Strong’s Greek 2615 depicts the act of bringing another under absolute control, seizing someone’s liberty and making that person a servant to one’s own agenda. In the New Testament it carries a distinctly negative sense, portraying spiritual or personal domination that contradicts the freedom secured in Jesus Christ.

Contextual Usage in the New Testament

The verb appears only twice:

• Galatians 2:4 – “This matter arose because some false brothers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves.”
• 2 Corinthians 11:20 – “In fact, you put up with anyone who enslaves you…”

Both texts lie within Paul’s polemic against those who advanced legalistic or domineering leadership patterns. The verb therefore underscores a clash between gospel liberty and man-made bondage.

Historical Background

During Paul’s missionary era, two social realities sharpened the force of the word:

1. Roman slavery was widespread and brutal. To “enslave” conjured images of chains, loss of personhood, and forced labor.
2. Jewish proselytizing groups (often labeled Judaizers) insisted that Gentile converts submit to circumcision and the Mosaic code. Their agenda, in Paul’s eyes, exchanged Christ-purchased freedom for a yoke of ritual debt.

Paul harnesses the cultural weight of slavery to expose the spiritual peril in returning to law-keeping as a means of righteousness or in tolerating authoritarian teachers.

Theological Significance

1. Freedom in Christ – Galatians 5:1 states, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” The gospel liberates from both sin’s penalty and man-made systems of merit.
2. Lordship of Christ Alone – Any power that subjugates believers beyond the revealed will of Christ encroaches upon His exclusive authority (Colossians 2:8).
3. Contrast with Voluntary Servanthood – Scripture calls believers “slaves of righteousness” (Romans 6:18), yet that bondage is chosen and life-giving, unlike the coercive enslavement denounced by Paul.

Practical Ministry Implications

• Guarding the Gospel – Leaders are charged to detect and resist teachings that erode justification by faith.
• Pastoral Authority – Shepherds must avoid manipulative control, modeling instead the gentleness of Christ (1 Peter 5:3).
• Discipleship – New believers need grounding in grace so that legalistic voices cannot recapture them.
• Church Discipline – Tolerating domineering personalities, as in 2 Corinthians 11, invites congregational harm.

Related Biblical Themes

Exodus 1–14 portrays God as the One who delivers from literal bondage, foreshadowing spiritual emancipation in Christ. Isaiah 61:1 promises liberation for captives, fulfilled in Luke 4:18. These passages form a continuum that culminates in the New Testament warnings against re-enslavement.

Application for the Church Today

Believers must discern between godly submission and oppressive subjugation. Practices that compel conformity through fear, guilt, or human tradition parallel the very danger Paul condemned. Churches that exalt the sufficiency of Christ’s work and the authority of Scripture will preserve the liberty He purchased, ensuring that no person or system “enslaves” those whom the Son has set free.