Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, 2 which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, 3 concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh 4 and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord,5 through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, 6 including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ, 7 To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul, as a slave of Christ, has been given the vocation of apostle. This is a specialized position in the Kingdom of God. The role of apostle is one that has specific qualifications. Paul became an apostle not by man’s authority, but when Christ himself knocked Paul to the ground and blinded him on his road to Damascus. Paul was called to this vocation and was given the authority to speak for God concerning matters of the gospel, the church and the life of the Christian. In other words, when Paul writes he is standing in the place of the old prophets who said “Thus says the Lord…” This means when we read his works (Romans – Philemon) we should treat them as word of God handed down from us through the apostle Paul, the spoke-person for Christ in the matters of faith and godliness.
That was Paul’s vocation, apostle, but we have all been given vocations in this life – banker, mechanic, accountant, baker, husband, wife, parent, and grand-parent. Now none of these vocations have the same authority of an apostle in matters of the church, but all of these vocations have been provided to us as a calling of God. Whatever you are doing in this life that is what God has called you to do, therefore do it will all diligence and honor to the one who has called you. Or as Paul has said elsewhere, whatever you do, do it to the glory of God.
Ancient Words 