Are the Romans “called to belong to” or “called by” Jesus Christ?

Explanation:

Paul writes that his audience, the Roman Christians, are called to belong to Jesus Christ. The term for call is often used by Paul in a technical sense to mean called by God for a particular purpose.⁵ We can detect this usage in several passages including Romans 4:17; Romans 8:28, Romans 8:30; Romans 9:24; 1 Corinthians 1:9; 1 Corinthians 7:17–18, 1 Corinthians 7:20–22, 1 Corinthians 7:24; Galatians 1:6, Galatians 1:15; Galatians 5:8; 1 Thessalonians 5:24; 1 Timothy 6:12; 2 Timothy 1:9–10.

For example, in Romans 4:17, Paul writes that God called into existence the things that do not exist. Likewise, in Romans 8:28, Paul writes that all things work for the good for those who are called according to God’s purpose. Also, in Romans 9:24 he refers to those whom God has called, not only from the Jews by also the Gentiles.⁶ Finally in 1 Corinthians 1:9, Paul says the Corinthians were called by God into fellowship with his Son. Given that the term for call is a technical term having to do with God summoning one to a particular purpose, it is clear that Paul is saying God summons the Romans to belong to Christ Jesus. This implies that belonging to Christ is not up to the Romans, but up to God’s initiative.⁷

Counterargument:

When Paul writes called to belong to Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ is in the genitive case. The function of the genitive here is likely that of possession, so Paul is referring to those who belong to Jesus Christ. Thus, we should translate the phrase the called of Jesus Christ.⁸ In other words, Paul is not saying that God calls them to belong to Jesus Christ, but he is labelling them as the ones who believe, that is, the called of Jesus Christ. Bringing it all together, Paul says that he was called an apostle to bring about the obedience of faith, even among the called of Jesus Christ, that is, those who already believe.

Response to counterargument:

While it is true that the genitive is likely that of possession, and that by referring to the Roman Christians as called of Jesus Christ Paul suggests that they are already Christians who belong to Christ, we cannot overlook Paul’s technical use of call. By including the phrase call, Paul not only signals that he writes to believers who already belong to Christ, but that they belong to Christ because of the will of God. It is important that the Roman Christians recognize that they belong to Christ because of the will of God, as it demonstrates their dependence on God, and infers that the Gentiles were called to be God’s people, just as the Israelites were.⁹ So, Paul is labelling the Roman Christians not simply as those who belong to Jesus Christ, but as those who were called by God to belong to Jesus Christ.

Explanation:

When Paul refers to those who were called to belong to Jesus Christ, we can detect that he means those who were called by God to belong to Jesus Christ. One way we can detect this is by noticing Paul uses the same noun call in Romans 1:1. There Paul writes that he is a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, set apart for God. Of course, we know from Galatians 1:15 that Paul was called to be an apostle in the sense that he was set apart, even before he was born. So, being called an apostle was not something Paul chose for himself but transpired as an act of God’s will. In other words, Paul is not simply labelled an apostle, or invited to be one, but he is set apart by God before birth to be one. Now, Paul uses the same noun in Romans 1:6 to say that his audience was called to belong to Jesus Christ. Likely, Paul uses the same noun twice in order to signal to the Romans that just as Paul was called by God to be an apostle, so the Romans are called by God to belong to Jesus Christ.¹⁰

Counterargument:

Paul not only uses the noun call in Romans 1:1 and Romans 1:6 but he also uses it in Romans 1:7. There, Paul refers to all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints. Likely, we ought to understand Romans 1:6 in relation to Romans 1:7. Putting the context together, we note that Paul is saying that he was made an apostle to bring about the obedience of faith to those called to belong to Jesus Christ, that is, to those in Rome who are called by God to be saints. Thus, Romans 1:6 introduces the fact that Paul is to bring about the obedience of faith to those in Rome, those who are called to Jesus Christ, that is, called to be saints. In other words, when Paul says that the Romans are called to belong to Jesus Christ, he likely has in mind that they were called to be saints, that is, holy ones of Jesus Christ.

Response to counterargument:

This counterargument misses Paul’s intent in Romans 1:6. Paul has made clear that he was called to be an apostle (Romans 1:1), and that his apostleship has to do with bringing about the obedience of faith among all the nations. In other words, Paul is an apostle to the Gentiles. Now, Paul points all of this out because he is establishing the authority of his teaching so that the Christians in Rome who receive his letter will develop in the faith. Thus, to affirm that Paul expects the Christians in Rome to recognize his apostolic authority, he says that they too were called by God to belong to Jesus Christ (Romans 1:6). In other words, in the same way that Paul was called by God to be an apostle, so the Romans were called by God to belong to Jesus Christ, and so the Romans fall under the sphere of Paul’s apostleship.¹¹ Since Paul is connecting his call with the Romans’ call in order to establish his apostolic authority, it is unlikely that he means the Romans were called to be the holy ones of Jesus Christ. Rather, he likely means that they were called by God to belong to Jesus Christ.

Given that Paul often use call or its related verb to call to denote God’s summoning for a purpose, it is hard to see what the weakness of this view might be. It is possible to debate over the nature of God’s call, as in whether or not his call is resistible, but minimally, that the call to belong to Jesus Christ is initiated by God seems undeniable.

Explanation:

Paul is an apostle in order to bring about the obedience of faith. He recognizes that the Romans to whom he writes are already believers, but in this letter he is going to present them with the gospel once again. In other words, through Paul’s letter, Jesus Christ is going to call the Romans, and they ought to respond with faith and obedience.¹²

Counterargument:

This argument contends that we should translate the Greek as called by Jesus Christ. The problem with this translation is that a typical aspect of Paul’s theology is that God the Father is the one who does the calling.^13,14 In other words, it is the Father who summons us to belong to Jesus Christ. As we read in Romans 8:30, those whom God predestined he also called to be justified and glorified.¹⁵

Response to counterargument:

Jesus Christ is God, so it is plausible that Jesus Christ himself calls people to faith. We know that during his ministry Jesus called people to repent and believe (Mark 1:15), so it is not outside the purview of the Son to call to faith.

Explanation:

Most likely, when Paul writes that he is an apostle among you who who are called to belong to Jesus Christ, he means that he is an apostle among those who are called by Jesus Christ. What Paul means is that through his letter to the Romans, Jesus Christ is calling the Romans to faithful obedience. This is not the only time Jesus Christ uses Paul to call people to obedience. For example, in Galatians 5:8, Paul reminds the Galatians not to be persuaded by things that are not from him who calls them. And in 1 Thessalonians 2:12, Paul encourages the Thessalonians to walk in a manner worthy of their calling.¹⁶ Similarly, the Romans were called by Jesus Christ and will be called by him again to obedience through Paul’s letter.

Counterargument:

The problem with this argument is that the passages it produces do not support its case. This view argues that Paul is saying he is an apostle among those who are being called by Jesus Christ. In other words, Jesus Christ is calling people to something in the present, and the Romans are among those people. At the same time, Paul is an apostle to those people so likely Paul is saying that Jesus Christ is calling the Romans to something through Paul’s letter. Aside from the fact that it is not clear on this view what Jesus Christ is calling the Romans to, the passages used to support it are not relevant to the case. For this argument seems to choose passages where the term verb form of the noun call is used, and then says that these verses show that Paul was used by Jesus Christ to call people. Unfortunately, simply using the noun form of the verb to call is not enough to show that Jesus Christ uses Paul to call people to certain things. Rather, we have to read the whole verse in context to determine its meaning. When we read Galatians 5:8 in context, Paul is saying that the gospel is not about circumcision or the law, but faith by the Spirit. He then says that believing otherwise is not from him who calls them. In other words, Paul says in Galatians 5:8 that God calls the Galatians to faith, and the notion that they ought to uphold circumcision is not from God. Paul is not saying that Jesus Christ calls them to something and Paul is the one through whom the calling is being done. Likewise, in 1 Thessalonians 2:12, Paul encourages the Thessalonians to walk in a manner worthy of God who calls them into his kingdom. In other words, God calls the Thessalonians into God’s kingdom, and they ought to walk according to that call. Paul is not saying Jesus Christ calls them to something through Paul. So these passages do not support the notion that in Romans 1:6, Paul says that he was appointed an apostle among those who are being called by Jesus Christ.

Response to counterargument:

The argument here is not that Paul says in Galatians 5:8 and 1 Thessalonians 2:12 that Jesus is calling them to something through Paul. Rather, the argument is that God calls the Galatians and Thessalonians to something, and he uses Paul to encourage them to obey this calling. The Galatians are being persuaded to adopt circumcision, and Paul calls them to recognize that this is not from him who calls. Likewise, the Thessalonians are called to the kingdom of God, so Paul encourages them to walk in a manner worthy of that call. Finally, the Romans are called to something by Jesus Christ, a calling which will be outlined in Paul’s letter, and Paul will call them to obedience and faith in the calling.

The weakness of this view is that it overlooks Paul's technical usage of the term call. When Paul uses the term, he often has in mind God summoning one for a purpose. If Paul wants us to understand call in the context of Romans 1:6 differently, this argument ought to explain to us how we know Paul is getting away from his normal usage. Unfortunately, this argument does not address Paul’s technical usage of call in other passages, which suggests it simply did not consider the fact that call is a technical term for Paul.