Effectual calling (or effective calling[1]), in Calvinist Christian soteriology, is a stage in the ordo salutis in which God calls a person to himself. It is connected with, but different from external calling, in which a person hears the gospel message.
Wayne Grudem suggests that it is a summons from the King of the universe that has "such power that it brings about the response that it asks for in people's hearts."[1] Grudem appeals to the story of Lydia: according to Acts 16:14, "The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message" (NIV).[2]
- ^ a b Grudem, Wayne (1994). Systematic Theology. IVP. p. 692.
- ^ Grudem, Systematic Theology, p. 693.