Set Free to Stay Free

The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Revised Call; Calling

The word is very common in both the OT and NT, there being over seven hundred instances of the verb, noun, or adjective.

The word is very common in both the OT and NT, there being over seven hundred instances of the verb, noun, or adjective.1

I. In the OT

Five main uses are to be discerned in the OT.

First, “to call” means “to summon or invite.” Thus God called to Adam in Gen. 3:9. Moses called the elders together in Ex. 19:7. God called an assembly against Judah in Lam. 1:15. Joel issued the command to call a solemn assembly in Joel 1:14.

Second, the verb can have the sense of “calling on God.” Men began to call on the name of the Lord in Gen. 4:26. All who call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered (Joel 2:32). In this sense “to call” has much the same force as “to pray” (cf. Ps. 31:17; 50:15; 53:4; 86:5; 102:2).

Third, “to call” is used for “to call by name,” i.e., “to name.” This use appears already in the creation story. God called the light day and the darkness night. He called the firmament heaven and the dry land earth (Gen. 1:5ff). Since names are not mere identifications but also descriptions (cf. Gen. 17:19; 32:28), this calling has more than ordinary significance. Man can name as well as God; we see this very early in the naming of Eve (Gen. 2:23; cf. 22:14).

Fourth, God calls by name with a view to service. The story of Moses offers a good example. God called Moses by name out of the bush and laid upon him the task of liberating Israel from Egypt (Ex. 3:4ff).

Fifth, “to call” may be used in the sense of “to call one’s own.” Actively God calls Israel His people (Isa. 43:7; 45:4), and for this reason Israel may be described as called by the name of the Lord (Dt. 28:10; Isa. 43:1; cf. the temple in Jer. 7:30). This points to the covenant relation in which Israel is called to salvation, is given its name, has the function of a divine witness, and receives the possibility and privilege of calling on God’s name with the assurance of prior response (Isa. 65:24).

II. In the NT

All the senses found in the OT appear again in the NT. An instance of summons occurs in Acts 4:18; cf. also 24:2 and the call to the wedding in Mt. 22:3. Calling on the name of the Lord is found in the quotation from Joel in both Acts 2:21 and Rom. 10:13. Significantly, the cry for help may now be addressed to the Lord Jesus (cf. Acts 7:59; 22:16). Calling in the sense of naming has particular importance in the Infancy stories (Mt. 1:21; Lk. 1:60; 2:21); Jesus’ name clearly implies service. The appointing of the disciples can be expressed in terms of calling: when Jesus saw James and John, “immediately he called them” (Mk. 1:20). Finally, Christ’s people are those whom He has called and who are rightly called by His name, so that there is no shame in suffering for Christ’s name, or as a Christian (1 Pet. 4:14, 16). But merely calling Jesus Lord is to no avail if His word is not also done (Lk. 6:46). On the other hand it is sinners, not the righteous, whom Jesus came to call (Mt. 9:13).

The noun “calling” takes on added significance in the NT, especially in the Pauline writings. It becomes almost a technical term for what has happened to those who through the Father’s love are now called the children of God in Christ (1 Jn. 3:1). One result is that the goal of calling now finds more specific definition. We are called to salvation, holiness, and faith (2 Thess. 2:13f), to the kingdom and glory of God (1 Thess. 2:12), to an eternal inheritance (He. 9:15), finally to fellowship (1 Cor. 1:9), and to service (cf. Gal. 1).

The means of calling also is clearly stated. Calling is through grace (Gal. 1:15) and comes through the hearing of the gospel (2 Thess. 2:14; cf. 1 Thess. 1:4f; Rom. 10:14ff). Since God, or Christ, is the author of the call, one might also refer to the Holy Spirit as the mediator of calling through the gospel (cf. 1 Thess. 1:5).

The ground of calling is specifically established in 2 Tim. 1:9. Not works but the purpose and grace of God in Christ Jesus form the starting point for the divine calling.

The nature of God’s calling is described as well. Along with God’s gifts, it will not be revoked (Rom. 11:20). It is a high or upward calling (Phil. 3:14), heavenly (He. 3:1) and holy (2 Tim. 1:9), associated with hope (Eph. 4:4). Believers are exhorted to lead lives that are worthy of their calling (Eph. 4:1; cf. 2 Thess. 1:11). The chosen of 2 Thess. 2:13 are the called of v 14. Believers are exhorted to confirm their calling and (2 Pet. 1:10). The “called and chosen and faithful” are with the Lamb in Rev. 17:14. Those whom God predestined He called, and those whom He called He justified and glorified (Rom. 8:30).

III. The Church

In Christian history calling has been worked out more specifically in the two areas of calling to salvation and calling to sanctification and service. Calling to salvation, which is also calling into the divine community, is accomplished by the Holy Spirit through the administration of the word and sacraments.

The calling is here upheld by a distinction between general calling, which applies to all who hear the gospel, and effectual calling, by which the God who calls, or the Holy Spirit, infallibly brings to faith those whom He has chosen. Either way salvation is by divine calling and by the ensuing human calling on the name of the Lord.

The call to service or sanctification has often been regarded as an additional call to believers either to dedicate themselves to Christian discipleship or to engage in a particular form of ministry. Teaching that any sphere of work may be calling in which Christians glorify God, live dedicated lives, and engage in ministry. Unfortunately, the implied equation of calling with occupation had unforseen consequences. In a rigidly structured society it fostered the reactionary idea that people should stay in divinely ordered stations in life.

Perhaps the underlying problem in the historical outworking has been the tendency to separate what God has joined together. It seems to have been assumed too easily that there are two callings, a first to salvation and then another (or two others) to service and sanctification. Certainly there may be calls to special forms of service, as one might see in the sending out of Paul and Barnabas on their first missionary journey. Nevertheless, ministry and dedication form no less an integral part of calling than does salvation. All believers are called to be God’s children, disciples, and servants, whether in the state of life in which the calling comes or in new possibilities which God opens up for them. The calling itself does not change, only the form or sphere in which it is exercised.