God acts as Master by pre-determining from His nature of love and wisdom what is right and beautiful. He taught the way of life now included in His Word and requires commitment to submit to the universal standards He has already determined. God urges deliberate choices between obedience and disobedience, life and death, good and evil. He will not tolerate idolatry because idols are useless vanities that people choose to submit to rather than the sovereign God. God rules and overrules to bring His purpose to a successful conclusion in spite of men. He calls individuals through a sovereign act that draws them to Jesus Christ. God abundantly bestows gifts to enable responsibilities in the church according to what He wants fulfilled. God has the whole process planned out and perceives it as already done because He knows the end from the beginning. As the potter He has power over the clay to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor. God purchased believers from spiritual bondage to sin through the payment of His sinless Son's lifeblood. He fully expects slaves of righteousness even as they were once slaves to sin. A slave is one whose master makes his choices. The apostles used the word doulos to show that in the relationship with God believers experience the requirement to obey as His slaves. The Master summons a slave every seventh day for instruction and fellowship and requires payment of ten percent of increase. God is the sovereign while believers are the slaves. Understanding that God is sovereign and translating this into loving submission are essential to the relationship with Him.

The concept of God as Master emerges through an examination of the Pentecost offering commanded in Deuteronomy 16:9-12, where this offering is specifically called "tribute" rather than simply a freewill gift. This Hebrew term, missat, though literally meaning abundance or sufficiency, is understood by most translators as tribute, a gift given by a subject to a lord in recognition of his rulership. This designation reveals that believers owe God tribute as their Overlord, emphasizing that they exist under authority and do not possess final sovereignty over their own lives, direction, or decisions. The New Testament intensifies this concept by framing the relationship not merely as subjects under a ruler, but as slaves under a Master. First Corinthians 6:19-20 establishes that believers do not belong to themselves, having been bought at a price, and are therefore called to glorify God in body and spirit. Romans 6:16-22 develops this further, contrasting slavery to sin, which leads to death, with slavery to righteousness, which leads to holiness and everlasting life. This slavery to God is not oppressive but is instead the very means by which believers can attain the kingdom of God, since Christ has purchased them with His own precious blood. Because of this purchase, tribute is owed to God both in recognition of what He has accomplished and in acknowledgment of His sovereign lordship. This master-servant relationship also establishes believers as citizens of a kingdom greater than themselves, carrying responsibilities that must be fulfilled for the kingdom to function, much as different parts of a body each perform distinct roles. Tribute may take the form of time, energy, or service, and believers may at times be called to sacrifice as though summoned to serve on behalf of the King, echoed in Hebrews 13:16's instruction not to forget doing good and sharing. Deuteronomy 16:12 adds the instruction to remember having been slaves in Egypt, reinforcing this theme of subjection while contrasting it sharply with the present relationship to Christ. Whereas slavery to Satan under sin was harsh, Christ's yoke, according to Matthew 11:30, is easy and His burden light. Being under God's authority requires obedience, since a master's instructions—however repetitive or demanding—must be followed, and Jesus taught that righteousness must exceed that of the Pharisees to enter the kingdom. Ultimately, the Pentecost tribute teaches that believers are subjects of a great King, owing Him recognition through offering, obedience, and sacrifice that extends beyond personal salvation to serving the broader purposes of God's kingdom and the Church. First Timothy 6:17-19 reinforces this by calling those who are spiritually rich to be rich also in good works, generous and willing to share, storing up a foundation for the life to come.