2 Peter 1:1 Bondservant - Devotional Scripture

 

In 2 Peter 1:1, Peter introduces himself as:

Simon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ.

First, he recognizes who he is without Christ.  He is Simon, which means shifting sand. He was the one talking when he should have been listening, sleeping when he should have been praying, stepping out when he should have held back and holding back when he should have stepped out. Peter desired to do right but he would constantly mess up.

Simon didn’t become Peter, the unmovable rock, until he discovered that Jesus was the Son of the Living God. Jesus, the one that emptied Himself, the one that left his place in heaven and took on the form of a bondservant coming down to earth in the likeness of men to die in our place for our sins (Phil 2:7). It’s only when we realize who Jesus Christ is that life begins to make sense.

Peter, after recognizing who he was without Christ and who is he now in Christ, he introduces himself as a bondservant of Jesus Christ. This means that he voluntarily placed himself under the authority of God. A bondservant is someone who declares, “Lord, I love you and I don’t want to leave you. I don’t want to be free to do what I want. I’ve lived that way and it left me feeling empty and depressed.  I would rather place myself under your authority trusting you to take care of me.” 

Understanding our identity in Jesus Christ is where we'll find true freedom -- freedom from fear, freedom from worry, freedom from the temptation to be selfish. We also have this promise:

Now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. Romans 6:22