"Called to be an Apostle"

In my last post, I said that the Church’s talk about “call” has erred by focusing on a particular role that a person might play in a particular place (e.g. the role of pastor in a congregation). Because of this focus, the primary call of every Christian – the call to faith, hope, and love – is lost.

Why does this matter? Put simply, the call to love is the “more excellent way” (1 Cor. 12:31) apart from which a man is nothing but “a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal." (1 Cor. 13:1) And yet the Church often treats the call to love as something lesser than the “call” to ordained ministry. Perhaps we've forgotten that Jesus commends the humble love of Mary Magdalene while rebuking the bickering of the disciples over who’s the greatest.

That being said, it's also true that there are indeed particular calls to particular roles. Exhibit A: Paul was “called to be an apostle.” (Rom. 1:1) How, then, should the Church talk about the “call” to ordained ministry? Without exception, it should be made clear that all such calls are secondary expressions of the primary call to love. God’s Word is quite clear in saying two things on this point. First, particular calls in the Church are rooted in particular gifts of the Spirit. (1 Cor. 12) Second, all such gifts of the Spirit have no merit or purpose apart from the gift of love. (1 Cor. 13)

This means that the spiritual gifts and the particular calls that grow out of them are not for the glorification of the person who’s called, but for the edification of the other members of Christ’s Body. (Eph. 4:12) And even more humbling for those called to ordained ministry, “God has so arranged the Body, giving the greater honor to the inferior member.” (1 Cor. 12:24) Do the members of Christ’s Body, and especially those in higher positions, really believe this?

Ultimately, anyone considering what his particular call might be would do well to base all such discernment on questions of love. That is, how might one walk in Christ’s humble way of love? How might one live in accord with the description of love given in 1 Corinthians 13? And how might one strive for and use the gifts of Christ’s Spirit not for his own benefit, but for the edification of Christ’s Body?

Not everyone is an apostle, prophet, teacher, or speaker-of-tongues (take that, Pentecostals!). In the End, all of the particular calls in the Church and all of the roles played in this thing called life will cease. (1 Cor. 13:8) Thus, infinitely more important than the roles we play is the Way in which we play them. For the roles are temporal, but the Way of faith, hope, and love is eternal.

“Faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.” (1 Cor. 13:13)