The calling of Matthew the Apostle

[arron]

i believe tha GOD called and chose the twelve decipeles even though HE know judas would betray HIM H needed s ome one who would do it and judas was the one who was so given over to satan that he did it. he was not chosenor had to do this but GOD knew he would and so in that sense he was called ( he was called to do right) and he was chosen ( after he refused to do right) to be theone who would betray HIM

[tsth]

I thought I'd save some time for others. Here's Ephesians 1

1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, 2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will-- 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace 8 that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. 9 And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10 to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment--to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ. 11 In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, 12 in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. 13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession--to the praise of his glory.

15 For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 16 I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. 17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. 18 I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, 20 which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. 22 And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.

In His Love,

Suzanne

[tsth]

Dear Justthefacts,

It is most certainly something to think about. I'm not sure what my response is. But, it does seem to be a reasonable conclusion.

In His Love,

Suzanne

[EricH]

An excellent book to read in this regard is Jesus Christ Disciplemaker, by Bill Hull. He outlines the call of the disciples and brings all 4 gospel accounts together. Great post, Jade

[~Julia~]

Now the question is, what have we done in our lives since Christ has called us? Now that we are believers, what is our response? Are we evangelizing and serving the Lord?

[whirlwind]

You are on the right path whirlwind, but chosen when? Is it because that the voice that said, Follow Me, and the face of the man that was looking at him, suddenly came into Matthews rememberence, and at that instance, He knew the voice and the face that he hadnt seen or heard for such a long time. What is one of our Lords titles. Emanuale, which means, God with us in the flesh. Matthew was chosen by our Father before the foundation of this world age was ever laid. So were the rest of the Apostles. Eph. chapt 1 Let me hear your imput tsth and whirlwind. God Bless

Chosen by our Father before the foundation of this world age!

You may be opening a can of worms but here goes

What does it mean "before the foundation of this age?" As Ephesians 1:4-5 tells us:

According as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will.

And also:

Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.

29.For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.

30.Moreover whom He did predestinate, them He also called; and whom He called, them He also justified: and whom He justified, them He also glorified.

Those that God foreknew (from the first age) are those that stood against Satan when he rebelled. They are justified and glorified.....they are predestined in this age to do what God wants them to do. He will lead, guide and direct their life. Those of free will He will not interfere with unless they ask.

The elect that have died before end times are called the "remnant" and they take God's Word forward. We know that God is "no respector of persons." (Acts 10:34) So, the question is why would He have "chosen" and how could He foreknow and have justfied some if He is "no respector of persons?" He would not....they earned this in the first age and He knows He can count on them again in the end of days!

These elect are those that will be "delivered up"...(Matthew 24:9, Mark 13:9 and Luke 21:12) for a testimony. They will allow the Holy Spirit to speak through them and that will bring many that have been deceived by Satan to know the truth.

So...Matthew, as the others, were called and chosen from the first age. That is why he dropped everything he was doing and followed Christ. They had a destiny just as those that are being called now have. I believe that the following scripture applies to this event:

Mark 10:31 But many that are first shall be last; and the last first."

Those, from the first age (those chosen in the first age), will be in this last generation to do God's work. (This is what the parable in Matthew 20:8-16 is about, I believe)

I just lightly skimmed this topic and it is very deep....I hope I didn't confuse more than clarify but there is a reason the "elect" are the elect and a reason they are called and chosen while others are blinded.

.........Whirlwind

[ayin jade]

Whirlwind, you have a carefully crafted paper tiger, but it holds no weight. He didnt know us before this world because we existed in some previous world. That would make reincarnation fact. That also contradicts the bible where it is written

Heb 9:27 And as it is appointed to men once to die, but after this the judgment,

How could man die more than once in some previous age that you claim existed? That flies in the face of scripture. The concept of having previous earth ages is not supported by scripture either.

[whirlwind]

Whirlwind, you have a carefully crafted paper tiger, but it holds no weight. He didnt know us before this world because we existed in some previous world. That would make reincarnation fact. That also contradicts the bible where it is written

Heb 9:27 And as it is appointed to men once to die, but after this the judgment,

How could man die more than once in some previous age that you claim existed? That flies in the face of scripture. The concept of having previous earth ages is not supported by scripture either.

Thank you for your reply Ayin Jade,

I agree...there is NO reincarnation, we are "appointed once to die."

I disagree when you say there was no previous age as it is supported in scripture, including those of Ephesians and Romans given in the previous post about the elect. He tells us that he foreknew, predestinated and justified them.....when, where and why did He do that if not before this age?

I understand that it is not often taught....but it is true!

........Whirlwind

[ayin jade]

He foreknew us because He knows all past present and future. That we have lived in a past age is not supported by scripture.

[ayin jade]

Did we exist as souls prior to Adam's creation?

One of the several false doctrines of the Shepherd's Chapel is the teaching that all people had an existence prior to being here on earth in what is called the first earth age. According to Shepherd's Chapel, there are three earth ages:

* First: Beginning of all things up to fall of Satan. This fall caused incredible destruction and waste. We preexisted our earthly existence in soul bodies. Those preexistent ones who rebelled against Lucifer and sided with God are called the elect. Gen. 1:1.

* Second: After the fall of Satan, God had to remake the world. It consists of Gen.1:2 through Revelation where all the world, except the elect, will accept the antichrist.

* Third: Begins with the establishment of the millennium, proceeds through its end, and extends into eternity. During the millennium, the elect are in spirit bodies, not physical ones.

These "ages" are based, in part, on what is called the Gap Theory. The Gap Theory states that between Gen. 1:1 and 1:2 was a huge gap of time. The theory states that there was a great destruction in verse one and a great rebuilding in verse two. This gap is also claimed to encompass the geologic epochs in which the dinosaurs lived.

The Shepherd's Chapel teaches that we were created in the first earth age, a time before the fall, where we existed in the form of soul bodies. The problem with this is that there is no biblical support for this position. In fact, the Bible contradicts this soul-body idea.

"it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 45So also it is written, "The first man, Adam, became a living soul." The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. 46However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural; then the spiritual. 47The first man is from the earth, earthy; the second man is from heaven" (1 Cor. 15:44-47).

Paul is teaching here that the first "body" we have is the natural, or the physical body. After that comes the spiritual body, which is a resurrected body. Paul is telling us about our existence, about our bodies, and about the order of their existence. Clearly, the teaching that we had soul-bodies prior to this life is wrong. The Shepherd's Chapel position is simply not biblical.

http://www.carm.org/chapel/pre_adamic.htm

Your teachings are in line with shepherds chapel, a known cult with many false teachings. I urge you to leave those false teachings behind.