All Christians are to be servants

1.    Perhaps one of the most important passages in the book of Acts is Acts 1:8.

2.    Jesus had proven to the apostles that He was alive.

3.    He had offered indisputable proof that He was no longer in the grave.

4.    The Lord said that a time was coming (verse 8) when the apostles would receive power.

5.    They would be “witnesses” in Judea, Samaria, and throughout the world.

THE WORD “WITNESSES” IS A VERY REVEALING WORD BECAUSE JESUS HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO DESCRIBE THE APOSTLES IN ANY WAY THAT HE SAW FIT.

A.  He could have called them potentates.

B.  He could have said they would be highly exalted rulers.

C.  He could have given them an important religious title.

D.  The Lord simply said that they would be “witnesses.”

2.  The word “witnesses” has more associated with it that than we might think.

3.  In the New Testament this term conveys three different ideas.

4.  In some passages this word is associated with some type of legal proceeding.

A.  Many of the court cases in our country and elsewhere use “witnesses.”

B.  The word in Acts 1:8 was sometimes used in this same way.

C.  In Mt. 18:16 Jesus spoke about resolving problems between fellow Christians.

D.  He said we may need to take “witnesses.”

E.  These “witnesses” are people who can verify what takes place.

F.  This sense of the word is also found in Mt. 26:65 and Acts 6:13.

G.  For the sake of illustration I will read the Mt. 26 reference.  READ Mt. 26:65.

5.  In the New Testament the word rendered “witnesses” is used in a second way.

6.  Thayer calls this sense the “ethical” meaning.

A.  The book of Acts describes people who died for their faith.

B.  Some of God’s people were martyred.

C.  These martyrs were “witnesses.”

D.  An example of this is (though it will not be read) is Acts 22:20.

7.  The third way that the word witness is used is found in Acts 1:8.

A.  The apostles were “witnesses” in the sense that they had experienced some things.

B.  They were not “legal witnesses” but they were people who could tell others what had happened.

C.  This can be called the “historical” meaning of witnessing.

8.  Today there are some in the religious world who say that they “witness” for the Lord.

9.  Those who make this claim sometimes appeal to this verse.

10.  This verse does not support the modern definition of “witnessing.”

A.  Let’s look at 2 other places where “witnessing” has this historical meaning.

B.  The first of these references is 1 Tim. 6:12.

C.  Paul knew that the young preacher Timothy had confessed Christ.

D.  Many believe that this confession was just prior to Timothy’s baptism.

E.  Whether this was true or not we do know that Timothy made a confession.

F.  Here is how Paul described it.

G.  READ 1 Tim. 6:12

11.  There were “witnesses” to Timothy’s confession.

12.  These were not legal witnesses and this was not a legal proceeding.

13.  These witnesses were “historical” witnesses.

14.  There were people who had watched Timothy confess Christ.

15.  This experience allowed them to tell others about what they had personally seen.

16.  This is the sense of the “witnessing” in Acts 1:8.

17.  Another passage that demonstrates historical witnessing is Acts 2:32.

A.  Peter made some bold claims on the day of Pentecost.

B.  One of these claims is in this verse.  READ 2:32.

C.  Peter said, “We are witnesses.”

D.  He was one of the people who had personally experienced some things.

E.  He had seen, touched, and talked with Jesus.

F.  He was a witness that the resurrection of Christ was true.

18.  This is why Jesus said in Acts 1:8 that he and the other apostles would be witnesses.

A.  The would tell others about the truth because they had first hand knowledge.

B.  They had a testimony that was 100% based upon facts.

C.  The so-called modern testimonies and witnessing have a different basis and are not Biblical.

19.  FROM ACTS 1:8 WE KNOW THAT THE APOSTLES WERE TO BE WITNESSES.  JESUS APPLIED THIS TERM TO THEM INSTEAD OF SOME OTHER DESCRIPTION WHICH WOULD HAVE EXALTED THEM.

A.  What about the rest of the material in the book of Acts and even the New Testament?

B.  Did Luke or any other New Testament writer exalt the apostles?

C.  Were these men ever given important titles?  

20.  Let’s see.
      In 2 Pet. 3:15 Paul is described as a “brother.”

A.  This tells us that Paul was a regular member of the church.

B.  He had no special position or status.

C.  He did have a function that made him unique (he was an apostle).

D.  Paul was still an ordinary man.

E.  He was someone who sinned and needed a saviour.

F.  Since Paul was, shall we say, “one of the group,” he was simply known as a brother.

21.  One of the passages that really makes Paul’s status clear is Phil. 1:1.

A.  In this passage Paul described himself.

B.  He also described the people who received this letter.

C.  When we compare these two pieces of information we find a fascinating point.

D.  Phil. 1:1.  READ.

E.  Who was Paul?  The text says that he was a servant.

F.  Who did Paul write to?  Saints.

22.  At the present time there are some people who like to talk about saints.

23.  It is not secret that some nominate deceased persons for sainthood.

24.  In our day and time the name “saint” is sometimes used as an exalted title.

25.  This is not how the term was used in Bible times.

26.  The word “saint” described Christians.

27.  Paul was a saint just like everyone else who was saved.

28.  Phil. 1:1 also says that Paul was a “servant.”

A.  Paul didn’t have the kind of rank and privilege that are now seen in many religious groups.

B.  At the present time some religious leaders are treated like a supernatural being.

C.  Religious people uses titles that express superiority and even arrogance.

D.  There is a so-called “clergy-laity” system.

E.  In many groups it is a “we versus you” system.

29.  This is not how the first century church functioned.

30.  The most prominent people in the church were servants, witnesses, and saints.

31.  When we study the New Testament we find additional descriptions for the first Christians.

A.  In 1 Tim. 1:12 Paul said that the Lord had counted him as “faithful.”

B.  This description is intriguing.

C.  At the present time there are some jobs in the world that are a lot like servanthood.

D.  Think of the people who deliver the newspaper.

E.  The people who do these deliveries do not have a managerial job.

F.  They are towards the bottom of the rung as far as a newspaper job is concerned.

G.  Those who deliver the paper are either “faithful” or “unfaithful” in their work.

H.  Not too many executives are rated as “faithful” or “unfaithful.”

I.  The description of “faithful” is usually reserved for people who are pretty low on the totem pole.

J.  This is how Paul described himself.

32.  Paul was simply one of the witnesses.

33.  It was up to him to decide if he wanted to be a faithful witness or an unfaithful witness.

34.  He decided to be faithful.

A.  The fact that Paul said he was “faithful” further shows the type of role he had in the church.

B.  This apostle may have been known by many people, but he was only a servant.

C.  He had a key part in God’s plan but he did not deserve a prestigious title.

35.  If there is any doubt concerning this listen to Philemon. 1-2.

A.  These 2 verses contain descriptions of Paul that are anything but impressive.

B.  There is no prominence in Paul’s description of himself.

C.  READ Phile. 1-2.

36.  Paul was a “prisoner of Christ.”

A.  How flattering is it to say that we are someone’s prisoner?

B.  On other occasions Paul said he was the Lord’s servant.

C.  In these other passages Paul used a word that meant he was the lowliest type of servant.

D.  Along with these descriptions Paul said that another person was a “fellow soldier” with him.

E.  Some of us have been in the military.

F.  When I thought of a “fellow soldier” I didn’t think of someone like a 5 star general.

G.  A fellow soldier was someone who was at my level (close to my rank).

H.  This principle may be applied to the work place.

I.  What factory worker thinks of the company president as a “co-worker?”

J.  Our “fellow soldiers” and “co-workers” are people who are similar to us.

K.  Paul recognized that he was just like all other Christians.

37.  The statements in Philemon plus all the others show what the apostles were like.

38.  These men did not want, use, nor did they accept fancy religious titles.

39.  The first century Christians were brethren, saints, believers, and disciples.

40.  They were all members of the one body.

41.  Their functions were different and some were more visible than others.

42.  This cannot be disputed.

43.  The type of system that we see in the religious world is absolutely foreign to the New Testament.

44.  This is a message that we need to share with the world.

45.  In the New Testament church there is no clergy laity system.

46.  No Christian is worthy of prestigious and exalted titles.

47.  We are all brethren.

48.  Tonight each one here has the chance to be a member of the same spiritual family.