What a testimony! Gather the crowds to hear what it was like growing up with Christ Himself.
James was pastor of the church where Pentecost actually occurred, and where thousands were added daily (Acts 2:41,47; 4:4). Yet this church of thousands had harmony and unity (Acts 4:32). James was certainly well known and highly respected; yet he did not assert his authority.
Greek "doulos" means: a slave, either involuntarily or voluntarily. When voluntary, it means to be in subjection to someone without bondage. It means to be submissive to.
The fact that he was now a Christian in no way deminished the fact that He was serving God. As a testimony to the Jews to whom he was writing, James was making it clear that those who knew Christ had a continuing obligation to serve the same God their fathers had always served.
Just as he had an obligation to serve God, he had an responsibility to serve Christ. In fact, no one serves God correctly who does not serve Jesus Christ. This was a testimony to the Jews of the deity of Christ (that Jesus was God) and of James' conviction that even though Jesus had been his flesh and blood brother, Jesus was fully God. As a Christian, the only way James could be a servant of God was to simultaneously be a servant of Jesus Christ.
The fact that James was Jesus' brother in the flesh, and that James died a martyr's death for the truth of Jesus Christ, is an strong argument for the strength of the early church's firm belief in both the humanity and divinity of Christ.
Of course, all men are servants of something. Jesus said in John 8:34 that everyone that commits sin is a slave to sin. But in John 8:38, Jesus promised that all those whom he freed from sin's bondage would be totally free. Paul develops this theme in Romans 6, saying in verses 16-17 that those who in the past were bound as servants to sin were freed to willingly serve Jesus Christ by properly responding to the Gospel.
James, who was Jesus' brother, chose to be known as His servant. We who serve Jesus are known as His brothers (Luke 8:21).
James, who was the greatest in the Jerusalem church, chose to be everyone's servant. The way we can become great in God's church (Kingdom) is to be the servant of all (Matthew 23:11).
James, who had earned a place of honor, practiced what he taught (James 2:5; 4:10). This, too, is to be our attitude--but it must be genuine.
We must have a genuine awe of and respect for God. As we study James, and see the place of the God of Israel in our lives today, we can better understand what it is to serve God.
In James' day, multitudes of Jews acknowledged God and were devout in their observance of His laws. But they failed to acknowledge Jesus Christ as God come in the flesh. Today, multitudes of people, even who acknowledge that Jesus Christ is God, only acknowledge Him in some abstract way. "Yes," they say, "I believe in Jesus." But they do not give Him place in their lives. Paul says that in order to honor God, "[T]hey which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again" (2 Corinthians 5:15). James will tell us later in his epistle that it is not sufficient to "believe in Jesus" (James 2:19).
Many Christians seem to develop the attitude that their service to Jesus is a bondage endured only so they can go to Heaven. But the message of the Gospel is that we are to have joy in Jesus Christ (Romans 5:10,11). Joy is one of the essential ingredients of the Kingdom of God (Romans 14:17). Our delight is to do His will (Psalm 37:4; Romans 7:22).
Just think of it. Not everyone can be the physical brother of Jesus Christ. Nor can everyone pastor the largest church in town, much less the world. But everybody can be a servant. And, in fact, as we serve Christ, He calls us his brothers and sisters (Luke 8:21). How do we serve Jesus? Many people think that they can only serve by doing something big--something worthwhile in their eyes. But the way Jesus requests that we serve Him is by doing small, almost insignificant things for others (Matthew 10:42; 25:31-46). James talks about this too, in James 1:27.
And the more we serve, the greater we become in Jesus' estimation; until finally that one who has outserved everyone else is announced the greatest in God's Kingdom (Matthew 23:11).
mp 11/09/88