SLAVE = FREE, FREE = SLAVE

READING: 1 CORINTHIANS 7:17-24

Verse 22: “For he who is called in the LORD while a slave is the LORD’S freedman. Likewise he who is called while free is Christ’s slave.”

We are in various states of being when we accept the Lord’s call to salvation. It is good news that, no matter where we start, our God is well able and faithful to produce spiritual improvement and  increase. That is a scriptural reality that is well established in today’s verse. In a way that is unique to God’s Word, extremes are reversed. Slaves become free and the free become slaves. Whatever the beginning might be, transformation takes place so that the goodness and righteousness of God can be fulfilled in our lives. The change is not always immediately perceptible to our human senses, but the spirit and heart of a person are influenced. We can even be made, as this verse of the Bible models, spiritually opposite to our natural conditions. Our Holy Heavenly Father receives us into relationship and then He shapes us and forms us to be forever maximized in His love and grace. From its beginning at our salvation and forever, “The goodness of God endures continually.” (Psalm 52:1) That’s a thought – about God’s Word. 

RESPONSE

1. What is the difference between the two types of slaverymentioned in the verse above?

2. How do you personally relate to the concept of being a slave?