Most of the time in the New Testament, the Greek word charis is used to signify “the unmerited operation of God in the heart of man, effected through the agency of the Holy Spirit…It is in reality the active communication of divine blessings by the inworking of the Holy Spirit, out of the fullness of Him who He is “full of grace and truth,” Rom. 3:24; 5:2, 15, 17, 20; 6:1; 1 Cor. 1:4; 2 Cor. 6:1; 8:9; Eph. 1:7; 2:5, 8; 3:7; 1 Pet. 3:7; 5:12.”[i]
The grace we are speaking of here is the blessings graciously bestowed by God that are freely given, not in consideration of any claim or merit. This grace is particularly the grace of God in His work of redemption, which is mediated by Jesus Christ and effectuated by the Holy Spirit. As the apostle Paul said, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Eph. 2:8, 9).
There are three characteristics of this kind of grace that should be considered. 1) It is an attribute of God, related to mercy, that is free, sovereign, and undeserved favor or love to man, in a state of sin and guilt. It involves the forgiveness of sin and deliverance from sin’s penalty. 2) It is a divine designation for the agreement God made in Christ for man’s salvation (John 1:17); and
3) It is applied to the pardon from God in justification and designates the favor of God in the work of redemption (Rom. 3:24, 5:2, 21; Titus 3:50).[ii]
The Reformers eliminated Augustine’s reference to sacramentalism and emphasized grace as God’s unmerited favor shown to sinners. They represented grace in a manner that excluded all merit on the part of the sinner. It was a kind of special grace.
Special grace is different from common grace in that God gives special grace only to the elect, whereas common grace is given to all human beings without regard to their salvation. Special grace is both supernatural and spiritual, removing the guilt of sin and the sentence of condemnation.
Reformers believe that only the elect receive redemption from Christ. The elect must be in a mystical union with Jesus Christ to receive the saving benefits. The Holy Spirit supernaturally effectuates this relationship between the believer and Jesus Christ, which is why it is called the mystical union.
THE CALL
The call has two aspects: an external call and an effectual call. God gives the external call to everyone, whereas the effectual call means that it is heard and responded to by the regenerated elect. No one recognizes the external call, so no humans who receive it will react. The elect hears the effectual call upon regeneration, though, and due to their Regeneration,will recognize it and respond accordingly. This, however, does not mean that the effectual call and the external call are always heard together.
The external (or general) call is mentioned in Psalm 117:1, which says that God’s general call should be given to all non-Jewish nations, not just the chosen nation of Jews.
But in verse 2, the Bible also discusses the effectual call and says that God’s effectual call comes out of God’s “steadfast love toward us” (the elect) and “endures forever.” Paul writes in Romans 1:16 that the effectual call is given to Jew and Gentile alike.
The call is always given “by the operation of the Holy Spirit.”[iii]
REGENERATION
The purpose of the external call and the effectual call is regeneration, which may be defined as “that act of God by which the principle of the new life is implanted in [elect] man, and the governing disposition of the soul is made holy and the first holy exercise of this new disposition is secured.”[iv]
Regeneration is NOT a change in the substance of man’s soul or human nature. It does not REPLACE anything. It is not a change to any part of the soul from one thing to another. Regeneration does not change the whole nature of man or any part, but it does affect the entire nature of man.
Regeneration involves the disposition of the human being’s soul and causes the human soul to seek God. This change in position “affects the whole man: the intellect, 1 Cor. 2:14, 15; 2 Cor. 4:6; Eph. 1:18; Col. 3:10; the will, Ps. 110:3; Phil. 2:13; 2 Thess.3:5; Heb. 13:21; and the feelings or emotions, Ps. 42:1, 2; Matt. 5:4; 1 Pet. 1:8.”[v]
This is an immediate, internal, and Monergistic act that affects the whole man, unlike what the semi-Pelagians and Roman Catholics teach. Regeneration is instantaneous, and no intermediate or gradual process is involved here.
After God causes a new life to be born in humankind’s soul, the inner disposition of the soul is altered, enabling humans to hear God’s call to salvation.
CONCLUSION
The call goes out to ALL people, but only the elect hear it, making it efficacious to them. The call is given to everyone, but only the elect can and have been regenerated by God’s Holy Spirit, so only the elect respond, making it an efficacious call to them. Thus, salvation is made available by God only to the elect. This happens instantaneously through the act of God and only to the elect.
Irresistible grace, as it has been called, is the grace of God that He gives to the elect, which is so good that refusal is beyond the capability of the elect. It does not include force from God. It is better referred to as the efficacious call in that it makes the external call efficacious to all those with the proper dispensation of the soul, which allows that person to lean toward the things of God. But no matter what it is called, it does not involve any force from God.
The Bible clearly states that logically, the external call either immediately precedes or occurs concomitantly with regeneration. Therefore, they are very closely related in God’s Plan of Salvation. That is why the author discussed regeneration alongside irresistible grace (the efficacious call).
[i] Berkhof, Louis, Systematic Theology, combined ed., (The Banner of Truth Trust, 2021), p. 438.
[ii] Berkhof, p. 438-39; (This entire paragraph is taken from Berkhof).
[iii] Berkhof, p. 486.
[v] Berkhof, p. 485.
