Day 138: To What Has Father God Called Us?
2 Timothy 1:9-10
He (Father God) is the one who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not based on our works but on His own purpose and grace,…
Welcome to the last unit in MilktoMeat! We have come a long way and if you have worked your way through all the previous readings, we hope you feel a real sense of accomplishment. In these final sessions, we hope to connect together many of the truths we have discussed throughout this study so you can have a clear vision of where to go from here.
In Christ we have been called into a deep and transformative relationship with the Lord God—Father, Son and Spirit. Through this calling, we are now a New Priesthood for God, people being built together into a New Temple in which the Spirit of God dwells.
In this first week of the last readings in MilktoMeat, we set the context for understanding the nature of the Church—the Body of Christ—and its ministry (service). We have been called into work which is focused toward the coming Kingdom in which the truth, goodness, and glory of the Lord God will define all reality.
Very early on, we said that Father God is calling us up and into something much larger than we can fully comprehend or imagine right now. In the Scriptures, this larger reality is revealed as The Kingdom. The Kingdom is present among Christ’s people, but it is also coming in full one day soon.
The Lord Jesus instructed us to:
Matthew 6:33
“…seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”
Jesus says this in the context of teaching His students not to worry or be anxious about what we will wear or what we will eat. As beloved children of our Heavenly Father, He will provide for our needs. But the main point that Jesus makes here is that pursuing, seeking the Kingdom of God and His righteousness should take priority over all other things. In doing this, all other things will be added.
By now, you know enough and should have some idea of how to do that. Here in our last study unit, we will focus on pursuing this priority of “Kingdom Righteousness” in the context of The Church which is the Body of Christ.
Up to this point, we have been emphasizing the individual, personal nature of following Christ. Now we will consider how we follow Christ together, as His people. The Lord Jesus has entrusted us with His Vision for the World and His Mission in it. It is vitally important that we learn to see these things the way Jesus does and understand how He desires for us to do the work He has entrusted to us. We have been called to represent The Kingdom and Father God’s excellence to the world and we want to be faithful in that work.
We Have Been Called to be Saints.
WORDwork:
1 Corinthians 1:1-3
From Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Sosthenes, our brother, 2 to the church of God that is in Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, and called to be saints, with all those in every place who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours. 3 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!
In verse 1, how does Paul refer to himself?
In verse 2, how does Paul address the church of Corinth – who are they “in Christ”? What are the “called” to be?
What is Paul’s attitude toward this church as revealed in verse 4? Is he positive or negative?
In this greeting to the church at Corinth, Paul describes himself as “called to be an Apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God…” Then he addresses the “church of God that is in Corinth…” We have picked this passage because it briefly touches on several key ideas that we will be developing in this study unit: 1) Calling, 2) Gifting, and 3) the Church.
First the word “called.” Paul says that he has been called to be an Apostle of Christ and the church at Corinth has been called to be Saints. In both cases, it is Father God who does the calling. Paul’s calling as an Apostle is related to the gifts of Christ that are given through the work of the Holy Spirit. We will be discussing these spiritual gifts a little later. The church at Corinth has been called to be saints and so let’s refresh our memory about the significance of this statement.
As we have mentioned several times now, the church at Corinth was one of the most immature and problem filled churches in the early days of the spread of the Gospel. The majority of people who made up that church came out of pagan wordviews. Because they had not learned to leave all of their past ways of life behind, they were divisive, unforgiving, and immoral. They were taking one another to court to get their way. Some were still visiting pagan temples and “worshipping” with pagan prostitutes. There was even a man who was engaged in an illicit relationship with his step-mother. Sounds like a First Century soap opera, right?
Yet, Paul addresses this group as those who were sanctified and called to be Saints!!! When we think of holy people—saints—we usually think of the medieval portraits of monks with halos around their heads. We think of Mother Theresa and others who have separated themselves from “normal life” in order to serve God in humility—we definitely do not think of immature and immoral Christians. But this is exactly what Paul calls this less than exemplary group of believers.
When someone or something is set apart for God, as His possession for His service, then this person or thing is sanctified. In Christ, we have been set apart to and for Father God so we have been sanctified. If you remember, the words for “sanctified” and “saint” are from the same root word in Greek and we could translate these words more literally as “to make holy” and “holy ones.”
This church has problems, no doubt. But Paul knows that the only way that their immature and sinful behavior can be changed is through first developing a vision, a clear understanding of their true position before God and their true identity in Christ.
This status or position of holiness and “Sainthood” is not something the Corinthians church has earned. Their holiness is a status that has been given or granted to them by God. It has been granted to them by the work of Christ. Notice what Paul says:
1 Corinthians 1:26-31
Think about the circumstances of your call, brothers and sisters. Not many were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were born to a privileged position. 27 But God chose what the world thinks foolish to shame the wise, and God chose what the world thinks weak to shame the strong. 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, what is regarded as nothing, to set aside what is regarded as something, 29 so that no one can boast in His presence.
30 He is the reason you have a relationship with Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31 so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
Here, the Scriptures make it clear that Father God is the one who chose us for His purposes. Consider this passage carefully. Why has God chosen this group of believers? Because they were wise and powerful and “worthy” of His choosing? No! In fact, God chose them because they were none of these things. God choose the “nobodies” of the Corinthian church in order to display the power of His grace and the glory of His wisdom.
God your Father has called you with a holy calling to be His child, His possession, in fellowship with Him in His Son Jesus through the Holy Spirit. God’s calling is not reserved for those who are going “into ministry.” In reality, all of us who have trusted Christ have been called to both fellowship and service to Father God and for Father God (ministry). Realizing that He has called us each for His purposes helps us to understand the significant role that He has set us apart and equipped us for in His present work in the world.
Lastly, notice that Paul addresses “the church of God at Corinth.” The main idea, the main thread that will bind all of our discussion in this workbook together is the Church, the Body of Christ. Notice that as Paul addresses this church as those “called to be saints” they also “call on the name of the Lord Jesus.” It is our common calling on Jesus and His calling of us that binds us together.
Let’s give a definition for The Church that we will explain and expand as we go along:
KEY Definition:
The Church / the Body of Christ is the Spirit-unified fellowship of people called and redeemed from the nations through the unique saving work of Jesus Christ. Although there is only ONE Church/Body, there are many churches – fellowships of Christ followers who meet in a specific time and place to glorify Christ and grow in grace and truth.
All of us who are IN Christ are part of His Body, THE Church. On the “local” level, we gather with one another in many different churches—assemblies, fellowship, gatherings of believers in a specific time and place. In Paul’s day, as in ours, there were many different churches gathering in many different cities and homes throughout the Roman Empire. Yet they were all bound together Spiritually as part of the Body of Christ. It is important that you see the distinction between The Body/Church and the churches. We will discuss both ideas as we move forward.
Is there anything new to you in what you read today? Did anything stick out to you? If so, what and why?
*You can find a complete list of all the MilktoMeat readings here.
