The Calling

I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called.

Ephesians 4:1

What is the calling of which Paul speaks?  He is transitioning into the portion of Ephesians where he will practically apply all the doctrines which he has been expounding to them since the beginning of the book.  As he does so, he appeals to his children in the faith to, ‘walk worthy of the calling with which you were called.’  Elsewhere, Paul refers to that calling.  In the first chapter of both Romans and I Corinthians, Paul speaks of those who are, ‘called to be saints.’  In saving us, God calls us to be saints.  Sainthood is not what is has come to mean by connotation.  To become a saint is to be saved by free and Sovereign Grace.  This is the calling of which Paul is speaking.  The sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit is what will ultimately conform us to the image of Christ.  Paul makes it apparent that we have the opportunity to act and interact as we make use of the means of grace which God has afforded us.  We are not the authors or finishers of our own sanctification, but He does afford us practical means of which we may take advantage as He does this work.  Paul will dive into these practical means in the next few chapters.  In the meantime, he introduces this section with the plea for us to ‘walk worthy of the calling with which you were called.’  We are called saints and becoming like Christ through the work of sanctification.  He has begun this work and will finish it.

Great God of Wonders,
all Your Works are matchless, Godlike and divine.
We rejoice that You are conforming us
to the Image of Christ that we may fulfill the
high purpose to which You have called us.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning