OA

Believers as ‘Slaves of Christ’ and ‘Freed Persons of the Lord’

In this article, examples of liberating and oppressive usage of slavery metaphors in Paul and the Pauline tradition, respectively, are discussed. Concerning Paul’s use of such metaphors in 1 Cor 7:22, I argue that the apostle consciously avoided to call slave members of the community ‘slaves of Christ’, using ‘freedpersons of the Lord’ as a context-induced new metaphor instead. The early reception of Pauline slavery metaphors in the pseudo-Pauline letter to the Colossians (Col 3:22–4:1), by contrast, shows an emphatic application of the metaphor ‘slave of Christ’ to actual slaves, with the intention of enforcing obedience to their earthly masters out of internalized fear of the Lord.