Free in Christ and His Bondslave

In Galatians 1:10, Paul refers to himself as a "bond-servant of Christ" (could also be translated "slave of Christ"). The same idea is in Romans 6:22 "But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life" (NASB). A similar idea is in Romans 6:18 "having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness" (NASB). So every true believer is a slave of Christ.

Yet Galatians also teaches that the true believer is free in Christ. "For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another" (Gal 5:13). "But it was because of the false brethren secretly brought in, who had sneaked in to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, in order to bring us into bondage" (NASB). "It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery" (NASB).

How is it that Christ set us free, yet we are slaves of Christ? We can answer that question by finding out the sense in which Christ set us free, and the sense in which we are slaves of Christ.

Being free in Christ does not mean that obedience to God no longer matters. The rest of the New Testament indicates that it matters to God and affects our life. That Christ set us free means five things:

1. We once were a slave to the law, but now God has adopted us as His son (Gal 4:3-7; Rom 7:6). The change was from a slavish relationship with something other than God, to a loving father-son relationship with God.
2. As a slave we had good reason to live in fear of the Law's curse, but now as a son we live by faith in God's promise of blessing (Rom 8:15; Gal 2:20; 3:5-10).
3. As a slave we sought to fulfill the requirement of the Law, but now as a son Christ has fulfilled the requirement of the Law in us (Rom 8:2-4).
4. As a slave we walked by the flesh, but now as a son we walk by the Spirit (Gal 3:2-3; 5:16, 22).
5. Now as a son we are tempted to use our freedom to gratify the flesh, but we have been set free in order to love and serve people (Gal 5:13-14).

Being a slave of Christ means He is the one and only person we seek to please. This servitude is very different from our former one. We have a new Master--the rightful Master. And we are in a new type of servitude that is chiefly motivated by love and gratitude rather than fear, a servitude energized by the Spirit rather than self.

According to Galatians 1:10, an additional freedom comes with this servitude, freedom from seeking the favor of men! "If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ" (NASB).