1 Cor 12:13 For also in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and were all given to drink one Spirit. Gal 3:28 There cannot be Jew nor Greek, there cannot be slave nor free man, there cannot be male and female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
The apostle tells us that there is no class distinction between the free man and the slave. In Christ, there is no free man or slave. In Christ all class distinctions are totally abolished. There is no more class consciousness or class struggle. Although the idea of democracy came from Rome, and although civil rights, suffrage, and voting began from Rome, these rights belonged to free men only; the slaves had nothing. The slave had no civil rights; he was not considered a human being. This kind of class distinction is many times harsher than that between masters and servants, employers and employees, and bosses and subordinates of today. Before God we must see that today we may be a servant, a subordinate, or an employee. We should take our stand in the workplace and learn to submit to our superior or master. However, when we come before God, we should not yield to someone just because he is our master or boss. In our discussion over spiritual matters, we should not consider our master or our superior to be always right or his reasoning to be always correct. There is no such thing. Whenever we kneel down to pray or discuss spiritual matters, our status is changed, and there is no class distinction between us. We cannot introduce any class relationship into the church, because such a relationship does not exist in the church.
Bible verses are taken from the Recovery Version of the Bible and Words of Ministry from Watchman Nee, Messages for Building Up New Believers, pp. 118-120. Both are published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA. Please visit us at www.emanna.com. Send comments to: [email protected].
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