Your Station is Your Calling
Introduction: The Sanctity of the Ordinary
We live in a restless age. It is an age of frantic self-invention. We are told from every quarter that our identity is something we must construct, something we must achieve, something we must discover by looking inward. The modern world tells you to find your "true self" as though it were hiding under a couch cushion. The result of this is a pervasive discontentment, a constant itch to be somewhere else, someone else, doing something else. We are like children who cannot sit still. We believe the good life is always one step away, in another job, another city, another relationship, another set of circumstances.
Into this hurricane of anxious self-creation, the Apostle Paul speaks a word of radical, stabilizing grace. He tells us that our identity is not something we invent, but something we receive. Our calling from God is not a future event we are striving toward, but a present reality we are to inhabit. God does not call you to become someone else before you can serve Him. He calls you, right where you are, to serve Him as the person you are, in the circumstances He has assigned to you.
This is a profoundly counter-cultural message. The world says, "Change your circumstances to find your calling." The gospel says, "Your circumstances are your calling." This does not mean we are locked into a fatalistic stupor. As we will see, Paul is no advocate for passivity. But it does mean that the primary arena for our sanctification, our obedience, and our witness is the unglamorous, uneventful, ordinary life that God has sovereignly assigned to each of us. Your family, your job, your marital status, your social position, these are not obstacles to your spiritual life. They are the very substance of it. They are the curriculum God has assigned for your holiness.
The Corinthian church was full of spiritual showboats. They were obsessed with the spectacular gifts. They were status-conscious. And so Paul's teaching here is a bucket of cold water on their spiritual pretensions. He is telling them that true spirituality is not found in escaping your station in life, but in glorifying God within it. Whether you are a Jew or a Gentile, a slave or a free man, married or single, the fundamental reality of your life is not your outward condition but your inward calling in Christ. And that calling transforms everything, not by removing you from your circumstances, but by reorienting you within them.
The Text
Only, as the Lord has assigned to each one, as God has called each, in this manner let him walk. And so I direct in all the churches. Was any man called when he was already circumcised? He is not to become uncircumcised. Has anyone been called in uncircumcision? He is not to be circumcised. Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but what matters is the keeping of the commandments of God. Each man must remain in that condition in which he was called.
Were you called while a slave? Do not worry about it. But if you are able also to become free, rather do that. For he who was called in the Lord while a slave, is the Lord’s freedman. Likewise he who was called while free, is Christ’s slave. You were bought with a price; do not become slaves of men. Brothers, each one is to remain with God in that condition in which he was called.
(1 Corinthians 7:17-24 LSB)
The Regulative Principle of Contentment (v. 17)
Paul begins with a foundational principle that governs the entire Christian life.
"Only, as the Lord has assigned to each one, as God has called each, in this manner let him walk. And so I direct in all the churches." (1 Corinthians 7:17)
This is the central thesis. Your "assignment" from the Lord is your station in life. It is the set of circumstances, relationships, and duties that God, in His meticulous providence, has distributed to you. This is not random. It is a divine apportionment. Your "calling" is the summons of the gospel that came to you within that assignment. God did not wait for you to get your life in order before He called you. He called you in the middle of the mess.
The command, then, is to "walk in this manner." That is, to live out your Christian faith within the specific context of that assignment. Do not see your circumstances as a waiting room for real life to begin. This is it. This is the place of your obedience. Notice Paul's authority here: "And so I direct in all the churches." This is not a helpful suggestion for the spiritually neurotic. This is an apostolic command for all Christians in all places. It is a universal principle. Your calling in Christ does not obliterate your earthly station; it sanctifies it.
This is the doctrine of vocation. Your work, your family life, your citizenship, these are all holy callings. The plumber who has been called by God glorifies God by being a faithful plumber. The mother who has been called by God glorifies God by faithfully raising her children. The temptation is to think that "spiritual" work is what pastors and missionaries do, and everyone else is just biding their time. That is a pagan lie. All of life is to be lived before the face of God, Coram Deo, and your specific assignment is the stage on which you are to perform for an audience of One.
The Irrelevance of Religious Status (vv. 18-19)
Paul then provides his first example, which deals with the most volatile religious and cultural marker of his day: circumcision.
"Was any man called when he was already circumcised? He is not to become uncircumcised. Has anyone been called in uncircumcision? He is not to be circumcised. Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but what matters is the keeping of the commandments of God." (1 Corinthians 7:18-19 LSB)
In the first-century world, the division between Jew and Gentile was a massive chasm. Circumcision was the visible sign of that division. For a Jew to become a Christian, there was a temptation to erase his Jewishness to fit in with the Gentiles. Some even underwent a painful surgical procedure to reverse their circumcision. On the other hand, for a Gentile to become a Christian, the Judaizers insisted that he must first become a Jew, which meant being circumcised. They wanted to make Christianity a sub-department of Judaism.
Paul demolishes both positions with one swift blow. He says that in Christ, these external markers are rendered spiritually neutral. "Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing." The gospel is so radical that it relativizes all previous cultural and religious identities. Your identity is not in your ethnicity or your religious background. Your identity is in Christ.
So, what does matter? "The keeping of the commandments of God." This is crucial. Paul is not replacing an external ritual with a vague internal feeling. He is replacing a dead ritual with living obedience. True spirituality is not about what has been done to your body, but about what you are doing with your body. It is about actively obeying God's law, which is now written on your heart by the Spirit. The new covenant reality is not about external badges but about internal transformation that results in righteous living. Do not waste your energy trying to change your religious pedigree. Use your energy to obey God where you are.
The Principle of Remaining (v. 20)
Paul repeats the central principle for emphasis.
"Each man must remain in that condition in which he was called." (1 Corinthians 7:20 LSB)
This is the second time he has stated this. The "condition" refers to the station, the assignment. God called you as a carpenter? Remain a carpenter. God called you as a Roman citizen? Remain a citizen. The gospel does not demand a radical dislocation from your social position, but a radical reorientation within it. Your conversion is not an escape hatch from your ordinary life. It is the commissioning to live that ordinary life for a new King and a new purpose.
The Paradox of Christian Slavery (vv. 21-24)
Now Paul turns to his most jarring example: slavery. If this principle applies even here, it applies everywhere.
"Were you called while a slave? Do not worry about it. But if you are able also to become free, rather do that." (1 Corinthians 7:21 LSB)
This is astounding. To the modern ear, this sounds callous. But Paul is not endorsing slavery as an institution. He is addressing the individual Christian slave. His first command is, "Do not worry about it." Why? Because your external condition of slavery, as terrible as it may be, cannot touch your ultimate identity. Your spiritual reality transcends your social reality. Your master may own your time, but Christ owns your soul. This is a call to radical contentment, a deep trust in the sovereignty of God even in the most oppressive circumstances.
But Paul is not a stoic. He immediately adds, "But if you are able also to become free, rather do that." This is key. The gospel does not make us indifferent to earthly conditions. Freedom is preferable to slavery. It is a good gift. If a lawful and righteous opportunity for freedom presents itself, the slave should take it. This shows that while the gospel works within existing social structures, it also contains the seeds that will ultimately subvert and destroy unjust structures like chattel slavery. The gospel brings a spirit of liberty that, over time, works its way out into the social order. But the immediate priority is not social revolution, but spiritual fidelity.
Paul then explains the glorious paradox at the heart of Christian identity:
"For he who was called in the Lord while a slave, is the Lord’s freedman. Likewise he who was called while free, is Christ’s slave. You were bought with a price; do not become slaves of men. Brothers, each one is to remain with God in that condition in which he was called." (1 Corinthians 7:22-24 LSB)
This is a great reversal. The Christian slave is, in the most profound sense, a "freedman of the Lord." He has been emancipated from the ultimate slavery, which is slavery to sin and death. His earthly master is a temporary inconvenience. His true master has set him free. Conversely, the man who is socially free is, in the most profound sense, "Christ's slave." He has been purchased. He is not his own. His autonomy is an illusion. He joyfully belongs to another.
This levels the ground at the foot of the cross. In the church, the slave and the free man stand side-by-side as equals. One is the Lord's freedman, the other is the Lord's slave, and they are brothers. Their social distinctions, which mean everything in the world, mean nothing in the kingdom of God.
"You were bought with a price." This is the foundation of it all. The blood of Jesus Christ is the purchase price. Because you have been bought by God, you must "not become slaves of men." This is not a call to social insurrection. It is a call to ultimate allegiance. Even if you are an earthly slave, you must not give your ultimate loyalty, your conscience, your worship, to your human master. You serve him, but you worship God alone. For the free man, it means you must not become enslaved to the opinions of others, to social pressures, to sinful ideologies, or to the pursuit of wealth. Your ultimate master is Christ.
And so he concludes by stating the principle for a third time, now with a crucial addition: "Brothers, each one is to remain with God in that condition in which he was called." The key is to remain "with God." It is not merely about staying in your circumstances, but about staying in fellowship with God within your circumstances. This is what transforms a mundane job into a holy vocation. This is what transforms an oppressive situation into an arena for demonstrating the power of the gospel. You are to walk with God in your assigned place.
Conclusion: Bloom Where You Are Planted
The message of this passage is a profound relief and a weighty challenge. The relief is that you do not have to go on a frantic search for God's will for your life as though it were some hidden treasure. Look around you. Your calling is your current address. It is your current family situation. It is your current job. Your assignment is to be faithful right there.
The challenge is that there are no excuses. You cannot say, "I will be holy when my circumstances improve." You cannot say, "I will serve the Lord once I get a different job, or get married, or get out of this difficult situation." God commands you to be holy now. He commands you to serve Him now. Your present circumstances are not a bug; they are a feature. They are the divinely designed gymnasium for your sanctification.
Therefore, stop looking for the exit. Stop dreaming of being someone else, somewhere else. Look your life square in the face, the life that God has given you, and recognize it as your holy calling. The circumcised man, the uncircumcised man, the slave, the free man, all find their ultimate identity not in their condition, but in their calling. They are slaves of Christ. They are freedmen of the Lord. They were bought with a price.
So, embrace your assignment. Walk with God in it. Whether you are changing diapers, or writing code, or driving a truck, or ruling a nation, do it all as a slave of Christ. For it is in the faithful stewardship of the ordinary that we display the extraordinary glory of the gospel.