1Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes, 2To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be His holy people, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ – their Lord and ours … 9God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. (1 Corinthians 1:1-2, 9, NIV)
In the last few months, we have been inspired by the writings of the Apostle Paul, for whom calling was an essential theological doctrine. The opening verses of 1 Corinthians remind us that calling is not something reserved only for people with special religious functions. In fact, v. 2 affirms that all Christians are “called to be His holy people,” that is, to be God’s saints. All Christians are set apart by God for relationship with God and for participation in God’s work in the world. Notice the crucial priority of relationship with God. This is crucial. We miss much if we think of calling only as a summons to action. Yes, to be sure, God calls us to do things and to avoid other things. But, most importantly, God calls us “into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord” (v. 9). This fellowship is mainly relationship with the triune God through Christ, though it is something we share with all other Christians. We are called to fellowship with Christ, through whom we experience fellowship with other believers. Paul does not tend to use calling as we do. He does not say, for example, that everybody has a calling to a particular line of work. Paul does affirm that we can live our calling to God in and through a variety of work situations (1 Cor. 7:24), but he doesn’t associate calling with a particular career, as we would tend to do. In Paul’s view, our primary calling is to God and His work. This calling affects everything in life, including our daily work. It’s possible to think of our work as a calling, with a small ‘c,’ only if we see it as a place to live out our primary Calling, with a capital ‘C.’ One of the most important things we can say about calling is to highlight the importance of the Caller. It doesn’t emerge from our sense of purpose or even from our awareness of human need. Our calling is really best understood as God’s calling in our lives. It is first and foremost God calling us into relationship with God and service to God through the gospel of Jesus Christ. Paul lets us know, in no uncertain terms, that we have a divine Caller. God calls us because of His grace (Gal. 1:6). God desires relationship with us. God summons us to join His work in the world. The fact that we have a Caller means our life is one of response. As we hear God’s call, we respond, at first in faith, trusting God for salvation through Jesus Christ. Then, as we continue to pay attention to God’s call “into His own kingdom and glory” (1 Thes. 2:12), we will live our life worthy of the calling to which we have been called (Ep. 4:1). In the process, we will become more and more like God. Why? Because “the One who calls you is faithful, and He will do this” (1 Thes. 5:23-24). Gracious God, we thank You for Your calling. O Lord, may we live as called people. May we experience relationship with You because of Your call. Comments are closed.
|
Archives
April 2024
Categories |