Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered outside the gate. Therefore, let us go forth to him outside the camp, bearing his reproach. For we have no continuing city here, but we seek one to come.
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The spirit of the gospel of Jesus is altogether contrary to the self-serving, self-indulgent spirit of this age. The spirit of Christ is a Spirit of a willing servant.
Jesus said (Mt. 20:25-28), "You know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them, but it shall not be so among you. Whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister, and whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant, even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister and to give his life as a ransom for many."
Jesus pointed out to his disciples that the master sitting at the table is greater than the servant who waits on him, "But", he went on to say, "I am among you as he that serveth" (Lk. 22:27). Then, to demonstrate his point, he washed the disciples' feet, as a lowly servant would do (Jn. 13:4-7) and then served them bread and wine (Lk. 22:17-20).
This is the Spirit of Christ, not serving self or self-interests but living for the good of others. Paul had this kind of heart. His words to the children of God in various places reflect the great love of God for His people, even if they do not feel the same depth of love in return:
"Ye are in our hearts to die and to live with you." 2Cor. 7:3
"I will very gladly spend and be spent for you, though the more abundantly I love you, the less I be loved." 2Cor. 12:15
"We were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherisheth her children . . .We were willing to have imparted unto you, not the gospel of God only, but also our own souls because ye were dear unto us." 1Thess. 2:7-8
"I thank God always on your behalf for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ." 1Cor. 1:4
"God is my witness . . . that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers." Rom. 1:9
Paul gave himself to God for the good of the saints, as a servant, and regardless of the cost. When the saints in Corinth were being lured away from Christ by men who looked and sounded good but were not sent to them from God, Paul took the liberty to list for them some of the labors and trials he had endured for their good, as opposed to those of the false teachers:
". . . in labors [I have been] more abundant, in stripes [lashes by government officials] above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft. Of the Jews five times I received thirty-nine stripes. Three times was I beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I suffered shipwreck; a night and a day have I been in the deep. In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by my own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren. In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and in thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. Besides those things that come upon me daily, the care of all the congregations."
Paul was a slave of Christ, for the congregation of saints, and only from the sufferings of Christ Jesus have the saints benefitted more than they have from the sufferings of Paul. He spoke truly when he said that Christ lived in him (Gal. 2:20): "I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless, I live. Yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. And the life that I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."
With the attitude of a servant, there is no sulking, back-biting, or temper-tantrums. With the attitude of a servant, there is peace and contentment, for a servant understands that he doesn't make the rules but that he exists to keep them and to please his master. With the attitude of a servant is humility and grace. With the attitude of a servant is true holiness and fellowship with the Savior, who humbled himself completely to the will of his Master, the Father, rather than to pursue the will of his flesh.
In the end, no one will be saved from God's wrath except those who possess the heart of a servant. This sin-sick world constantly promotes self-exaltation and self-aggrandizement; it commends such selfish attitudes especially to our young people, but a self-indulgent generation is cursed with hardness of heart, and we need to warn all people of that fact.
May God give to each of us the attitude of a servant, that we may be like Jesus, knowing that if we become like him, then we will both suffer with him in this life (2Tim. 3:12) and, in the world to come, reign with him forever in the kingdom of his Father (2Tim. 2:12).