Divine Calling

Ephesians 4:1: “I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called.”

The word “calling” is prevalent throughout the New Testament and not only Paul uses this phrase, Jude (Jude 1:1), Peter (1 Peter 5:10) and John (Rev 17:14) use the term “calling” which means that this word was uttered a lot in the apostolic period.

God does not call people for specific tasks anywhere in the new covenant.  Many pastors and other evangelists use the word “calling” for God’s call to ministry. Eph 4:11 says that God himself gives grace to people so that they would become Apostles, Pastors etc. And this is according to the measure of Christ’s gift to us. It is God who either establishes or decides and makes his people to be such ministers. But, the calling of God is towards one hope (Ep 4:4) and is for everybody. Paul explains this clearly that there is only one body, Spirit, Lord, faith, baptism and one God. There are no different calling to individuals.

Interestingly, we can see the emphasis of the Trinity in these verses (4,5,6) too. One body which is the Church and the Church is being led by the Holy Spirit, Christ our Lord who establishes our faith and baptize, that is cleanses us and God, the Father. Again God is above all (God the father), through all (Christ with us) and in all (Holy Spirit).

In this verse (Eph 4:1), Paul is asking us to walk in a manner which is worthy of our calling. This walking is not towards our calling, but worthy to the calling. In a similar statement, Paul (in 2 Thessalonians 1:11) mentions that he prays regularly for the Church in Thessalonica that everybody there would be counted worthy of the calling. These verses hint that the calling is very divine and even a church which is mature enough (2 Thes 1:3) may not be worthier for the divine calling. The divine calling is the ultimate goal and our eyes should always be focused on this calling.

2 Thes 2:14 says that this goal is the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible wants us to always remember that this goal is a very valuable prize we could ever attain. But, we are called towards this marvelous light. The importance of this prize is that we are called towards this goal and it is completely our responsibility to gain/attain this goal. Salvation is a free gift whereas glory is not.

We read this clearly in the parable of the wedding in Mathew 22:1-14. Jesus uses the same phrase here. “Many were called, but few were chosen.” We see the king regretting his previous invitation to the first chosen people in verse 8 that they were not worthy. We lose our worth by taking light of God’s invitation. God sees our worthiness to His call only in terms of honoring and understanding the seriousness of His directions. This task requires plenty of humility. It requires a lot of these characteristics:  (Ep 4:2,3) “all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”

Again, the glory of Jesus Christ is very different from the glory the earth defines. Glory in this earth is leadership, richness or fame. But, Jesus chose our salvation (John 17) to be His glory. Let us not seek heaven as we would rule there, but let us seek heaven for its Holiness, purity and perfection.

Now, based on the word, “many were called, but few were chosen” if we read Romans 8:30, we can read that as a list of stages. First God foresees, among them He predestines, among then He calls and among them He justifies and among them He glorifies. In this series, we see justification after calling. This means that we are called towards glory and then for glory, we are saved. These verses (v29) also say that our destination is to conform to the image of Jesus and this is the glory we receive. Glory is perfection in Holiness. 1 Tim 6:12 says that we are called to eternal life. This glory is eternal and the world’s fame is temporary.

Romans 8:28 says that all things work together for good to those who are called. This means everything in the world, including the stock market, budgets, governments, entertainment industry and even the evil world operates for the good of those who are called. These things, some edify us and some persecute us. But the purpose of these operations is to build a kingdom for God so that there are enough people who become Christ-like. This means that persecution, rejection and humiliation is good for us. Let us believe in the importance God gives us, who are called. To build a small group of chosen people, there are 7 billion people and billions of other living creatures in the world.

2 Peter 1:3, Jesus has called us with his own Glory and Excellence. And through this knowledge of Jesus, we receive everything that leads us towards life and godliness. We need to really know who Jesus is. The bible says that the truth will set us free. A clear knowledge of Jesus and God is mandatory in this pursuit towards glory. Unless we look towards seeing and understanding Jesus, but just participate as in rituals, there is no way we can gain the destiny. In 2 Peter 1:10, Paul wants us to be certain about this calling. If we are not sure about the divine calling, let us try harder to understand this clearly. This understanding and practice will keep us from stumbling. We read the same thing in Hebrews 3:1.

These people are referred as sanctified by God and safely kept by Jesus Christ in Jude 1:1. It is God who has made us holy and not one person on earth has the authority to judge us. Jesus himself keeps us safely with Him. Even if the world rejects us, let us remember that we are safe in Jesus’ hands and God has accepted us. In romans 8:30, we read the word justified, which also means clarified. Nobody can blame us for our previous life as everything is crystal clear now.

Phil 3:12-14 Let us press on towards the destiny forgetting our past. Jesus has given us a purpose and he holds us for that. We need to pursue that. Whatever may come and go, let us continue to press on towards this holy calling. The purpose was given to us by Christ Himself and he has first held us. We are called, selected and separated for a divine purpose. Let us keep ourselves worthier and continue our walk in this world. Paul calls this destiny a prize which means that we may have to toil till the end or final stage and after the end, we would receive the reward which is glory with Jesus Christ.