Called by God – 1 Corinthians 1
“Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother,”
Paul was called, or you could say summoned, by Jesus Christ and he was called to be an apostle, particularly to the gentiles. You may remember where he was and the business he was engaged in. He thought that he was doing God’s work, protecting the faith and reputation of the patriarchs. He was there was Stephen was stoned, and approved without dissent. Paul described his credentials in Philippians 3:1-10. He gave up all those pretenses for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ.
He was on a certain road and received a summons from Christ Himself. Let’s be careful to not read our own experiences into this account and just say that Paul’s calling was extraordinary. But every single time a sinner is brought to faith in Christ, it is an extraordinary work of God. Its true, Christians are ordinary people, but being a Christian is an extraordinary thing.
Think of the countless nameless and faceless people down through the ages who have been saved by God’s grace. Long forgotten names, in long forgotten graves in unknown places. Yet in Christ, they have a name and a face, and their Master knows them. They were called by God to love, trust, and believe in His only begotten Son.
Further down in verse 3 Paul writes “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ”. In a real tangible way “Grace” and Christ coming “to you” are synonymous. It speaks to the fact that God’s will is free and ours is not (he was called “through the will of God”), thus everything happens by divine necessity. The world, and false theologies that represent it, don’t like that for the basic reason that the only way in which it wants to work out problems with God is through the exercising of the will of man – of man’s necessity. God our Father tells us very simply that it comes “to you”. With these two words you by faith understand that grace is yours, and as a result Christ is yours and that the peace that comes from God is yours, that He is your Father, and His Son is your Savior.
In Scripture, the word “grace” and the name “Jesus Christ” are synonymous. If God is understood to be gracious, then Scripture tells us that He is so, specifically in the sending of His Son, Who came to take away your sins. His Son Who is the “express image of His glory”, in His righteousness and in the righteousness He brings to you and me. The New Testament tells us that the “law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ”.
