“Servant” in our English New Testament usually represents the Greek doulos (bondslave). Sometimes it means diakonos (deacon or minister); this is strictly accurate, for doulos and diakonos are synonyms. Both words denote a man who is not at his own disposal, but is his master’s purchased property. Bought to serve his master’s needs, to be at his beck and call every moment, the slave’s sole business is to do as he is told. Christian service therefore means, first and foremost, living out a slave relationship to one’s Savior (1 Corinthians. 6:19-20).
What work does Christ set his servants to do? The way that they serve him, he tells them, is by becoming the slaves of their fellow-servants and being willing to do literally anything, however costly, irksome, or undignified, in order to help them. This is what love means, as he himself showed at the Last supper when he played the slave’s part and washed the disciples’ feet.
When the New Testament speaks of ministering to the saints, it means not primarily preaching to them but devoting time, trouble, and substance to giving them all the practical help possible. The essence of Christian service is loyalty to the king expressing itself in care for his servants (Matthew 25: 31-46).
Only the Holy Spirit can create in us the kind of love toward our Savior that will overflow in imaginative sympathy and practical helpfulness towards his people. Unless the spirit is training us in love, we are not fit persons to go to college or a training class to learn the know-how or particular branches of Christian work. Gifted leaders who are self-centered and loveless are a blight to the church rather than a blessing.
–J.I. Packer Your Father Loves you (Carol Stream. Illinois: Harold Shaw Publishers, 1986) and quoted by yours truly in the morning sermon
Wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong, at least the first paragraph. God does not want us to be slaves, waiting for others to make the decisions. He asks us to take our skills, our talents, our abilities, and offering these in and through Christ, to do what we can. Hence John 15.15: ‘I do not call you servants any longer: I call you friends.’ Hence, too, the astonishingly close association of the baptised with the risen body of Christ (Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me) hinted at in the high priestly discourses (I am the vine, you are the branches).
I would also challenge the startling equivalence that Dr Packer makes of doulos, slave, and diakonos, servant – but I suspect that there are many out there with far better Koine Greek than mine who can unpick that one for us.