{The Lord's freedman} (apeleutheros Kuriou).
Apeleutheros is an old word for a manumitted slave,
eleutheros from erchomai, to go and so go free, ap- from
bondage. Christ is now the owner of the Christian and Paul
rejoices to call himself Christ's slave (doulos). But Christ
set us free from sin by paying the ransom (lutron) of his life
on the Cross ( Mt 20:28  Ro 8:2  Ga 5:1 ). Christ is thus the
_patronus_ of the _libertus_ who owes everything to his
_patronus_. He is no longer the slave of sin ( Ro 6:6,18 ), but a
slave to God ( Ro 6:22 ). {Likewise the freeman when called is
Christ's slave} (homoi(9373) ho eleutheros kl(8874)heis doulos estin
Christou). Those who were not slaves, but freemen, when
converted, are as much slaves of Christ as those who were and
still were slaves of men. All were slaves of sin and have been
set free from sin by Christ who now owns them all.