LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2004, Page 382

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382 THEOLOGICAL DOCUMENTS—COMMISSION ON THEOLOGY AND CHURCH RELATIONS

Theology and Practice
of “the Divine Call’”!

God has established the office of the public ministry (Predig-
tamt, ministerium) for the purpose of proclaiming the Gospel in its
purity and administering the sacraments in accordance with the
Gospel (AC V). While these are not the only duties a holder of this
office may perform, they do constitute the heart and core of the of-
fice.’ The office is a divinely established ‘‘means,” in a sense, for
the administration of the means of grace. As Christ has established
the office of the public ministry, so he also places individuals into
that office (AC XIV). Accordingly, this placement into the office of
the public ministry has been designated historically as a “divine
call” or “call and ordination.”

The Biblical Witness

The New Testament says very little about the exact procedures
for placing someone into, or removing someone from, the office of
the public ministry (or any other offices, for that matter). Never-
theless, some principles may be drawn from information given in
certain narratives of the New Testament.

The Gospels

In Matthew 10 and Luke 9 Jesus commissions his disciples to a
limited sphere of service—initially among the Jews in Palestine but
with implications for their later ministry—though nothing more
specific is said.* This call anticipates a commission of the twelve
disciples with an expanded authority that proved to be unlimited in
scope'and not bound by time. At the end of Matthew Jesus com-
missions them to make disciples of all nations (28:16-20).‘ In the
Gospel of John Jesus establishes the ministry after his resurrection
by breathing on his disciples to give them authority to forgive and
retain sins (20:19-23). Though few specifics are given in these pas-
sages from the gospels regarding the call, the Lutheran Confessions
use them and other references as a scriptural-basis for the estab-
lishment of the pastoral office.

The Acts of the Apostles

In Acts it is clear that the disciples served in their office as apos-
tles until death. Acts also reveals that the apostles served the
proclamation of the Gospel in various locations at different times,
as they were summoned by God either directly (vision of Peter) or
through the people in keeping with their needs.

The first task confronting the apostles following Jesus’ ascen-
sion into heaven (Acts 1:20-23) was the selection of a person to
fill the vacancy left by Judas. In words from Psalm 109:8 [Septu-
agint, 108:8] the apostle Peter declares, “His office let another
take” (20). Peter lists two criteria (22) for the individual who would
take Judas’s place: (1) he must have been present from the begin-
ning of Jesus’ ministry; and (2) he must have been a witness of the
resurrection. The community puts forward a short list of two
names: Joseph, called Barsabbas, and Matthias. The disciples call
upon God “who knows the hearts of all” and then cast their lots “as
a mechanism for determining God’s choice”—a practice that had
been traditional in Judaism’ and present in the Old Testament
(1 Chr 25:8f.; 26:13f.).° Matthias becomes the first person selected
for the work of the Gospel in the Book of Acts. He was then
“counted in”? with the other eleven disciples. His selection as an
apostle was not merely a human decision.

The selection of seven men (Acts 6:1—6) to assist the apostles
describes the emergence of a new group of devoted Christians lead-
ing to an increase in the number of believers. Although their first
task of providing for the poor in the community was administra-
tive, they also turned out to be prophetic preachers. In fact, “they
are portrayed as prophets who continue the work of the twelve:

2004 Convention Workbook

they are filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, they preach God’s
word, they work signs and wonders among the people.”® Stephen
disputes with the Hellenistic Jews in Jerusalem. Philip preaches in
Samaria and Judea, where he catechized and baptized—tasks en-
trusted to the original disciples.

How were the seven selected? The twelve first summoned the
assembly of disciples and told them to “pick out from among you
seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom’”(Acts
6:3). The word translated “of good repute” (martyroumenos) in this
verse means to have one’s actions or character attested by others
(cf. Lk 4:22; Acts 10:22; 16:2; 22:12; 1 Tim 5:10; and 3 Jn 12).
The disciples then prayed and laid their hands on the seven, a prac-
tice by which they signal the transfer of authority.” Luke’s account
may well embody “the method of appointing ministers that was fa-
miliar to Luke himself: popular choice, approval by those already
ministers, and the laying on of hands. He would think this a good
pattern to follow—the pattern that must have been followed in the
past.””!

Pau] was called into service directly by Jesus, as was perhaps
also James, the brother of Jesus (1 Cor 15:7—8). The selection of
Paul was exceptional because he was called as an apostle before
Ananias baptized him, laid hands on him, and prayed (Acts
9:1-19). Paul received a thorough training prior to embarking on
his missionary and apostolic work.

He may very well have served as a pastor, perhaps in Arabia
(Gal 1:17), before Barnabas found him in Tarsus and brought him
to work in the church at Antioch (Acts 11:25-26). Together they
delivered to Judea a monetary collection for the poor (Acts
11:27-30).

After delivering the collection to the needy in Judea, Paul and
Barnabas are back at work in Antioch and thoroughly involved in
the life of the local Antiochean community where they labored,
prayed, and fasted for the next year (Acts 13).'' The Holy Spirit
then calls for Paul and Barnabas to be set aside for mission work in
what is now Turkey. The congregation fasted, prayed (cf. Lk 2:37;
5:33; Acts 14:23), and then laid hands on them (Acts 13:3). One
scholar suggests that this is not to be identified with a rabbinic or-
dination, but it is more generally an “installation” by which a man
is placed “in a particular sphere of service that differs in some re-
spects from that previously occupied.”"”

At the end of the first missionary journey, Paul and Barnabas
revisited the churches that they had established (Acts 14:21—23),

_ Strengthening the disciples and exhorting them to remain faithful.

They also appointed elders in every church. The word used for “‘ap-
pointed” in Acts 14:23 is a participial form of cheirotoneo.'? The
verb cheirotoneo means, literally, “to extend or stretch out the
hand.”'* The critical question here is this: who does the appointing
or selecting? The context would indicate that Paul and Barnabas
did the selecting or choosing, thereby appointing the presbyters for
the churches in Pisidia and Lycaonia. New Testament scholar C.
K. Barrett contends that “this was, no doubt, a kind of ordination, in
that it gave some Christians a special kind of responsibility and ser-
vice; cf. 6:6; 13:1-3; 20:17, 28.”"

Once again the combination “fasting and prayer” accompanies
the appointment, as was the case with the appointment of Paul and
Barnabas in Acts 13:2—3. They are presented to the Lord. The verb
paratith“emi in this passage (14:23) carries the sense of presenting
to another for safekeeping, that is, “to entrust.” So, the new minis-
ters are presented or entrusted to the Lord for safekeeping.!°

St. Paul’s usual practice must have been to appoint ministers in
the churches that he had established. He speaks of the Ephesian el-
ders or bishops as having been appointed by the Holy Spirit (Acts
20:28). This suggests that they were placed into their offices by the
same rite or process used for appointing elders in Antioch (Acts
14) and at the Jerusalem council (Acts 15:2, 22, 25). In Acts 15:22
Luke reports that “it seemed good to the apostles and the elders,