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).
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But having gone, learned what this is, I wish mercy and not sacrifice: for I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
Come unto me, all ye who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
And again he sent other servants, saying; Speak to those who have been called, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatling are slain, and all things are ready: come to the marriage.
For many are called, but few elected.
Going, disciple all nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost:
OMITTED TEXT
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so does it behoove the Son of man to be lifted up: that every one believing in Him may have eternal life. read more. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that every one believing on Him may not perish but have eternal life. For God sent not His Son into the world that He may condemn the world; but that the world through Him may be saved. He that believeth on Him is not condemned; but he that believeth not, has already been condemned, because he has not believed on the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light has come into the world, and men love darkness rather than light; for their works are evil.
No one is able to come unto me, unless the Father who sent me may draw him: and I will raise him up in the last day. It is written in the prophets, They shall all be taught of God; every one hearing and learning from the Father, comes to me.
He will glorify me: because He will receive from mine, and proclaim them unto you.
And it shall come to pass, that every one who may call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
and continued to stone Stephen, calling upon the Lord, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.
and he here has authority from the chief priests to bind all those calling on thy name.
And they ministering to the Lord, and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, Now separate unto me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.
And a certain woman Lydia by name, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, worshiping God, was hearing us: whose heart the Lord opened to give attention to the words spoken by Paul.
to open their eyes, to turn them from darkness unto light, and from the power of Satan unto God, in order that they may receive remission of sins, and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in me.
whom he called, even us, not only of the Jews, but also of the Gentiles: as he says in Hosea, I will call them my people, who are not my people; and her beloved, who is not beloved:
For there is no difference between Jew and Greek: for the same is Lord of all, rich unto all that call on him.
in order that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of the glory, may grant unto you the spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the perfect knowledge of himself;
to the saints who are in Colossae and the faithful brethren in Christ. Grace to you and peace from God our Father.
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.
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And it happened unto them, a whole year indeed they assembled in the church, and taught a great multitude: and the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.
Then if she may be married to another man, her husband still living, she will be designated an adulteress: but if her husband may die, she is free from the law; and is no adulteress, though she is married to another man.