The Divine Call

RIVERSIDE INDONESIAN FELLOWSHIP
Go to content

The Divine Call

Riverside Indonesian Fellowship
Published by Stanley Pouw in 2020 · 16 August 2020

John 3 is a critical chapter in the New Testament. It helps our understanding of salvation, and the truth is built upon that throughout the rest of Scripture. Tonight will be kind of an addendum to what we’ve already covered in these verses. John 3:3-10, “Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

“4 Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” 5 Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’

“8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” We need to be born again. That is, having been born physically, we need now to be born spiritually. Our first birth was a direct creation of God. And so it is with our second birth that comes down from above. It is a divine work of God.

It is the work of the Holy Spirit to give us spiritual life. That’s what “born again” means. And the reason the Lord uses this analogy is because we have no participation in this birth. You had nothing to do with your physical birth. And you will have nothing to do with your spiritual birth. No person who is born again makes a contribution to that. There isn’t a way to make that happen.

Remember what happened to Lazarus? Lazarus was dead. He’s in the grave. He’s been dead four days. His body is in a state of decay. The Lord comes to his tomb and raises him from the dead. He does it by a call. He says, “Lazarus, come out!” And Lazarus comes to life, comes out of the grave a new creation. The grave clothes are taken off of him, and he is alive.

We all are also spiritually dead. God gives us life and He does it through a call. Jesus declared that life through calling him out of the grave. And so it is with those who are given life by the Holy Spirit. It is by a divine call. God speaks and life comes to us. When we talk about being called of God, we are talking about the call to come to spiritual life, to come out of the grave. It is a call to redemption.

It is a call to enter into the eternal kingdom of God. It is a call to being God’s child with all its rights and privileges. It is a call to love, to serve and to be obedient to the Lord. It is a call from bondage into freedom. It is a call to joy and peace. It is a call to holiness. The gospel call is referred to as a heavenly call. It is clearly a rare call. It is an undeniable call. And it is an irreversible call.

Romans 8:28-30, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. 29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30 Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.”

Whoever He justified, He will glorify. It all began with predestination, and it ends with being conformed to the image of His Son. This is the divine purpose. God causes everything to work together for good, to bring about the end result from His original predestination. All who have been chosen will be called; all who are called will be justified; and all who are justified will be glorified.

And Romans 11:29 says, “The gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.” Now let’s talk about the word “call.” The word is so descriptive that believers are identified as the called. In fact, that’s what a true church is, the gathering together of the called. The word for “church” is a translation of the Greek word ‘ekklesia’ which means “the called.” We have been called out of the grave.

Romans 1:5 -7 says, “Through Him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name, 6 among whom you also are ‘the called’ of Jesus Christ; 7 To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints.” In 1 Corinthians 1:2, Paul says, “To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints.”

How did it happen? 1 Corinthians 1:27, “God has chosen.” Verse 28, “God has chosen.” Called by the sovereign choice of God. In Galatians 1, Paul again introducing himself at the beginning of his epistle. He is concerned because there is serious compromise going on in their lives. So in verse 6 he says, “I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ.”

Again, “Him who called you by the grace of Christ.” In Ephesians 4:1, Paul says, “I implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called.” Verse 4, he identifies it again, “There’s one body, one Spirit, and you were called in one hope of your calling.” In Colossians 3:15, “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body.”

1 Thessalonians 2:12, “Walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory.” It is language to produce obedience and worship. 2 Thessalonians 2:13 -14, “We should always give thanks to God for you, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, 14 to which He called you by our gospel.”

Hebrews 3:1 says, “Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling.” How did we get to be holy? How did we get rid of our corruption, our wretchedness, our depravity? How did we become holy brethren? We received a heavenly calling from God. The Trinity called us out of death, out of darkness, out of ignorance, out of blindness into life and light and truth.

1 Peter 2:9, “You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” How did we get to be a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people? Because God called us “out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you were once not a people.”

Now you are the people of God. You once had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” This is the call of God. In 1 Peter 3, Peter encourages us to give blessing to people, not returning evil for evil, insult for insult, but to give a blessing. Why? “For you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing.” God called you to give you eternal blessing, eternal glory.

And then in 1 Peter 5:10, “But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.” Because you have just read that your calling from God is forever secure. He chose you because He set His love on you. He called you, justified you, and promises to glorify you. This is all about grace from the One who called you.

2 Peter 1:1, “To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ.” Where did you get your faith? It was in the package when He called you forth. You received faith by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ. Verse 2, “Grace and peace then be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.”

Then look at verse 3, “Seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness.” What does that mean? Election, calling, regeneration, justification, sanctification and glorification, it includes everything. He granted us everything, verse 3 continues, “Through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and virtue.”

Again there’s that unilateral work of God by which He calls us and gives us everything pertaining to life and godliness. Now this is how the writers of the New Testament epistles refer to us. Now this is not a general call. This is not an external call. This is not a call that a preacher or an evangelist makes. This is an internal, inward call of God for you that cannot be resisted.

There is an external call. When I preach the gospel, when an evangelist preaches the gospel, when you give the gospel to a friend, when you witness to somebody and call them to come to Christ and to respond to Him and embrace Him and His gospel, that’s an external call that humans make. In Matthew 22:14 and the parable that Jesus gave where He said, “Many are called, but few are chosen.”

The external call of the gospel goes out and many people reject that call. But in the New Testament starting with Romans, every time the word “call” appears, it’s related to the gospel, it is an internal call from God that brings the dead sinner to life. It is a subpoena from God to come into His court, not to be judged, but to be made alive spiritually, to be declared forgiven, righteous and set free.

And to be then adopted as His child and to be reconciled fully. It is God’s sovereign, saving call as He exercises His own will and through His own magnificent grace takes the elect sinner into His presence to declare His forgiveness and grant that sinner the very righteousness of Christ. And then to make that person His Child and then promise him/her eternal riches in glory.

There’s a popular book written recently by a theologian called ‘Chosen but Free’. And it presents the calling of God as an unacceptable doctrine. It makes God a dictator with power that crushes our freedom and drags us into His kingdom. Is that how you felt when you were saved? I don’t think so. That’s an alien idea. We’re so grateful every day for the salvation that God gave us.

That kind of thinking is not biblical, not true, and not a fair representation of what the Bible teaches. No one is ever saved against their will. Anyone who has repented and believed the gospel has willed to repent, Jesus said. They’re compelled to this. They come with tears. They come pounding on the chest, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner.” They’re desperate and willing.

Why? Because God makes them willing. Psalm 110:3, “Your people will volunteer freely in the day of Your power.” When the Lord lets out the call, “Come forth,” life surges into your dead soul, and that life activates your will. That life produces repentance. That life produces faith. And you come not kicking and screaming, but you come desperately, you come weeping with joy.

How does the sinner become willing? No sinner has what it takes to be willing. Human depravity makes him unable to be saved on his own and unwilling to be saved. Unable and unwilling is the essence of depravity. Romans 3:10-11, “There’s none righteous, no, not one. None seeks after God.” Ephesians 2:1, “Dead in trespasses and sins.” 2 Corinthians 4:4, “Satan, the god of this age has blinded their minds.”

God must come then in His sovereign power and summon us to believe. He must on the day of His power make us willing. It’s a gracious, powerful, supernatural, heavenly regeneration of our whole inner being that makes us willing in the day of that power. What about the freedom of our will? Yes, but if you’re not born again, you are choosing everything according to your sin nature.

You can pick whatever behavior, attitude you want that dishonors God. But you can’t please Him. You can pick your sin, you’re free. You might be restrained because you don’t want to go to prison. Or you might be restrained because you don’t want to crash your car, so you limit how much you drink. You might be restrained because you don’t want to lose your family, so you hide your immorality.

Jonathan Edwards wrote, “What we choose is not really determined by the will, it is determined by the mind. What the mind thinks is what makes the choice and our mind is not neutral. The mind is corrupt. Jeremiah says, “The mind of man is deceitful above all things and exceedingly wicked.” The mind of the sinner never thinks that following or obeying God is a good choice.

“Therefore,” says Edwards, “unless God changes the way we think, our minds will always tell us to turn from God, which is precisely what we do.” God has to change our mind. Change what He desires, what He loves, what He hates, and what He longs for. This is often called ‘irresistible grace’. Grace is more than something to resist. And it is by nature a gift from God that is irresistible.

We call it saving grace, life-giving grace; because a sinner can’t change his will because his mind is corrupt. He can’t move his will toward God, not by logic, not by a persuasion, not by clever preaching, and not by emotional music. God has to go to the grave and say, “Come out,” and give him a sovereign, supernatural call that summons the sinner up from the dead, at which point all his faculties are given new life. Let us pray.



JOIN OUR MAILING LIST:

© 2017 Ferdy Gunawan
ADDRESS:

2401 Alcott St.
Denver, CO 80211
WEEKLY PROGRAMS

Service 5:00 - 6:30 PM
Children 5:30 - 6:30 PM
Fellowship 6:30 - 8:00 PM
Bible Study (Fridays) 7:00 PM
Phone (720) 338-2434
Email Address: Click here
Back to content