“Paul, a bondservant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God’s elect and the acknowledgment of the truth which accords with godliness,” Titus 1:1

You see it all the time, a person’s name followed by their credentials:

Doogie Howser, M.D.

Raymond Regno, Bachelor of Science in Computer Science

Mickey Stonier, PH.D in Marriage and Family Studies , Master of Divinity, Certified Trauma Responder (CTR), Certified Trauma Service Specialist (CTSS), Certified Trauma Specialist (CTS), etc. etc. etc.

Here Paul gives indication of his credentials: a bondservant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ.

The word “bondservant” comes from the Greek word “doulos”. A bondservant or “bondslave” was someone who voluntarily subjected his whole being to the will of another. Paul was wholly surrendered to the will of God. His life was no longer his own.

The word “apostle” comes from the Greek “apostolos”, which means literally “one who is sent out” particularly with orders or some mission. The function of apostle is a gifting ordained by the Holy Spirit. Paul’s entire life and purpose in life was to go where God sent him, to share that hope that comes only through Jesus, and to equip others to do the same.

From a spiritual standpoint, do you think you could be associated with such highly esteemed credentials as these?

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 15th, 2007 at 7:30 am and is filed under exegesis. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.