GREEK
WORD WITH ENGLISH TRANSLITERATION: δούλος (doulos)
PRONUNCIATION:
DOO-los
STRONG’S
CONCORDANCE #: 1401
MEANING:
slave; servant
ENGLISH
WORDS DERIVED FROM: None
BACKGROUND
OF WORD (ETYMOLOGY): used
to describe the highest (or more accurately "lowest" level of slavery
HOW
TRANSLATED IN KJV, NASB AND/OR ESV: slave; servant
#
OF TIMES USED IN THE GREEK NEW TESTAMENT: 127
KEY
VERSE IN THE BIBLE WHERE GREEK WORD USED: Romans 6:17
"But thanks be to God, that you who were once
slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching
to which you were committed." ESV
THOUGHT
FOR THE DAY:
When Paul writes that we were previously the
servants of sin, he uses the Greek word "doulos", one of the most
wretched expressions for a slave in the ancient Greek language. It described a
servant who was so totally sold into slavery that he had no destiny of his own;
rather, he was perpetually obligated to do the bidding of his owner —
fulfilling the whims, impulses, quirks, urges, and desires of his master for
the rest of his life. In other words, the word "doulos" depicts one
whose very existence is to fulfill the commands of his master. Or as one
expositor explained, the word portrays one whose will is completely swallowed
up in the will of another.
This is the word Paul uses to describe our slavery
to sin before Jesus came into our lives. Paul is saying that prior to our salvation
experience, we were completely consumed, swallowed up, devoured, and engulfed
in the will of Satan. We may have thought we were in charge of our lives; we
may have assumed we were “calling the shots” ourselves. But in reality, you and
I were in the grip of sin, and our sin nature was controlling our lives and
destinies. We were like captives sold into the depravity of slavery. As the
slaves of sin, our destinies were being masterminded by an unseen, diabolical
spirit that wanted to destroy us.
Because of the word "doulos" in Romans
6:17, one section of this verse could be taken to read:
“...In
the past you were the wretched slaves of sin — sold out entirely to sin — and
you had no ‘say-so’ about your life, your future, or your desires. At that
time, your entire existence on earth was centered around fulfilling the whims,
impulses, quirks, urges, and desires of your master — sin....”
Our prior slavery to Satan was so deeply rooted in
our nature that we became inseparable from the sinful nature that so constantly
worked in us and controlled us. Indeed, this pervading demonic presence in our
lives was so absolute and supreme that Paul described it this way in Ephesians
2:2: “Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world,
according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in
the children of disobedience.”
CHALLENGE
FOR THE DAY:
Would you like to more fully appreciate how the
grace of God has changed you? Why not take a little time today to recall what
your spiritual condition was like before His grace touched your life? As you do
that, I think you'll realize that before Jesus Christ came into your heart,
life was doomed to failure. In fact, it was so unpromising that Romans 6:17
says you were in reality a “servant” to sin.
PRAYER
FOR THE DAY:
Lord,
I thank You for coming into my life and for breaking the power of sin that used
to hold me captive. I remember the futility I felt as I tried to change myself
but couldn't do it. But when You came into my life, everything changed! I
praise You for loving me so much that You left Heaven and descended into a
world filled with sin and depravity. You did that for me, and I thank You so
much! I confess that I am positionally free
because of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The shedding of His
blood paid the ransom for me. The hold Satan used to have on me is broken, and
I am liberated and set free! I no longer have to sin. Now God's divine power operates mightily in
me, and I have authority over the enemy who used to control me! I declare this by faith in Jesus' name!
