Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God… (Romans 1:1)

“What do you do for a living?” It is a common question asked when people are meeting for the first time. The answer reveals something of what you think your purpose in life might be. While it is not the only identity marker of importance, it is a significant one given the amount of time and energy one spends in this area. The biblical language for this part of our lives is vocation or calling.

Paul had a calling. He received it after the Lord met him on the Damascus Road. When the Lord told Ananias to go to the blinded Paul and to lay hands on him, Ananias was initially reluctant. But then the Lord told him, Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel (Acts 9:15).  It is clear that Paul’s calling was from God, a point he argued strenuously in the opening chapters of the Epistle to the Galatians. 

Paul’s calling was to be an apostle. He literally was “a sent one”. Now, there is a sense in which all disciples of Jesus are apostles as we are sent into the world to be witnesses. We are little ‘a’ apostles. Paul’s calling, however, was to a big ‘A’ apostleship. This was a group of men chosen by the Lord Jesus to serve a special leadership role in the early formation of the church. Such callings no longer continue as leadership in the church has passed on to elders.

Now, someone could read this language at the beginning of the Epistle to the Romans and think Paul is title-dropping. That is, he is exerting his apostolic authority to basically tell the Roman disciples that they must listen to what he says. But I think that would be to misinterpret Paul’s intent. Remember he starts his introduction by identifying himself as a servant of Christ Jesus. Any authority he has as an apostle flows out of his role as a servant. His authority is a derived one and exercised under the authority of the Lord, so he is not free to simply say, do, or demand whatever he wants.

And what should he be doing as an apostle? The next phrase illuminates. The primary work of an apostle, the reason he has been set apart, is to give himself to the gospel. And this is what Paul did. Read the book of Acts. Even when he was working as a tentmaker to support his mission work or when he was locked up in jail, Paul was about the business of spreading the gospel.

Saints, it can be easy for us to look at the Apostle Paul and think of him as some super Christian. But the Bible makes it clear that every one of us has a calling from God. It will be different from Paul and different from many others. Paul’s calling was different from ours but not better or more important. Thus, Paul himself makes clear that while we are part of one body, each of us has a different role or calling to fulfill and that no calling or gifting can be deemed unnecessary (cf. 1 Corinthians 12:14-26).

And while Paul’s calling was to give himself fully to the proclamation of the gospel, we, as fellow disciples of Jesus, are also called to share the gospel wherever God places us. We do this in the way we go about the work we are given to do, regardless of whether we are called to be teachers, engineers, nurses, etc. We do our work unto the Lord (Colossians 3:23). We do this in the way we treat the people we work with and for, remembering that they are image bearers of God and that we are called to love our neighbors as ourselves. And when the Lord provides opportunity, we are prepared to give a reason for the hope that is in us (1 Peter 3:15).