WE ARE "SENT' SLAVES

The Prologue of the Gospel of John says in John 1:6: " There was a man who was sent from God, and his name was John, in which the word "sent" is coded as " G649 (apostello)," and appears 28 times in the Gospel of John. Why am I interested in this word? This is because in the narration of the apostle John, the identity of Jesus the Messiah is the slave sent by our God and Father Yehovah to the world; just as John 3:17 said: “For God = Yehovah did not send His Son into the world so that he should judge the world, but so that the world should be saved through him.”

In addition, the " Synonyms " of the word "G649", that is, the word "G3992 (pempo)", which is also used 32 times in the Gospel of John, is also a keyword in the Gospel of John; for example, John 5:23 says: " Let all men honor the Son as they honor the Father. Whosoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.”

In the Gospel of John, did our God and Father Yehovah just send two slaves, John the Baptist, and Jesus the Messiah?

The reason I bring up this answer should be the obvious one. In Christian circles, believers place too much emphasis on our status as children of God, which is true, for that status is so precious that we can be the sons and daughters of the only true God – Yehovah. We cannot ignore that we have another precious identity, and we are also sent slaves, purchased by the sin-offering sacrifice of the Messiah Jesus. However, in the narrative of the Gospel of John, it is more accurate to say that the Father has sent us through the lord Jesus the Messiah acting as His agent.

Just as John 17:18 says: "As you sent (G649) me into the world, I will also send (G649) them into the world"; similarly John 20:21 says: "Jesus said to them again: May you be safe! As the Father has sent (G649) me, so I will send (G3992) you”; notice that the words “G649” and “G3992” are used flexibly and interchangeably. Therefore, every disciple is a slave of Jesus the Messiah, purchased by his shed blood (Acts 20:28; Revelation 5:9; Romans 6:22; 1 Corinthians 7:23), so we call Jesus "lord", just like John 13:13 says: "You call me Master, you call me lord, you are right, I am"!

Are we "slaves" or "sons and daughters"?

Does being a "son and daughter" mean not being a “slave”? How should these two seemingly opposing identities be properly embodied in the disciples of the Messiah?

First of all, we must understand that although the Gospel of John emphasizes that Jesus the Messiah is the slave sent by God, the purpose of writing this Gospel (John 20:31) indicates that it is "to make you believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God ... "

How did Jesus balance these two identities? Matthew 20:28 has fully revealed the mentality of Jesus: "Just as the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many", but was affirmed by our God and Father Yehovah time and time again, saying, "This is my beloved Son ...".

Before God - Yehovah, we should pay more attention to our status as His slaves and serve Him and others faithfully; in this way, then we will definitely experience the original, in the eyes of God our Father Yehovah, as His precious children.

Written by Rosablanca Suen and edited by Bruce Lyon