Worthy of His Calling

“To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.” (2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 ESV)

So, what does it mean to be “worthy of his calling”? If you look it up in the Greek interlinear on bible hub it says, “to reckon as worthy, matching value to actual substance, i.e. worth as it corresponds to reality.” In a thesaurus it says, “suitable, proper, correct, fitting, as it should be..” So to be made to be worthy of his calling means that we are made to be matching in value and corresponding to and suitable, fitting, and as it should be “to his calling.” In other words our character, attitudes, thinking, words, and actions should match up with what God has called his followers to be in character, etc.

So, what then is God’s calling on our lives? Well, there is a general calling which applies to all followers of Christ, and then there are more individual callings that God places on our lives whereby he gifts and equips and leads and guides us according to those specific callings, such as he does for me in this calling he has given to me to write down (or to speak) what he gives me to say and to put it on the internet so that the internet can “run with it.” But that is my calling, which is not everyone else’s calling.

So, back to the more general calling to which we are all called, we who follow Jesus Christ with our lives are all called to be conformed to the likeness of character of Jesus Christ. And we are called to share in suffering for the sake of the gospel. And we are called to a holy calling, and holy means to be separate (unlike, different) from the world because we are being conformed to the likeness of character of Jesus Christ. And we are called to obedience and to death to sin and living to God in obedience.

And we are called to belong to Christ, called to be saints (his holy ones), called according to his purpose, called into fellowship with Jesus Christ, called to freedom from sin, called out of darkness into his marvelous light, called to his own glory and excellence, and called to holiness and righteousness and so much more, I am sure, that I don’t have listed here.

Examples: [Jeremiah 1:1-19; Psalms 139:13-16; Luke 9:23-26; Acts 26:18; Romans 1:6-7; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 1:9; 1 Corinthians 12:1-31; Galatians 5:13; Ephesians 1:3-4; Ephesians 4:17-24; 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8; 2 Timothy 1:8-9; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 10:26-31; 1 Peter 1:14-16; 1 Peter 2:9; 2 Peter 1:3] 

Therefore, our character, attitudes, thinking, words, and actions should match up with what God has called his followers to be in character, in word, in thinking, in attitude, and in actions (deeds). We should be holy people who are not like the world but who are being conformed to the likeness of Christ. And we should be people of integrity and honesty and faithfulness who are walking in obedience to the Lord, in practice, and who are no longer making sin our practice, and who are sharing the truth of the gospel and who are, thus, suffering for the sake of righteousness, etc.

And we can only be this in the power of God, by his Spirit, and never in our own flesh or of our own making. But this requires that we cooperate fully with God’s work of grace in our lives in doing what he has called us to do, in his power, strength, and wisdom, under his leadership and direction. And that calling includes our individual ministry callings, too. We must follow the Lord in doing all that he has called us to do, and that he will equip us to do. And then the Lord can be glorified in us because we are representing him by our lives and by our walks of faith, as he gives us the strength to do so.

The Lord’s Anointed  

An Original Work / December 16, 2011

Based off Isaiah 61

The Spirit of the Sov’reign Lord on me;

Anointed to preach the Good News;

Sent me to bind up the brokenhearted;

Proclaim freedom for the captives.

He sent me to preach release for pris’ners

Who are walking in sin’s darkness;

Proclaim God’s grace to all men who’ll listen;

And tell them about God’s judgments;

Comfort all who mourn;

Give crowns of beauty;

Oil of gladness and thanksgiving. 

They will be called oaks of God’s righteousness,

A planting of our Savior, God,

For the display of our Lord’s splendor, and

They will rebuild God’s holy church.

God will renew them, and will restore them,

And you’ll be called priests of the Lord.

You will be ministers of our God, and

You will rejoice in salvation.

The Lord loves justice;

He is faithful to 

Reward those who are seeking Him.

I delight greatly in the Lord;

My soul rejoices in my Savior, God.

He has clothed me with His salvation,

And in a robe of His righteousness.

He has given me priestly garments to wear, 

As the bride of Jesus Christ.

As the garden of our Lord and Savior, 

He causes us to grow in Him.

He makes righteousness, 

Praise, and thanksgiving

Spring up before all the nations. 

https://vimeo.com/114836524