What Does It Mean To Serve God? Bible Study
Introduction
As His creations, serving God is what we were created to do. Unfortunately, our service has been corrupted by our rebellion and sin which has rendered us unable to please him. A crucial part of the gospel is that through Jesus Christ we can begin to serve God again with the promise of being able to serve him forever in the age to come. This Christian service is our delight and privilege.
The Ubiquity of Service
The words servant serve, and serving are often accompanied by negative overtones because they describe something undesirable and difficult compared to being in charge and having others serve us. But everyday life involves serving in all kinds of ways that are so common that it is easy for us to take them for granted and barely notice their existence. For example, there are service organizations that provide protection and aid in time of need. There are also service industries and sectors of the economy. In various ways, we are all called upon to serve one another because it is near impossible for someone to live in isolation from everyone else. So, this reality makes one wonder – Where did the idea of serving come from? Does it point to something deeper or is it just a pragmatic necessity?
What Does It Mean To Serve God? – Biblical Roots of Service
Christian theology proposes that a proper understanding of serving takes us back to the opening chapters of the Bible and God’s special creation of human beings in his image. This divinely inspired account is the foundation for understanding ourselves. It explains the relationship between our Creator and humankind. Genesis 1-2 explain that God, the Creator, made all things out of nothing and by the power of His word and that he as the sovereign of the universe did so for his honor and glory. This means that at the most basic level all that God created was made to serve him. The creation does not exist independently of God, but continually depends on him for its existence and sustenance. God does not need the creation, the creation needs him and as it fulfills its purpose it testifies to his existence, wisdom, and glory.
Our special creation in the image of God means that we were created to serve him in a way that goes beyond anything else that he has made. Our unique service is indicated by the blessing that God pronounced on humanity and his command to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth (Genesis 1:28).
The Old Testament Prepares the Way
We can trace the theme of God’s service in the rescue of his people by reading how he called to himself a series of servants through whom he made his saving purposes known. It is remarkable how many times words like serve and servant and related concepts are found in the Scriptures. For instance, although servant is not found in connection with Abel, Seth, and Noah, they nonetheless served the Lord after the devastating fall of humanity into sin. By faith Abel brought God a better sacrifice than Cain (Hebrews 11:4, Genesis 4:4), and in the days of Seth men began to call on the name of the Lord (Genesis 4:26). Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord and by the grace of God he was a righteous man who walked faithfully with God. Noah obeyed God when called to build an ark to save himself and his family (Genesis 6-9).
But as important as these and other servants were in the unfolding story of redemption, the Old Testament reveals that they were not enough. Though great in many ways they were also weak, sinful men who were not able to serve God in such a way that they could bring God’s people back into a holy relationship with him. Running throughout the story of God’s dealings with these human servants was the increasingly apparent need for him to intervene and send into the world the ultimate servant who would finally put things right.
The Servant of the Lord
The intention of God to do just that is foreshadowed in the lives of his servants like Moses, and others, but it is most clearly spoken of in Isaiah’s prophecy with its four magnificent servant songs: Isaiah 42:1-9; 49:1-6; 50:4-7; and 52:13-53:12. Taken together these moving and powerful songs prophecy about the Messiah, the true and faithful Servant of the Lord, who will perfectly do the will of the Lord and make atonement for the sins of his people. Full of the God’s Spirit he will win the victory over sin and death and bring healing by his vicarious suffering and life beyond the grave. He will establish justice, gather his people from the nations, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.
The New Testament Scriptures clearly portray Jesus as the fulfillment of these songs. He is the Servant of the Lord proclaimed by the evangelist Philip to the Ethiopian eunuch when he was puzzling over Isaiah 53: “Then Philip opened his mouth and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus” (Acts 8:34-35). This was the same good news which transformed Peter’s preaching on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:22-36), and later at the temple when he boldly spoke about the glorification of God’s servant Jesus who though rejected and put to death was raised up and sent to bless sinful men by turning every one of them from their wickedness (Acts 3:13, 26). It was God’s saving work through his holy servant Jesus that gave the early Christians strength when facing persecution, and their prayers reveal that they were deeply conscious of the victory of this holy servant and the power that was now available to them in his name (Acts 4:27, 30).
Practical Implications
The New Testament also tells about the transformation of those who trust in Jesus, the servant of the Lord, and the myriad of ways that his ministry informs their obedience. He makes it possible to serve God, and reflection on his words and example teach us what this means for our lives as his people. When we assemble a sample of the biblical instruction predicated on his service, we can see that serving God involves service and:
- Truth – We must serve God in truth, or in the way consistent with his word.
- Love< – No service is acceptable without love (Matthew 22 – 37:40).
- Joy – We must serve the Lord with joy because anything less is unworthy of him who should be our supreme delight.
- Determination – Serving God in this world is not easy, so we must serve with unyielding determination.
- Humility – Our service must be characterized by humility. The story of serving God is the story of his grace.
Christian service takes us back to Eden and beyond. In Jesus we rediscover all we were originally made to be and more as a part of the purified multitude who will come out of this world. Washed in the blood of the Lamb, freed from the curse, and in the glorious city of God we will serve him, see his face, and reign forever and ever (Revelations 7:15; 22:3). Until that day comes, love for God and the Lamb, and gratitude for all they have done for us, requires that we present our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God, which is our spiritual worship (Romans 12:1).
