Divine Call

³ His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, ⁴ by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

Our call to God came from God.  We have been “given all things … through the knowledge of Him who called us”. 

There is a general call to salvation which has been extended to everyone.  This call is Prevenient Grace.  Before anyone knows God, the only message they can hear is “Come to Me”.  Prevenient Grace is simply the effort God extends in making that call.  The internal call that only you can hear.  The people, events, and happenings in someone’s life before they recognize and decide to “Trust in Him”.  They are all forms of Prevenient Grace.  It is God calling them to “Come to Him”.

Make no mistake, however, the call to God is of God and not from anyplace else.  This specific call to us is an act of God that is intended to lead us to repentance and faith by the Holy Spirit.  This invitation to salvation comes from God, not us.  The invitation, the wooing, for us to come to Christ would not be accepted by anyone if it weren’t for the enlightening, convicting, and enabling work of the Holy Spirit.

Why does this call have to come from God?  Because natural man does not seek God and is spiritually blind and dead.  Man as a sinner is hostile towards God.  In Romans 3:11 it says, “There is none who understands; there is none who seeks after God.”  1 Corinthians 2:14 reads, “But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”   A general invitation to the gospel isn’t enough.  The call has to be upon him.  Only the Holy Spirit can do the supernatural work of opening sin-blinded eyes and ears and giving the power to believe.  When a person does hear and believe the message of salvation, there is no doubt that he or she has been divinely called.

The call, the invitation, is to everyone for the Bible says, “Whosoever will may come”.  But that call comes with an effectual work of the Holy Spirit in the heart of the one who responds.  An old preacher said this, “I don’t understand much about the doctrines of calling and election, but I’m sure of two things: I know that God loves everybody and invites them to Christ.  I also know that I was running away from Him as fast as I could, but He still found me and saved me.”

And all God’s people said, “AMEN!”

As a saved person, I can’t help but be filled with gratitude that God singled me out and for reasons I’ll never understand, opened my eyes, overcame my will, and enabled me to believe on Christ.  There is nothing about me that deserves His divine call, but I am so thankful He made it.