Called According to His Purpose

Oh great!... Now we have posters that want give us a test... Well at least its open book... Brother Glen

 

Fill in the blanks at that!

 

Gotta be a newbie... No charter member would dare pull a stunt like that... Homey don't play that!... Brother Glen

 

I like it...I think it helps believers to dig into the Scriptures and to come up with biblical answers.

 

There all those who are called that have been predestinated to be conformed to the image of Christ which is final glorification Rom 8:30

30 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.

These particular called ones shall be glorified, and so they are called by the Gospel 2 Thess 2:13-14

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.

See how this calling by the Gospel is to the obtaining of the glory of our lord Jesus Christ as to that they had been predestinated to as in Rom 8:30 !

So evidently this calling strictly pertains to the chosen ones.

 

...you probably flunked...

 

i am interested in this first question.

Paul opened this letter up with this subject of "calling." You began with verse 23 of the chapter and these statements are well into the discourse and are dependent upon what is said previously.

First of all this is a gentile church, a primitive church without a bible. This letter becomes part of the bible and instructs the Corinthians, and us today. We learn some things about the calling of God in this letter and from these comments. What are some things we learn? Let's look.

Paul called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother,

So, Paul speaks with apostolic authority, though in his second letter he writes about those in Corinth who challenge his apostolic credentials and rebukes them. His calling here is not to salvation but to an office.

But here is what he says about those in Corinth concerning calling. The wording is very important here.

2 Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both their's and our's:

Question. If one is "sanctified" IN Christ Jesus, why then must they be called to be a saint? Now that is a question that needs an answer.

A sanctified person has a calling to be a saint? Yes. Obviously Paul was a sanctified person who was called to be a saint and, being a saint, was called to be an apostle. Every sanctified person in Corinth was called to be a saint. Logic and reason says that it is possible for a sanctified person to not be a saint if being a saint requires a calling. If not, why waste ink and paper and write it down?

In our verse above we have the designation of those who are sanctified "in Christ Jesus" as both (both means two) theirs and ours. What does that mean? Well this is the beginning years of Christianity in the world and it began with the Jews and later the gentiles were included as equal in Christ, distinct but equal. This is only the 4th epistle of Paul to the gentile churches and the 5th letter of the NT over all. When he mentions theirs and ours, he, being a Jew, is speaking, theirs, gentiles, and ours, Jews.

The sanctification "in Christ Jesus" references our conversion, when we are born again and the Spirit of God places us into the body of Christ as a particular functioning member of that body and becoming one with him. All those who are born again by faith in Jesus Christ are " baptized" (immersed) by the Spirit into this body that is being formed of all believers since the resurrection of Christ. An entire chapter is given to this in this epistle in chapter 12. This is what sets us apart from the world in the eyes of God and what is meant by those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus. This is what he means when he says God has called us unto the fellowship of his dear son.

1 Corinthians 1:9
God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.

While salvation from sin is certainly a consideration it is not the emphasis here. He is desiring that we see the unity in Christ and how our behavior towards one another should match our high calling in Christ so that no schism develops in the body.


Now that we are sanctified in Christ we are called to make out life match our standing in Christ. We are to live as is if the well being and health of the body depends on our own actions as a member. That is our calling.

If we as the body of Christ are not joined together to achieve the same goals in unison, the body and cause of Christ suffers. look what he says will happen.

10 Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. 11 For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you.

Think of the calling here to be the calling of God not so much of salvation but unto fellowship with his son so that all together can function as the arms and legs of Christ upon the earth.

Well, there is a lot more to learn from this but how am I doing so far?

 

It should be understood sanctification precedes one being called, 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14 and the calling can be rejected, Hebrews 10:29.