Born Into Bondage: What Paul Really Meant About Slavery — and the Freedom Only Jesus Gives

When people read Ephesians 6 and come across Paul’s words to “bondservants” and “masters,” it can stir a lot of questions. Is

Paul okay with slavery? Why didn’t he condemn it? How does this fit into God’s heart for justice and freedom?

These are real questions, and they matter. And when we look closely at history and scripture, we find a truth even deeper than the cultural moment Paul was speaking into — a truth that speaks right into our lives today.

Let’s walk through this together.

Slavery in Paul’s World Was Not the Same as What We Think Of Today

When we hear “slavery,” most of us immediately picture the horrifying, race-based slavery that scarred American history. But the slavery of the Roman Empire — while still deeply wrong — looked very different.

• It wasn’t based on race or skin color

• Many people entered slavery because of debt

• Slaves could be highly educated and hold respected roles

• Many were freed by age 30

• Freedom could be bought or earned

It was still a broken system, but Paul wasn’t writing into a context that looked anything like the transatlantic slave trade. He was addressing people who were living in a system they did not choose and could not escape.

Followers of Jesus at that time had zero political influence. They were a tiny, persecuted minority. They couldn't overthrow the Roman economy. But Paul did something far more dangerous and revolutionary:

He planted the seeds that would eventually break slavery from the inside out.

Paul Quietly Disarmed Slavery Without Picking Up a Sword

Paul never endorses slavery. Instead, he undermines its entire foundation.

In Ephesians 6 he tells masters and servants alike:

• God sees no partiality (Ephesians 6:9)

• They share the same Master in heaven

• They are equal in worth and value

And elsewhere he says:

“There is neither slave nor free, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:28)

He calls a slave and a master “brothers” in Christ (Philemon 16).He tells slaves to gain their freedom if they can (1 Corinthians 7:21).He tells masters to stop threatening, abusing, or dehumanizing (Ephesians 6:9).

These were words that quietly cracked the foundation of slavery long before any empire fell.

Paul wasn’t condoning slavery — he was speaking freedom into people who were trapped in it.

And this is where it gets personal.

We Are All Born Into Slavery Too — Just a Different Kind

You and I may not live under a Roman master.We may not feel the weight of chains or the fear of being bought and sold.

But spiritually?

We were all born enslaved.

Every single one of us comes into this world bound by sin’s grip — unable to free ourselves, unable to fix ourselves, unable to escape the brokenness we inherited.

Jesus said it plainly:

“Everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin.” (John 8:34)

We try to think our way out of it.Fix ourselves.“Try harder next time.” Make new habits. Get new friends. Start fresh.

But sin is not something you can just walk away from.

Sin doesn’t loosen its grip because you improve your behavior.

We needed a Savior who could break what we never could.

Jesus Didn’t Improve Your Chains — He Broke Them

When Jesus came, He didn’t offer self-help, behavior management, or spiritual polishing.He came to set captives free.

“If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” (John 8:36)

That means:

• Free from shame

• Free from guilt

• Free from fear

• Free from addiction

• Free from striving

• Free from the old life

• Free from the identity sin tried to give you

Jesus doesn’t just unlock the chains —He tells you to walk out of the prison as a son or daughter of God.

Paul saw slavery all around him, but he also understood the deeper slavery beneath the surface. And his message was the same to the people in his world as it is to us today:

True freedom is not about your circumstances — it’s about who owns your heart.

You can be physically free and still spiritually bound. And you can be physically limited (like Paul in prison!) and still spiritually free.

Because freedom is not a place — it’s a Person.

You Can Be Free Right Where You Are

Maybe your “chains” today look like:

• Anxiety

• Depression

• Addiction

• Fear

• Shame

• Insecurity

• A relationship you feel stuck in

• Patterns you don’t know how to break

Here is the hope Jesus offers:

Your surroundings don’t get the final say. Your past doesn’t get the final say. Your failures don’t get the final say. Sin doesn’t get the final say.

Jesus does.

And He says you’re free.

Freedom Is a Daily Walk, Not a One-Time Moment

Paul didn’t just write about freedom — he lived it while chained in a Roman prison. That’s because freedom in Jesus is something that grows as we walk with Him.

• Every time you choose truth over lies, you’re walking in freedom.

• Every time you bring your weakness to Jesus instead of hiding, you’re walking in freedom.

• Every time you choose forgiveness instead of bitterness, you’re walking in freedom.

• Every time you say, “Jesus, I need You,” you’re walking in freedom.

Freedom isn’t the absence of struggle's. t’s the presence of a Savior who breaks the power of the struggle.

You Were Made for Freedom

Paul wasn’t approving slavery — he was revealing a deeper truth:

Without Jesus, we are all slaves.With Jesus, we can be completely free — no matter where we are, what we’ve done, or what our life looks like right now.

Your story doesn’t end in bondage.Your identity isn’t tied to your past.Your purpose isn’t limited by what has held you.

Jesus has already opened the door.

Now you get to walk out.

In Him,

Heather Bradley

Author of Unthinkable-Taking the hand of Jesus through pain and suffering into a life of freedom and purpose.