MODULE 18: THE CALLING OF GOD INTRODUCING THE CALLING OF GOD The subject of the calling of God deals with the way in which the work of Christ as Saviour becomes effectual for us. There are two errors in thinking which we need to avoid. $ It would be a serious mistake to say that the effectiveness of what Jesus Christ did depends basically on us - 2 Cor 5:19. Jesus accomplished salvation at the cross, objectively for all mankind. $ It would also be a serious mistake to view the work of reconciliation and redemption as becoming effective for us without our participation - John 1:12. God has done everything on His part. We must receive what He has done, otherwise we are still in our sins. The word Acalling@, Acall@ or Acalled@ is used in different ways in the Bible. Check the following references and note the different use of the word: Matt 1:21; Mrk 15:16; Rom 1:1; 1 Cor 7:20. Apart from these varied usages the word is also used in the Bible to indicate following two biblical realities. God=s general call to salvation. This has to do with the fact that God so loved the world (John 3:16), that He gave His Son - for the world! The invitation to salvation is for all (2 Pet 3:9). Not all respond positively. What does Matt 22:1-14 teach? .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... God=s effectual call to salvation. This has to do with the calling of God which leads to salvation in the person who hears and responds positively. The word Acall@ is used most frequently in this context in the New Testament. What do the following imply about the nature and purpose of God=s call? 1 Pet 2:9 ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 2 Tim 1:8-9 .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. Also note the following references: 1 Cor 1:9; Eph 4:1; Heb 3:1; 2 Thess 2:14; 1 Pet 5:10. In all of these cases the Acalled@ ones are the Asaved@ ones. The call of God has been effective in their lives, and has brought them into a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. BASIS FOR EFFECTUAL CALLING What does the Bible teach us about God=s effectual calling which is evidenced by the fact that some have received salvation through Christ? God=s gracious purpose. God=s calling to salvation has nothing to do with our works. Our works can never achieve our salvation. If God=s calling to salvation was based on our works, no one Page 2 would ever be saved. All the works of everyone are tainted by sin (Rom 3:23). The call to salvation is fully based on God=s grace, which is His undeserved love given to us in Jesus Christ. God=s grace is always in conjunction with His purpose (Rom 8:28). The grace of God is from all eternity (2 Tim 1:9), and realised in time in Jesus Christ (Eph 3:11). God=s choosing. The background to God=s calling to salvation is His choosing. What does 2 Thess 2:13-14 teach about this? ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... This choosing is Afrom the beginning.@ What takes place in the present, namely, the calling to salvation, has its origins in Athe beginning,@ in eternity. Note Eph 1:4 with its emphasis on eternity which precedes the creation of the world. God=s grace and purpose were given to us in Jesus Christ from all eternity (2 Tim 1:9). In the same way God chose us in eternity, in Christ, prior to Gen 1:1. Note that God chose us; we did not choose Him (Jhn 15:16). This principle of God=s sovereign choosing is illustrated in the history of Israel (Deut 7:6-8). Another word the Bible uses for basically the same process is the word predestining (Eph 1:4-5; 11-12). Predestination focuses on God=s sovereign action in choosing, pointing very directly at the reason or purpose for that choosing (Rom 8:28-30). God=s ultimate intention with predestination is glorification. The word Apredestination@ is never used in the Bible to indicate predestination to death and damnation as well as to eternal life. ADouble predestination@ has no basis in the Bible. This does not mean that there is no death or damnation taught in the Bible. It does mean that such death or damnation is not as a result of God=s predestining. God=s foreknowledge. God=s predestination (choosing, electing) is of persons Awhom He foreknew.@ How do you understand Rom 8:28 & 1 Pet 1:1-2? ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... God=s elect are personally foreknown by Him. He does not choose or predestine them as abstract entities, but as real persons. This is illustrated in the history of Israel (Rom 11:2; Deut 4:37), and in the life of Christ (1 Pet 1:20). Note also the teaching of Ps 139:1, 16. The Bible does not suggest that God=s election is based on foreknowledge in the sense of God knowing ahead what someone will do and then basing His election of that person on that knowledge. OBSERVATIONS ABOUT ELECTION Election should not be understood as a limitation by which only so many can believe. The grace of God is never discriminate! Rather, all who do believe have their faith grounded in eternity. Election is not selection! The fact that God chose us in Christ does not mean that He rejected others. Election does not rule out human responsibility. There is nothing automatic about election - note Matt 22:14. The fact that there is a call of God which does not always result in salvation is not because God is withholding anything (1 Tim 2:3-4). The failure is due to people rejecting God=s purpose for them (Lk 7:30; Jhn 3:19). Election to salvation takes place Ain Christ.@ The grace of God is the source, origin, or basis of this salvation. Faith is the means, the channel, the instrument, the agent through which this salvation comes to us (Eph 2:8). Election is not to faith, but to salvation. We do not come to faith because we have been elected to that. Nor are we Page 3 elected on the basis of foreseen faith. We are elected as believers, we were Achosen in Him@ (Eph 1:4). All that the New Testament has to say about election is addressed to people who are already believers, and is relevant only in connection with them (Titus 1:1). Election is related only to those who are Ain Christ.@ Outside Christ there is no election. There is no justification without faith in Christ (Rom 8:1). Behind that faith stands the grace of God in Jesus Christ (Rom 4:16). INSTRUMENT FOR EFFECTUAL CALLING How does the calling of God to salvation actually occur? What are the instruments that God uses to communicate His call? Preaching the Word. The Gospel is the Good News of Salvation in Jesus Christ. It is through the word about Christ, focussed on the cross, that people come to salvation. What do the following teach: 1 Cor 1:23-24 ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 1 Pet 1:23, 25 ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ It is God=s intention that through the proclamation of His Word, people be called out of darkness into light; called into the fellowship of Jesus Christ; called into eternal glory (1 Pet 2:9; 2 Tim 1:8-9; 1 Cor 1:9; 2 Thess 2:14; 1 Pet 5:10). Romans 10:14 tells of the necessary ingredients in the process that make this possible. $ Man needs to hear the Gospel (Rom 10:14). If Christ - who He is and what He has done - is not known, there can be no calling unto salvation. $ Someone needs to proclaim the message. Basic to hearing the Word of God is the preaching of the Gospel (Rom 10:15). Jesus Christ must be the focus of all preaching (1 Cor 2:2). $ The proclaimer needs a sense of commission, and an attitude of commitment (Rom 10:15; Jhn 20:21). Although we have focussed on the ministry of preaching, proclaiming Christ is not restricted to preaching. Any believer, regardless of office, has the privilege and responsibility to make Christ known (Acts 1:8; 8:4). Application by God the Holy Spirit. Only if God the Holy Spirit applies the Word which is proclaimed will people effectively be called to salvation (Jhn 16:8). Peter refers to the effective proclamation of the Word as being through the agency of the Holy Spirit (1 Pet 1:12). Paul says the same (1 Thess 1:5). The Spirit of God, applying the Word of God, is the power that effects salvation. Without this activity of the Holy Spirit even the most compelling message will have no value in bringing about salvation (1 Cor 2:4). Jesus confirms this through His own experience (Lk 4:18). It is for this reason that the ongoing anointing of God the Holy Spirit is essential for all who would be involved in any way in making Jesus Christ known (Acts 1:8; 9:17 & 20). EFFECTUAL CALLING AND FAITH The response to God=s calling in which salvation occurs is faith. Without saving faith there can be no salvation. In relation to faith we need to ask the following Page 4 questions. How does saving faith take root in the human heart? Faith comes through the working of the Word of God and the Spirit of God. It is the result of the Word, the message, going forth in the power of the Spirit (1 Cor 2:5). Saving faith, in other words, is God=s initiative; it is grounded in God=s action through His Word and His Spirit. Saving faith is not grounded in a human decision to believe. If that were the case salvation would be based on man=s activity, rather than on God=s. God reached out to man; the initiative is totally on His side (2 Cor 5:19). God offers man an accomplished redemption in Jesus Christ (Rom 10:13; Heb 10:10). Man needs only to receive what God has done. This reception is the response of faith (Jhn 1:12). The grace of God is the source of salvation; faith is the human instrument (Eph 2:8-9). Salvation originates in grace; it is God=s gift. Salvation is channelled through faith. Faith is not a human effort to believe, but the inward assurance and conviction that results from God=s presence and action. It is man=s response, made possible by God. Man is fully engaged in the activity of faith. What is the nature of faith? What are the ingredients of saving faith? Note the following: Knowledge Saving faith requires knowledge of the basic elements of the Gospel as the point of beginning of faith. Faith begins with an initial apprehension of God=s redeeming work in Jesus Christ (Rom 10:17). The message of Christ must be preached, heard, and understood if faith is to result. Notice how this is illustrated in Paul=s sermon on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:22-36). The hearers were given the fundamentals of the Gospel. They then responded by asking what action they should take. Faith is not a blind leap. Its point of beginning is the initial understanding of what God has done for man in Jesus Christ. Note, however, that knowledge in and of itself is not sufficient for salvation! One may be well informed about the things of God, including His work of redemption in Jesus Christ, and still be far from God (Mrk 1:24; James 2:19). Assent In order for saving faith to take root in man=s heart, knowledge must lead to assent. In order to be saved we must not only know the content of the Gospel intellectually. We must know and acknowledge it to be true experientially. Assent means saying AYes@ to what is being proclaimed. This is why Jesus often invited His hearers to Acome@ to him (Jhn 6:35). This means to recognise the truth of the Gospel, and of the personal need for Christ=s saving work. It is assent to God=s offer of salvation in Jesus Christ. Assent as a dynamic of saving faith is not necessarily the same as assent to a body of doctrine. Faith is not necessarily Aright believing.@ Salvation is not the exclusive consequence of orthodox affirmation and assent - however important right doctrine may be. Faith that saves is not directed to a body of doctrine, but to Christ Himself. Trust Faith that begins in knowledge, and is deepened by assent, is completed by trust. Faith as trust is complete reliance on god=s promise in the Gospel; it is total confidence in the mercy of God in Jesus Christ. Faith means to believe in; it means to receive God=s truth (Acts 2:41; 1 Cor 15:1-2). Faith is more than believing the good news. It is believing in the One whom God has sent, even Jesus Christ (Jhn 1:12; 3:16; 6:29). How would you define trusting in Jesus? What are you trusting Him for? Page 5 ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... What is the climax of our faith? The climax of the faith of the believer is union with Christ. It is us in Christ and Christ in us, in a unity of relationship. We are one with Him and life finds its centre in Him. The New Testament abounds with references focussing on the on the oneness of the believer with Christ because the believer is in Christ. Note Jhn 15:5; Eph 1:3, 4, 7, 13; Rom 6:11; 8:1; 2 Cor 5:17; Gal 2:20; Col 1:27.
Posted on: Sat, 06 Jul 2013 22:13:56 +0000
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