Chapter 1: Calling in the Bible

What do we live for?

Who am I? Whom do I belong to? How should I live this life? What is the meaning of my work, family, abilities, experiences, and choices? If God calls people, what is He calling them to? How should we respond?

When we speak of “calling,” we often think first of a career, ministry, direction in life, or a particular task to accomplish. As a result, “What is my calling?” is often understood as “What exactly does God want me to do?”

In this book, “calling” refers to God’s summons to people and their response to Him. Scripture records calls in different circumstances, some involving a specific commission or responsibility. The New Testament also emphasises that God calls people in Christ to turn to Him, receive salvation, live holy lives, and look forward to the glory He has promised.

Understanding calling begins with God’s initiative and grace. We therefore need to ask first: What is the God who calls us like? What is our relationship with Him?

God created human beings and gave them life, dignity, and responsibility. Although sin estranged them from Him, He took the initiative in redemption, reconciling sinners to Himself in Jesus Christ. He calls people to repent, believe, and turn to Him. Those who have received His grace are given new life in Christ and are continually renewed by the Holy Spirit. They follow Christ throughout their lives, live according to His will, and look forward to being with Him forever.

To understand calling, then, we need first to know the God who calls us and understand our lives and responsibilities in relation to Him. Without this foundation, we may treat calling as a form of self-fulfilment and mistake our personal ambitions for a mission entrusted to us by God.

Abraham left his country, his relatives, and his father’s house. Moses heard God call him in the wilderness. The prophets received God’s word, and Jesus called His disciples to follow Him. Paul encountered Christ on the road to Damascus, and the direction of his life changed. The disciples were also sent to bear witness to Christ in the world.

These calls took place in different historical settings and each had specific content. Yet together they show that God takes the initiative in revealing Himself, and people are called to trust Him, obey Him, and carry out the responsibilities He entrusts to them.

To know this God who calls people, we must also return to what Scripture reveals about creation. Genesis 1 repeatedly records God speaking and what He commands coming into being. John reveals further: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God”; “All things were made through him”; and “In him was life, and the life was the light of men” (John 1:1, 3–4, excerpts). The “Word” here is the eternal Son, who became flesh as Jesus Christ (John 1:1–2, 14, 17–18). Hebrews also teaches that God created all things through His Son and has spoken to us through Him (Hebrews 1:1–3).

The God who created all things is also the God who reveals Himself to people and accomplishes redemption in Christ. Yet His commands in creation need to be distinguished from His calls to people. The former reveal His power to bring all things into existence; the latter involve His summons to people and their response before Him. Recognising their connection does not mean treating them as the same concept.

This chapter considers God’s call to people through six related aspects, none of which can replace the others: its foundation, heart, direction for life, response, entrusted responsibility, and ultimate goal. These help us understand identity, turning to God, holiness, following Christ, mission, and glory. These six aspects provide a framework for this chapter’s discussion, based on the overall witness of Scripture. They are not a classification of calling explicitly listed in the Bible.

This is an order for understanding and discussion, rather than six stages completed one after another. Turning to God, being renewed, following Christ, and carrying out entrusted responsibilities are interwoven throughout a believer’s life. Our eternal hope also begins to shape how we live today.

The chapter begins with identity and responsibility in creation to explain why people are accountable to God. It then considers salvation and new life in Christ. When the New Testament speaks of believers being called, it often begins directly with God’s saving work in Christ. Beginning with identity here is therefore a choice in the structure of the book. It does not mean that people already have the identity of God’s children before they are saved.