Called
As we continue our study of the covenant of redemption, in this issue, we will begin to look at the works of God that are essential in order that the elect reach the final destiny to which God has predestinated them. These works are listed as “called, justified, and glorified.” In this issue, we will consider God’s calling.
Previously, we have noted how God “foreknew” or “chose” a people to be his before the foundation of the world. Then we studied how God determined the final destiny of the elect beforehand (predestination). This final destiny is to be conformed to the image of Christ, which is holy, harmless, undefiled, righteous, love, spiritual, possessed of eternal life, incorruptible, immortal, powerful, and glorious. In addition, our final destiny will include being adopted into the family of God and being joint‑heirs with Jesus Christ. One of the works of God that work toward reaching this final destiny is God’s calling. According to Rom. 8:30, “Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called…” Thus, all that God foreknew and predestinated are also called of God.
The first thing we notice about God’s calling is that God does the calling. It is not man’s calling and is not a cooperative effort between God and man. It is HE who calls.
The next thing is this calling is an effectual calling. By “effectual calling” I mean that God calls by his power and the ones who are called are changed without exception as a result of this calling. That God calls by his power is manifest by the following verses:
1. John 5:25 ‑ “Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.”
2. John 10:27, 28 ‑ “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life…”
3. John 17:1, 2 ‑ “…Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee: As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.”
4. Eph. 1:19, 20 ‑ “And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us‑ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead…”
5. Eph. 2:1 ‑ “And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses
and sins…”
That those who are called are changed by that call is evidenced by such statements as:
1. “The dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God and they that hear shall live.”
2. “That he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.”
3. The mighty power that raised Christ from the dead is the same mighty power that enabled us to believe.
4. The statement “You hath he quickened” indicates God gave life to us when we were “dead in trespasses and sins.”
Thirdly, we notice that those who are called of God are called as a result of God’s purpose and grace to call them before the world began. II Tim. 1:9 reads, “Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began.”
Fourthly, we note that this calling is a direct calling from God to man. There are no intermediates between God and man in this calling. This calling is by the “voice” of God speaking directly to man. The following verses of scripture prove this principle:
1. John 5:25 ‑ “Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.”
2. John 6:63 ‑ “It is the Spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life.”
3. John 10:27 ‑ “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me…”
4. John 10:16 ‑ “And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.”
Finally, we notice that the change brought about by the “effectual calling of God” is to make those thus called holy and to impart unto them eternal life in the spirit. Furthermore, it enables those thus called to “know the things freely given to them of God” (I Cor. 2:12).
For a further and more thorough discussion on this subject I refer the reader back to the several essays on the new birth.
In our next essay, we will begin a discussion on the subject of “justified” as the fourth thing listed for us in the covenant of redemption as stated in Rom. 8:28‑30.