Tag: lketos

Romans 1:7 – The Called Saints

Posted on by Will

To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Truth to Learn

All Christians have been called by God, and we are all saints.

 

Behind the Words

“Beloved” is translated from agapētos, meaning “one who is loved.” It is from the verb agapaō, which means “to love with a self-sacrificing love.”

The word “called” is from the Greek word klētos, meaning “someone who is called, or invited.” It is not a verb, but an adjective. In other words, Paul is not saying that the Romans are referred to as saints, but that they are saints who have been invited.

The word translated “saints” is the Greek word hagios, which means “something which is pure and set-apart for God’s use.”

 

Meaning Explained

As I said when we looked at the first verse of this letter, it is customary for such a letter to contain a salutation in the opening portion identifying both the sender and the intended audience. Paul identifies himself right away, but not until verse seven does he identify his intended recipients. This epistle was written to the Christian believers who were at that time living in the city of Rome, center of the great Roman Empire. This letter was written around the year 58 AD, which would be very early in the reign of Nero (the Christian hater) as Emperor.

From the English translation it appears that Paul is saying that he is writing to everyone in Rome, proclaiming them to be beloved of God and to be given the title of saints. That’s not what the Greek sentence construction says, however. It says, “to the ones who are in Rome, who are beloved of God, who are saints that are called ones.” In other words, the letter is to those people in Rome who are both beloved of God and who are called. This is the same calling that is referred to in the previous verse.

For those of you who don’t believe in the doctrines of election and eternal security, I want to be very clear. The Apostle Paul believed in both of these doctrines and taught them as truth. He believed that genuine Christians are those who were “chosen in Him (Christ) before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him” (Ephesians 1:4). We are not Christians because we did something; we are Christians because God did something. For that reason, Paul says that we are “saints” who have been called by God.

And yes, every Christian is a saint! It does not require special canonization by the church for us to be saints. The Bible teaches very clearly that all believers are saints. I want to emphasize, as we pointed out in the previous verse, that Paul is not saying that the beloved of God are referred to as saints, rather that we are called by God to be saints.

Paul then completes this verse with a standard blessing of grace and peace from both God the Father and from our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

Application

The thing I want us all to take away from today’s verse is the privilege and honor we have as Christians that we have been specifically selected by God and called to a life of holiness and service to the King of Kings. What a great honor! Anything less than complete submission and obedience to Him does not meet His expectation of us and is a waste of time and effort.

Humbling, isn’t it? Are you up to the challenge?

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2017 Will Krause. All rights reserved

1 Corinthians 1:1 – Commissioned Preacher

Posted on by Will

Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother,

Truth to Learn

We have a commission from our Lord to make disciples.

Behind the Words

The Greek word translated “called” is the noun klētos. It means “one who is called, invited, welcomed, or appointed.” It is not a verb, that is, Paul is not saying that he is “referred to as an apostle,” but that he is an “appointed apostle.”

“Apostle” is transliterated (a word of one language spelled with the letters of another language) from the Greek word apostolos. It is made up of apo, meaning “away from” and a form of the verb stellō, meaning “to send.” Thus, literally apostolos means “one who is sent away.” It refers to those disciples of Christ who saw Him personally and were sent away to preach the gospel message.

Thelēma is the Greek word translated “will.” When used of God it expresses “what God Himself does of His own good pleasure.”

“Sosthenes” is a proper name which means “of sound strength.” He was a ruler of the synagogue in Corinth.

Meaning Explained

This letter is identified in our Bible as the first one sent to the Corinthians. It appears, however, that there was a previous letter sent to them from Paul (1 Corinthians 5:9), though it has never been found. The writer immediately identifies himself as the Apostle Paul. As pointed out in the introduction, there is little doubt that this letter was sent by him, and a number of the early church fathers have attributed this letter to him in their own writings.

Paul refers to himself as “a called apostle.” Throughout the ages there have been many who have identified themselves as apostles, but in Scripture only those who have been sent in person by our Lord are identified as apostles. In fact, Paul makes it very clear that he did not simply give himself the title of an apostle, nor was he given that title by other members in the church. He was appointed as an apostle by the determined will of God Himself. His commission from God was to preach the gospel, and he tells us later in this letter:

For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for necessity is laid upon me; yes, woe is me if I do not preach the gospel! (1 Corinthians 9:16)

A careful reading of the eighteenth chapter of Acts will reveal that Sosthenes was the second ruler of the Jewish synagogue who was converted by Paul’s preaching. Crispus was converted first (Acts 18:8). Later, after Paul’s trial before the proconsul Gallio, Sosthenes (also called the ruler of the synagogue) was taken and beaten by the Jews. This man is now identified by Paul as his companion in writing this letter to the believers in Corinth, and he is identified as a brother in the Lord (a Christian).

Application

We are not all apostles, but we have all been given a commission from our Lord to make disciples, to baptize those who believe, and to teach all things concerning our Lord Jesus Christ (Matthew 18:19, 20). This commission binds us to our duty just as much as Paul was bound to his. Woe to us if we do not make disciples and teach God’s truth!

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2013 Will Krause. All rights reserved