Service
(properly , , i.e. bondage; but the rendering in the A.V. in many places of less severe words, as , , , etc.). SEE SERVITUDE.
Fuente: Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature
Service
With regard to the word serve or service, the LXX often keeps up a distinction which is not to be found in the Hebrew. It has both , which is bond service, and which may be used in a religious sense or not; and , sacred service, a word only used in a religious sense, but not confined to the priesthood. for these two renderings the Hebrew has only one word, avad ( [The Assyrian replaces ebed (slave) by ardu.]), which is used of every kind of service, good and bad, whether exercised towards man, idols, or God. The distinction which is sometimes drawn between the words douleia and latreia, in connection with the worship of God and of created beings, cannot be substantiated by reference to the O.T.
The verb , as well as the noun is frequently used in the N.T. of the service due from every Christian to God and to Christ (see, for example, Col 3:24; 1Th 1:9), whether that service take the form of ministry or not.
is used of that religious service of the Christians which consists in self-dedication to God, in Rom 12:1; Php 3:3; Heb 9:14; Heb 12:28. St. Paul uses it of his own life of service in Act 24:14; Act 26:7; Act 27:23; Rom 1:9; 2Ti 1:3. It is also used to indicate the ceaseless employment of God’s servants in heaven (Rev 7:15; Rev 22:3).
(whence the word deacon) and kindred forms are used in the N.T in a general and non-technical sense of all kinds of ministry or service for the good of others. See Mat 20:18; Joh 12:2; Joh 12:25. It is not applied to the seven so-called deacons, and only gradually grew up into a technical sense. See Php 1:1, and 1Ti 3:8; 1Ti 3:12.
Fuente: Synonyms of the Old Testament
Service
SERVICE.There are 5 words which with their derivatives are used to convey the idea of service in the NT: , , , and . Of these ( = and ) 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 Rom 15:16, Php 2:17, and in connexion with in 2Co 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 (Luk 1:23) it is used of the priest Zacharias, as it is afterwards used of the great High Priest in Heb 8:1 ff. Very much the same may be said of the second word . 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 (Act 26:7 and Rom 9:4). Thus Augustine says: 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: Mat 4:10, Luk 1:74; Luk 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.
is used in what was doubtless the original meaning of the word, i.e. one who waits at table, in Joh 2:5; Joh 2:9 (see also Mat 22:13 and Joh 12:2). It represents the servant in his activity rather than in any relation to his Lord. The executes the commands of his master. Thus, while in Mat 22:2-14 the invites the guests to the feast, it is the who expels the unworthy guest. Another word closely allied in use to is , the rower, then the subordinate official, and then the performer of any hard labour (Mat 5:25, Luk 4:20). The difference between the two words is to be sought in the direction of the official relation of the to his master.
By far the most commonly used word in this connexion is , the bondservant. It is used almost as an equivalent to 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 indicates the activity of the servant, indicates rather the completeness of his subordination. Thus, in speaking of Christ, St. Paul calls Him the of the circumcision (Rom 15:8), while he says that He took upon Him the (Php 2:7). So also in Luk 12:37 watchfulness is the token of the activity of the servant. The humility of service, therefore, while not lacking entirely from the word , belongs more particularly to . It is on the lines of this distinction that the words of Christ as recorded in Mat 20:26; Mat 20:28 may be explained. There it will be seen that, while is the antithesis of . the antithesis of is found in ; 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 Luk 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 (Mat 20:28), and He looked to those who would follow Him to accept a similar rule of life for themselves (Luk 22:26, Joh 13:16; cf. Joh 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 Jehovahs .
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 (Joh 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 (Php 2:7), and it is in this way that He calls upon His disciples to serve (Mat 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 Christs 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 (Rom 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 Fathers house (Luk 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 (Joh 4:34). Equally full was the devotion which He realized, for He did always the things that pleased him (Joh 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.
Fuente: A Dictionary Of Christ And The Gospels
Service
survis: Six Hebrew, two Aramaic and four Greek words are so rendered.
1. In the Old Testament:
In the Old Testament the word most used for service is (1) abhodhah, from abhadh, which is the general word, meaning to work and so to serve, to till, also to enslave. The noun means bondage, labor, ministering, service, tillage, work, use. The word is used in describing work in the fields (Exo 1:14, et al.), work in the tabernacle (Exo 27:19, et al.), sanctuary service (Num 7:9), service of Yahweh (Num 8:11), Levitical or priestly service (Num 8:22), kingly service (1Ch 26:30), etc. Reference is made to instruments, wood vessels, cattle, herbs, shekels for the service in the house of Yahweh. (2) Abhadh itself is translated service in Num 8:15; Num 18:23; Jer 22:13. (3) Seradh means stitching, i.e. piercing with a needle; it occurs only 4 times, and in each case in the Revised Version (British and American) instead of service is translated finely wrought garments (Exo 31:10; Exo 35:19; Exo 39:1, Exo 39:41). (4) Sharath means primarily to attend as a servant or worshipper, and to contribute to or render service, wait on, and thence service; occurs only 3 times (Exo 35:19; Exo 39:1, Exo 39:41 the King James Version) and in the American Standard Revised Version is rendered for ministering. (5) Cabha’ is found 7 times, used in the same connection each time, and refers to those numbered for service in the tent of meeting. Its primary root meaning refers to service for war, campaign, hardship (Num 4:30, Num 4:35, Num 4:39, Num 4:43; Num 8:24). (6) Yadh means literally, an open hand, indicating direction, power, and so ministry as in 1Ch 6:31, where David appoints certain ones to have direction of the music, translated in 1Ch 29:5, the Revised Version (British and American) not service, but himself. (7)Abhdhah means business, labor, affairs; Ezr 6:18 is the only place where it is found. (8) Polhan, from root meaning to worship, minister to, and so in Ezr 7:19 vessels given for service.
2. In the New Testament:
The following are the uses in the New Testament: (1) Diakona, from root meaning to run on errands, and so attendance, aid as a servant, ministry, relief, and hence, service; compare English word deacon; Paul: that I might minister unto you (2Co 11:8); also found in Rom 15:31 (ministration) and Rev 2:19 (ministry). (2) Douleuo, literally, to be a slave, in bondage, service (Gal 4:8, bondage; Eph 6:7, service; 1Ti 6:2, serve). (3) Latrea, from root meaning to render religious homage, menial service to God, and so worship (Joh 16:2, service; Rom 9:4, service; Rom 12:1, spiritual service; Heb 9:1, service; Heb 9:6, services). (4) Leitourga, from root to perform religious or charitable functions, worship, relieve, obey, minister, and hence, a public function, priestly or charitable (liturgy) (2Co 9:12, service; also in Phi 2:17, Phi 2:30). See SERVANT.