I have been reading “The Divine Covenants” by A.W. Pink and have been thoroughly blessed by the glimpses of God liberally sprinkled throughout this book. One such glimpse is the call of Abraham and the covenant which God made with him. Abram, the son of an idolater, living in a pagan culture, received a call from God. God chose Abram for no other reason than it was His “good pleasure” to do so. Brother Pink discusses the call of Abram and what it reveals about the effectual calling of all God’s elect.
“God said unto Abraham: “Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I will show thee.” Those were the terms of the divine communication originally received by our patriarch. It was a call which demanded absolute confidence in and full obedience to the word of Jehovah. It was a call for definite separation from the world. But it was far more than a bare command issuing from the divine authority: it was an effectual call which demonstrated the efficacy of divine grace. In other words, it was a call accompanied by divine power, which wrought mightily in the object of it. This is a distinction which is generally lost sight of today: there are two kinds of divine call mentioned in Scripture, the one which falls only on the outward ear and produces no definite effect; the other which reaches the heart, and moves into a real response.
The first of these calls is found in such passages as, “Unto you, O men, I call; and my voice is to the sons of men” (Proverbs 8:4), and “For many be called” (Matthew 20:16). It reaches all who come under the sound of God’s Word. It is a call which presses upon the creature the claims of God, and the call of the gospel, which reveals the requirements of the Mediator. This call is universally unheeded: it is unpalatable to fallen human nature, and is rejected by the unregenerate: “I have called, and ye refused” (Proverbs 1:24); “And they all with one consent began to make excuse” (Luke 14:18). The second of these calls is found in such passages as “Whom he called, them he also justified” (Romans 8:30); :”Called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9).
The first call is general; the second, particular. The first is to all who come under the sound of the Word; the second is made only to the elect, bringing them from death unto life. The first makes manifest the enmity of the carnal mind against God; the second reveals the grace of God toward His own. It is by the effect produced that we are able to distinguish between them. “He calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice” (John 10:3-4) – follow the example which he has left them (1Peter 2:21). They follow him along the path of self-denial, of obedience, of living to the glory of God. Here, then, is the grand effect wrought upon the soul when it receives the effectual call of God: the understanding is illuminated, the conscience is convicted, the hard heart is melted, the stubborn will is conquered, the affections are drawn out unto him who before was despised.
Such an effect as we have just described is supernatural: it is a miracle of divine grace. Nothing external will suffice to change the depraved heart of fallen man. He may listen to the most faithful sermons, the most solemn warnings, the most winsome invitations, and he will remain unmoved, untouched, unless the Spirit of God is pleased to first quicken him into newness of life. Those who are spiritually dead can neither hear, see, nor feel spiritually.”
Thank you, Father, that you have not left us to ourselves in our blind, deaf and spiritually dead condition. Thank you for the truth of your Word and the sureness of your promise. May the glory of your grace be displayed radiantly forever and ever. Amen.
“According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.” Ephesians 1:4-6
“God said unto Abraham: “Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I will show thee.” Those were the terms of the divine communication originally received by our patriarch. It was a call which demanded absolute confidence in and full obedience to the word of Jehovah. It was a call for definite separation from the world. But it was far more than a bare command issuing from the divine authority: it was an effectual call which demonstrated the efficacy of divine grace. In other words, it was a call accompanied by divine power, which wrought mightily in the object of it. This is a distinction which is generally lost sight of today: there are two kinds of divine call mentioned in Scripture, the one which falls only on the outward ear and produces no definite effect; the other which reaches the heart, and moves into a real response.
The first of these calls is found in such passages as, “Unto you, O men, I call; and my voice is to the sons of men” (Proverbs 8:4), and “For many be called” (Matthew 20:16). It reaches all who come under the sound of God’s Word. It is a call which presses upon the creature the claims of God, and the call of the gospel, which reveals the requirements of the Mediator. This call is universally unheeded: it is unpalatable to fallen human nature, and is rejected by the unregenerate: “I have called, and ye refused” (Proverbs 1:24); “And they all with one consent began to make excuse” (Luke 14:18). The second of these calls is found in such passages as “Whom he called, them he also justified” (Romans 8:30); :”Called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9).
The first call is general; the second, particular. The first is to all who come under the sound of the Word; the second is made only to the elect, bringing them from death unto life. The first makes manifest the enmity of the carnal mind against God; the second reveals the grace of God toward His own. It is by the effect produced that we are able to distinguish between them. “He calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice” (John 10:3-4) – follow the example which he has left them (1Peter 2:21). They follow him along the path of self-denial, of obedience, of living to the glory of God. Here, then, is the grand effect wrought upon the soul when it receives the effectual call of God: the understanding is illuminated, the conscience is convicted, the hard heart is melted, the stubborn will is conquered, the affections are drawn out unto him who before was despised.
Such an effect as we have just described is supernatural: it is a miracle of divine grace. Nothing external will suffice to change the depraved heart of fallen man. He may listen to the most faithful sermons, the most solemn warnings, the most winsome invitations, and he will remain unmoved, untouched, unless the Spirit of God is pleased to first quicken him into newness of life. Those who are spiritually dead can neither hear, see, nor feel spiritually.”
Thank you, Father, that you have not left us to ourselves in our blind, deaf and spiritually dead condition. Thank you for the truth of your Word and the sureness of your promise. May the glory of your grace be displayed radiantly forever and ever. Amen.
“According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.” Ephesians 1:4-6
