The Ministry Call:
The Calling that comes from God has been demonstrated in the biblical accounts of both the Old and New Testaments. There are different variety of different callings that we can see the evidences in these accounts. There is the call of the salvation that God has called us to him to become a believer because of Jesus’s work on the cross that gave forgiveness of our sins for fellowship and reconciliation to God. (Romans 3:23–24) There is also the call for service which Is active when believers gather together and active gifts of the Holy Spirit is expressed and edifies the Body. (1 Corinthians 12:7, 11) Lastly, there are the offices as the call for ministry, which is for those who are set apart to build up the rest of the body of Christ for the ministry. (Ephesians 4:7–16)
The Call of The Believer:
Because of our sinful state, we are enemies to God and won’t be able to notice our need for a savior unless a messenger comes with the gospel and explains to us the ways of Salvation. God calls people and gives the opportunity for people to know Jesus and to receive the salvation given to us by the sacrifice Jesus provided at the cross. We see two examples throughout the Book of Acts where people got called by God to share the good news of Jesus. First, We see in the book of Acts that Philip had an opportunity to present the good news to the eunuch. (Acts 8:35) Because of his obedience to the Holy Spirit regarding this opportunity, there was a messenger that brought the good news to an individual which brought salvation. Second, we can see in the Book of Acts regarding Paul’s being put in prison and encounters the Philippian Jailer. There was a shift within the jail cell that God was letting Paul escape from prison causing earthquakes to the point that even scared the jailer. He was about the kill himself but Paul intervene and the Jailer asked Paul how He can be saved. (Acts 16:30) God planed this out due to Paul being the messenger to represent the good news caused even the jailer’s family to be saved. This is a call that awakens us our need for the good news and knowing what Jesus has done. Without this call, we won’t be able to go through the additional calls that God may use His people.
The Call of the Service:
We as individuals who gather together for the purpose to worship God have an active role. Each of us has been given a gift from God to be able to express His Glory in our lives through those abilities and talents. (1 Corinthians 12:7, 11) There are both administrative gifts and spiritual gifts that each believer can express when it comes to gatherings and services. (Romans 12:3–8, 1 Corinthians 12:28) We must have this mindset that God has called us each to do a function, Timothy had struggles with His own gift that He received from ordination. (2 Timothy 1:6) I believe what Paul is saying to Timothy could benefit us as well when it comes to our gifts and talents when it comes to the call of service. Paul tells Timothy to fan the flame which means to actually use His gift. We service each other when we function together as a Body, which is important why God designed us with gifts.
The Call of the Offices:
The next calling that God offers is those who are chosen for this specific task. These are people who are called to equip those who are gathered for ministry. Certain movements call them offices or the terminology called “Five-Fold Ministry” when I come to these specific tasks. (Ephesians 4:7–16) They are found in the Book of Ephesians and emphasizes on the Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor, and Teacher. People vary on the interpretations regarding these callings as some believe that Apostles and Prophets are obsolete. While some of the Charismatic and Pentecostal movements recognize those offices are valid for today. We see Evangelist, Pastor, and Teacher to be the main focus when it comes to those who do not believe the following others have positions like pastor, professor, or someone who preaches at different churches. While the other side of the belief of Apostle and Prophets are those who are overseers of different churches and Prophets who are the messenger that God speaks regarding the future. Whatever belief you tend to follow about the ceasing of the Apostolic Gifts or if you believe in all the function: They all need to know the Counsel of God, Following the biblical standards of the overseers and deacon and set an example for others to follow.(2 Timothy 2:15, 1 Timothy 3:1-13, Titus 1:5-9) This is why I believe in Ordination as a universal function for whichever office the person is trying to pursue because they have gone through testing and examination regarding theology, doctrine, and practice.
My Faith Journey 