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 phrase that is contradictory from the point of view of ordinary people, that only by being freed from sin can one 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)

Saint John, after a stay in heavenly kingdom, 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.

Important! In ordinary slavery, a person is obliged to work hard, in cooperation with God, who is self-sufficient in everything, Christians joyfully fulfill the Master's commands. What could be more beautiful than admitting that you are a slave of Love and Truth, Mercy and Wisdom?

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

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!

For a very long time, this question has been of concern: why in Orthodoxy (during the performance of the sacraments, rites, prayers) are called "servant of God", and in Catholicism "son of God"?

Priest Afanasy Gumerov, a resident of the Sretensky Monastery, answers:

This assertion is not true. Catholics in their prayers also refer to themselves as servants of God. Let us turn to the main service of Catholics - the Mass. " The priest, having removed the cover from the bowl, lifts up the bread on the paten, saying: Accept, Holy Father, Almighty Eternal God, this immaculate sacrifice, which I offer unworthy servant of Yours to You, my living and true God, for my countless sins, insults and negligence, and for all those present here, and for all faithful Christians living and dead ". With the beginning of the Eucharistic Prayer (I), the priest asks for the living: “Remember, Lord, Thy servants and handmaids…. all those present whose faith is known to You and whose piety is known to You…” During the canon of the Liturgy, the priest pronounces: “Therefore, we, Lord, Thy servants, Thy holy people, remembering the blessed Suffering and Resurrection from the underworld and the glorious Ascension to heaven of the same Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, we bring to Thy glorious Majesty from Thy blessings and gifts…”. During the commemoration of the dead, a prayer is said: “Remember again, Lord, Thy servants and servants … who preceded us with a sign of faith and are resting in the sleep of peace.” In continuation of the prayer for the departed, the priest says: “And to us, Thy sinful servants, who trust in the abundance of Thy mercy, deign to grant some part and communion with Thy holy Apostles and Martyrs, with John, Stephen, Matthias, Barnabas, Ignatius, Alexander, Marcellinus, Peter , Felicity, Perpetue, Agathia, Lucius, Agnes, Cecilia, Anastasia and all your saints, in whose community you accept us ... ". The Latin text contains the noun famulus (slave, servant).

Our spiritual consciousness must be cleansed of worldly notions. We should not apply concepts borrowed from the field of legal and social relations to a higher reality in which other principles and laws operate. God wants to lead everyone to eternal life. A person who has a nature damaged by sin, in order to find bliss in the Kingdom of Heaven, must not only believe in God, but also fully follow the all-good will of the Lord. The Holy Scriptures call a person who has put off his sinful will and given himself over to the saving will of the Lord "a servant of God." This is a very honorary title. In biblical sacred texts the words "servant of the Lord" are applied primarily to the Messiah-Christ, the Son of God, who to the end fulfilled the will of the Father who sent him. The Messiah speaks through the prophet Isaiah: “My right is with the Lord, and my reward is with my God. And now says the Lord, who formed me from the womb to be his servant, that Jacob might be brought to him, and that Israel might gather to him; I am honored in the sight of the Lord, and my God is my strength. And He said: Not only will You be My servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the remnants of Israel, but I will make You a light of the nations, that My salvation may reach to the ends of the earth” (Isaiah 49:16). In the New Testament, the apostle Paul speaks of the Savior: “He made himself of no reputation, taking the form of a servant, becoming in the likeness of men, and becoming in appearance like a man; He humbled Himself, being obedient even unto death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also highly exalted Him and gave Him the name that is above every name” (Phil. 2:7-9). The Blessed Virgin Mary says of Herself: “Behold, the Servant of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38). Who else does the Word of God call "the servant of God"? Great righteous: Abraham (Gen.26:24), Moses (1Chr.6:49), David (2Sam.7:8). The Holy Apostles apply this title to themselves: “James, the servant of God and the Lord Jesus Christ” (James 1:1), “Simon Peter, the servant and Apostle of Jesus Christ” (2 Pet. 1:1), “Judas, the servant Jesus Christ" (Jude 1:1), "Paul and Timothy, servants of Jesus Christ" (1:1). The right to be called a servant of God must be earned. How many can say with a clear conscience about themselves that they are servants of God and are not slaves of their passions, slaves of sin?