Would you like to have the secret of how to make your brothers and sisters great? and would you like to know how Jesus Christ makes us sons of God?
You may not understand the principle of how Jesus Christ the Son, Who is so far in advance of us, could take us in the lowly estate that we were and lift us up to the realm of sonship.
Although we understand it is through the redemptive work of shedding His blood upon the cross, we are now confronted with a theological problem—how could He really bring many sons to glory? The only possible way after providing the plan of redemption, after being our Savior; then Jesus Christ had to become our servant in order to elevate us to the higher place. In Luke 22:24–31, Jesus explained this.
And there arose also a contention among them, which of them was accounted to be greatest. And he said unto them, The kings of the Gentiles have lordship over them: and they that have authority over them are called Benefactors. But ye shall not be so: but he that is the greater among you, let him become as the younger; and he that is chief, as he that doth serve. For which is greater, he that sitteth at meat, or he that serveth? is not he that sitteth at meat? but I am in the midst of you as he that serveth.
Notice that there is a difference in the realm of spirit where you really want to see something accomplished.
But ye are they that have continued with me in my temptations; and I appoint unto you a kingdom, even as my Father appointed unto me, that ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom; and ye shall sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
One more passage that is necessary is John 13:3: Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands (This was the conscious knowledge that He had in this ministration), and that he came forth from God, and goeth unto God, riseth from supper, and layeth aside his garments; and he took a towel, and girded himself. Then he poureth water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded. So he cometh to Simon Peter. He saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet? Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt understand hereafter. Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, if I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me. Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head. Jesus saith to him, He that is bathed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit:
Notice that the real action did not have value because of the actual dirt washed off; or whether it was the feet, the hands, or the whole of the man. The feet were singled out for the washing because it was the job of a slave to wash the feet.
Before the days of sanitation and modern sewage systems, you can imagine what life was like in a big city where most of the human refuse was emptied out into the streets or carried out to what the Scriptures call the dunghill.
With our deodorants, perfumes and present day conveniences, it is simpler now than it was in those days. Therefore, it was very likely for anyone to insist on having their feet washed when coming into their house. The lowliest slave was used, because washing feet in that day, was not like a foot-washing service today.
When you come to a foot-washing service today, you’ve never seen such clean feet, because pride enters in. The most humiliating part of foot washing is to have someone wash your feet. You can almost be proud of your humility when you bow down and wash others’ feet, but when they start washing your feet—that is another thing!
God has a way of showing us something in this truth and in these two passages that is important. The first passage talked about the way that things happen. He said, “at a table the master sits and the servant serves him, but it is not so among us. He that is greatest is the one who serves the food to the rest.”
The Kingdom of God is reversed. It would be good to have a banquet or supper based entirely on the Kingdom principles in which all the elders and deacons would do the serving and wait on everyone. He that would be the greatest has to be the servant of all.
Jesus said, Ye call me Master, and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one anothers feet. John 13:13–14. If ye know these things, blessed are ye, if ye do them. John 13:17. You are going to be a blessed person if you understand that your joy and happiness comes in this way.
I want to point out something to you which I think is so important. It is the bondservant principle. We find it in Philippians 2:6–7 where it says Jesus was God: who, existing in the form of God, counted not the being on an equality with God a thing to be grasped, but He emptied himself, taking the form of a servant—He made Himself of no reputation and took upon himself the form of a bondservant.
The greatest thing that Jesus could do was to take upon himself the form of a bondservant. He did this, because in that absolute servitude to the Father, the Father then in that humility could lay all authority in heaven and earth upon him. The key of authority is in humility. The key of everything that is accomplished is in this being a bondservant of the Lord Jesus Christ.
In the third and fourth chapters of I Corinthians Paul said, “This is how you should account of us: there is Apollos; Cephas; we are just stewards of God, stewards of the mysteries of God. We are servants of the Lord. This is the way that you have to regard it.” He had been telling them, “All things are yours; whether it is Apollos or Cephas. It is all yours. It is all given to you.
We must adjust ourselves to the fact that in the Body of Christ there are no “big shots,” but wherever there is greater authority, it is resting upon the humblest one. The commission to serve is the greater. It has to be so. It is not so in the world, but it is in God’s world.
I will show you why that is. It is like stooping down to a small child looking up at you, tired from playing—little legs getting so weary, and you think how far those little feet have to go in the years to come. So you lift them up over your head, their feet dangle over your shoulders, their hands in your hair hanging on, and you carry them. You’ve made them a little bit higher than yourself by serving them.
Jesus did not lose anything of His authority when He washed the disciples feet and lifted children onto His shoulders. He was the Lord and the Master, but He took the serving role.
You can make your brother and sister great when you see they are weary, by just serving them, not in a haughty way but as a true bondservant of Jesus Christ. When you start to serve them, you are lifting them. God doesn’t make you anything less, but when you just take a lesser place of service to your brother and sister, you automatically lift them up. Understanding this is the key of becoming great.
How does a man become great in this world? You may think of many things, but usually when you find a man pushing the wheelborrow of success down the road, there is a woman right behind him, pushing, in the help-mate principle. When a woman sets herself to serve her husband and his interests, she may be a very noble and superior person to him, but she lifts him automatically up in that place.
God is trying to teach us that the quickest way to ineffectiveness is to have an exalted opinion of yourself. The finest route to be really effective as a bondservant of Jesus Christ is to start to serve your brother and sister and try to help them; love them above and beyond the call of duty. Take upon yourself, like Jesus did, the form of a bondservant. See what happens; see how the Lord blesses you in it.
When Jesus took the towel, girded Himself, and washed the disciple’s feet. He was their Lord and their Master, there was no question about His place, but He could become a servant and automatically lift them up.
We can become sons; we can become bondservants of Jesus Christ. We can be lifted up because He takes the place of service to us. He ever lives to make intercession for us. He still continues that servant role to us and that is what lifts us up.
Being a bondservant is the basic dedication by which you can bring people into something. A pastor can never be a pastor or teacher of a church and really accomplish anything until he becomes the servant of the church, and the people are aware he is serving God and thereby serving them and their interests, really trying to serve them; then they begin to grow.
When you come into the revelation of being a slave, you’ve come into one of the greatest liberations you’ll ever know. There is no one as free in this world as a person that is really a slave of the Lord—a paradox, but it is true.