The Meetings and Spiritual Exercise of the Local Church

Calling on the Lord

8. Calling on the Lord

Calling on the Lord—that is, calling on the name of the Lord—began with the fourth generation of mankind (Gen. 4:26) and has continued to be a practice of the Lord’s loving seekers, as revealed throughout the entire Bible (Psa. 99:6; Isa.12:4; Joel 2:32; Rom. 10:12-13; 2 Tim. 2:22). In the passages below, Witness Lee discusses this scriptural spiritual exercise, by which we can touch and experience Christ in a practical way to enjoy the Lord’s riches.

In the following excerpt, Witness Lee briefly outlines the New Testament record of the practice of calling on the Lord:

Calling on the name of the Lord was practiced by the New Testament believers beginning on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:21). While Stephen was being stoned to death, he was calling on the name of the Lord (Acts 7:59). The New Testament believers practiced calling on the Lord (Acts 9:14; 22:16; 1 Cor. 1:2; 2 Tim. 2:22). Saul of Tarsus received authority from the chief priests to bind all that called on the name of the Lord (Acts 9:14). This indicates that all the early saints were Jesus-callers. Their calling on the name of the Lord was a sign, a mark, that they were Christians. If we become those who call on the name of the Lord, our calling will mark us out as Christians.

(Witness Lee, Calling, 3-4)

The apostle Paul speaks of calling on the Lord in several of his Epistles, as Witness Lee explains:

Paul the apostle stressed the matter of calling when he wrote the book of Romans. He said, “For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord is Lord of all and rich to all who call upon Him; for whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Rom. 10:12-13). Paul also spoke of calling on the Lord in 1 Corinthians when he wrote the words, “With all those who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ in every place, who is theirs and ours” (1 Cor. 1:2). Furthermore, in 2 Timothy he told Timothy to pursue spiritual things with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart (2:22). By all of these verses we can see that in the first century the Christians practiced calling on the name of the Lord very much. Therefore, throughout the Old Testament as well as in the early days of the Christian age, the saints called on the Lord’s name.

(Witness Lee, Calling, 4-5)

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