Verse 1 also tells us something of what it means to be a Christian:
1. A Christian is called by God. The Greek word for “call” is “Kalein”, and it has three interesting definitions:
a. It is the word for summoning a person to office, to duty, to responsibility. The Christian is summoned to these things in his service for Christ.
b. It is also the word summoning a person to a feast or festival. It is the word of invitation to some happy event. The Christian is summoned to a joyful feast at the end of time as the guest of God.
c. And, the word is used of a person being summoned to a court so that he may stand before the judge and give an explanation. Likewise, the Christian is called to stand before the judgment seat of Christ.
Let’s think for a minute about what it means to be “called by God”. We are called to be apostles (Rom. 1:1 - Paul). The Greek word is apostolos - meaning one who is sent out. The Christian is the ambassador of Christ - sent out into the world to speak, act, and live for Christ.
We are also called to be saints (Rom. 1:7; I Cor. 1:2). The word for saint is hagios, commonly translated “holy”, the root meaning being “different”. To be called to be a saint is to be called to be different, i.e., different from the world; with holy values.
The Christian is called according to the purpose of God (Rom. 8:28). God has a plan and purpose for every person who accepts Christ. No Christian can say “I can’t do anything”; because God uses our weakness to display His power. God has prepared a task and a purpose for all those He calls. Contentment and satisfaction is working toward the goals that God has set for our lives.
