1 Corinthians 1:2 ~ On Call, Still

 

1 Corinthians 1:2

 

NKJV

To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours.

 

NLT

I am writing to God’s church in Corinth, to you who have been called by God to be his own holy people. He made you holy by means of Christ Jesus, just as he did for all people everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours.

 

Two things I learned here:

1.      The ancient Greek word (ekklesiai) for church was non-religious word for an assembly of people.  A gathering of the citizens, so to speak.

2.     In the Jewish context, it is the gathering of the people of God.  A community of believers in Christ, for Christians.

 

While that was pretty cool to learn, I was more focused on the part about being sanctified and called by God.  The wording is specific, it doesn’t say “to be called”, it says we are called to be His holy people.  He set us apart as believers, made us a chosen race; a royal priesthood; a holy nation.  The moment we give Christ our lives, we get this honor, this honor to be called saints!  Even better, He did this for everyone who calls on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Not just me; not just you…but anyone and everyone. 

 

So, the question to be asked is this; “what are we doing with our calling?”  Are we living like our call is something we believe in?  That is a hard thought sometimes.  It’s pretty easy to sit here in my comfy life and say “yeah, I’m called” But that becomes much harder when God tells me to leave everything I know and go where He sends me.  So, we have a choice as this royal priesthood, this chosen people, this holy nation; our choice to be obedient and say “here I am, send me” or we can say “that’s to hard God, I’m not doing that”  What are we going to do when the big ask comes from God?

 

On call,

cej