Why do we call ourselves servants of God? #

In the Gospel, Christ says:

“Ye are My friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends.”
(John 15:14–15)

From this passage, we see that it is not the Lord who calls us servants; rather, we call ourselves that. Why? Let us recall the Parable of the Prodigal Son. Returning after his long wanderings, the son says to his father:

“Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.”
(Luke 15:18–19)

The Apostle Paul adds:

“For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.”
(1 Corinthians 15:9)

From these excerpts of Holy Scripture, it is clear that both the Prodigal Son and the Apostle Paul called themselves unworthy—a son and an apostle, respectively—out of humility and repentance for their sins.

We also understand that we do not fully keep all of God’s commandments, and thus, in humility, we call ourselves servants, as the Prodigal Son did, recognizing our unworthiness.

Consider the medieval norm: “The vassal of my vassal is not my vassal.” That is, if we are servants of God, then we are no one else’s servants—not servants of sin, not servants of the devil, nor servants of this world.

“No man can serve two masters… Ye cannot serve God and mammon.”
(Matthew 6:24; Luke 16:13)

To be a servant of God is not an insult but a very high status—it is a declaration of freedom. Even if a person is physically enslaved or in captivity, if their spirit remains faithful to the Lord, they are a servant of God. They are a citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven here and now, even if bound hand and foot or in chains.

Another explanation traces the term “servant of God” to the concept of being a “co-worker.” A person is a co-worker with God. The entire world was created for humanity, whose task is to be its caretaker:

“And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.”
(Genesis 2:15)

As a gardener, humanity was entrusted not only with tending the plants but also with establishing norms and rules for life on earth in accordance with God’s commandments.

— Priest Evgeny Gureev