"The upward call of God in Christ Jesus."
Text: Philippians 3:14
THE MULTI-FACETED CALL OF GOD
The apostle made a good number of references to the Call of God. Three may be highlighted:-
1. The call to salvation
2. The call to suffering
3. The call to service
But there were many other aspects to be considered if we are to study the Doctrine of the Call of God. In any case, the following text must be added to our understanding of the call of God.
“I press toward the goal for the prize of
the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 3:14
In every aspect of God’s calling, the direction is always “upward!”
THE UPWARD CALL OF GOD
1. The call of God
a) It is ever “an upward call”.
i) To leave the mundane world.
ii) To cleave to that which is eternal and holy.
b) Paul wrote about this thought in his epistle to the Colossians.
i) The believer is urged to meditate on things above.
ii) He is to train his heart to stay focused on heavenly things (Colossians 3:1-2).
c) This upward call may be viewed as:-
i) A prize
ii) A great goal
2. Responding to God’s upward call
a) Paul presses on.
i) The present tense suggests “linear action”.
ii) Paul was continually pressing on to obtain this heavenly prize.
b) The word “press” shares the same root word as the word “persecute” (Greek “dioko”)
i) Once Paul persecuted Christians because he was spiritually blind.
ii) Now he was “pressing on” with the kind of zeal he had when he was persecuting the church.