When we accept our calling, we acknowledge the gracious sovereignty of God over our lives.
Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes.
Paul, in his letter to the Corinthian church, explains that he “called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God.” His calling was not something he invented or chose for himself. Rather, Paul’s calling was something he received from God. Biblically speaking, to have a calling is to have a Caller. When we accept our calling, we acknowledge the gracious sovereignty of God over our lives.
Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians is a fine place to start. The second word of this letter, both in Greek and in English, is “called” (klētos in Greek; 1:1). That word will appear two more times in the opening verses of the letter. From the outset, Paul wants the Corinthians to understand what it means to be called.
Paul begins by focusing on his distinctive and particular calling “to be an apostle of Christ Jesus” (1:1). Though there are many nuances of this calling, basically an apostle was one who was sent (Apostolos in Greek is derived from the verb apostellō, which means “to send, dispatch”) to preach the gospel and plant churches. Paul understood his apostolic responsibility to include ongoing care for the churches he had planted and nurtured, which is why he wrote letters to the Corinthian church and several others as well.
Paul understood his calling as similar to that of the Old Testament prophets. To the Galatians he explains, “God . . . had set me apart before I was born and called me through his grace” (Galatians 1:15). This echoes the call of Jeremiah, to whom the Lord said, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations” (Jeremiah 1:5). Like Jeremiah, Paul did not seek to become God’s special envoy. It happened because of God’s initiative. Paul is “called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God” (1 Corinthians 1:1), not by the will of Paul, the early church, or any other human organization.
Thus, if we’re going to make sense of the biblical notion of calling, we must begin with a foundational truth. If you have a calling, then you have a caller. A calling isn’t something that exists by itself. It isn’t the same as an inner sense of purpose or meaning, though it can be closely related to both of these. Calling isn’t something you invent. Rather, calling comes from the caller, or perhaps we might say, the Caller.
If you see your life in terms of calling, then you are acknowledging the existence and authority of the One who calls. You’re agreeing that you are not the ultimate captain of your existence. Since God is the one who calls, your calling is a response to God’s gracious initiative. Biblically speaking, if you accept the fact that you have a calling, then you are choosing to live under the sovereignty of the Caller.
You can see what a difference this can make in how you think about and experience life. If God has called you, then your life isn’t random and meaningless. If God has called you, then you aren’t the king of your own realm. If God has called you, then God’s will for your life is all-important. If God has called you, then you are part of God’s grand plan for creation. If God has called you, then the Sovereign of the universe is guiding your life and seeking a relationship with you. If God has called you, this makes all the difference in the world.
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