Reference: Call
Easton
(1.) To cry for help, hence to pray (Ge 4:26). Thus men are said to "call upon the name of the Lord" (Ac 2:21; 7:59; 9:14; Ro 10:12; 1Co 1:2).
(2.) God calls with respect to men when he designates them to some special office (Ex 31:2; Isa 22:20; Ac 13:2), and when he invites them to accept his offered grace (Mt 9:13; 11:28; 22:4).
In the message of the gospel his call is addressed to all men, to Jews and Gentiles alike (Mt 28:19; Mr 16:15; Ro 9:24-25). But this universal call is not inseparably connected with salvation, although it leaves all to whom it comes inexcusable if they reject it (Joh 3:14-19; Mt 22:14).
An effectual call is something more than the outward message of the Word of God to men. It is internal, and is the result of the enlightening and sanctifying influence of the Holy Spirit (Joh 16:14; Ac 26:18; Joh 6:44), effectually drawing men to Christ, and disposing and enabling them to receive the truth (Joh 6:45; Ac 16:14; Eph 1:17).
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And to Seth, to him also there was born a son, and he called his name Enosh. Then men began to call upon the name of LORD.
See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah,
And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah.
But after going, learn what this means, I desire mercy, and not sacrifice, for I came not to call the righteous, but sinners for repentance.
Come to me, all ye who labor and have been burdened, and I will give you rest.
Again he sent forth other bondmen, saying, Speak to those who were invited, Behold, I have prepared my dinner. My oxen and my fatlings have been killed, and all things are ready. Come to the wedding festivities.
For many are called, but few chosen.
After going, make ye disciples of all the nations, immersing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
And he said to them, Having gone into all the world, preach ye the good-news to the whole creation.
And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of man be lifted up, so that every man who believes in him would not perish, but may have eternal life. read more. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, so that every man who believes in him would not perish, but have eternal life. For God sent the Son into the world not that he might condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him. He who believes in him is not condemned. He who does not believe has been condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light, for their deeds were evil.
No man can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up in the last day. It is written in the prophets, And they will all be taught of God. Every man who hears from the Father, and having learned, comes to me.
He will glorify me because he will receive from me, and will report to you.
And it will be, that every man, whoever may call on the name of Lord will be saved.
And they stoned Stephen, who was calling and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.
And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call upon thy name.
And while they were serving the Lord, and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, Separate to me now Barnabas and Saul for the work that I have called them.
And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple of the city of Thyatira, a woman who worshiped God, was listening, whose heart the Lord opened to heed the things being spoken by Paul.
to open their eyes to turn about from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, for them to receive remission of sins and a lot among those who have been sanctified by faith in me.
even us whom he called, not only from Jews but also from Gentiles. As also he says in Hosea, I will call those not my people, my people, and her who was not beloved, beloved.
For there is no distinction of a Jew and also of a Greek, for the same Lord is of all men, being rich toward all those who call upon him.
So that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in knowledge of him,
to the holy and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and Lord Jesus Christ.
Watsons
CALL, to name a person or thing, Ac 11:26; Ro 7:3.
2. To cry to another for help; and hence, to pray. The first passage in the Old Testament in which we meet with this phrase, is Ge 4:26, where we read, "Then began men to call on the name of the Lord," or Jehovah; the meaning of which seems to be, that they then first began to worship him in public assemblies. In both the Old and New Testament, to call upon the name of the Lord, imports invoking the true God in prayer, with a confession that he is Jehovah, that is, with an acknowledgment of his essential and incommunicable attributes. In this view the phrase is applied to the worship of Christ.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And to Seth, to him also there was born a son, and he called his name Enosh. Then men began to call upon the name of LORD.
and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. And it came to pass a whole year for them to be assembled in the congregation, and to teach a considerable multitude, and to call the disciples Christians, first at Antioch.