humanity. For instance, if you were to tell me that you were a teacher I would know automatically that you were distinct or different from just any other person because you belong to a particular profession. So it would be with any vocation or profession. A calling does that and the calling of Cod to be a member of the Body of Christ contains that special concept. The people at Cor inth who knew Christ, despite their circumstances and patterns of liv ing, were distinguished through the shed blood of Christ, from the normal group of individuals who lived at Corinth. 2. A calling also identifies a com mon concern. If you get together with a group of women who have raised children, they can talk about clothes, schooling, meals, child hood diseases, etc. There is a com mon concern or a common interest that binds them together. 3. A calling marks a man. If you are known to have a certain skill and your church is in a building program, you will probably be used in that building program. A plumber will probably be used as a consultant or to do a large por tion of the work himself. If you are a lawyer, I am sure that you have been consulted by Christians or Christian organizations many times on matters that affect the local church. Your calling sets you apart and people expect you to live up to your profession. If you are a member of the Body of Christ — a member of the “church"—you were literally called out of the mass of humanity. You are distinguished and separated from man in general. You are iden tified with a common cause in Christ and are a marked individual.
Verse two also says, "To them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus." The word sanctified has the idea of dedicating or setting apart. Almost a year ago La Mirada dedicated its new community library. At that time the library was set apart to serve the community of La Mirada by bringing to them printed and audiovisual materials. The word sanctify carries the basic idea of "dedicating" or "setting apart." Indeed, we are dedicated, we are set apart for a particular function. An individual who is set apart^ sanctified, or dedicated to serve the Lord Jesus Christ ought to con duct himself in such a fashion. Paul is both addressing them in their exalted position in Christ and chal lenging them to live acceptably. He is reminding them that despite the problems in their life, through the shed blood of Christ, they are still a dedicated part of the body. Further, verse two says they are "called to be saints." Here Paul takes us back to the concept of the church. These Christians are called out of the world to be a body of the believers or the "church" in that area, they are also called out to be saints. Then also the word "saints" is related to sanctified in a special way. In the Creek the words are related. A sanctified per son is one who is set apart — he is now referred to as a saint. Many of the Greeks were devoted to the gods of their day and carried on a lifetime of service to their gods. Such a person was a "saint." These individuals at Corinth were called to be holy, to be pure, to be de voted to the Lord Jesus Christ — they are His saints. We may be confronted with sim ilar pressures that bombarded the church at Corinth. The problems of Page 7
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