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Though effectual
calling may be distinguished from regeneration, taken more
strictly, for the first infusion and impartation of grace in the
heart; yet it is closely connected with it, and the consideration
of it naturally follows upon it. It is, with great propriety,
said to be "effectual" calling, to distinguish it from
another calling, which is not effectual; at least, which is not
attended with any salutary effect to the persons called with it;
of which more hereafter. Concerning effectual calling, the
following things may be observed.
1. What it
is, and the nature of it. It is not of a civil kind, of
which there are various sorts; as a call to an office in state;
so Saul and David were chosen and called to take upon them the
government of the people of Israel: likewise a call to do some
particular service, which God has appointed men to do; so
Bezaleel was called and qualified to devise and do some curious
work for the tabernacle, and to teach and direct others in it: so
the Medes and Persians were sanctified, or set apart by the Lord,
and called by him to the destruction of Babylon; and Cyrus was
raised up, and called from a far country, to let the captive Jews
go free. Indeed, every ordinary occupation, employment, and
business of life, men are brought up in, and exercise, is a
calling, and a calling of God; hence the apostle says, "Let
every man abide in the same calling wherein he is called",
1Co 7:20,24. But the calling now to be treated of is of a
religious kind; and of which also there are various sorts; as a
call to an ecclesiastical office, whether extraordinary or
ordinary; so Aaron and his sons were called to officiate in the
priesthood; for "no man taketh this honour to himself, but
he that is called of God, as was Aaron", Heb 5:4 so the
twelve disciples of Christ were called to apostleship; and Paul,
"a servant of Christ", is said to be "called to be
an apostle", Ro 1:1 and ordinary ministers of the word, are
set apart and called by the Lord, and by his churches, to the
work of the ministry they are put into. There is likewise an
universal call of all men, to serve and worship the one true and
living God; this call is made by the light of nature, displayed
in the works of creation, which demonstrate the Being of God; and
by the law of nature, written on the hearts of all men; and by
the works of providence, and the bounties of it, which all have a
share in, and in which God leaves not himself without a witness;
and by all which men are called upon, and directed to seek after
God, to worship him, and glorify him as God. And besides this,
there is a more special and particular call of men, and not so
general, and is either external or internal: the
"external" call is by the ministry of the word; by the
ministry of the prophets under the Old Testament; and of John the
Baptist, the forerunner of Christ, and of Christ himself in human
nature, and of his apostles under the New; and of all succeeding
ministers in all ages. The "internal" call is by the
Spirit and grace of God to the hearts and consciences of men;
these two sometimes go together, but not always; some are
externally called, and not internally called; and of those that
are internally called, some are called by and through the
ministry of the word, and some without it; though, for the most
part, men are called by it; and because it is usually so, and
this external call is a matter of moment and importance, it is
necessary to be a little more large and explicit upon it. And,
1a. First,
This may be considered either as a call to saints, to such who
have a work of grace already begun in them; and to such it is a
call, not only to the means of grace, but to partake of the
blessings of grace; to come as thirsty persons, eagerly desirous
of spiritual things, "to the waters", the ordinances,
and drink at them; to "buy wine and milk", spiritual
blessings, signified hereby, without "money, and without
price", these being to be had freely: and these are also
called as labouring under a sense of sin, and under a spirit of
bondage, to "come" to Christ for "rest",
peace, pardon, life, and salvation, Isa 55:1 Mt 11:28 and these
in and by the ministry of the word, are called, excited, and
encouraged to the exercise of evangelical graces, wrought in
them, and bestowed upon them; as repentance, faith, hope, love,
and every other; such were the three thousand converts under
Peter's sermon, and the jailor, who were under a previous work of
the Spirit of God, when they were called and encouraged to repent
and believe in Christ, Ac 2:37,38 16:29-31 and these are also
called, and urged, and pressed, in and by the ministry of the
word, to a constant attendance on ordinances, and not to forsake
the assembly of the saints, and to a diligent performance of
every religious duty, and to be ready to every good work in
general: or this external call may be considered, as a call of
sinners in a state of nature and unregeneracy; but then it is not
a call to them to regenerate and convert themselves, of which
there is no instance; and which is the pure work of the Spirit of
God: nor to make their peace with God, which they cannot make by
anything they can do; and which is only made by the blood of
Christ: nor to get an interest in Christ, which is not got, but
given: nor to the exercise of evangelical grace, which they have
not, and therefore can never exercise: nor to any spiritual vital
acts, which they are incapable of, being natural men, and dead in
trespasses and sins. Nor is the gospel ministry an offer of
Christ, and of his grace and salvation by him, which are not in
the power of the ministers of it to give, nor of carnal men to
receive; the gospel is not an offer, but a preaching of Christ
crucified, a proclamation of the unsearchable riches of his
grace, of peace, pardon, righteousness, and life, and salvation
by him. Yet there is something in which the ministry of the word,
and the call by it, have to do with unregenerate sinners: they
may be, and should be called upon, to perform the natural duties
of religion; to a natural faith, to give credit to divine
revelation, to believe the external report of the gospel, which
not to do, is the sin of the deists; to repent of sin committed,
which even the light of nature dictates; and God, in his word,
commands all men everywhere to repent: to pray to God for
forgiveness, as Simon Magus was directed by the apostle: and to
pray to God for daily mercies that are needed, is a natural and
moral duty; as well as to give him praise, and return thanks for
mercies received, which all men that have breath are under
obligation to do. They may, and should be called upon to attend
the outward means of grace, and to make use of them; to read the
Holy Scriptures, which have been the means of the conversion of
some; to hear the word, and wait on the ministry of it, which may
be blessed unto them, for the effectual calling of them. And it
is a part of the ministry of the word to lay before men their
fallen, miserable, lost, and undone estate by nature; to open to
them the nature of sin, its pollution and guilt, and the sad
consequences of it; to inform them of their incapacity to make
atonement for it; and of their impotence and inability to do what
is spiritually good; and of the insufficiency of their own
righteousness to justify them in the sight of God: and they are
to be made acquainted, that salvation is alone by Christ, and not
other ways; and the fullness, freeness, and suitableness of this
salvation, are to be preached before them; and the whole to be
left to the Spirit of God, to make application of it as he shall
think fit.
1b.
Secondly, this external call by the ministry is not
universal, nor ever was: under the former dispensation God sent
his word unto Jacob and his statutes unto Israel; as for other
nations, they knew them not; God overlooked the heathens in their
times of ignorance for hundreds of years together, and sent no
prophet nor minister unto them, to acquaint them with his mind
and will, and lead them into the knowledge of divine things. When
the gospel dispensation took place, the apostles of Christ were
forbid, by their first commission, to go to the Gentiles, or to
any of the cities of the Samaritans; and though, upon Christ's
resurrection from the dead, their commission was enlarged, and
they were sent to preach to all nations of the world; yet before
they could reach to the extent of their commission, multitudes
must be dead, to whom the gospel call, or the sound of it, never
reached. To say nothing of the new world, or America, supposed
not then to be discovered; in succeeding ages, many parts of the
world have been without the preaching of the word, and are at
this day; and, indeed, it is confined to a very small part of it;
and where it is, though many may be externally called by it, yet
few are chosen, and internally called by the Spirit and grace of
God: and as this call is of many who are not chosen, so of many
who are not sanctified, or that are not called with an holy
calling; and so of many who are not saved; for it is to some the
savour of death unto death.
1c.
Thirdly, the external call is frequently rejected, and
for the most part, and by the greater numbers of those that hear
it; "I have called, and ye have refused: I have spread out
my hands all the day unto a rebellious people"; and to these
it must be useless, as to any salutary effects; many that are
called and invited to attend the gospel ministry refuse to come;
such were they that were bidden and called to the marriage feast;
but they made light of it, and some went to their farms, and
others to their merchandise; such were the Scribes and Pharisees,
who would neither go into the kingdom of heaven themselves, nor
suffer others that were entering to go in but shut it up against
them; that is, would neither attend the ministry of Christ and
his apostles themselves, nor suffer others, but discouraged them
from it, by their reproaches, threats, and persecutions, as our
Lord complains, Mt 23:13,37. Others that attend the ministry of
the word, do it in a careless and negligent manner, not minding
what they hear, but like leaking vessels, let it slip, or run
out; or stop their ears to the voice of the charmer, charming
ever so wisely; many that hear have an aversion to what they
hear; the gospel is an hard saying to them, foolishness to some,
and a stumblingblock to others; some mock and scoff at it, as the
Athenians did; and others, as the Jews, contradict and blaspheme
it, putting it away from them, judging themselves unworthy of
eternal life; and therefore it is no wonder it becomes of no
saving effect to either of these sort of persons: and, indeed, it
is always insufficient and ineffectual of itself unto real
conversion, without the powerful and efficacious grace of God;
when God goes forth with his ministers, working with them, then
work is done, but not otherwise; when the hand of the Lord is
upon them, or his power attends their ministry, many believe and
turn to the Lord; but unless his arm is revealed, the report of
the gospel will not be believed, nor the call of it be attended
to. Yet,
1d.
Fourthly, the external ministry of the word, or the
outward call by it, is not in vain; it has its usefulness, and
various ends are answered by it. All things are for the elect's
sake, and particularly the ministration of the gospel, which to
them is the savour of life unto life; as it is the will of God
that his chosen people, and others, should promiscuously dwell
together, so he sends his gospel to them in general, and by it
takes out a people for his name; calls them by his grace
effectually, out of the world, and separates them from the men of
it, to be a peculiar people to himself; and the rest are thereby
left inexcusable; for if the light of nature leaves men so, much
more the light of the gospel; the condemnation of men is
aggravated by it; inasmuch, as though they are surrounded with
light, they love darkness rather than light. Moreover, by the
external ministry of the word, many, though not effectually
called, become more civilized and more moral in their
conversation; are reformed, as to their outward manners; and
through a speculative knowledge of the gospel, escape the
grossest pollutions of the world: and others are brought by it to
a temporary faith, to believe for awhile, to embrace the gospel
notionally, to submit to the ordinances of it, make a profession
of religion, by which means they become serviceable to support
the interest of it. So that it comports with the wisdom of God
that there should be such an outward call of many who are not
internally called: nor is he to be charged for it with
dissimulation and insincerity; since by it he declares what is
his good, perfect, and acceptable will, and what would be
grateful and well pleasing to him was it complied with and done.
Should it be said, that that is called for and required which man
has not power to perform; be it so, which yet may be questioned,
it should be observed, that though man by sin has lost his power
to comply with the will of God by an obedience to it; God has not
lost his power, right, and authority to command. Wherefore, when
the ministry of the word is slighted, and the gospel call
rejected, it is most righteously resented by the Lord; see Pr
1:24-28 and such are justly punished with everlasting destruction
by him, 1Pe 4:17 2Th 1:8,9.
The
"internal" call is next to be considered,
which is sometimes immediately, and without the ministry of the
word; as seems to be the case of the disciples of Christ, of the
apostle Paul, and of Zacchaeus, and others: and sometimes
mediately by the word; for faith comes by hearing, and bearing by
the word; so the three thousand under Peter's sermon, and those
in the family of Cornelius, on whom the Holy Spirit fell while
the apostle was preaching; and this is the ordinary way in which
God calls men by his grace; and which call is,
1d1. Out of great
and gross darkness, into marvellous and surprising light, 1Pe
2:9. God's elect, while in a state of nature, are in a state of
darkness and ignorance; they are in the dark about God, his
perfections, purposes, counsels, and methods of grace; about
themselves, the state and condition they are in; about sin, the
nature of it, and its sad consequences; about the Person of
Christ, his offices, and the way of salvation by him; about the
Spirit, his work and operations on the souls of men; and about
the scriptures, and the doctrines of the gospel contained in
them: but in effectual calling the eyes of their understandings
are opened and enlightened, and they are made light in the Lord.
When the apostle Paul was called by grace, a light surrounded
him, as an emblem of that internal light which was sprung in him;
and after that there fell from his eyes, as it had been scales,
as a token of the removal of his former darkness and ignorance:
as God, in the first creation, commanded light to shine out of
darkness; so in the new creation, and at effectual calling, he
irradiates the minds of his called ones with a divine light, in
which they see light; see what sin is, what an evil thing it is,
and the exceeding sinfulness of it; see themselves lost and
undone by it, and just ready to perish; see their incapacity to
save themselves, and the insufficiency of their own righteousness
to justify them before God; see the glory, fulness, and grace of
Christ, the completeness and suitableness of him as a Saviour;
and see the truths and promises of the gospel, the great
doctrines of it, in another light than they did before; so as to
understand them, receive the love of them, believe them with the
heart, and distinguish them from those that differ, and rejoice
at them, as bringing good news and glad tidings of good things.
1d2. The internal
call, is a call of men out of bondage, out of worse than Egyptian
bondage, into liberty, even the glorious liberty of the children
of God; "Brethren, ye have been called unto liberty",
Ga 5:13 while in a state of nature, they are, as they were by
nature, home born slaves, slaves to their sinful lusts and
pleasures, and are brought into bondage by them, and held under
the power of them, as in a prison; but in the effectual calling,
the fetters and shackles of sin are broken off, and the prison
doors opened, and they are bid to go forth and show themselves;
they become free from the tyranny of sin, and sin has no more
dominion over them: in their state before calling, they are under
the power and influence of Satan, the strong man armed who keeps
possession of them, by whom they are kept in bondage, and led
captive by him at his will; but when effectually called, they are
taken out of his hands, and are turned from the power of Satan
unto God, and are delivered from the power of darkness, and are
translated into the kingdom of God's dear Son, where they are
Christ's free men. While they are seeking righteousness and life
by the works of the law, they are brought into bondage, for that
genders to bondage, and brings on a spirit of bondage upon those
that are under it; but in effectual calling they are delivered
from it, by the Spirit of God, as a free spirit; and are called
to stand fast in the liberty with which Christ has made them
free, and not be entangled again with the yoke of bondage; they
are called and allowed to make use of a liberty of access to God,
through Christ, by one Spirit, and to enjoy all the privileges of
the gospel, and the immunities of a gospel church state, being
fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God.
1d3. The internal
call, is a call of persons from fellowship with the men of the
world, to fellowship with Christ; "God is faithful, by whom
ye were called unto the fellowship of Christ Jesus our
Lord", 1Co 1:9 it is like that of the call of Christ to his
church, So 4:8. "Come with me from Lebanon", &c. a
call to forsake the vanities, pleasures, and profits of the
world, and the company of the men of it, and go along with him,
and enjoy communion with him: as Abraham was called out of his
country, from his kindred, and his father's house; so saints are
called to forsake their own people, and their father's house; to
relinquish the society of their former companions, and to have no
fellowship with ungodly men: not that they are to have no civil
correspondence, commerce, and society with the men of the world;
for then, as the apostle says, they must needs go out of it; but
not to join with them in superstitious worship, in acts of
idolatry, in a false religion, and in the observance of the
commandments of men; nor in any sinful, profane, and immoral
practices; and as much as may be, should shun and avoid all
unnecessary company, and conversation with them; for evil
communications corrupt good manners; and it is a grief to the
people of God, to be obliged to dwell among them, and with them,
as it was to Lot, to Isaac and Rebekah, to David, Isaiah, and
others: the people of God, in the effectual calling, are called
to better company, to communion with God, Father, Son, and
Spirit; to fellowship with one another; to converse with saints,
the excellent in the earth, in whom is all their delight.
1d4. Such as are
effectually called by the Spirit and grace of God, are called to
peace; "God hath called us to peace", 1Co 7:15 to
internal peace, to peace of mind and conscience; which men, in a
state of nature, are strangers to; for there is no peace to the
wicked: but God calls his people to it, and blesses them with it;
with a peace which passes all understanding; with peace in the
midst of the tribulations of the world; with a peace which the
world can neither give nor take away; and which arises from the
blood and righteousness of Christ, and is part of that kingdom of
God which is within them, into which they are brought at
effectual calling. They are likewise called to peace among
themselves, and with all men as much as possible; "Let the
peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called
in one body", Col 3:15.
1d5. They are
called out of a state of unholiness and sinfulness, into a state
of holiness and righteousness; for being created anew in
righteousness and true holiness, and created in Christ Jesus to
good works, they are called to the exercise of them; to live
holily, soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present evil
world; "God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto
holiness", 1Th 4:7 and "hath called us to glory and
virtue", 2Pe 1:3 to glorious acts of virtue and goodness,
becoming the nature of their call, and of him that has called
them; "As he which hath called you is holy", &c.
1Pe 1:15.
1d6. The internal
call, is a call of persons "into the grace of Christ",
Ga 1:6 into the gospel of the grace of Christ, as appears by what
follows, to receive it, embrace it, profess it, and stand fast in
it; and into the fulness of grace in Christ, to receive out of
it, to be strong in it, to exercise faith on it: and to the
blessings of grace in his hands, and which are given forth by
him; to lay hold upon them, take them to themselves, and claim
their interest in them; all being theirs, they being Christ's,
his chosen, redeemed, and called ones; and by whom they have
access into the state of grace in which they stand.
1d7. It is a call
of them to a grate of happiness and bliss in another world;
"Who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory", 1Th
2:12 to a glory, which is a kingdom; to possess a kingdom of
grace now, which cannot be removed; and to inherit the kingdom of
glory hereafter, which is au everlasting one; to a glory which is
given to Christ; "To the obtaining of the glory of the Lord
Jesus Christ", 2Th 2:14 Joh 17:22 Col 3:4 and to eternal
glory by Christ Jesus, 1Pe 5:10 and to "lay hold on eternal
life", 1Ti 6:12 and to an eternal inheritance; and
"they which are called, receive the promise of it", and
shall certainly enjoy it; having a meetness for it, through the
grace of God, and a right unto it, through the righteousness of
Christ, 1Pe 1:3,4 Heb 9:15 and they are all "called in one
hope of their calling", Eph 4:4 to partake of the same
inheritance with the saints in light; and to enjoy the same
blessed hope laid up for them in heaven; and for which hope of
righteousness they wait by faith, through the holy Spirit.
2. The
author and causes of effectual calling, efficient, impulsive,
instrumental, and final.
2a. The efficient
cause is God; "Walk worthy of God, who hath called you; God
hath not called us unto uncleanliness, but unto holiness",
1Th 2:12 4:7 2Ti 1:8,9. Sometimes it is ascribed to God
personally, to the three divine Persons in the Godhead, to
Father, Son, and Spirit; to the Father, when he is said to call
by his grace, and reveal his Son; and to call unto the fellowship
of his Son; and to call men by Jesus Christ, Ga 1:15,16 1Co 1:9
1Pe 5:10 in which places, God that calls, is distinguished from
his Son Jesus Christ. Sometimes calling is ascribed to the Son;
so Wisdom, the eternal Logos, Word, and Son of God, is
represented as calling both externally and internally, Pr 1:20
&c. Pr 8:1-4 and saints are said to be the called of Jesus
Christ, whom he has a property in, as called ones, being
efficiently called by him. And sometimes it is ascribed to the
Holy Spirit; "There is one body and one spirit, even as ye
are called in one hope of your calling"; that is, by the one
Spirit, the Holy Spirit of God; and to him are owing that
illumination, and that freedom from bondage, and that fellowship
with Christ, which make a principal part of what men in the
effectual calling are called into; and it is he that leads to
peace and holiness, and into the grace of Christ, and encourages
to hope and wait for glory: so that effectual calling is a divine
work, and not human.
2b. The impulsive,
or moving cause of effectual calling, are not the works of men,
but the sovereign will, pleasure, purpose, and grace of God; as
in 2Ti 1:9.
2b1. The works of
men are not the moving or impulsive cause of their being called
of God; for those must be either such as are done before calling,
or after it: not before calling; for works done then are not
properly good works; they are not subjectively good; the doers of
them are not good men; and a man must be a good man, before he
can perform good works; and though some works done by bad men,
may have the show and appearance of good, and be materially, or
as to the matter of them, good actions; yet are not such
circumstantially: the requisites and circumstances of a good
work, being wanting in them; as riot being done according to the
will of God, and in obedience to it; nor in faith, and so sin;
nor proceeding from a principle of love to God, nor directed to
his glory: and such works can never be moving causes of men being
called. Nor can good works after calling be such; for they are
fruits and effects of the effectual calling; and therefore cannot
be ranked among the causes of it. Men, in and by effectual
calling, are sanctified, and become meet for their master's use,
and ready to every good work.
2b2. The sovereign
will, pleasure, and purpose of God, are what move and determine
him to call, by his grace, any of the sons of men: not their
wills; for "it is not of him that willeth", but of his
own good will and pleasure; they that are called, are
"called according to his purpose", Ro 8:28 he has, in
his eternal purpose, fixed upon the particular persons whom he
will call, and the time when he will call them; for there is a
time for every purpose, and so for this, called the time of life
and of love; and the place where they shall be called; in this
and that place; as at Corinth, Philippi, &c. the means and
occasion of their calling, with the several circumstances
thereof, are all according to a divine purpose; and show that the
whole is owing to the sovereign will and pleasure of God, who
does all things after the counsel of his own will.
2b3. The free grace
of God, in a sovereign, distinguishing way and manner, may truly
be said to be the grand, impulsive, moving cause of the effectual
calling; to this the apostle ascribed his own; "And called
me by his grace": that is, of his pure grace, and according
to it. God, as the God of all grace, calls men to grace and glory
by Christ; and an abundance of grace is displayed in calling;
yea, the first open display of grace, and discovery of love, to a
sinner himself, is then made; then is he drawn with loving
kindness, as a frail and evidence of everlasting love; and
therefore the time of calling, is called a time of love, Jer 31:3
Eze 16:8 and it being of some particular persons, and not of all,
shows it to be the effect of distinguishing grace, and of
sovereign good will; and, indeed, nothing out of God could move
him to such an act as this; and as his grace is his own, he may
call by it, and to it, and bestow it on whom he pleases.
2c. The
instrumental cause, or rather means of the effectual calling, is
the ministry of the word. Sometimes, indeed, it is brought about
by some remarkable providence, and without the word; but
generally it is by it; "Faith comes by hearing, and hearing
by the word of God". Christ stands in the gospel ministry,
at the door of mens hearts, and knocks and calls; and having the
key of the house of David, he opens the heart by his power and
grace, and lets himself in; and in this way, and by this means,
the Spirit, and his graces, are received; men are called both to
grace and glory by the gospel, Ga 1:6 2Th 2:14.
2d. The final
causes, or rather the ends of the effectual calling, which are
subordinate and ultimate: the subordinate end, is the salvation
of God's elect, that they may possess the blessings of grace, and
eternal glory; to both which they are called. And the ultimate
end is the glory of the grace of God; for this end God forms his
people in regeneration and the effectual calling; namely, to show
forth his praise: and this end is answered, in part, in this
life, they ascribing all they have, and expect to have, solely to
the free grace of God; and it will be consummately answered in
the world to come, when all their work will be praise;
attributing the whole of their salvation to the sovereign will
and pleasure, grace and goodness, of God.
3. The
subjects of the effectual calling, or who they are whom God calls
by his grace.
3a. They are such
whom God has chosen to grace and glory; "Whom he did
predestinate, them he also called", Ro 8:30. Election and
calling are of equal extent; the objects are the same, neither
more nor fewer; they that were chosen from eternity, are called
in time; and they that are called in time, were chosen in Christ
before the foundation of the world; the "vessels of mercy,
afore prepared unto glory", are explained and described by
such "whom God hath called; not of the Jews only, but also
of the Gentiles", Ro 9:23,24.
3b. They are such
who are in Christ, and secured in him; for they are "called
according to grace given them, in Christ Jesus before the world
began"; and as grace was given them in him so early, they
themselves, in some sense, must then have a being in him; which
they have, through being chosen in him, and thereby coming into
his hands, they are secured and preserved in him, in consequence
of which they are called by grace; thus stands the order of
things, as put by the apostle Jude 1:1. "To them that are
sanctified by God the Father"; that is, set apart by him in
eternal election; and preserved in Christ Jesus, being put into
his hands by that act of grace; and called, in virtue of the
foregoing acts of grace.
3c. They are such
who are redeemed by Christ; calling, follows redemption, and is
the certain consequent of it; "I have redeemed thee; I have
called thee by thy name; thou art mine", Isa 43:1. Election,
redemption, and calling, are of the same persons; those whom God
has chosen in Christ, are redeemed by Christ; and who are chosen
and redeemed, are, sooner or later, called; and the reason of
their being called, is because they are redeemed; "I will
hiss for them, and gather them; for I have redeemed them",
Zec 10:8.
3d. Those that are
called, are, for the most part, either the meanest, or the
vilest, among men; the meanest, as to their outward
circumstances; "Not many mighty, not many noble are
called"; and the meanest, as to their internal capacities;
"Not many wise men after the flesh"; the things of the
gospel, and of the grace of God, are "hid from the wise and
prudent, and revealed to babes", 1Co 1:26 Jas 2:5 Mt 11:25
and oftentimes some of the worst arid vilest of sinners are
called by grace; publicans and harlots went into the kingdom of
God, when scribes and pharisees did not; attended the ministry of
the word, and were called by it, when they were not; and Christ
came, as he himself says, "not to call the righteous, but
sinners, to repentance", Mt 21:31,32 9:13 1Co 6:11.
4. The
properties of effectual calling; which may lead more clearly and
fully into the nature of it; though they may be, in general,
collected from what has been observed.
4a. It is a fruit
of the love of God; because he has loved them with an everlasting
love, therefore "with loving kindness he draws" them to
himself, and to his Son, in the effectual calling, Jer 31:3 and
as it is only of as many as the Lord our God thinks fit to call,
it appears to be an act of special and distinguishing grace; it
is of special and particular persons, by special grace, and to
the special blessings of it.
4b. It is an act of
efficacious and irresistible grace. The external call may be, and
often is, resisted and rejected; but when God calls internally by
his Spirit and grace, it is always effectual, and can never be
resisted, so as to be ineffectual; for when God works, none can
let or hinder; men, dead in trespasses and sins, rise out of
their graves of sin, and live, at his all commanding voice; even
as Lazarus came forth out of his grave at the call of Christ; nor
could that call be resisted; and even the same power that was
exerted in raising Christ himself from the dead, is displayed in
the effectual calling of a sinner, Eph 1:18-20.
4c. This call is an
"holy calling", 2Ti 1:9 the author of it is the holy
God; holy in his nature, and in all his ways and works, and in
this; "As he that has called you is holy", 1Pe 1:15 and
the means by which they are called are holy; whether by reading
the scriptures, which has been sometimes the case, they are
styled "the holy scriptures"; or whether the first
awakenings to a serious concern about divine things, are by the
law; that commandment is holy, just, and good; or whether by the
pure gospel of Christ; that is a "doctrine according to
godliness", and teaches to live an holy life and
conversation: and as in the effectual calling, it appears that
principles of grace and holiness are wrought in men; so by it
they are called to the exercise of holiness and virtue, and of
the performance of every good work; they are called into a state
of holiness here, and to enjoy an incorruptible and undefiled
inheritance hereafter, Ro 1:7 1Th 4:7 2Pe 1:3.
4d. It is an high
calling, Php 3:14 he that calls is the high and lofty One, who
dwells in the high and holy place; and in and by calling grace,
he raises men from the dunghill, and sets them among princes,
that they may inherit the throne of glory; however poor they may
be with respect to the things of this world, yet by effectual
calling they become rich in faith, and heirs of a kingdom, and of
an inheritance reserved for them in the highest heavens, to which
they will be admitted. Wherefore,
4e. This call is
styled an "heavenly calling", Heb 3:1 it is a call out
of this earthly country, to seek a better country, even an
heavenly one; and those that are called, have their citizenship
in heaven, and are free denizens of it; and shall enjoy the hope,
the hoped for blessedness laid up for them there. For,
4f. This is one of
the gifts of God's special grace, and that "calling" of
his, which is without "repentance", Ro 11:29 it is
unchangeable, irreversible, and irrevocable; such shall be
preserved safe to the kingdom and glory of God, to which they are
called, and shall most certainly enjoy it; for "faithful is
he that has called them, who also will do it", 1Th 5:23,24
wherefore such are most happy persons; for they may be
comfortably assured of their election; for "whom he did
predestinate, them he also called": election and calling are
put together; the one as the fruit, effect, and evidence, of the
other, 2Pe 1:10 and election is to be known by the internal call
of the Spirit, through the ministry of the word; 1Th 1:4,5 and
they may also be comfortably assured of their justification; for
"whom he called, them he also justified"; and such may
conclude themselves safe from all charges, from all condemnation,
and from wrath to come: and they may most certainly expect
eternal glory; for whom God calls and justifies, "them he
also glorifies": between calling grace and eternal
happiness, there is a sure and an inseparable connection.