Master and Servant: The Basic Relationship To God

Existence or Relation?
Modern theology focuses on the existence and attributes of God. This makes sense, in some ways, because of many who are questioning the reality of God and of who He really is. It is interesting to note, however, that although the NT authors lived in a time where there were many truths and beliefs and most people questioned their idea of God, the authors didn’t spend any time arguing about His existence, nor did they spend much time focusing on who God is, what He is like as opposed to other gods or other realities. Rather, they focused on one thing: what is God’s relationship to us. They took for granted God’s power, and God’s authority. They just talked about what the relationship between God and his people is like.


For you are a holy people to the LORD your God; the LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for His own possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. The LORD did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any of the peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but because the LORD loved you and kept the oath which He swore to your forefathers, the LORD brought you out by a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know therefore that the LORD your God, He is God, the faithful God, who keeps His covenant and His lovingkindness to a thousandth generation with those who love Him and keep His commandments; but repays those who hate Him to their faces, to destroy them; He will not delay with him who hates Him, He will repay him to his face. Therefore, you shall keep the commandment and the statutes and the judgments which I am commanding you today, to do them. Then it shall come about, because you listen to these judgments and keep and do them, that the LORD your God will keep with you His covenant and His lovingkindness which He swore to your forefathers. He will love you and bless you and multiply you; He will also bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground, your grain and your new wine and your oil, the increase of your herd and the young of your flock, in the land which He swore to your forefathers to give you. You shall be blessed above all peoples; there will be no male or female barren among you or among your cattle. The LORD will remove from you all sickness; and He will not put on you any of the harmful diseases of Egypt which you have known, but He will lay them on all who hate you. Deuteronomy 7:6-15

S and M: Servant and Master
The basic relationship between God and his people is that of the King to his servants. A servant to a king is all throughout the Bible called a “slave”, but it is truly more of a relation with a servant than a slave. A servant chooses his master, and if his master abuses him, he can leave, while a slave has no choice but to remain in servitude. Later on, we will talk about other relationships with God—being a child of God and being a wife of God. But all relationships with God ultimately begin with us being servants of God.
But no matter what relationship we are in—and there are some to choose from—God is always the King. God is the Most High God, the creator of heaven and earth, the King of the Universe, equal to none. This is the basic fact that we must always remember. God is not our “buddy” or our “friend”—He is always Lord, He is always King, and we are always subservient to Him. Even Jesus, God’s Son, never forgot this. Jesus, as a human being, is under the Lordship of God and must always be subservient and respectful to the Most High, even if he can call him Father.

Gotta Serve Somebody
Why would we want a relationship of servitude with God? Why would we choose to be a servant of anyone? The first thing we need to remember is that we are the servant of someone, no matter how “free” we tell ourselves we are. We are not completely free, but we serve a master and live a certain lifestyle. The reason we want to be servants of God is because He is interested in meeting our needs, not just fulfilling His own desire. He made us, and so He knows better than anyone what we need and how to meet those needs. So being a servant of the Creator is an opportunity, not an obligation.

What we need to remember is that we are in relationship with God because He chose us. He made the first move of love toward us. He took pity on us and decided to give us the opportunity for a better life. He looked at us in our terrible state on our own and said, “Live!” (Ezekiel 16:4-6). He loved us and assisted us and chose us, before we did anything back.

Our response to His choice and the opportunity to live is simply gratefulness. We need to give thanks to Him for all that He has done to make our lives better. We need to thank Him for choosing us, for loving us, for sending Jesus to die on the cross for us.

Naughty or Nice?
Again, however a benevolent Master God is, no matter how interested He is in our well-being, He IS a Master. He is Lord. And when we live under His rule, He has laws and a lifestyle for us to live. If we mess up, He is forgiving and will offer us mercy. And if we obey and do what He says He will reward us with everything we need and more. But if we rebel, He will punish us. The punishment will be swift and severe. He doesn’t punish us just to be mean to those who disobey, but to draw people back to relationship with Him. But punish He will. And His punishments are difficult (Hebrews 10:26-33).

How do we respond to this? First of all, with obedience. When there is simple joy in obedience and suffering in disobedience, the choice seems clear. However, we sometimes do disobey. Praise God, He has an opportunity for us when we disobey—we can repent and be back in His good graces. Depending on our disobedience, we might still have to suffer some punishment, but more often than not we are given mercy. (John 3:36)

But what God insists on is that we remember that the stick is always there if we disobey. Thus, we have what the Bible calls “fear” or what might be called a “healthy respect.” It is healthy for us to do what God says and to not hesitate in obedience. Because the consequences are drastic.

Is there Obedience In Jesus?
Some would say that Jesus did away with the “law”, by which they mean any obligation. But this is not true. We all must obey, we all must be holy. It is just that the terms of holiness are determined by Jesus, not by Moses. (Matthew 7:21-27; 12:48-50)

Service to the Servant
Finally, there is a mutual obligation between a Master and His servant. On the surface, it seems as if the obligation is only on the servant’s side. But this is never true. A person who is an employee becomes the servant of the employer, and does so freely. Why? Because the employer offers a service to the servant. So it is with God.

God grants his servants protection, for one thing. And He agrees to meet their needs. And He creates a safe community for His servants to live in. This community and need-meeting isn’t just for a limited time, either, as an employer’s would be. God’s provision lasts for all eternity, as long as our spirits endure, which is forever.

What does God ask in return? He asks for service. That is pretty basic. This isn’t just obedience to His laws, but also just doing what He asks, at any time. He may ask us to help the person who is holding a sign. He may ask us to say a kind word to a child. He may ask us to support a friend who is down. He may ask us to help someone in the church move. He may ask us to visit someone in the hospital. Whatever it is, God is expecting us to fulfill it. Out of gratefulness. Not with grumbling. But with a cheerful heart.