Am I Called by God? (Calling, Part 1)
Series: Calling (Part 1)
Author: Dr. Steven L. Childers
Title: Primary Ministry Calling
In Isaiah chapter 6 we see a magnificent portrayal of Prophet Isaiah’s calling to prophetic ministry. Here, Isaiah sees a vision of the Lord, high and lifted up on His heavenly throne. In this transcendent scene, Isaiah receives his majestic calling directly from God.
In Acts chapter 9 we see another dramatic call from God on the life of Apostle Paul. Here we read, “…suddenly a light flashed around him…and he heard a voice from heaven” (Acts 9:3-4).
First, lets be very clear. Most people whom God has called, is calling, and will call to the ministry, are not called like the Prophets and Apostles. It’s usually much more mundane. But that does not mean it’s any less sacred.
This does not mean that there is no place for the role of personal experience and emotions in confirming God’s calling. It’s a question of degrees of emphasis. We’ll address this in more detail later.
In this article our focus is on the nature of God’s calling as being two-fold:
1) A Primary Call to All Followers of Christ, and
2) A Secondary Call to Ordained Leaders in a church based ministry
Let’s look first at the Primary Call to All Followers of Christ.
When the Apostle Paul wrote from prison to the Christians at Ephesus, he admonished them saying, “I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called.” (Eph 4:1)
Then in Eph 4:4-5 he writes, “There is one body and one Spirit–just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call–one Lord, one faith, one baptism…”
Paul is referring here to the calling God has placed on the lives of ALL true followers of Christ for, what he refers to later in verse 12, “the work of ministry.”
The Bible clearly teaches that all followers of Christ are called by God to the work of ministry. It’s the very nature of being a Christ follower, to be following Him in a life of ministry.
As a follower of Christ you have already received the primary calling of God to radically align your life purpose with God’s purposes to see God’s name glorified and his Kingdom come and His Will be done on earth as it is in heaven through His Church by the power of His gospel.
Author Os Guinness writes,
“It is a matter of ‘everyone, everywhere, and in everything’ living life in response to God’s summons.”
A deep sense of your Primary Calling as a follower of Christ is meant to radically transform your understanding of your normal jobs as your “Secondary Calling” through which God has uniquely called you to fulfill your Primary Calling.
But this is not and has not been the majority view in Christianity for generations. The idea of every believer having been called by God with this primary 'calling' permeated the teaching of the New Testament church.
But it wasn’t long before this concept of calling was lost. One of the early church historians, Eusebius of Caesarea, born in the late 3rd century, argues in his writings that we should divide all our occupations or jobs between the “perfect” and the “Permitted.”
The Perfect life is one of meditation and contemplation, like the calling of a priest, monk, or nun. The Permitted Life describes more secular jobs like farming, trading, business, governing, military service, raising families other kinds of business.
Sadly, later Augustine and Aquinas praised the “contemplative” life above the “secular” life. Soon the biblical concept of “calling,” which originally extended to everyone, everywhere, in everything, was narrowed down to the religious specialties of a few. Being called by God eventually became synonymous in most circles with being called to be a member of the clergy, a priest, monk, or nun.
Later the Reformation sought to shatter this false, unbiblical dichotomy between faith and work, the spiritual and the secular, etc.
In Luther’s famous work, Babylonian Captivity, He wrote, “A farmer in the field or his wife in kitchen is doing his work by faith to the glory of God as high and holy as preacher in the pulpit.”
Guinness writes, “There is no sacred vs. secular, higher vs. lower, perfect vs. permitted, contemplation vs. action where calling is concerned. Calling equalizes even the distinctions between clergy and laypeople.”
Practically we must fight against this concept that only an elite group of religious people are called to “Full-Time Christian Service….as if the majority of Christians are only called be be part-time followers of Christ!
It’s been said that except for the biblical teaching on the Cross of Christ, nothing has had such a transforming impact on culture through the ages as as this biblical understanding of the Primary Calling of God for ALL followers of Christ.