What is the effectual calling/call?

Answer

The term “effectual call,” concerning salvation, originates from Chapter X of the 1647 Westminster Confession of Faith. The effectual call is defined as God’s sovereign drawing of a sinner to salvation. This call so powerfully influences a sinner’s natural tendency to rebel that they willingly place their faith in Jesus Christ. The apostle Paul mentions the effectual call in his statement, “It is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill His good purpose” «For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. », (Philippians 2:13). The importance of the effectual call is underscored in Jesus’ words, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them” «No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. », (John 6:44).

Paul further asserts that God must impress His will upon the natural condition of man when he states that those who oppose God “must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth” «in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; », (2 Timothy 2:25). The apostle Peter mentions that God “called us by his own glory and goodness” «according as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: », (2 Peter 1:3). Peter’s use of the Greek word “kaleo,” translated as “called,” expresses the idea of being divinely summoned.

S the action of God calling sinners. Whenever “kaleo” is used in the participial form, as it is in this passage, with God as the subject, it refers to the effectual call of God on sinners to salvation. “Kaleo” carries the idea that a sinner is being drawn to God rather than simply invited to come.

The effectual calling is more commonly known as “irresistible grace,” which is the I in the acronym TULIP. The doctrine of effectual calling is closely related to the doctrine of total depravity, the T in TULIP. Since the unregenerate man is “dead in transgressions and sins” «And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; », (Ephesians 2:1), he is incapable of reaching out to God or responding to the gospel of Jesus Christ on his own. “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God” (Romans 3:10-11). This state of total depravity makes the effectual calling of God necessary to give anyone the opportunity for salvation.

Jesus said, “For many are invited, but few are chosen” «For many are called, but few are chosen. », (Matthew 22:14). In this statement, Jesus distinguishes between the general call that everyone receives by hearing the gospel and the effectual call that leads to salvation. The effectual call is also taught in passages such as Romans 1:6, where Paul greets the believers as those “who are called to belong to Jesus Christ”; and Acts 16:14, where Luke says of Lydia that “the Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message.” The effectual call, therefore, is God’s action toward the elect, those whom He chose in Christ “before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless. . . . He predestined [them] for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 1:4-5).

The universal call, conversely, is extended to all of mankind, not exclusively to the chosen ones. The well-known verse, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life” «For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. », (John 3:16), illustrates God’s universal message to every individual in the world. The gospel is accessible to all, yet due to humanity’s sinful nature and complete depravity, no one will seek God unless He first reveals Himself to them.