For the bondman that is called in [the] Lord is the Lord's freedman; in like manner [also] the freeman being called is Christ's bondman.
Some believers in Corinth were slaves in Roman homes, others were free citizens, and both wondered if faith should change that. Paul answers by telling each man who owns him now: the slave is the Lord's free man, and the free man is Christ's slave.
A believer owned by a pagan master faced this pressure every day. What he saw and heard at home cut against his new life in Christ.
Think of a pagan master sunk in the worst moral filth, with Christian slaves in his house, men or women. They could hardly avoid the sight and sound of the most defiling talk. Day after day they faced what could never fit the purity of new life in Christ. We can understand how natural it was for a slave to long for rescue from such a life. But setting the heart on that kind of rescue is the very thing the apostle corrects here.
The word Paul chose is exact. It does not mean a man who was never in chains. It means a man who was in chains and got out.
The apostle explains, "For he who was called in the Lord as a bondservant is a freedman of the Lord." That is the right force: "freedman," not "freeman." The word means a man let out of slavery, not a man born free. It is the exact term here, and it stands out all the more because "freeman" or "free-born" comes next. Christ alone puts every person in his place and true light. Freedom handed out by men cannot do this, or even come close.
Money could buy a slave out of his position. Paul points to a release money cannot match.
The apostle presses the freedom we have in Christ, which the Christian world has all but forgotten. If I am Christ's servant, I am set free already. Match, if you can, the release he already has. Twenty millions will buy no such freedom. At the same time, if my master offers me freedom, I should take it.
This is not a call to do nothing. If freedom comes, the believer may take it.
Paul then turns the sentence around for the man who was never a slave. The title changes with it: not "the Lord's" bondman, but "Christ's".
But we have to see how the apostle turns to the other side. "Likewise he who was free when called is a bondservant of Christ." He now changes the phrase. He does not say the man is the Lord's bondman, but "Christ's." He might be born free, or an owner of slaves. Whatever he is, if he is a Christian, he is Christ's bondman. He is bound forever to Him who shed His blood for him. The price paid is what the apostle presses now, to make the free man feel that he is Christ's bondman. It appeals to his sense of grace, and not only to authority.
The verse sounds like a contradiction until you ask what held a man before. The deepest slavery was never the social kind.
To be a slave of Christ is to be a free man. Christ has set him free from the slavery of Satan and sin, and from the slavery of his own will, which is the most real slavery in the most terrible sense of the word. The slavery of Christ, then, is the truest liberty. The more we live in the sense of what it means to serve such a Master, the more we will enjoy and stand firm in the freedom Christ has given us.
Paul tells believers to stay where God's call found them. But two words set a limit on that.
In any case let the Christian bondman remember that he is the Lord's freeman, and the freeman that he is Christ's bondman. Both have been bought with a price. The One who bought us with the price of His precious blood has the first claim on us. So we are told to stay in our calling, whether as bondmen or freemen, but to stay there "with God". This shows that, though it may be right to remain a slave, it would not be right to carry on in some dishonest trade where a man could not be "with God".
- Called — God's call reaches people where it finds them. Social rank has nothing to say to it.
- Freed — "freedman" means a man let out of slavery, not a man born free. No money buys this release from sin, Satan and self-will.
- Bought — the free man gets the matching truth. Christ paid for him, so he belongs to Christ — an appeal to grace, not only to authority.
- Bound — both halves hold together. Christ's release frees the slave, and Christ's grace binds the free man's heart.
- Abiding — stay where you are, but stay there "with God". Take freedom if it comes, and leave any work you cannot do with a clear conscience.
Ye have been bought with a price; do not be the bondmen of men.
Some believers in Corinth were slaves and others were free, yet Paul tells both groups the same thing: Christ has already paid a price for them. So what does it mean to be "bought," and how can a bought man still live under a human master?
Notice first how far the purchase reaches, and who acts on it.
"You were bought with a price." Whether it be the free man or the slave, all were bought. The saints are the purchase of Christ's blood: so indeed is all the world; but believers alone acknowledge it, and they are called to act on it. "Do not become bondservants of men" — an appeal that binds the free as much as the slave. Serving with one aim alone secures true service, and that is perfect liberty. Strange to say, none are so likely to slip into human bondage as those who profess the Lord's name.
Being bought is not the same as being set free. Buying makes an owner; something more is needed.
What is it that sets the captive free? Is it purchase? So far from it, purchase, instead of giving me my liberty, rather makes me a bondman. I am His to serve, now and evermore, who bought me with a price — His own blood. But people do not serve Christ when it is only a question of being bought. One more blessing is needed to make the claim of purchase felt: redemption.
A hired man served for a set time and wages. A bought slave belonged to his owner outright.
His master had bought him, and therefore he was the property of his master. This, dear reader, is exactly our relationship to Christ. He has redeemed and bought us at the highest price He could pay — His own precious blood. It is a hard word to the ears of men, and rightly so, if applied to earthly relationships. But as to our relationship to Christ, there is no sweeter word to a Christian. If Christ had only hired me, I should belong to Him only for a time, but He has bought me, and so I am His own for ever.
Ownership changes what a slave is and what a free man is.
The believing slave is Christ's freedman; the free man who is called is the purchased slave of his Redeemer... Redemption sets us free from man, but sets us apart for God.
The command is not aimed at honest work. It targets a different pressure, and free men were not exempt.
Here it is a guard against pandering to others, whether for ease or honour, or to avoid pain or reproach. It was a great snare to the Corinthians — not to slaves only, but as much, or more, to the free. There is no thought here of weakening the Christian slave in serving his earthly master. Grace would strengthen him to serve with twice the zeal and honour, for he was now the Lord's freedman. How low it would be for a man born free, now bound to Christ as His slave by the deepest and most lasting of ties, to become man's slave! He does that whenever he compromises his Master, who bought him with His blood.
Slavery is not the only way to be owned. Campbell applies the verse to anyone who serves God at other people's direction.
If one is called to be the Lord's servant, how then can he hire himself out to be the servant of a denomination or a congregation and do what man tells him to do? When a man is hired, he becomes a servant to those who hire him and must please them... He bought us with the price of His precious blood, and so we are told, "do not become bondservants of men." We are to serve people in love, but Christ is our Master.
Staying where you are has one limit.
While we are told to remain in our calling, either as slaves or free men, it is to be "with God". This surely shows that, though it may be right to remain a slave, it would not be right to continue in some dishonest trade in which it would be impossible to be "with God".
- Bought. The price makes Christ the owner. Believers are simply the ones who admit a claim that already stands.
- Priced. The price was His own blood, which is why the bond is permanent: a hired man serves for a term, a bought man belongs for ever.
- Reversed. The purchase flips both conditions. The slave is now the Lord's freedman; the free man is Christ's slave.
- Guarded. The ban targets people-pleasing — for ease, for honour, or to dodge reproach. It never weakens honest service to an earthly master.
- Located. Stay where God placed you — but only so far as you can stay there "with God." The Owner's claim outranks every other voice.