Servants Serve: A Study in Serving in the Kingdom of God

By Elden Daniel

Jesus has been referred to as the Suffering Servant. Jesus declared that He came to serve not to be served. Being a servant and serving is foundational in the Kingdom of God. This is what Jesus said.

He sat down, called the twelve disciples over to him, and said, "Whoever wants to be first must take la

• Language: English
• Publisher: Elden Daniel
• Release date: Mar 1, 2022
• ISBN: 9781088015322

Elden Daniel

...the unsearchable riches of Christ (Ephesians 3:8 KJV). ...the endless treasures available to them in Christ (Ephesians 3:8 NLT). ...the boundless riches of Christ (Ephesians 3:8 NIV).

Book preview

Preface

Jesus has been referred to as the Suffering Servant. Jesus declared that He came to serve not to be served. Being a servant and serving is foundational in the Kingdom of God. This is what Jesus said.

He sat down, called the twelve disciples over to him, and said, Whoever wants to be first must take last place and be the servant of everyone else. (Mark 9:35 NLT).

Not surprisingly the Scriptures have much to say about being a servant and serving. Serving is what servants do. A servant is who you are and so serving is what you do. Serving results in a benefit to others. The benefits we have are the result of someone serving us.

Serving happens at a specific place, at a specific time, and in a specific way. We will be looking at the way serving is done in the Kingdom of God. There is a Kingdom of God way of serving that is different from the kingdom of this world's way of serving.

Jesus followers are committed to serving Jesus and see serving Jesus as their duty. Scripture tells us that Jesus will reward His followers for their service. Jesus followers will understand that any serving they do in the way of serving in the Kingdom of God is actually serving Jesus.

Loving and serving are linked in that in the Kingdom of God serving is a demonstration of love. Therefore, serving in a Kingdom of God way is obeying the first and second commandments of loving God and loving neighbors.

Serving is a good and honorable thing to do.

Presentation style.

Some authors very effectively insert phrases from Scripture to support their text. Other authors will list references to support their text assuming the diligent listener will pause and look up the references. I have chosen to quote the entire Scripture passage. My reasoning has been based upon the truth that the Holy Spirit indwelling the reader will apply the Word of God in the personal life of the reader in an appropriate manner that only the Holy Spirit knows. Every believer is on a personal individual journey in which the Holy Spirit is renewing their mind and transforming them into the image of Christ. 

The truth that impacts and changes lives is found in the Word of God. It is important to remember when we read Scripture it is the Lord speaking to you and me. The words we read from Scripture are meant to be taken personally.

 My comments may or may not be helpful but the Scriptures will be helpful. Many times, I have grouped several Scriptural passages around a specific topic, this way, the message from the whole of Scripture somehow seems clearer.

My personal experience has been and this may be true for you as well, sometimes, usually during a time of solitude and quiet, the Scriptural concepts, principles or benefits move from my head to my heart. It is not unusual for the move from head to heart to also generate a few tears of thankfulness and blessing.

The Word of God is God speaking to mankind. Think of it, Almighty God the Creator of Heaven and Earth, and everything in it is speaking to you and me. Jesus, God's Son, came to earth as a man and died for the world's sin, was buried and rose again, is speaking to you and me. The Father and the Son sent the Holy Spirit to teach and guide believers in Jesus is speaking to you and me. This reality is both humbling and wonderful. It is good to listen to hear and obey.

You may wonder why so many Scriptural references are quoted including at times rather lengthy passages. Although I cite the reference of the passage, if there are multiple verses, I include them continuously without dividing them into individual verses. I believe this supports the continuity of the passage.

Each separate topic is part of a whole. My goal is to separate some content from Scripture, focus on it, and indicate or imply its importance to the whole of Scripture. I also want to provide insight into the application of the Word in the life of the Jesus follower.

When presenting passages, I deliberately left out the numbering of verses. When you read a passage that involves several verses, it will be one continuous passage. That is the way it originally appeared. Noting chapter and verse is a wonderful tool for referencing. We often see numbering in legal documents. However, it is my view that often breaking up a passage with the numbering of verses can be a distraction that hinders grasping the full meaning. Think about it. If you write a letter to a friend, you don't number the sentences or the lines. You want your thoughts to flow together.

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Part 1

Perspective

The title seems to be stating the obvious. However, what do we really understand and believe about servants and serving from a Biblical perspective as taught by Jesus and as taught in the New Testament? As I began thinking about the answer to this question, I realized that I have some sense of a Biblical perspective but I would like to research and study the Scriptures further to increase my understanding. Then I realized that