The Holy Calling Of The Child Of God
2 Tim 1:8-10 KJV 8 Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God; 9 Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, 10 But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:
Christianity is a Calling. According to the Bible, The Christian Life is a “Holy Calling.” It Originates in the Free Grace and Eternal Purpose of God in Christ Jesus. Not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, It is NOT our Good Works or Religious Activities that Make us Right with God. It is the Free Grace of God, Un-Merited Favor, that Purchased our Salvation and offered Heaven and Eternal Life unto us. God, in His Goodness, has Provided this Great Salvation for us. We are Invited to Simply Receive this Wonderful Gift of Salvation by Faith. The Work of Salvation was Completed by Christ with His Death on the Cross and His Resurrection from the Dead. He offers Eternal Life to us as a Free Gift. Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. The Scriptures make several References to the Calling of the Child of God. Each tells us Something important about Our Inheritance.
I. WE ARE CALLED OUT OF DARKNESS. 1 Peter 2:9-10 NIV 9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Darkness Represents the Power of the Devil and the Dominion, or the Rule, of Spiritual Death. Thanks be to God, We are Delivered From the Power of Darkness when we Come to Christ. He Sets Us Free From The Tyranny of Darkness and all that it Represents with the Power of Sin and Bondage. When we are Saved, we are Born-Again Out of the darkness of Spiritual Death into the Light of Jesus Christ.
II. WE ARE CALLED UNTO SONSHIP. 1 John 3:1-2 KJV :1 Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. 2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, 1 John 3:1 NIV
1 How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! According to the Bible, without Christ, we are LOST, Estranged from God, Separated because of Sin and Spiritual Death. But When we Receive Jesus into our Hearts, and are Born Again, God Ushers us into His Family and We Become the Children of God. Gal 3:26 KJV For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. It Makes No Difference What I Look Like or Feel Like, I Am A Child of God. I’m A Child of The Father, Because of Jesus!!! God will Take a Father’s Part and Care For His Children. He Watches over His Kids. There is a Saying you often hear in the world but it is Untrue: People say, “I believe in the Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of Man.” That is a Lie. All people are Not God’s Children. There are Only Two Families, Spiritually, in the World. Jesus Told one Group, “You are of your Father, the Devil…“ John 8:44. People outside of Christ, those who have never been saved, their “Father,” Spiritually Speaking, is the Devil. But When a Lost Person Accepts Christ and is Saved, He Becomes a Child of God, and his New Father, Spiritually, is God. We are Now Children in God’s Family. We are Called into Sonship as His Children.
III. WE ARE CALLED TO FELLOWSHIP. 1 Cor 1:9 KJV God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord. There is a Beautiful Interaction Among God’s Children. It is called “Fellowship.” Fellowship means “A Sharing Together of Spiritual Life.”
Fellowship is NOT Something a human being can do with a Cow or a Bug. A Child of God Cannot Fellowship with an Unsaved Person. There is No “Sharing Together of Spiritual life” between a Saved Person and an Unsaved Person. 2 Cor 6:14-16 NIV 14 Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? 15 What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? Nothing!!! The Child of God Can Fellowship with the Father, and with the Son, the Lord Jesus, with the Holy Spirit, and with Other Believers in Christ. There is Much that we can Give and Receive from each other as we Partake of Spiritual Life Together.
IV. WE ARE CALLED TO LIBERTY. Gal 5:13 KJV 13 For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; NIV called to be free… According to the Bible, We are Free Men and Women in Christ. We are the Redeemed of the Lord. We Belong to Christ, and He has Set us Free. We are No Longer Slaves to Satan, Spiritual Death, Sin, Sickness, Demons and Fear, or Any Kind of Bondage. Christ the Deliverer has Set us Free.
If you are a Christian and you are Bound by or Controlled by any Ungodly Force, or Addiction, you Need More of Jesus in your Life to Set you Free. Part of Your Inheritance in Christ is Freedom From Bondage. So Let Christ Set you Free and Stay Free.
V. WE ARE CALLED TO PEACE. Col 3:15 NIV Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. There are Two Kinds of Peace that God Gives us: 1) We have Peace With God. 2) We have the Peace Of God in our Hearts. We First find Peace WITH God as we Receive Christ and Come into Right Relationship with God. Then, We Experience the Peace of God as we Walk with the Lord.
VI. WE ARE CALLED TO BLESSINGS. 1 Peter 3:9 NIV Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. The Christian Believer is Called to Inherit Blessings. What Kind of Blessings? Spiritual Blessings. Material Blessings. Financial Blessings. Physical Blessings.
Deut 28:1-2 NIV 28:1 If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. 2 All these blessings will come upon you and accompany you if you obey the LORD your God:
Verses 3-12 List Many Blessings. Listen To Paul’s Prayer for Christians.
Eph 3:14-21 NIV 14 For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15 from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge-that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. 20 Now To Him Who Is Able To Do Immeasurably More Than All We Ask Or Imagine, According To His Power That Is At Work Within Us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
VII. WE ARE CALLED TO GLORY. 1 Peter 5:10 NIV And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. 1 Thess 2:11-12 KJV 11 As ye know how we exhorted and comforted and charged every one of you, as a father doth his children, 12 That ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory. God Places His Seal Upon Us. We Belong to Him!!! There is None that can Steal us Away or Pluck us Out of God’s Hands. We are Called to Eternal Glory by Christ Jesus. He Gives us a Taste of His Glory To Take with us on our Journey to Heaven.
