Thematic Bible: Servant


Thematic Bible




Which is the greatest, guest or servant? Is it not the guest? But I am among you as a servant. Verse ConceptsTablesJesus Christ, Meekness OfChrist, Character OfHumility Of ChristReclining To EatServing PeopleServing

he rose from table, laid aside his robe, and tied a towel round him, then poured water into a basin, and began to wash the feet of the disciples, wiping them with the towel he had tied round him.



"Do no harm to earth or sea or trees, until we seal the servants of our God upon their foreheads." Verse ConceptsForeheadsRestraintDivine Protection, Examples OfHarming TreesSlaves Of GodhurtingChristians Are Called Servants Of God



This is how you are to look upon us, as servants of Christ and stewards of God's secret truths. Verse ConceptsApostles, Function In Early ChurchBeing A ServantSecrecyMinisters, Description OfResponsibilityVolunteeringMoney Managementsecrets


Now where is the trusty and thoughtful servant, whom his lord and master has set over his household to assign them their supplies at the proper time? Blessed is that servant if his lord and master finds him so doing when he arrives! I tell you truly, he will set him over all his property. read more.
But if the bad servant says to himself, 'My lord and master is long of coming,' and if he starts to beat his fellow-servants and to eat and drink with drunkards, that servant's lord and master will arrive on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour which he does not know; he will cut him in two and assign him the fate of the impious. There men will wail and gnash their teeth.




Keep your loins girt and your lamps lit, and be like men who are expecting their lord and master on his return from a marriage-banquet, so as to open the door for him at once when he comes and knocks. Blessed are those servants whom the lord and master finds awake when he comes! I tell you truly, he will gird himself, make them recline at table, and come forward to wait on them. read more.
Whether he comes in the second or the third watch of the night and finds them thus alert, blessed are they! Be sure that if the householder had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have allowed his house to be broken into. So be ready yourselves, for the Son of man is coming at an hour you do not expect." Peter said, "Lord, are you telling this parable for us, or is it for all and sundry?" The Lord said, "Well, where is the trusty, thoughtful steward whom the lord and master will set over his establishment to give out supplies at the proper time? Blessed is that servant if his lord and master finds him so doing when he arrives! I tell you plainly, he will set him over all his property. But if that servant says to himself, 'My lord and master is long of arriving,' and if he starts to beat the menservants and maidservants, to eat and drink and get drunk, that servant's lord and master will arrive on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour which he does not know; he will cut him in two and assign him the fate of unbelievers. The servant who knew his lord and master's orders and did not prepare for them, will receive many lashes; whereas he who was ignorant and did what deserves a beating, will receive few lashes. He who has much given him will have much required from him, and he who has much entrusted to him will have all the more demanded of him.

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Which of you, with a servant out ploughing or shepherding, will say to him when he comes in from the field, 'Come at once and take your place at table'? Will the man not rather say to him, 'Get some thing ready for my supper; gird yourself and wait on me till I eat and drink; then you can eat and drink yourself'? Does he thank the servant for doing his bidding?

you will understand the truth, and the truth will set you free." "We are Abraham's offspring," they retorted, "we have never been slaves to anybody. What do you mean by saying, 'You will be free'?" Jesus replied, "Truly, truly I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave. read more.
Now the slave does not remain in the household for all time; the son of the house does.

Do you not know you are the servants of the master you obey, of the master to whom you yield yourselves obedient, whether it is Sin, whose service ends in death, or Obedience, whose service ends in righteousness? Thank God, though you did serve sin, you have rendered whole-hearted obedience to what you were taught under the rule of faith; set free from sin, you have passed into the service of righteousness. read more.
(I use this human analogy to bring the truth home to your weak nature.) As you once dedicated your members to the service of vice and lawlessness, so now dedicate them to the service of righteousness that means consecration. When you served sin, you were free of righteousness. Well, what did you gain then by it all? Nothing but what you are now ashamed of! The end of all that is death; but now that you are set free from sin, now that you have passed into the service of God, your gain is consecration, and the end of that is life eternal.

You were a slave when you were called? Never mind. Of course, if you do find it possible to get free, you had better avail yourself of the opportunity. But a slave who is called to be in the Lord is a freedman of the Lord. Just as a free man who is called is a slave of Christ (for you were bought for a price; you must not turn slaves to any man).


Scripture says, You must not muzzle an ox when he is treading the grain, and A workman deserves his wages. Verse ConceptsEmploymentMastersMinistry, In The ChurchThreshingWord Of GodMuzzlingOxenBinding As AnimalsScripture SaysSpecial RevelationRewardWorth





Stay at the same house, eating and drinking what the people provide (for the workman deserves his wages); you are not to shift from one house to another. Verse ConceptsDiligence, Rewards OfGuestsHelpfulnessMastersMinistry, In The ChurchServants, Working Conditions OfValuesWagesEmployeesSocial FellowshipMotionlessnessStaying PutPeople EatingSpecial RevelationMoving To A New Place




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you are not to take gold or silver or coppers in your girdle, nor a wallet for the road, nor two shirts, nor sandals, nor stick ??the workman deserves his rations.

with cinnamon, balsam, spices, myrrh, frankincense, wines, olive-oil, fine flour and wheat, with cattle, sheep, horses, carriages, slaves, and the souls of men. Verse ConceptsBabylonFrankincensePerfumeSpirit, Nature OfTradeCinnamonCommerceProviding WineProvision Of OilGroups Of Slaves


































with cinnamon, balsam, spices, myrrh, frankincense, wines, olive-oil, fine flour and wheat, with cattle, sheep, horses, carriages, slaves, and the souls of men. Verse ConceptsBabylonFrankincensePerfumeSpirit, Nature OfTradeCinnamonCommerceProviding WineProvision Of OilGroups Of Slaves



immoral persons, sodomites, kidnappers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine Verse ConceptsTradeSound DoctrineThe End Of LiarsDefilementgaysSexual ImmoralityBeing GayGay MarriageSame Sex MarriageSexual Purity




You were a slave when you were called? Never mind. Of course, if you do find it possible to get free, you had better avail yourself of the opportunity. But a slave who is called to be in the Lord is a freedman of the Lord. Just as a free man who is called is a slave of Christ











You were a slave when you were called? Never mind. Of course, if you do find it possible to get free, you had better avail yourself of the opportunity. Verse ConceptsCivil LibertySlavesConsider Your Call To SalvationPeople Freeing SlavesOpportunityReligious FreedomslaveryFreedomPositive ThinkingBeing ContentMoralityfree
















rescuing him from all his troubles and allowing him to find favour for his wisdom with Pharaoh king of Egypt, who appointed him viceroy over Egypt and over all his own household. Verse ConceptsGiving, Of TalentsDiscernment Of GovernorsRescueRulersWisdom, Human ImportanceGod Gives WisdomAfflictions


I have indeed seen the oppression of my people in Egypt, I have heard their groans, and I have come down to rescue them. Come now, I will send you back to Egypt.' Verse ConceptsAnswered PrayerOppression, God's Attitude ToRescueAnswered PromisesGod Seeing Their AfflictionGod Saving From EnemiesOppressorsGod Sending His SonGod Sending Prophets


He took a cunning method with our race; he oppressed our ancestors by forcing them to expose their infants, to prevent them from surviving. Verse ConceptsSanctity Of LifeInfanticideOppressorsKilling Sons And DaughtersThe Death Of Babies

Then the servant who had got the two hundred and fifty pounds came forward. He said, 'I knew you were a hard man, sir, reaping where you never sowed and gathering where you never winnowed. So I was afraid; I went and hid your two hundred and fifty pounds in the earth. There's your money!' His master said to him in reply, 'You rascal, you idle servant! You knew, did you, that I reap where I have never sowed and gather where I have never winnowed! read more.
Well then, you should have handed my money to the bankers and I would have got my capital with interest when I came back. Take therefore the two hundred and fifty pounds away from him, give it to the servant who had the twelve hundred. For to everyone who has shall more be given and richly given; but from him who has nothing, even what he has shall be taken. Throw the good-for-nothing servant into the darkness outside; there men will wail and gnash their teeth.

Then the next came and said, 'Here is your five pounds, sir; I kept it safe in a napkin, for I was afraid of you, you are such a hard man ??picking up what you never put down, and reaping what you never sowed.' He replied, 'You rascal of a servant, I will convict you by what you have said yourself. You knew, did you, that I was a hard man, picking up what I never put down, and reaping what I never sowed! read more.
Why then did you not put my money into the bank, so that I could have got it with interest when I came back?' Then he said to the bystanders, 'Take the five pounds from him and give it to the man with fifty.' 'Sir,' they said, 'he has fifty already!' 'I tell you, to everyone who has shall more be given, but from him who has nothing, even what he has shall be taken.

For the case is that of a man going abroad, who summoned his servants and handed over his property to them; to one he gave twelve hundred pounds, to another five hundred, and to another two hundred and fifty; each got according to his capacity. Then the man went abroad. The servant who had got the twelve hundred pounds went at once and traded with them, making another twelve hundred. read more.
Similarly the servant who had got the five hundred pounds made another five hundred. But the servant who had got the two hundred and fifty pounds went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money. Now a long time afterwards the master of those servants came back and settled accounts with them. Then the servant who had got the twelve hundred pounds came forward, bringing twelve hundred more; he said, 'You handed me twelve hundred pounds, sir; here I have gained another twelve hundred.' His master said to him, 'Capital, you excellent and trusty servant! You have been trusty in charge of a small sum: I will put you in charge of a large sum. Come and share your master's feast.' Then the servant with the five hundred pounds came forward. He said, 'You handed me five hundred pounds, sir; here I have gained another five hundred.' His master said to him, 'Capital, you excellent and trusty servant! You have been trusty in charge of a small sum: I will put you in charge of a large sum. Come and share your master's feast.'

"A nobleman," he said, "went abroad to obtain royal power for himself and then return. He first called his ten servants, giving them each a five-pound note, and telling them, 'Trade with this till I come back.' Now his people hated him and sent envoys after him to say, 'We object to him having royal power over us.' read more.
However he secured the royal power and came home. Then he ordered the servants to be called who had been given the money, that he might find out what business they had done. The first came up saying, 'Your five pounds has made other fifty, sir.' 'Capital,' he said, 'you excellent servant! because you have proved trustworthy in a trifle, you are placed over ten towns.' Then the second came and said, 'Your five pounds has made twenty-five, sir.' To him he said, 'And you are set over five towns.'




Listen to another parable. There was a householder who planted a vineyard, put a fence round it, dug a wine-vat inside it, and built a watchtower: then he leased it to vinedressers and went abroad. When the fruit-season was near, he sent his servants to the vinedressers to collect his fruit; but the vinedressers took his servants and flogged one, killed another, and stoned a third. read more.
Once more he sent some other servants, more than he had sent at first, and they did the same to them. Afterwards he sent them his son; 'They will respect my son,' he said. But when the vinedressers saw his son they said to themselves, 'Here is the heir; come on, let us kill him and seize his inheritance!' So they took and threw him outside the vineyard and killed him. Now, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to these vinedressers?" They replied, "He will utterly destroy the wretches and lease the vineyard to other vinedressers who will give him the fruits in their season."

Then he proceeded to address them in parables. "A man planted a vineyard, fenced it round, dug a trough for the winepress, and built a tower; then he leased it to vinedressers and went abroad. When the season came round he sent a servant to the vine dressers to collect from the vine dressers some of the produce of the vineyard, but they took and flogged him and sent him off with nothing. read more.
Once more he sent them another servant; him they knocked on the head and insulted. He sent another, but they killed him. And so they treated many others; some they flogged and some they killed. He had still one left, a beloved son; he sent him to them last, saying, 'They will respect my son.' But these vinedressers said to themselves, 'Here is the heir; come on, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be our own.' So they took and killed him, and threw him outside the vineyard. Now what will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the vinedressers, and he will give the vineyard to others.













The captain answered, "Sir, I am not fit to have you under my roof; only say the word, and my servant will be cured. For though I am a man under authority myself, I have soldiers under me; I tell one man to go, and he goes, I tell another to come, and he comes, I tell my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it." When Jesus heard that, he marvelled; "I tell you truly," he said to his followers, "I have never met faith like this anywhere in Israel. read more.
Many, I tell you, will come from east and west and take their places beside Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the Realm of heaven, while the sons of the Realm will pass outside, into the darkness; there men will wail and gnash their teeth." Then Jesus said to the captain, "Go; as you have had faith, your prayer is granted." And the servant was cured at that very hour.

Now there was an army-captain who had a servant ill whom he valued very highly. This man was at the point of death; so, when the captain heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders to him, asking him to come and make his servant well. When they reached Jesus they asked him earnestly to do this. "He deserves to have this favour from you," they said, read more.
"for he is a lover of our nation; it was he who built our synagogue." So Jesus went with them. But he was not far from the house when the captain sent some friends to tell him, "Do not trouble yourself, sir, I am not fit to have you under my roof, and so I did not consider myself fit even to come to you. Just say the word, and let my servant be cured. For though I am a man under authority myself, I have soldiers under me; I tell one man to go, and he goes, I tell another to come, and he comes, I tell my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it." When Jesus heard this he marvelled at him, and turning to the crowd that followed he said, "I tell you, I have never met faith like this anywhere even in Israel." Then the messengers went back to the house and found the sick servant was quite well.












as he was unable to pay, his master ordered him to be sold, along with his wife and children and all he had, in payment of the sum. Verse ConceptsLordship, Human And DivineDebtorsOther WivesSettling AccountsUnable To Do Other ThingsDebt



Now as Peter was downstairs in the courtyard, a maidservant of the high priest came along, Verse ConceptsCourtyard
















so he went and attached himself to a citizen of that land, who sent him to his fields to feed swine. And he was fain to fill his belly with the pods the swine were eating; no one gave him anything. But when he came to his senses he said, 'How many hired men of my father have more than enough to eat, and here am I perishing of hunger! read more.
I will be up and off to my father, and I will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I don't deserve to be called your son any more; only make me like one of your hired men."'

But when he came to his senses he said, 'How many hired men of my father have more than enough to eat, and here am I perishing of hunger! Verse ConceptsSelf KnowledgeRegaining SanitySoliloquyNo FoodDeath Of A Fatherhomecoming

I don't deserve to be called your son any more; only make me like one of your hired men."' Verse ConceptsServants Of The Lord








For the Realm of heaven is like a householder who went out early in the morning to hire labourers for his vineyard; and after agreeing with the labourers to pay them a shilling a day he sent them into his vineyard. Then, on going out at nine o'clock he noticed some other labourers standing in the marketplace doing nothing; read more.
to them he said, 'You go into the vineyard too, and I will give you whatever wage is fair.' So they went in. Going out again at twelve o'clock and at three o'clock, he did the same thing. And when he went out at five o'clock he came upon some others who were standing; he said to them, 'Why have you stood doing nothing all the day?' 'Because nobody hired us,' they said. He told them, 'You go into the vineyard too.' Now when evening came the master of the vineyard said to his bailiff, 'Summon the labourers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last and going on to the first.' When those who had been hired about five o'clock came, they got a shilling each. So when the first labourers came up, they supposed they would get more; but they too got each their shilling. And on getting it they grumbled at the householder. 'These last,' they said, 'have only worked a single hour, and yet you have ranked them equal to us who have borne the brunt of the day's work and the heat!' Then he replied to one of them, 'My man, I am not wronging you. Did you not agree with me for a shilling? Take what belongs to you and be off. I choose to give this last man the same as you. Can I not do as I please with what belongs to me? Have you a grudge because I am generous?'




For the Realm of heaven is like a householder who went out early in the morning to hire labourers for his vineyard; and after agreeing with the labourers to pay them a shilling a day he sent them into his vineyard. Then, on going out at nine o'clock he noticed some other labourers standing in the marketplace doing nothing;






Once you found him a worthless character, but now-a-days he is worth something to you and me. Verse ConceptsUseless PeopleUseful People


Once you found him a worthless character, but now-a-days he is worth something to you and me. Verse ConceptsUseless PeopleUseful People



I send you this letter relying on your obedience; I know you will do even more than I tell you.



I send you this letter relying on your obedience; I know you will do even more than I tell you.


When the angel who spoke to him had left, he called two of his menservants and a religiously minded soldier who belonged to his personal retinue, Verse ConceptsDevout MenTwo Other Men

and after agreeing with the labourers to pay them a shilling a day he sent them into his vineyard. Verse ConceptsAgreeing For GoodMoney, Uses OfNegotiationCoinsAgreeingOnce A Day


For though I am a man under authority myself, I have soldiers under me; I tell one man to go, and he goes, I tell another to come, and he comes, I tell my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it." Verse ConceptsCommands, in NTServants, GoodHuman Authority, Nature OfAuthority Delegated To PeopleMen's OrdersObeying PeopleExamples Of Good Servants


Some of those who belonged to the so-called synagogue of the Libyans, the Cyrenians, and the Alexandrians, as well as to that of the Cilicians and Asiatics, started a dispute with Stephen, Verse ConceptsAlexandria The CityConfrontationMissionaries, Support ForSynagogueGod, Impartiality OfFalse Teachers, Examples OfDisputes