“Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery.” 1 Timothy 4:14
In Paul’s letter to the believers in Rome, he made a monumental declaration concerning the “gifts and calling” of God, that they were irrevocable. (11:29) What did he mean by this? Perhaps we need to go back a bit farther, from before the foundation of the world, to grasp something the answer. In Paul’s second letter to Timothy, in speaking of “the gift of God” which the Lord had provided to him, for the accomplishment of his ministry and mission, he wrote: “…(God) 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.”(1:9) The weight of the importance, and worth, of one’s calling, is of eternal significance, especially since it was conceived and chosen from eternity past, extending into eternity before us. To this one IN Christ, who has been born of the Spirit, God in His faithfulness and wisdom, chose the gifts that He would give to every believer for the task that was set before them. Paul made this so very clear in his first letter to the Corinthians, in writing of the spiritual gifts that God bestows: “But all these (gifts) worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as He will.” (12:11) It is God the Father who puts the believer IN Christ. It is God by the Spirit who gives to every member in the body of Christ a gift, a spiritual capacity with a specific purpose, according to God’s will. The specific, holy calling of God, as well as the gifts necessary for its realization, are irrevocably attributed to every believer. Not all are called and gifted to be Apostles, as there were only twelve. Not all believers, are called to accomplish the same work, “…those good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” (Eph. 2:10) However, every believer is to grasp the fact that God has given him or her capacities for the edification of the church and for the salvation of men. In some manner or other, all are called to fellowship with Jesus Christ, so that out of a communion with Him, there shall be the accomplishment of His will, the fulfillment of His purposes. To live, and work, according to God’s calling, using well the gifts, or capacities, that he has provided, is to know the peace and blessing of God. So then, how do we know these spiritual gifts, and what is our calling?
The first condition for knowing the will of God concerning our calling, is being truly willing to do the will of God. It was one day in the temple, when Jesus was teaching the people that the Lord said: “My doctrine (teaching) is not mine, but His that sent Me.” (Jn. 7:16) Those around Him who heard these words would immediately belong to two camps, those who truly believed Him, and those who would not. Certainly, there were a good number of them who just did not know. To those the Lord then said, “If any man is will do His will, He shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of Myself.” (7:17) The first condition of knowing the calling and gifts of God, is the committal of oneself to God, to do His will. There is a profound choice involved. Only the man who truly wills to see, and obey, believe and follow, will see and understand. The second condition is to trust wholly the Spirit of God to reveal to the believer, “…the things that are freely given to us of God.” (1 Cor. 2:12) Thirdly, it is to the believer who will present his body a living sacrifice to God, that grace is given to know that good, acceptable, and perfect will of God. (Romans 12:2)
Dear Father, Give us Thine abundant grace to know Thy calling, stirring up Thy gifts. In Jesus’ name, Amen.