Men today tell us that the Holy Spirit of God convicts, enlightens, woos, urges, strives and exerts some influence on people but that He can only do in the end what men will let Him do. To what extent does the Bible say that the Holy Spirit can and will work in order to bring the people of God to Christ?
"So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the failing or misapplication of God's purpose of redemption in Christ. That redemption which He purchased and obtained by the price of His blood shall be effectually applied to those for whom it was purchased. God is not wanting in power to perform all His pleasure.
Paul, in writing to the church at Rome, speaks of them as "the called of Jesus Christ: to all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints."
The calling that the apostle speaks of is more than an outward call, invitation or opportunity. They were not only called by the gospel but "called to be saints!"
They are referred to in Romans 8:28 as "The Called according to his purpose."
Men not only can but do resist the Spirit of God; but none are able to successfully resist the power of God's call in the heart if He exercises the power of His grace.
Though once unwilling, they are "made willing in the day of His power."
There is truly an outward call that goes out through the preaching of the gospel to everyone that hears it. This outward call can be and always is resisted by man. But in those that God saves it is attended by a powerful and effectual call in the heart by the Spirit of God. They are drawn powerfully (John 6:44, 45) to Christ, their rebellion is subdued, they are regenerated and given a new nature that willingly surrenders to the claims of Christ.
The order of spiritual life is pain from what we read in John 1:12, 13): "But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God."
Believing and receiving Christ are not the conditions for spiritual life but the results of God giving spiritual life.
Men believe on and receive Christ by faith because they are born…of God."
"The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit." (John 3:8).
This effectual call by the Spirit of God is revealed both in Paul's experiences on the Damascus road and in his testimony.
"But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace, to reveal His Son in me…" (Gal. 1:15-16)
This was no mere outward invitation but a divine summons in the heart! The golden chain of God's omnipotent grace stretches from eternity to eternity and cannot be broken or the order of its links changed.
"Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified." (Rom. 8:30)
When Paul speaks of God and the gospel of His power he says, "Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began."
According to the apostle, God saved a people in Christ and in time reveals this good news to them through the gospel by the Holy Spirit.
The Spirit of God reveals this finished salvation in Christ in the heart.
"In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation." (Eph. 1:13)
The good news that God has saved you through the cross of His Son!
The words of the Psalmist in Psalm 65:4 sum it up: "Blessed is the man whom thou chooseth, and causeth to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts: we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple."