κλῆσις

From the study of 1 Corinthians 1:26

Range of meaning

A calling or summons: an invitation (for example to a meal), a call to appear, sometimes the act of naming. In Paul it is almost always God's call into his people and its blessings: Romans 11:29, Philippians 3:14, Ephesians 4:1, 4, 2 Thessalonians 1:11. BDAG gives the main New Testament sense as 'invitation, call', and for 1 Cor 1:26 notes that it can stand for the called people themselves or the circumstances in which they were called.

Against the English

KJV, WEB and YLT have 'calling', which is accurate but now usually heard as 'vocation'. BSB ('the time of your calling') and NIV ('what you were when you were called') pin it to the moment of conversion and their social standing at that moment. NLT folds it into 'when God called you'.

How it drifted

Since the Reformation, 'calling' (German Beruf) has come to mean a person's station in life or occupation. Luther made that link largely through 1 Cor 7:20. Modern church language added the sense of an individual life-purpose ('find your calling'). Neither sense belongs to klēsis in 1:26.

Used elsewhere in the period

Paul's own usage is consistent: God's effective summons into his people (1 Cor 1:9 uses the cognate verb: 'God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son'). In wider Greek the word means a summons or invitation; Epictetus uses it of God summoning a person to bear witness (Diss. 1.29.49).

From the study of 2 Timothy 1:9

Range of meaning

A call or summons; an invitation (for example to a banquet); the act of calling someone into a status or relationship. In Paul's letters it is consistently God's summons that brings people into his people and into salvation (Romans 11:29; 1 Corinthians 1:26; Ephesians 1:18; 4:1, 4; Philippians 3:14). BDAG gives the main sense as 'invitation, call', especially God's call to salvation.

Against the English

English 'calling' now mostly means a vocation, career or personal life-mission ('find your calling', 'a calling to ministry'). The Greek word points to the act of being summoned by God and the new status that results. All believers share it; it is not a job assignment unique to one person.

How it drifted

In the Reformation, Luther's German Beruf ('calling') was deliberately applied to ordinary occupations to give them dignity. Later English 'vocation/calling' came to mean a career or a special ministry assignment. That sense was then read back into New Testament passages that are about God summoning people into his people.

Used elsewhere in the period

In classical and papyrus Greek, klēsis can mean an invitation to a meal or a legal summons. The Septuagint (the Greek Old Testament) uses kaleō for God calling Israel (Isaiah 41:9; 42:6; Hosea 11:1). 1 Corinthians 7:20 ('remain in the calling in which you were called') is the main verse behind the vocational reading, but even there klēsis most likely means the circumstances a person was in when God called them, not a job given as a calling.

From the study of Ephesians 1:18

Range of meaning

A call, summons or invitation, for example to a meal or into an assembly. In Paul it is God's effective summons that brings people into fellowship with himself and into his people (BDAG: 'invitation', 'calling').

Against the English

Modern 'calling' usually means a personal vocation, career or life purpose ('find your calling'). Paul means the single summons God issued to all believers. Ephesians 4:4 speaks of 'one hope of your calling', shared by all.

How it drifted

In the Reformation, Luther and others applied 'vocation' (German Beruf) to ordinary occupations, to give dignity to daily work. Over time English 'calling' came to mean mainly one's individual role or career, and that sense is now read back into verses like this.

Used elsewhere in the period

Romans 11:29 'the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable'; 1 Corinthians 1:26 'consider your calling, brothers'; Philippians 3:14 'the upward call of God'; Ephesians 4:1, 4. The verb kaleō is used throughout the Greek Old Testament for God calling Israel (Isaiah 41:9; 43:1).