They Called Themselves Slave
A Brief Study of the English Translation of the Koinē Greek Word doūlos (slave) in the New Testament in the Context of Love and Obedience
by
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I am fully persuaded that when Christians carefully consider what constitutes the basic foundations of being a loving, faithful, obedient, humble, loyal slave of Jesus—doūlos Iēsou—they will joyfully and willingly embrace this grace-filled naming as “slave.” Further, I am persuaded this basic foundation consists of fully understanding and comprehending this naming God uses to impart his will and truth to the world, to me, and to those who turn to him as Lord and Savior. This understanding and comprehension is conveyed to us in and through and by his revelation in the pages of his written word, the Bible. Suppose I am uncertain or unclear as to what God is saying. In that case, I must avail myself of the various means known to me in my own particular circumstance to endeavor to comprehend what God is saying, a means that surely begins and ends with prayer, even, if need be, fervent unceasing prayer. While God may use different languages to convey his will to different people groups, he communicates the same truth throughout the universe to the core of our being. What is true in Alpine, Texas, is true in the farthest reaches of the created heavens. Because God is always and everywhere the same, the truth of the words he breathes forth—literally phonetically aspirates—is the same truth for all peoples, in all places, at all times
It is also important to consider the reality that God is certain and precise in what he wishes to communicate; there is no confusion in what he wishes to impart to us; there is no ambiguity; there is no lack of clarity; he is precise. What God wishes to communicate, he communicates with lucidity. Since God is the creator and source of all creation, he has no lack of vocabulary at his disposal, nor is he incapable of supervising the human authors of his written Word, Holy Scripture, to use vocabulary available to them in their mother tongue to record all he wishes them to convey to all peoples. The words he uses to convey his will to us, he chooses intentionally and with precision. His communication is studied, not perfunctory, superficial, or casual. This must surely hold true for those he chose by his Holy Spirit to be the human writers of his written Word.
In this context, it is important to state again that the Bible contains the very words of God. This is not to convey the idea that God uses dictation to make his will known to us. Yet, it is important to acknowledge that the prophets, apostles, indeed, all the biblical writers have imparted to us with precision the very essence of what God wills to be known by us. Having said that, we must also acknowledge that in the Holy Scriptures, we find the prophets saying, “Thus says the Lord….” which indicates these are the very words of God. We must further acknowledge these words convey the reality they are the very words aspirated—breathed out—by God. Thus, we acknowledge in these instances these words of God may well be what we call “holy dictation,” even as reluctant as we are to use the word “dictation.”
God does not need a proofreader or a co-author.
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About the Book
The book is an easily readable book which shows that the English translation of doūlos (slave) as servant (diakonos) is incorrect. The argument put forth is well documented, researched, and clearly presented to those of any religious or non-religious persuasion and academic level.
“Interpretation is an explanation of what is not immediately plain in the Bible…because of the multifaceted character of the Bible, and its interpretation takes a variety of forms. …A basic requirement for the understanding of these documents is the grammatico–historical interpretation or exegesis bringing out of the text the meaning the writer intended to convey and which their readers were expected to gather from it…the meaning of the text for hearers today must be related to its meaning for the hearers to whom it was first addressed.”
F. F. Bruce
“Scholars who deal seriously with literary texts have a name for texts that do not correspond to the actual words of an author. Such a text is called a corrupt text. It is defined as a text that has been changed from its original and reliable form to something different from that standard—a text that has been altered from the original, intentionally or unintentionally.”
Leland Ryken
About the Author
Donald and Diane live in Midland, TX, and worship at Christ Church Anglican. After High School, Donald enlisted in the US Navy. Upon release from active duty, Donald attended Texas Tech University graduating with a BBA. After graduation he worked for several years in various industries at various levels of management. He married but being a work-a-holic his marriage ended in divorce. His lovely daughter Elizabeth was born from that union. Donald and Diane were married in 1986 at St. Paul’s Bakersfield, CA on the first Sunday after Easter. In 1990 Donald received an MDiv from Trinity (Episcopal) School for Ministry and subsequently, in 1996, he was ordained Deacon and Priest in the one holy catholic and apostolic Church (Episcopal/Anglican communion). He is presently retired from active parish leadership.