οὐκέτι λέγω ὐμας δούλους, ὅτι ὁ δοῦλος οὐκ οἶδεν τί ποιεῖ αὐτοῦ ὁ κύριος· ὑμᾶς δὲ εἴρηκα φίλους, ὅτι πάντα ἃ ἤκουσα παρὰ τοῦ πατρός μου ἐγνώρισα ὑμῖν. — κατὰ Ἰωάννην 15:15
ouketi lego hymas doulous, hoti ho doulos ouk oiden ti poiei autou ho kyrios; hymas de eireka filous, hoti panta ha ekousa para tou patros mou egnorisa hymin — kata Ioannen 15:15
No longer do I call you slaves, because the slave does not know what his master is doing; but you I have called friends, because everything that I heard from my Father I made known to you. — John 15:15, translation mine
In legal matters, culpability in crime often rests on the degree of knowledge or intent held by the perpetrator. Premeditated murder earns a weightier sentence than involuntary manslaughter. Patent violators who knowingly infringe receive stiffer fines than the ignorant. God's justice, which our own earthly justice dimly reflects, shares this gradation of culpability.
Christ tells a parable to illustrate the degree of culpability of man before God's law in accordance with the man's knowledge thereof, asking, “Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom his master will set over his household, to give them their portion of food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions” (Luke 12:42-44, ESV).
Contrasted with this picture of fidelity, Christ illustrates the fate of the willfully disobedient servant, saying, “And that servant who knew his master's will but did not get ready or act according to his will, will receive a severe beating” (Luke 12:47, ESV). Christ distinguishes this servant from an unknowingly disobedient servant, adding, “But the one who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, will receive a light beating,” concluding, “Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more” (Luke 12:48, ESV).
It is the hearing of the master's orders that makes the servant cognizant of expectation and accordingly culpable in failure. To this end, Christ has told His disciples everything He heard from His Father. Every one who has heard Christ's words therefore has heard everything the Father has chosen to reveal regarding His salvation. First, man had the law as given through Moses, concerning sin and death and the recognition that man is not fit to save himself. Now, through Christ, man has the law of grace concerning salvation and eternal life and the recognition that Christ is both necessary and sufficient to partake in eternal community with God.
Some may ask why this reversion into slavery, trading one master for another. To them I say, freedom is not license, and licentiousness is no ascension. Let us not be confused either, thinking that these parables exculpate us on account of God's mercy from the responsibility to share the Gospel of Christ. God demands our obedience, and He has clearly commanded us through Christ to “go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation” (Mark 16:15, ESV) and made it known that “whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned” (Mark 16:16, ESV).
Let us take the apostle Paul's admonishment to heart: “Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?” (Romans 6:16, ESV). The apostle clarifies this by adding, “I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification” (Romans 6:19, ESV).
The Greek words used for obedient and obedience are based on the verb ὑπακούω (hypakouo), comprised of ὑπὸ (hypo), “under,” and ἀκούω (akouo), “I hear,” i.e., “I listen under the authority of.” When Paul says τὴν άσθένειαν τῆς σαρκὸς ὑμῶν (ten astheneian tes sarkos hymon), translated as “natural limitations,” literally “the weakness of your flesh,” he is speaking of man's inability to rule over himself. We are slaves by our fallen nature and cannot fully appreciate or understand true freedom until we have been perfected in Him who is perfect.
We need the Holy Spirit to control what we cannot, but first Christ must interpose His blood to pay the debt of sin, the price of our freedom. We need the Father to lift us out of the world and graft us into the true vine and prune us so that we may grow into the inheritance of His kingdom. We whom Christ calls friends were not always so. All were once, at heart, enemies of God. After millennia of prophets speaking at the direction of the Holy Spirit, it took God coming down to earth in bodily form to live and preach, to die and rise from the dead in order for many to hear His voice. Now that He has our ear, will we let Him lead the way?
