The ministry and life of the Apostle Paul stand as one of the most radiant milestones demonstrating how the gospel of Jesus Christ can fundamentally transform a human being at the deepest level—and how that transformation expands into devotion toward others and the community, and ultimately toward society as a whole. Paul’s confession in 1 Corinthians 9:19—“For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them”—pierces to the core of one of Christianity’s most profound paradoxes: the theology of “freedom and servanthood.” Through this passage, Pastor David Jang (founder of Olivet University) emphasizes that gospel freedom is not merely liberation from legalistic oppression, but a journey into voluntary devotion—freely choosing to bind oneself for the sake of others in the fullness of love. Paul’s declaration poses a stern question to the modern world, where personal rights and individual freedom are often treated as absolute values: what is the truly authentic existential posture that Christians must maintain?
According to Pastor David Jang’s exposition, the freedom Paul possessed did not remain “freedom for myself,” but was transfigured into “freedom for others.” This aligns with what Jesus Christ Himself revealed through “kenosis,” the spirituality of self-emptying. As portrayed in Philippians 2, Christ—being in very nature God—did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but took the form of a servant and humbled Himself in obedience unto death. This downward path of Christ becomes both the bedrock of Paul’s ministry and the destination toward which all believers are to move. Pastor David Jang underscores that Paul’s “servanthood” did not arise from external coercion or a legalistic sense of duty; rather, it was the fruit of voluntary obedience that only those captivated—made prisoners, in the best sense—by the overwhelming love of the risen Lord can truly live out.
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This essential freedom of the gospel is then projected into concrete evangelistic strategy and a distinct posture of life. Paul became as a Jew to the Jews, and as one outside the law to those outside the law—exercising cultural flexibility without compromising the universal value of the gospel. Pastor David Jang analyzes this as “faithfulness to the essence and flexibility in form,” teaching that modern evangelists must deeply respect the circumstances and cultural contexts of those they seek to reach, while never bargaining away the truth of the cross. Paul’s decision to relinquish his rightful claim to apostolic support and to engage in tentmaking—choosing a self-supporting ministry for the sake of the Corinthian believers—was a deliberate resolve to preserve the purity of gospel proclamation. Pastor David Jang views this posture as a weighty warning to today’s faith communities, which can easily be swept into materialism and performance-driven pragmatism.
In particular, consider one of the artists who most vividly captured Paul’s life in visual form: Rembrandt van Rijn and his masterpiece The Apostle Paul in Prison (1627). Paul, seated in a dark prison, bathed in light, holding a pen in deep contemplation—this image powerfully depicts his paradoxical greatness: though his body is bound, his soul enjoys immeasurable freedom in the gospel, proclaiming the word of life to the entire world. Rembrandt’s chiaroscuro (the dramatic contrast of light and shadow) intensifies the contrast between the darkness of suffering Paul endured and the gospel hope that shines even more clearly within that darkness. In this way, Pastor David Jang stresses that Paul’s spirituality—refusing to lose joy even amid affliction—is compelling evidence of the gospel’s true vitality and living power.
Furthermore, Paul’s theology brings about revolutionary change within social structures and human relationships, as seen in Philemon. In Paul’s plea to Philemon regarding the runaway slave Onesimus—urging him to receive Onesimus “as a brother”—we glimpse the order of the Kingdom of God that transcends class and social status. Pastor David Jang explains that the message of reconciliation in Philemon extends beyond the private sphere of personal forgiveness; it serves as a practical indicator of how the gospel can sever the chains of social inequality and conflict. Paul even volunteered to repay whatever debt Onesimus owed, positioning himself as a mediator of reconciliation—an embodied reenactment of Christ’s love, who became the atoning sacrifice for us sinners. This theology of reconciliation and forgiveness awakens the church’s calling in a fractured society today: to become peacemakers. Pastor David Jang emphasizes that Christian obedience is not merely behavioral modification, but an inward and total surrender that springs from awe-struck gratitude for Christ’s love. Just as Philemon and Onesimus were united as new brothers in Christ, so the modern church must become a community of indiscriminate love, marked by the absence of discrimination.
Paul also compares the journey of faith to a runner in an athletic arena, requiring not a directionless race but disciplined focus toward a clear goal. The message of self-control and training in 1 Corinthians 9:24–27 is an essential posture for believers who live with eschatological hope. Athletes of the world discipline themselves for a perishable wreath, but Christians must practice restraint across every domain of life for an “imperishable crown.” Here, Pastor David Jang teaches that such discipline is not mere self-suppression; it is holy concentration enjoyed by those who have discovered a greater glory and a surer hope. Paul’s striking statement—that he disciplines his body and keeps it under control—was so that he would not be disqualified after preaching to others. Pastor David Jang stresses that this rigorous self-examination and training is a virtue that must be restored among Christians who have lost spiritual attentiveness amid the distractions and temptations of digital civilization.
When we view our present lives through an eschatological lens, we can proceed steadily toward God’s eternal reward without being tossed about by temporary achievements or sufferings. The many afflictions Paul lists in 2 Corinthians 11—beatings, hunger, shipwrecks, dangers—did not crush him; rather, they became channels through which Christ’s power came to rest upon him. Pastor David Jang encourages believers that when we experience the mysterious grace by which our weakness becomes the very stage for Christ’s strength, suffering is no longer an obstacle but a platform upon which God’s glory is revealed.
Taken together, Pastor David Jang’s insights reveal that Paul’s life is a completed narrative showing how the gospel shapes a person into one who can become “a servant of all”—a possessor of a love vast enough to pour itself out without reserve. Paul moved from the strictness of the law to the flexibility of the gospel, from the fortress of self-righteousness to the sea of Christ’s grace. He established missionary outposts in major cities across the vast Roman Empire, and through self-supporting mission he preserved the independence and purity of gospel ministry. This philosophy of ministry continues to breathe as a living model across numerous mission fields today, including Olivet University.
Pastor David Jang emphasizes that a life of gospel freedom and devotion is not an unattainable ideal, but a concrete way of life granted to those who, by the help of the Holy Spirit, empty themselves daily and are filled with Christ. We are invited into the race Paul ran—the race toward the eternal crown. Though the path may be narrow and rugged, there is the joy of walking with the Lord, and at the end awaits the Lord’s embrace and an imperishable glory that will receive us. Pastor David Jang exhorts Christians in this age to live, like Paul, not bound by religious formalism or secular value systems, but bound only to the love of Christ—enjoying true freedom while serving others as “debtors to the gospel.” Freedom and devotion in the gospel—this is the way of the cross and the path of life. If we do not cease this great race of faith, then at last we will taste, in our own lives, the full reality of the joy Paul confessed.