of the definitions of a person completely surrendered to something. Therefore, a servant of God means a Christian who strives to surrender himself entirely to the will of God. And also the observance of his commandments, the struggle with their own passions.
Is every Christian worthy to be called a servant of God? Referring to the definition above, of course not. All people are sinners, and only a few manage to devote themselves entirely to Christ. Therefore, every believer in the Almighty is obliged with reverence, humility and great joy to call himself a servant of God. But human pride and ignorance often take over. The spoken word "slave" and all the associations associated with it sometimes overshadow the end of the epithet we are considering. In our understanding, the exploitative and arrogant attitude of the master towards his servant is natural. But Christ destroys this pattern by saying that we are his friends if we do what he commanded us to do.
“I no longer call you slaves, because the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I called you friends,” he says in the Gospel of John. When reading the Gospel of Matthew or during a service in an Orthodox church while singing the third antiphon, we learn from the words of Christ that the peacemakers will be blessed - they will be called the sons of God. But here we are talking about the Kingdom of Heaven. Therefore, any Christian is obliged to honor only Jesus Christ as the son of God. That is why a servant of God and not a son of God.
Slavery social and spiritual
Any slavery means restriction of freedom in a person, in his whole being. The concepts of social and spiritual slavery differ as much as they are connected. These concepts are easy enough to consider through the prism of earthly wealth or financial well-being, in modern terms.
The slavery of earthly riches is heavier than any suffering. This is well known to those who have been honored to be freed from it. But in order for us to know true freedom, it is necessary to break the bonds. It is not gold that should be kept in our house, but that which is more valuable than all worldly goods - philanthropy and will give us hope for salvation, liberation, and gold will cover us with shame before God and will in many ways contribute to the influence of the devil on us.
Slavery and freedom
The most precious gift of God to man, the gift of love is freedom. Of course, the religious experience of freedom is so unknown to people, so difficult is the experience of the law. Modern humanity without Christ still lives like the ancient Jews under the yoke of the law. All modern state laws are a reflection of the natural. The most insurmountable bondage, the strongest fetters, is death.
All human liberators, rebels, ardent rebels remain only slaves in the hands of death. It is not given to understand all imaginary liberators that without the liberation of a person from death, everything else is nothing. The only person among mankind rises to death - Jesus. As for each of us, it is natural, normal to "die", for him - "I will rise again". He was the only one who felt the strength in himself, necessary to conquer death by death both in himself and in all of humanity. And people believed it. And, though not many, will believe until the end of time.
Liberator
The truth will set us free. This is what the Evangelist John tells us. Illusory freedom is a slave rebellion, a bridge organized by the devil from social insignificant slavery, which we call revolution, to the future totalitarian slavery of the Antichrist. The devil no longer hides this face in the historical period that we call modernity. Therefore, right now, to perish or be saved by the world means to reject or accept the word of the liberator before the oppressor: “If the Son sets you free, then you will be truly free” (Jo. 8, 36). Slavery by the Antichrist, freedom in Christ - this is the future choice of mankind.
What the Bible Says
So, after all, is a person a servant of God or a son of God? The concept of "slave", which came to us from the Old Testament, is very different from the modern understanding of this term. The kings and prophets called themselves servants of God, thereby emphasizing their special purpose on earth, and also expressing the impossibility of serving anyone but the Lord God.
The servant of God in ancient Israel is a title that only kings and prophets could be honored with, through whom the Lord himself communicated with the people. Considering slavery as a social component, it should be noted that in ancient Israel, slaves were almost full members of the family of their master. It is noteworthy that before the birth of a son to Abraham, his slave Eleazar was his main heir. After the birth of Isaac, Abraham sends his servant Eleazar with many gifts and an assignment to find a bride for his son.
These examples clearly show the difference between slavery in ancient Israel and slavery in ancient Rome, with which the concept of this term is usually associated with our contemporaries.
In the Gospel, Christ tells the Lord created a vineyard, hired workers to work on it. Every year he sent his slaves to check the work done. It is noteworthy that hired workers work in the vineyard, and the slaves are the attorneys of their master.
The concept of a servant of God in Christianity. Women of the Old Testament
The concept of "God's servant" appears in the Old Testament history. As we discussed above, it meant the title of kings and prophets. Women, like most men, did not have the right to call themselves such an epithet. However, this does not beg the female personality.
Women, like men, could participate in religious Jewish holidays, make sacrifices to God. This indicates that they were personally accountable to the Lord. The important thing is that a woman could directly address God in her prayer. This is confirmed by the following historical examples. Thus, the prophet Samuel was born through the prayer of the childless Anna. God entered into communion with Eve after the fall. The Almighty communicates directly with Samson's mother. The importance of women in the history of the Old Testament cannot be overestimated. The actions and decisions of Rebekah, Sarah, Rachel are of great importance for the Jewish people.
The role of women in the New Testament
“Behold, the servant of the Lord. May it be to me according to your word” (Luke 1:28-38). With these words, the Virgin Mary humbly answers the angel who brought her the news of the future birth of the son of God. And so, for the first time in the history of mankind, the concept of "servant of God" appears. Who, if not the Virgin Mary, blessed among women, is destined to be the first to assume this great spiritual title? The Mother of God is glorified throughout the Christian world. The Mother of God is followed by the servant of God Elizabeth, who immaculately conceived John the Baptist.
A vivid example of this title are those who came to the Holy Sepulcher on the day of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ with incense, aromas for the ritual anointing of the body. Historical examples confirming the humility and faith of truly Christian women are also found in modern history. The wife of Nicholas II Alexandra Feodorovna and his daughters are canonized.
Slave in prayer
Opening the prayer book and reading the prayers, we cannot help but notice that all of them are written from a male person. Often, women have a question about whether it is worth using feminine words written from a male person. No one could answer this question most accurately, like the holy fathers Orthodox Church. Ambrose of Optina argued that one should not worry about the petty accuracy of the rule (prayer), one should care more about the quality of prayer and peace of mind. Ignatius Brianchaninov said that there is for man, and not man for the rule.
The use of the term in worldly life
Despite the fact that every Christian considers himself a servant of God, it is undesirable to call yourself that in everyday life on the advice of Orthodox priests. Not that this is blasphemy, but, as we have already discussed above, every Christian should treat this epithet with reverent reverence and joy. This must live in the heart of the believer. And if this is true, then no one will prove anything to anyone and declare it to the whole world.
Appeals "comrade" in times Soviet power or "gentlemen" in the period of Tsarist Russia are clear and logical. The conversion and pronunciation of the words "servant of God" should take place in an appropriate place for this, whether it be an Orthodox church, a monastery cell, a cemetery, or just a secluded room in an ordinary apartment.
The third commandment strictly forbids taking the name of the Lord in vain. Therefore, the pronunciation of this epithet is unacceptable in a comic form or as a greeting and in similar cases. In prayers for health, repose, and others, the words "servant of God" are followed by the spelling or pronunciation of the name of the person praying or the one who is asked for in prayer. The combination of these words is usually either heard from the lips of the priest, or pronounced or mentally read in prayers. After the epithet "God's servant", it is desirable to pronounce the name in accordance with the church spelling. For example, not Yuri, but George.
Testimony of God's Servants
"And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, as a testimony to all nations; and then the end will come" (Matt. 24:14). Today, many people in the church are trying to determine by the signs how close the second coming of Christ is. Such a sign, for example, can be observed in the return of the Jews to Israel. But the Lord, by the above words, makes it clear that the most striking sign of his second coming is that the gospel will be preached to all nations as a testimony. In other words, the testimonies of God's servants (their life confirmations) prove the reality of the gospel.
Slaves in the Kingdom of Heaven
Despite human sinfulness and the desire to take a dominant place in the universe, Christ once again shows his mercy and philanthropy, taking the form of a slave, being at the same time the Son of the Lord God. It destroys our entrenched erroneous stereotypes about greatness and power. Christ tells his disciples that the one who wants to be great will become a servant, and the one who wants to be first will be a slave. “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45).
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In church life there are various rites, sacraments, which are very often used and we are already used to them. As well as some church words become so familiar to us that sometimes we don’t even think about their meaning. So there is a lot of controversy about the use of such an expression as "God's servant." Some believe that such a statement humiliates human dignity. But before making hasty conclusions, it is worth understanding why the parishioners are called servants of God.
Why say the servant of God
In order to get away from insults and insults, you should not borrow legal or social concepts and transfer them to interpretations of higher reality. Our spirituality must be free from worldly notions. The main purpose of the Lord is to bring everyone to eternal life. If human nature is damaged by sin, then he must not only believe in God, but also completely and completely follow his good will.
It is in the Holy Scriptures that it is said about such a person that if he renounced his sinful thoughts and deeds and surrendered to the saving will of the Lord, then he is called a "servant of God." In biblical texts, this title is honorific.
There are several interpretations of what a servant of God or a servant of God means:
- In Judah, the word "slave" did not carry a pejorative meaning in its context. It simply meant a worker.
- The main task of the Lord is to desire only good things for us and lead us to perfection. It is precisely the submission of his will that there is nothing humiliating in itself.
- The emotional component of this phrase should draw our attention to the degree of trust in the Lord and our fidelity to him. We should not turn to him only when necessary and in difficult times.
- It is also necessary to recall the historical features of the time when the slaveholding order existed. There were only slaves and their mercenaries. But in this case, the "slave" is not a disenfranchised being.
- Why a servant of God and not a son of God? It is believed that the relationship between the Lord and man must go through certain stages of development: a slave, a mercenary and a son. This classification is found in the parable of the prodigal son.
As the church explains
Many clergy say that the emphasis in the phrase "God's servant" should be placed on the second word. If you relate to the Lord, then you cannot be anyone else. Becoming a servant of God means gaining incredible freedom. "Slavery" to the Lord is also considered a greater measure of freedom than slavery over one's passions and stereotypes.