This past Sunday we spent time in Acts 6:1-7, where a group of seven men was selected to oversee the distribution of food to those in need so that the apostles could focus on their primary task of preaching, teaching, and prayer. Although this is sometimes seen as the beginning of the office of deacon, the church was not yet that formal or structured. The Greek word diakonian is used for a variety of types of service to the church.
In the modern church, there is a tendency to talk about a “call to ministry” as something that only applies to pastors and missionaries. That is not how the New Testament typically uses the idea of calling. Here are just a few of the ways calling is used:
- Jesus called disciples to follow Him (Matt. 9:9 et al).
- Jesus “came not to call the righteous, but sinner” (Matt. 9:13).
- We are called to eternal life (1 Tim. 6:12).
- Believers are called to belong to Jesus and are called to be saints (Rom. 1:6-7 et al).
- God predestined, called, and justified people to be like His Son (Rom. 8:28-30).
- We are called to be people of peace, hope, freedom, and holiness (1 Cor. 7:15; Gal. 5:13; Eph. 1:18; 1 Pet. 1:15, et al).
- Each person is to “lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him” (1 Cor. 7:17).
Scripture also uses the idea of “appointing” someone to a position, as in Acts 6:3 where these men were to be appointed to serve tables. In Acts 14:23, it says that the Apostle Paul and the disciples with him “appointed elders for them in every church” (see also Titus 1:5). Elders would be similar to our modern title of pastor. The roles of elder and deacon are somewhat unique in that the qualifications are clearly spelled out in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1, unlike other roles in the church.
In Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12, the Paul writes about spiritual gifts. “Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them” (Rom. 12:6a). “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone” (1 Cor. 12:4-6). Every believer has some ability that is to be used for the benefit of their local church and in service to God. All the members of the church are necessary, just as every part of the human body is necessary for its optimal functioning.
Sometimes we get tripped up by 1 Corinthians 12:28, “God has appointed first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues.” We naturally read this as a hierarchy of “who’s most important.” However, we can’t ignore the context. Just a few verses later Paul writes, “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing” (1 Cor. 13:1-2). What matters is not the nature of the gift or the title that goes with it, but that it is exercised out of love for God and for His church.
Those who preach and teach are important, and they are to be honored (1 Tim. 5:17) and submitted to as those who are “keeping watch over your souls” (Heb. 13:17). And “those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel” (1 Cor. 9:14b). But they are not the only ones who are called to ministry. Every believer is called to love and serve the Body of Christ in whatever way God has enabled us.
“You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide” (John 15:16a).
You can listen to Ron Thomas’s sermon here:
© 2023 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture are ESV and all images copyright free from pixabay.com. The opinions stated do not necessarily reflect the views of my church or employer.
