1 Corinthians 7:22

Paul’s emphasis on the wisdom of the world and the wisdom of God comes back into view in this section of verses (cf. 1 Corinthians 1:10 to 1 Corinthians 4:21). Priorities are in view. Does the Corinthian slave view himself primarily as a slave or as a freedman? A freedman was a person who had formerly been a slave but had received manumission, been set free. He was both, a slave of men but the freedman of God. Does the freedman view himself primarily as a freedman or as a slave? He was both, a freedman socially but the Lord’s slave spiritually.

"This imagery, of course, must be understood in light of Greco-Roman slavery, not that of recent American history. Slavery was in fact the bottom rung on the social order, but for the most part it provided generally well for up to one-third of the population in a city like Corinth or Rome. The slave had considerable freedom and very often experienced mutual benefit along with the master. The owner received the benefit of the slave’s services; and the slave had steady ’employment,’ including having all his or her basic needs met-indeed, for many to be a slave was preferable to being a freedman, whose securities were often tenuous at best. But the one thing that marked the slave was that in the final analysis, he did not belong to himself but to another. That is Paul’s point with this imagery." [Note: Fee, The First . . ., p. 319.]

It is unfortunate that many Christians today choose to focus on their limitations rather than on their possibilities as representatives of Jesus Christ. We should use the abilities and opportunities that God gives us rather than feeling sorry for ourselves because we do not have other abilities or opportunities.