I COR 1:2-3
To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling, with all who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Lord, as I come to verse two, I feel this ridiculous urge to try to sound like some expert…to sound like I already know what I’m here to learn. What a joke. Lord, I’m like a toddler grabbing her Daddy’s glasses and thinking I’m all grown up. I’M HERE TO LEARN! Suddenly, there’s no pressure. Leaving pretense in the trash is pretty sweet freedom and I think I like it. Lord, could you come into verse two with me? Thank you so much.
CALLED as an apostle (vs 1), saints by CALLING, with all who in every place CALL on the name…
That word “call” has caused me more misery than maybe any word in the Bible. Becoming a Christian at age 10 has meant being under some pretty awesome teachers. But the message from the Type A driven people was always “Find out what God’s CALL on your life is and go for it!” Seeing that word 3 times all at once literally makes my chest constrict. I’ve never been able to figure out what my calling is! And the LAST thing I feel is verse 3: grace and peace from God our Father AND the Lord Jesus Christ.
What does that word mean really? Call… Is it a vocation? A job? Your voice, God? A mandate?
“I would love to know the greek meaning behind each of these forms of the word call. Maybe I can look it up.”
So I found this: call. [Tois epikaloumenois to onoma.] That these words ought not to be rendered passively, is evident from the LXX., who translate the phrase [yikra be-shem,] 'he shall call on the name' which is active, by [epikalesetai en onomati Theou,] or [en onomati Kyriou.]
WHAT?!!!
Seriously! Why are those who study Greek such horrible communicators!?
Why does every translation assume we know what this means?
OK, yes of course I could spout off the “dictionarical” answer and get a perfectly high score, but there’s something here I want. But it’s on the top shelf, just out of reach.
Skim through this:
call
kôl/
verb
verb: call; 3rd person present: calls; past tense: called; past participle: called; gerund or present participle: calling
1. 1.
cry out to (someone) in order to summon them or attract their attention.
"she heard Terry calling her"
synonyms: cry out, cry, shout, yell, hail, bellow, roar, bawl, vociferate;
informalholler
"“Wait for me!” she called"
o cry out (a word or words).
"he heard an insistent voice calling his name"
synonyms: cry out, cry, shout, yell, hail, bellow, roar, bawl, vociferate;
informalholler
"“Wait for me!” she called"
o (of an animal, especially a bird) make its characteristic cry.
o shout out or chant (the steps and figures) to people performing a square dance or country dance.
o telephone (a person or telephone number).
"could I call you back ?"
synonyms: phone, telephone, get someone on the phone, give someone a call, give someone a ring, give someone a buzz
"I'll call you tomorrow"
o summon (something, especially an emergency service or a taxicab) by telephone.
"if you are suspicious, call the police"
synonyms: summon, send for, assemble, muster, invite, order
"dinner's ready—call the kids"
o bring (a witness) into court to give evidence.
o archaic
inspire or urge (someone) to do something.
"I am called to preach the Gospel"
o fix a date or time for (a meeting, strike, or election).
synonyms: convene, summon, assemble;
formalconvoke
"the vice president called a meeting"
o guess the outcome of tossing a coin.
"“You call,” he said. “Heads or tails?”"
o predict the result of (a future event, especially an election or a vote).
"in the Northeast, the race remains too close to call"
o Computing
cause the execution of (a subroutine).
2. 2.
give (an infant or animal) a specified name.
"they called their daughter Hannah"
synonyms: name, christen, baptize; More
designate, style, term, dub;
formaldenominate
"they called their son Liam"
o have a specified name.
"she is called Eva"
o address or refer to (someone) by a specified name, title, endearment, or term of abuse.
"please call me Lucy"
o refer to, consider, or describe (someone or something) as being.
"he's the only person I would call a friend"
synonyms: describe as, regard as, look on as, consider to be
"yes, I would call him a friend"
o (of an umpire or other official in a game) pronounce (a ball, stroke, or other action) to be the thing specified.
"the linesman called the ball wide"
3. 3.
(of a person) pay a brief visit.
"he called around last night looking for you"
o stop to pick up (someone) at the place where they are living or working.
"I'll call for you around seven"
synonyms: require, need, necessitate; More
justify, warrant
"desperate times call for desperate measures"
noun
noun: call; plural noun: calls
1. 1.
a cry made as a summons or to attract someone's attention.
"in response to the call, a figure appeared"
synonyms: cry, shout, yell, roar, scream, exclamation, vociferation;
informalholler
"I heard calls from the auditorium"
o the characteristic cry of a bird or other animal.
synonyms: cry, song, sound
"the call of the loon"
o a series of notes sounded on a brass instrument as a signal to do something.
"a bugle call to rise at 5:30"
o a telephone communication or conversation.
"I'll give you a call at around five"
synonyms: phone call, telephone call, ring;
informalbuzz
"I'll give you a call tomorrow"
o an appeal or demand for.
"the call for action was welcomed"
synonyms: appeal, request, plea, entreaty More
"a call for party unity"
summons, request
"the last call for passengers on flight 701"
o a summons.
"a messenger arrived bringing news of his call to the throne"
synonyms: summons, request
"the last call for passengers on flight 701"
o a vocation.
"his call to be a disciple"
o a powerful force of attraction.
"hikers can't resist the call of the Sierras"
synonyms: attraction, appeal, lure, allure, spell, pull, draw
"the call of the sea"
o a demand or need for (goods or services).
"there was little call for work as sophisticated as his"
synonyms: demand, desire, market
"there's no call for expensive wine here"
o Computing
a command to execute a subroutine.
o a shout by an official in a game indicating whether the ball has gone out of play, a rule has been breached, etc.; the decision or ruling so made.
"the replay shows that the umpire made a bad call"
o Bridge
a bid, response, or double.
o a direction in a square dance given by the caller.
o a demand for payment of lent or unpaid capital.
o Stock Market
short for call option.
o a player's right or turn to make a bid in a card game.
2. 2.
a brief visit.
"we paid a call on Howard"
synonyms: visit, social call
"he paid a call on Harold"
o a visit or journey made in response to an emergency appeal for help.
"the doctor was out on a call"
Origin
late Old English ceallian, from Old Norse kalla ‘summon loudly.’
https://www.google.com/search?q=definintion+of+call&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&channel=sb
---------------------------- Enough of that.........
When you put any of the highlighted definition into the verses where the word call is used, it gets interesting. Maybe not accurately translated from the Greek, but maybe not so far away.
called: inspired or urged, a term of endearment,
….grace and peace from (the calling voice of) God (our loving) Father
Maybe my role in being called is just to hear His voice. Maybe if I get really in tune with recognizing the sound of His voice, then I’ll be daily ready to do whatever He asks of me today.
Maybe grace and peace are found there. People can’t call themselves. A call comes from a source apart from me. Well, if that source is God, then He’s pretty able to inspire and summon me as He sees fit.
Maybe I’m called to “availability” to God my Father and .... WHOA. PAUSE!
I’ve been so hung up on the word call that I missed something. Yes, the word “call” is there three times, but encasing that word is another set of words listed 3, no 4, times: Look, Lydia. SEE this!
To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling, with all who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
He’s there in my confusion. There surrounding that frustrating word. There with all of us together. This is a “we” thing. A “we” meaning “me with Jesus” and a “we” thing, meaning I’m part of the church. That word call is all wrapped up in Jesus!
(But Lord, I’ve failed at MOPS. Failed at being a long term Bible Study Leader. Failed at being long term Marriage Ministries leader. Failed at painting consistently. Failed at blogging consistently. Failed at having a quiet time consistently. Failed at exercising, eating right, budgeting, cleaning my house, finishing ANYthing. Failed at being on any team long term…)
Whatever my call is, it has to be done WITH others, WITH Jesus!
Lord Jesus, if you wish to give me a life call or just a friendly lunch with a friend call, help me answer “yes”. Thank you that I don’t have to call myself, or name myself, or create myself, or compare myself. Maybe the only call I really need is to hear you call… my name. Today, I need to work, fix my mom's birthday dinner, and tile a backsplash. Could I do this WITH you, please?
Thanks for showing up. I'm still nervous about that word "call" but I'll leave that with you to handle in me, because I for sure don't know how. I love you.
- The beginning -
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