Ephesians 4:1 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,
The call:
The word “call” is: to invite, to call to bear a name and is used of our invitation by God to all. God is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance, therefore He calls people to Him through His Son to receive forgiveness of their sins and become a part of His family – to bear His name. Jesus issued the invitation to “come unto Him” and said that as “many as receive Him are given authority to become the sons and daughters of God. Our call as Christians then, is God’s invitation be part of His blood washed family, the redeemed of all earth. Paul tells us to walk worthy of the vocation wherewith we are called, so it behooves us to examine our call lest our lifestyle bring reproach to the One Who has called us.
The calling is “of God”:
There can come no higher calling than that of the Sovereign God of the universe, the One Who created all things and sustains all things by His power. We respond to various calls throughout our life – the call of our parents, the call of teachers, the call of friends, the call to marriage, the call of children, the call of the world, etc. When we hear these calls we respond differently as we discern the urgency or need of each call. Many do not recognize God’s calling and therefore do not respond to Him.
God’s call is irrevocable (Ro 11:29) and He extends the call to salvation through the years. Many do not respond or resist, or ignore His call and through time the pleadings of the Spirit seem weaker and less noticeable. The problem that many have is found in Psa 119:2 and Jer 29:13. God does not accept a half-hearted effort.
We are called “by His grace” (Gal 1:15) and “into the grace of Christ” (Gal 1:6). Grace is defined as “God’s unmerited favor” and also as “His divine power” and it is by this and into this we are called as Christians. We can only remain His children as we live in that grace.
We are called “out of darkness” and “into His marvelous light” (1 Pet 2:9) which carry certain aspects of the Christian life (Eph 5:8; 1 Thes 5:5). We are also “called to be saints (holy)” (Ro 1:7) because He has called us “with an holy calling” (2 Tim 1:9). God is holy and He expects His children to be holy (1 Pet 1:15, 16). Since we are called to holiness then it is natural that our calling is a “heavenly calling” as well, (He 3:1) and since we are, then we should “press toward the mark of the high calling in Christ Jesus” (Phil 3:14). There is no higher calling than that of the Christian and it is something we should take seriously.
Other callings:
Some other callings we find in the New Testament are sometimes neglected.
Fellowship – 1 Cor 1:9; Liberty – Gal 5:13, this speaks of not being bound, but the verse suggests serving one another in love; suffering – 1 Pet 2:21; Phil 1:21; eternal life – 1 Tim 6:12; glory and virtue – 2 Pet 1:3, glory is opinion, judgment, view and virtue is moral goodness in thought, feeling and action. Therefore, because of all this Peter says, Give diligence to make your calling and election sure.