“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” – Romans 8:28
A beautiful promise and a favorite verse for so many Christians throughout the centuries, and rightly so!
In our topical two-part study, The Calling of The Called, we will be examining many passages that speak to the believer’s calling in Christ Jesus our Lord and our responsibilities to this divine calling. Honestly, this topic could take volumes, but we will endeavor to be somewhat succinct in our examination of this wonderful subject matter within select passages.
Underlined Scripture passages are my own emphasis.
Greek Words of ‘Calling’
Here are the most common Greek words used for a believer’s calling:
4341 προσκαλέω “proskaleō” has definitions of call unto, call to, call to oneself, call, call for, summon, invite.
2564 καλέω “kaleō” has definitions of to call, to invite, to call aloud, to be called, to call to name or by name, to be called to bear a name or title, to salute one by name.
2822 κλητός “klētos” has definitions of called, invited, divinely selected and appointed.
2821 κλῆσις “klēsis” has definitions of a calling, calling to, an invitation.
1577 ἐκκλησία “ekklēsia” has definitions of a calling out, a popular meeting, especially a religious congregation, assembly, church. This word is commonly translated and applied to the “church” of Jesus Christ. For this study, we will not be looking into these passages as I am certain the believer understands that every believer is called out of this world by our Lord and Savior into His church, the bride of Christ.
The Triune Godhead in the Believer’s ‘Calling by Drawing’
God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, within their diverse roles in the triune Godhead, are intimately involved together in the calling of the elect of God.
The Father
“No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.” – John 6:44
Since we know that God desires all to be saved (1 Timothy 2:4, 2 Peter 3:9), and Christ died for all (John 3:16-17, 2 Corinthians 5:14-15, 1 John 2:2, Hebrews 2:9,), the Father truly calls by drawing all men to His Son, but only those who the Father knows in His sovereign foreknowledge will “come to Jesus” in saving faith by His grace will be accepted.
The Son
“And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.” – John 12:32
The Son calls by drawing all men and women to Himself in order that they may either reject or accept His provisional free-gift offer of salvation that He obtained for every human being (Romans 6:23) when He was “lifted up from the earth” during His crucifixion, paying the penalty for all of humanity’s sins.
The Holy Spirit
While we do not have any passages that explicitly state the Holy Spirit’s role in the believer’s calling by drawing, the fact that the Holy Spirit’s conviction on a future believer’s life before their conversion is certainly evident and observable.
“But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth: Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.” – 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14
Consider also what our Lord said of the Holy Spirit Whom He would send after He ascended back into heaven.
“Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.
“And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: Of sin, because they believe not on me; Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.” – John 16:7-11
The Greek word for “reprove” is 1651 ἐλέγχω “elegxei,” which, depending on context, can mean admonish, to convict, rebuke, refute, confute, convince, to find fault with, correct. In context of this passage, this word might better be rendered as convince or convict.
The fact that the Holy Spirit “[convicts] the world of sin… because they believe not on [Jesus]” (which all men and women are guilty of before their conversion), and “righteousness, because [Jesus went] to [the] Father” after His resurrection, demonstrates that before one comes to saving faith in Yeshua they must first be convicted by the Holy Spirit of their sin and their desperate need for the Savior. And once the person called responds in saving faith to the Lord’s completed work on the cross for their sins, they will find the righteousness of Christ living out in their own lives through the indwelling Holy Spirit; a righteousness they never had nor could ever obtain on their own as an individual born into an inherent sin nature.
Making Our Calling and Election Sure
This can be an uneasy subject for some, but it is also an urgent necessity for all who call upon the Name of the Lord.
“Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall…” – 2 Peter 1:10
The Greek for “sure” is βεβαίαν “bebaian” from 949 βέβαιος “bebaios” and means stable, fast, firm, sure, implying certainty for the professing believer. Making our “calling and election sure” must be pursued in “diligence.”
In our article ‘If So Be That the Spirit of God Dwell in You’, we linked Peter’s words with the admonition of Paul’s statement to the Corinthian churches:
“Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?” – 2 Corinthians 13:5
The Greek for “examine” is πειράζετε “peirazete” from 3985 πειράζω “peirazō” and is stressed in the imperative mood, as a command and a diligent action. In 2 Corinthians 13:5, this word means to try, make trial of, to test.
The Greek for “prove” is δοκιμάζετε “dokimazete” (used also in 1 Thessalonians 5:21 and 1 John 4:1) from 1381 δοκιμάζω “dokimazō” – also in the imperative mood, as a command and diligent action – meaning to test, examine, prove, scrutinize.
This command and diligent action required in both 2 Peter 1:10 and 2 Corinthians 13:5 for all professing believers is essential and should never be taken lightly.
We must, as professing believers in Christ, “make our calling and elections sure” as we “examine ourselves, whether we be in the faith” and “prove ourselves” when it comes to our professed faith.
In the above article, I candidly revealed the following personal testimony, and then gave some practical advice and suggestions for our knowing for certain the Holy Spirit resides within us and that our calling and election is sure.
Knowing For Certain
But here is the practical question in all of this: How do we know for sure whether the Holy Spirit truly resides in us or not?
Fundamentally, the greatest mystery any professing Christian must ever solve is whether the Holy Spirit indwells them or not. Salvation absolutely hinges on the accuracy of knowing for certain.
I have confessed to others that I personally would have never had known the Holy Spirit indwelt me if it was not for the Scriptures declaring to me that He does. I imagine that many others have the same experience. Hence the many warnings in Scripture to professing Christians within the church that we alluded to above.
In the end, true Spirit-indwelt believers will have responded in faith by God’s grace to the invitation of the glorious gospel of Christ, as they are called and chosen, and will earnestly seek to please and serve their Lord and Savior with the leading and guiding of the indwelling Holy Spirit that will be evident by the lives they lead!
Personal Callings for Ministry
All who have accepted and received God’s calling in their lives will have a personal calling from their Savior for ministry on His behalf.
Paul epitomizes this truth in the Scriptures; a truth that is available to all children of God who come to saving faith by grace in Messiah Yeshua.
“Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God…” – Romans 1:1
As we should expect, God’s call is not limited to salvation, but also includes ministry and mission, as was the case for the Apostle Paul.
Though there are no more apostles anymore – for the requirements were that all the Apostles must have seen the risen Christ and received His personal divine apostolic commission, which only the Apostles in Paul’s day had received – every person who has been saved by Christ Jesus is His personal disciple!
This was such a powerful theme in Paul’s writings that he even noted that his calling from God – like every other believer’s calling from God – originated and manifested itself in his physical life from his own conception and birth.
“… it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by his grace…” – Galatians 1:15
God’s calling is divinely paired with His amazing grace and comes to fruition from God’s divine foreknowledge and sovereignty! Isaiah had the same testimony.
“… The Lord hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name… the Lord that formed me from the womb to be his servant…” – Isaiah 49:1, 5
As is noted in the book of Acts, Paul, along with Barnabas, was divinely called by the Holy Spirit for a special and unique ministry even as they were already fulfilling their original ministry callings.
“As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.” – Acts 13:2
The Lord’s ministerial callings for the believer are ever-changing, so we should always be made available to such divine alterations when the Holy Spirit directs us in our walk with our Lord. The mission field for every believer’s life is in a constant state of divine flux as unique situations arise and new opportunities and challenges present themselves.
Later, the Lord, through a vision, called Paul and his companions to “preach the gospel” to those in Macedonia – another divinely ordained ministerial adjustment in the Apostle’s ministry mission field.
“And after he had seen the vision, immediately we endeavoured to go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us for to preach the gospel unto them.” – Acts 16:10
God’s divine calling includes giving us all His strength and power through His Holy Spirit to fulfill our divine mandate of The Great Commission in our sharing the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ and our personal witness to a lost, dark, and dying world who so desperately needs the Savior of the world.
What God has done through His calling of the Apostles of Jesus Christ, He can do and will do through us who are His workmanship and are the called according to His purpose, if we are only willing.
“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” – Ephesians 2:10
Called and Chosen
Since God is omniscient, knowing all things, He knows who are His who He has called and chosen.
“For many are called, but few are chosen.” – Matthew 22:14 (Matthew 20:16)
A sobering reminder that “… strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” (Matthew 7:14).
God’s salvation mission through His only begotten Son was summarized by Jesus to Nicodemus:
“For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” – John 3:17-18
Sadly, most will reject Christ’s free-gift offer of salvation:
“And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.” – John 3:19
God’s heart desire, however, is to…
“… have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.” – 1 Timothy 2:4
And the Lord’s patience reflects the same truth when it comes to His promises:
“The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” – 2 Peter 3:9
When it comes to judgment at the Great White Throne Judgment, when the unsaved are eternally judged, not one unsaved person will ever be able to say that God did not do everything in His power to save them. God desires all to be saved, and Jesus did all He could to save every human being, paying the substitutionary price of redemption for all on the cross – but sadly most will reject Him and His free-gift offer of salvation.
“Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
“For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.” – Acts 2:38-39
Because of God’s omniscient foreknowledge, He knows who will come to His Son in faith; thus, they will respond to His divine calling. The Lord shows His omniscient foreknowledge of knowing His people before He ever created them throughout Scripture, none more obvious than what the Lord revealed to Jeremiah concerning his own election and divine mission.
“Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.” – Jeremiah 1:5
Paul, in showing God’s foreknowledge of both Esau and Jacob, noted that…
“(For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;) It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger.” – Romans 9:11-12
Though Esau and Jacob’s works were yet to be manifest, God called Jacob to election knowing Jacob’s future faithfulness to God’s divine calling in his life.
And as our opening passage and following verses declare:
“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
“For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
“Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.” – Romans 8:28-30
Notice the progression: God, in His sovereign foreknowledge, predestinated those who He foreknew (those whom the Father foreknew would accept His Son, Christ Jesus) to be conformed to the image of His Son, and are those He called, then justified, and glorified – all in the past tense of God’s sovereign foreknowledge before He ever created, which includes the aorist tense that would encompass the past, present, and future, as if it was all a done deal for the believer in Messiah Yeshua. And surely it is, and has always been, in the omniscient mind of God, as He sees us all as already glorified, just as He did before He ever began His creation!
Simply put, in eternity past before “the beginning” when “God created the heavens and the earth,” God had intimately known us in His infinite mind and chose us, knowing we would freely come to Him by accepting His Son in saving faith by His grace, and predestinated us to ultimately be conformed to the image of His Son, electing us as His own adopted children of His own freewill and sovereign divine counsel.
Here is a brief sampling of how we addressed this theme of God’s sovereign foreknowledge, His calling, and man’s freewill in God’s Sovereignty and Man’s Freewill:
God’s Foreknowledge
God’s foreknowledge is the key in reconciling God’s sovereignty and man’s God-given freewill of choice. Peter summarized this truth to his recipients succinctly as follows:
“Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ…” – 1 Peter 1:2a
Paul also put God’s foreknowledge first when it comes to our predestination to be conformed to the image of His Son:
“For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.” – Romans 8:29-30
And God, through the prophet Isaiah, emphasized God’s foreknowledge when He declared:
“Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:” – Isaiah 46:9-10
If, because of foreknowledge, God already knows the beginning from the end, then we should expect that before God created, He already knew those He would create and, therefore, would know who would accept and love Him and who would reject and hate Him.
We see this omniscience of foreknowledge in Jesus Himself. When Christ gave His “hard sayings” on His being the bread of life and that men and women must eat of His body and drink of His blood (John 6:22-66), He said the following with a statement of truth concerning His omniscience of foreknowledge:
“But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him. And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father.” – John 6:64-65
Here we see that Jesus, in His earthy ministry, “knew from the beginning who they were that believed not.” We also see the truth – not to the exception of man’s freewill, mind you – that “no man can come unto [Jesus], except it were given unto him of [Jesus’] Father.” This foreknowledge of who would and wouldn’t come to the Son has always been known of the Father and, by extension, the Son of God with the Holy Spirit “from the beginning.”
“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. I and my Father are one.” – John 10:27-30
This is where Calvinist/Reformed theologians so desperately miss the mark, and it snowballs from there. God does not pick and choose who He will save and those who He sends to hell irrespective of whether a man or woman desires to know God of their own freewill (a freewill that Calvinist/Reformed theologians deny man has, which goes against shared human experience and all rational logic) – this is nothing short of attributing to God a characteristic that is in direct opposition to the endless love of God and His desire to see all saved (John 3:16, 1 Timothy 2:4, 2 Peter 3:9) – rather it is God’s sovereign foreknowledge in knowing who will and who will not come to God by grace through faith in the perfect and finished work of salvation and redemption in Christ Jesus. God works out His divine sovereignty in unison with man’s freewill, and did so in His triune essence and in His omniscient mind before He ever created, foreknowing all things.
This salvation and redemption for all who would freely come to Father God by His Son – a salvation which Yeshua procured for us on the cross by His loving sacrifice of Himself in paying the just punishment all mankind deserves and the shedding of His precious blood for the sins of the world that resulted in His death, burial, and resurrection; a resurrection that demonstrated to His creation that God the Father accepted God the Son’s once for all sacrifice on behalf of humanity – has always been known in the omniscient mind of God, even before creation and the foundation of the world!
[Again, for our study dedicated to this topic, please see God’s Sovereignty and Man’s Freewill.]
Calling to Freedom and Liberty
As paradoxical and enigmatic as it may seem to the world at large, our freedom and liberty in Christ Jesus is directly related to our position as a servant, or bondslave, to Christ.
“Let every man abide in the same calling wherein he was called. Art thou called being a servant? care not for it: but if thou mayest be made free, use it rather.
“For he that is called in the Lord, being a servant, is the Lord’s freeman: likewise also he that is called, being free, is Christ’s servant. Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men. Brethren, let every man, wherein he is called, therein abide with God.” – 1 Corinthians 7:20-24
On a practical level, no matter our worldly position in life when we are called by the Lord, we should not seek to be taken from that position in life, but rather to grow in maturity from where we began. We are both free in the Lord and a servant or bondslave for our Lord.
“And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.” – Colossians 3:23-24
If need be – and we are willing and able, which we should always be – God will direct our paths in the way we should go in our own individual ministries and missions.
“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” – Proverbs 3:5-6
This is where we find true freedom: that of being in the Lord’s will and allowing Him to direct our paths in the way that He desires us to go. Though we are free in the Lord, we should always count ourselves as servants or bondslaves of Jesus Christ. And no matter our position in this fallen world, we remain the same – free in Jesus and a slave for Jesus.
Yeshua likened our servanthood to Him with that of an earthy servant to his earthly master, and how our relationship to our divine Master is to be reckoned:
“But which of you, having a servant plowing or feeding cattle, will say unto him by and by, when he is come from the field, Go and sit down to meat? And will not rather say unto him, Make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and afterward thou shalt eat and drink?
“Doth he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I trow not.
“So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.” – Luke 17:7-10
It is our duty and honor to serve our Lord – seeking not His commendation but earnestly desiring to please Him for all He has done for us – and in this divine servanthood we truly find our freedom.
“Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called” – Jude 1:1
Those who are called, as were the Apostles, are servants and bondslaves to Jesus Christ, and are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ forever.
[For more on our eternal preservation in Jesus Christ, please see Preserved and Reserved.]
“For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty…” – Galatians 5:13
Coming to Jesus for personal salvation gives the convert instant liberty and freedom in Christ as the servant of Christ.
“If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.” – John 8:36
When it comes to the law and the liberty and freedom He provided for us by His holy calling:
“For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” – Romans 8:2-4
Paul also encouraged the Thessalonians, and by extension all Christians who walk with our Lord in His Holy Spirit in every age…
“That ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory.
“For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.” – 1 Thessalonians 2:12-13
God the Father, through our Lord and Savior and the indwelling Holy Spirit in our lives, has “called [us] unto his kingdom and glory.” What an amazing reality for the children of God, that we are His children by divine adoption, chosen members of His glorious kingdom and heavenly family, and partakers and witnesses of His divine glory – all because we received the truth of God’s Word, saved by grace through faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ, that “effectually worketh also in [us] that believe”!
“Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins…” – Colossians 1:12-14
We are called by God’s drawing, making our calling and election sure in our walk with Him, called to ministry for our Lord, called and chosen in Jesus our Savior, called to freedom in Messiah Yeshua as the servants of Messiah Yeshua, and are called unto God’s magnificent kingdom and breathtaking glory as a son or daughter in His divine eternal family!
Amen! And thank you, Father God, for our divine calling to come in faith by Your wonderful grace through Your magnificent and awesome Son, our loving Creator, Lord, Savior, Redeemer, and King, Jesus Christ!
In The Calling of the Called – Part 2, we will be examining the following topics:
Called to Fellowship with Christ and His Sufferings
Calling to Sanctification
Called, Chosen, and Faithful Children of God
Calling to Eternal Life
Our Sovereign Calling
***
May we all keep Answering the Call of The Great Commission, and giving an answer to every man and woman who so desperately needs Jesus and asks us, “Why Am I Here and What Is It All About?”
Love, grace, mercy, and shalom in Messiah Yeshua, and Maranatha!
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