MacArthur's "Slave"

Servant or slave? There really is a fundamental difference between these two terms, and that difference impacts the way believers should understand their relationship to God. More than any other metaphor, the Bible uses the term "slave" (Greek doulos) to describe a follower of Jesus. In his 2010 book Slave, John MacArthur effectively argues that this interpretation of doulos is the correct one, over and above servant.

In the book, MacArthur systematically brings to light a critical understanding of what it truly means to be a slave of God. What is genuinely eye opening is the 1st century perspective on slavery and what it must have meant when the New Testament writers referred to believers as "slaves" at least 40 times.

To have a deeper understanding of the Bible's use of the term "slave" in relation to believers is to have a deeper understanding of the doctrines of grace, a deeper understanding of the sovereign grace of God, and a deeper love for our Heavenly Father who has adopted us into His family. And although the metaphors of slaves and sons are different, they are not, MacArthur says, mutually exclusive. We will forever be in God's glorious servitude and we will also forever be a part of His family, inasmuch as He has sought us and bought us according to His own power and will.