There are a total of eight different authors of the different books in the New Testament: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, James, Peter, and Jude. (This list regards Paul as the author of Hebrews; see “Peter, Paul, & Hebrews” • Part 1 | Part 2.)

Of these, Paul wrote far more books than anyone else, but he is also the only New Testament author who does not have a book that bears his name; how poor is that! Surely he regarded himself as a “little one,” which is what the name “Paul” means.

Of the eight authors, five identify themselves in one or more of the books they wrote. And while these authors were so different from each other in so many ways, when we consider the manner in which they identified themselves, we can easily see one striking characteristic they all share:

Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus….
— Romans 1:1

James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ….
— James 1:1

Simon Peter, a slave and apostle of Jesus Christ….
— 2 Peter 1:1

Jude, a slave of Jesus Christ and a brother of James….
— Jude 1:1

The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His slaves the things which must swiftly take place. And He made it known by signs, sending it by His angel to His slave John
— Revelation 1:1

We might consider any of these brothers to be great apostles, and surely, they were given one of the highest honers a servant of the Lord could have in the church age, to write a part of the New Testament Scriptures. And yet, regardless of how much the Lord used them, they considered themselves most of all as “slaves of Christ Jesus.”

The Lord will never accept volunteers, free-lancers, or part-time servants for His service. And while He surely does desire to use us in a great way, if we regard ourselves as someone great, we are finished with Him. Rather, to truly serve the Lord according to the apostolic pattern our realization must be, like that of the early apostles themselves, that we are only “slaves of Christ Jesus,” for Him to use or or not use as He sees fit, so that we offer ourselves fully and completely to Him to be such ones.

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—  1 February 2025 —