Called According to Paul: Ephesians

An explanation of this series of posts can be found here. You'll find the previous eight posts in the series listed under Current Series in the sidebar.

In this post, I'm going to look at all the uses of the word called or calling in Ephesians in one fell swoop. The first time Paul uses this word is in Ephesians 1:18:

...since the eyes of your heart have been enlightened - so that you may know what is the hope of his calling, what is the wealth of his glorious inheritance in the saints... (NET)

I see this as being similar to the other times Paul tell us that God's call is to something: righteousness or peace or holiness, etc. God's call, as the term is used here, is an appointment, and in this case it's an appointment to hope.

Now, let's skip over to chapter 4 of Ephesians, where the word called or calling is used several times in the first few verses.

I, therefore, the prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live worthily of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you too were called to the one hope of your calling....

Once again, we see the idea that our calling is like an appointment. Those called have been appointed to something, and they are called upon to live in a way that is in keeping with their appointed status. It seems that here, as we also saw in 1 Corinthians 1 and 7 (and other texts), called and calling are being used as sort of synonyms (or metonymies) for salvation. Those who are being saved are being urged to live in a way that reflects God's saving work within them, or that reflects their status as ones being saved.

Notice, too, that in verse 4, just as in Ephesians 1:18 above, Paul says that the call is to hope.

What can you add?