SERVICE.—There are 5 words which with their derivatives are used to convey the idea of ‘service’ in the NT: λειτουργεῖν, λατρεύειν, ὑπηρέτης, διάκονος and δοῦλος. Of these λειτουργεῖν (λεῖτος = δημόσιος and ἔργον) is used to denote service rendered to the State. It indicates the unreckoned generosity, the uncalculating devotion of patriotic service of city or country. This idea is fully indicated in such passages as Romans 15:16, Philippians 2:17, and in connexion with διακονία in 2 Corinthians 9:12. The word was early used in the Christian Church to indicate the service of God in special offices and ministries. Thus in the one passage in which it appears in the Gospels (Luke 1:23) it is used of the priest Zacharias, as it is afterwards used of the great High Priest in Hebrews 8:1 ff. Very much the same may be said of the second word λατρεύειν. In classical Greek it was used of the service of the gods, and in the NT it is used of the service rendered to Jehovah by the whole tribe of Israel (Acts 26:7 and Romans 9:4). Thus Augustine says: ‘λατρεία … aut semper aut tam frequenter ut fere semper, ea dicitur servitus quae pertinet ad colendum Deum’ (e. Faust. 20, 21). This distinct use of the word appears in all those passages in which it is used in the Gospels: Matthew 4:10, Luke 1:74; Luke 2:37. Though these words are full of significance as used in the NT, we need not in this article examine further into their use, inasmuch as they do not appear in the Gospels in connexion with that form of service which Christ either illustrated in Himself or explicitly taught. It is in the remaining words that we must find whatever teaching is suggested by the terminology of the Evangelists.

διάκονος is used in what was doubtless the original meaning of the word, i.e. ‘one who waits at table,’ in John 2:5; John 2:9 (see also Matthew 22:13 and John 12:2). It represents the servant in his activity rather than in any relation to his Lord. The διάκονος executes the commands of his master. Thus, while in Matthew 22:2-14 the δοῦλος invites the guests to the feast, it is the διάκονος who expels the unworthy guest. Another word closely allied in use to διάκονος is ὑπηρέτης, ‘the rower,’ then the subordinate official, and then the performer of any hard labour (Matthew 5:25, Luke 4:20). The difference between the two words is to be sought in the direction of the official relation of the ὑπηρέτης to his master.

By far the most commonly used word in this connexion is δοῦλος, ‘the bondservant.’ It is used almost as an equivalent to διάκονος to indicate the lowliness of the service rendered. Where the two words are brought into juxtaposition, the difference between them seems to lie in this, that while διάκονος indicates the activity of the servant, δοῦλος indicates rather the completeness of his subordination. Thus, in speaking of Christ, St. Paul calls Him the διάκονος of the circumcision (Romans 15:8), while he says that He took upon Him the μορφὴν δούλου (Philippians 2:7). So also in Luke 12:37 watchfulness is the token of the activity of the servant. The humility of service, therefore, while not lacking entirely from the word διάκονος, belongs more particularly to δοῦλος. It is on the lines of this distinction that the words of Christ as recorded in Matthew 20:26; Matthew 20:28 may be explained. There it will be seen that, while διάκονος is the antithesis of μέγας. the antithesis of δοῦλος is found in πρῶτος; as though Christ would teach that true greatness lies in the doing of service, while the highest position in His Kingdom belongs to him who will accept the lowly position of the slave.

In this last passage and again in Luke 22:26 Christ lays down service as the law of His Kingdom. The position of a minister was that which He accepted for Himself; ‘He came not to be ministered unto, but to minister’ (Matthew 20:28), and He looked to those who would follow Him to accept a similar rule of life for themselves (Luke 22:26, John 13:16; cf. John 12:16). This idea of service as the law of the Kingdom of God was no new one in Jewish thought. Many years before, the author of Isaiah 40-56 had spoken of both the deliverer and the delivered as ‘the servant of Jehovah.’ Both He who through suffering should redeem the people, and the people themselves, idealized as they were in the vision of the seer, were to serve. The one was to be ‘despised and rejected of men,’ and the other, blind, deaf, plundered, and despised, was to be exalted by the very service in which he proved his submission and obedience. Each was to be Jehovah’s δοῦλος.

Throughout the parabolic teaching of Jesus the use of this word is sufficiently frequent to be significant; but if He had given no other teaching in this connexion, His mind would have been sufficiently expressed in His acted parable on the occasion when He Himself stooped to the most menial of all menial service, and washed the feet of His disciples. When at length His self-imposed task was complete, ‘He said unto them, A servant is not greater than his Lord; … I have given you an example that ye also should do as I have done unto you’ (John 13:1-17). In this service, which Christ enjoins as well as accepts, there are one or two notes which are peculiarly His own. The first of these is, that it is a service which is not imposed upon the individual from outside, but is a spontaneous act of submission. It was in this way that He Himself had entered upon that service μορφὴν δούλου λαβών (Philippians 2:7), and it is in this way that He calls upon His disciples to serve (Matthew 20:26). Indeed, it was only thus that service could be of any moral value to the servant. The compelled service is barren of aught but the spirit of rebellion, and it finds no place in Christ’s scheme. The service that is grudged or unwilling is not to be discovered in His example. As St. Paul afterwards taught, there is a recognition of the freedom of the individual in this, that he is allowed to ‘yield himself a servant unto obedience,’ and the bond which he thus casts upon himself grows closer with every subsequent act of obedience (Romans 6:16). The second note is that of completeness. This service is complete in its self-dedication and exclusive in its object. Christ acknowledged from the beginning a sense of constraint when He said that He must be in His Father’s house (Luke 2:49). His surrender to that compelling force was full; He found it His ‘meat to do the will’ of His Father, and to accomplish His work (John 4:34). Equally full was the devotion which He realized, for He ‘did always the things that pleased him’ (John 8:29).

These with the other passages already cited sufficiently indicate the character of the service which belongs to the Kingdom of God. It has a definite and undivided purpose. It is not qualified either in its sanction or in its claim to occupy and dominate the whole life of the Christian. Equally marked is its measure or intensity. Both in the terms that are used and in the examples afforded, it is taught that sacrifice, even that ultimate form of sacrifice which for mortals is realized in death, is the one condition of service.

Literature.—Fairbairn, Religion in History and in the Life of To-day; Church, The Gifts of Civilization; Westcott, Lessons from Work; Wendt, The Teaching of Jesus, i. p. 325 ff.; Bruce, The Kingdom of God, p. 220; Peabody, Jesus Christ and the Social Question; Ely, Social Aspects of Christianity; Lyman Abbott, Christianity and Social Problems; S. D. Gordon, Quiet Talks on Service; J. H. Thom, Laws of Life, 2nd ser. 347; Phillips Brooks, Addresses, 1; A. Smellie, Service and Inspiration (1904).

W. W. Holdsworth.

Bibliography Information
Hastings, James. Entry for 'Service'. Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/hdn/s/service.html. 1906-1918.

Bible Dictionaries Service

Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament

Bible Dictionaries
Service