"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." Romans 8:30

Picture of Preaching, speaking in the ear

The Question

The subject of God's call has occasioned long and heated debates in the history of the church. The Canons of Dort illustrate the outcome of one of these debates within the Reformed Church under The Third and Fourth Heads of Doctrine (Articles 11 & 12; Rejection of Errors Paragraph 6).

Article 11. But when God accomplishes His good pleasure in the elect, or works in them true conversion, He not only causes the gospel to be externally preached to them, and powerfully illuminates their minds by His Holy Spirit, that they may rightly understand and discern the things of the Spirit of God; but by the efficacy of the same regenerating Spirit He pervades the inmost recesses of man; He opens the closed and softens the hardened heart, and circumcises that which was uncircumcised; infuses new qualities into the will, which, though heretofore dead, He quickens; from being evil, disobedient, and refractory, He renders it good, obedient, and pliable; actuates and strengthens it, that like a good tree, it may bring forth the fruits of good actions.

Article 12. And this is that regeneration so highly extolled in Scripture, that renewal, new creation, resurrection from the dead, making alive, which God works in us without our aid. But this is in no wise effected merely by the external preaching of the gospel, by moral suasion, or such a mode of operation that, after God has performed His part, it still remains in the power of man to be regenerated or not, to be converted or to continue unconverted; but it is evidently a supernatural work, most powerful, and at the same time most delightful, astonishing, mysterious, and ineffable; not inferior in efficacy to creation or the resurrection from the dead, as the Scripture inspired by the Author of this work declares; so that all in whose heart God works in this marvelous manner are certainly, infallibly, and effectually regenerated, and do actually believe. Whereupon the will thus renewed is not only actuated and influenced by God, but in consequence of this influence becomes itself active. Wherefore also man himself is rightly said to believe and repent by virtue of that grace received.

Paragraph 6. Who teach: That in the true conversion of man no new qualities, powers, or gifts can be infused by God into the will, and that therefore faith, through which we are first converted and because of which we are called believers, is not a quality or gift infused by God but only an act of man, and that it cannot be said to be a gift, except in respect of the power to attain to this faith.

For thereby they contradict the Holy Scriptures, which declare that God infuses new qualities of faith, of obedience, and of the consciousness of His love into our hearts: I will put my law in their inward parts, and in their heart will I write it (Jer. 31:33). And: I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and streams upon the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon thy seed (Is. 44:3). And: The love of God hath been shed abroad in our hearts through the Holy Spirit which was given unto us (Rom. 5:5). This is also repugnant to the constant practice of the Church, which prays by the mouth of the prophet thus: Turn thou me, and I shall be turned (Jer. 31:18).

Generally speaking, the subject of God's call gets at the question as to how the elect are made partakers of the redemption Christ purchased for them in His atoning work. In other words by what means are the merits of the Savior applied to the elect? The Arminian, as the Canons of Dort cited above testify, has one view and the Reformed have another. The Arminian will argue that it is the work of the Holy Spirit to perform part of the work and man the remainder while the Reformed argue that it is all of God (Rom. 11:36). It is a debate that continues to the present day.

"For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen." Romans 11:36

The debate and its outcome really hinges on one's view of sin. If a view of sin is held that teaches fallen man is not totally depraved and has some resident ability to choose Christ, if properly persuaded to do so, and he so wills, thus making him an active participant in the benefits of Christ's redeeming work, then the argument will proceed along Arminian lines. But if fallen man is totally depraved and totally unable to do anything about his condition; if he is truly dead in trespasses and sins, then the benefits of Christ's redemption must be applied to Him. In other words one's view of the application of redemption really comes down to one's view of sin.

Inasmuch as the Reformed hold, on the basis of scripture, that a man is totally depraved, dead in trespasses and sins, and unable to do a single thing to save himself, then it follows that God's call, biblically understood, has a vital place in the order of salvation. As the Romans text cited above tells us, God calls His elect after they are predestined and before they are justified. In other words God's call to His elect is the first application of redemption after their predestination. As John Murray points out God's call is . . "that which in the realm of application brings the latter (i.e. predestination) to expression."¹

Frances Turretin offers this definition of God's call:

"This calling is an act of the grace of God in Christ by which he calls men dead in trespasses and sins and lost in Adam through the preaching of the gospel and the power of the Holy Spirit to union with Christ and to the salvation obtained in him."²

This definition accords with the historic Reformed view of God's call generally stated.

First. But to be more particular, what is clear first, with respect to God's call, is that God is the author of this call unto salvation. This is a truth clearly established in the context of the Romans text cited above and elsewhere in scripture (cf. 1 Cor. 1:9; 2 Tim. 1:8-9; Gal. 1:15-16; I Thess. 5:23-24; 2 Thess. 2:13-14; 1 Pet. 5:10 etc.). While we may speak of the active agency of the Holy Spirit in the various steps of the order of salvation. (Ezek. 36: 26-27; Jn. 3:5; 6:63; 2 Cor. 3:17; Eph. 4:30) God, the first person of the Trinity, declares Himself . . . active in constituting the bond that unites to what he designed in his eternal counsel and accomplished through the redemptive work of his Son.³

This means that God's call is an act of sovereign grace. It is He who initiates the putting of His elect in actual possession of what Christ secured for them. The wonder of God predestining sinners unto salvation is buttressed by the wonder of His personal initiative in putting His elect in actual possession of what He has secured for them in Christ by His call unto them.

Second, what is also clear in the Scriptures is that this call of God to salvation is not a process but an act of God's sovereign grace. His people are called to be saints (Rom. 1:7; 1 Cor. 1:2). That is what they now are by His action. This is not to be understood as a co-ordinate act as though God in His acting aligned Himself with the actions of man (as Arminianism teaches) but as an act of sovereign power and efficacy making the dead alive (cf. Ezek. 37), calling men from a state of sin to a state of grace (1 Cor. 1:9; Pet. 2:9; 1 Thess. 2:12). The fact that men believe and repent does not mean they are agents or instruments in their own calling but that they are evidencing God's sovereign call to salvation and responding. Their response to the gospel is not co-ordinate with God's call but subordinate to it.

Third, this call of God to salvation is not physical or moral in nature as if a man were forced or persuaded to respond to this call to salvation against his will. Men dead in trespasses and sins cannot be forced or persuaded of anything. They are spiritually dead, incapable of responding to either physical or moral prodding. The call of God is thus entirely divine and supernatural and because it is, God makes men willing in the day of His power (Ps. 110:3). He overcomes their dead state and their propensity to hate Him and His law and does so out of love, prompting Augustine to refer to God as "delightful conqueror."⁴ God does not give His elect in His call sufficient grace so they may be saved if they choose, but efficacious grace whereby they are saved because He has chosen.

Fourth, the nature of God's call being divine and supernatural means that it is both irresistible and immutable. God's call is as Murray states . . . "invested with the efficacy that delivers to the destination intended."⁵ His call is as determinate an action as His predestination which proceeds from the counsel of His own will (Is. 46:10; Eph. 1:9) and to which it forms a counterpart. It is a calling God will not repent of (Is. 49:7; 1 Cor. 1:9).

Fifth, God's call of His elect unto salvation is a holy calling (2 Tim. 1:9) because it proceeds from a holy God - its author (1 Pet. 1:15) and because it is unto holiness (1 Pet. 1:16).

Sixth, it is a heavenly calling (Heb. 3:1) and a high calling (Phil. 3:14) because it is a calling from heaven unto heaven.

Seventh, it is a calling perfectly suited and divinely framed in the counsel of the Triune Godhead to the necessity of fallen men. Men who are totally depraved and unable to do a single thing to save themselves are in a hopeless condition. As a result not only must redemption be provided for sinful men but sinful men must be divinely called and enabled to embrace it. This God has done in time and in space for those He has predestined unto Himself for His own glory (Eph. 1:11-12).

Eighth, the call of God obligates us to walk worthy of this calling (Ephesians 4:1). From all eternity the saved were chosen of God, and in time, as the consequence of His choice, efficaciously called from the rest of mankind to be a peculiar people unto Himself. Having been called out of a state of sin into a state of grace, God's called ones are now obligated and enabled to show their separateness by a transformed character and conduct in all of their lives (cf. 1 Pet. 2:1-12).

To draw this together let me conclude with the words of John Murray:

"The fact that calling is an act of God, and of God alone, should impress upon us the divine monergism in the initiation of salvation in actual possession. We become partakers of redemption by an act of God that instates us in the realm of salvation, and all the corresponding changes in us and in our attitudes and reactions are the result of the saving forces at work within the realm into which, by God's sovereign and efficacious act, we have been ushered. The call, as that by which the predestinating purpose begins to take effect, is in this respect of divine monergism after the pattern of predestination itself. It is of God and God alone.

But let us not overlook the Father's love in the initial act of salvation possessed. It is he who constitutes the bond with the Savior and therefore puts us in possession of all the Savior is. It is of the Father that Christ is made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption."⁶

INTRODUCTION

The Reformed Church in the United States confesses that it is necessary for a Christian to believe all that is promised us in the gospel, which the articles of our catholic undoubted Christian faith teach us in sum. (H.C. #22). One of the articles necessary for a Christian to believe is: I believe in the . . . Holy Catholic Church (H.C.#22). This article is of course one of many articles that comprise the Apostle's Creed. The RCUS is not alone in stating the necessity of believing the article concerning the Holy Catholic Church. This article is confessed by all churches holding to the Apostles' Creed as a summary statement of belief. The Roman Catholic Church, for example, from its earliest beginnings has made use of the Apostle's Creed to express its belief in the Holy Catholic Church.

But the use of the creed by various churches does not necessarily mean these churches agree as to what is actually to be believed concerning the Holy Catholic Church. The Roman Catholic Church, for example, stated in the Fourth Lateran Council in 1215: "Indeed, there is but one universal Church of the faithful outside which no one at all is saved . . ."1  So far so good. But then the Church then went on to declare at the Second Council of Lyons in 1274:

"The same Roman Church also has supreme and full primacy and jurisdiction over the whole Catholic Church. This it truly and humbly recognizes as received from the Lord himself in the person of St. Peter, the Prince or Head of the Apostles, whose successor in the fullness of power is the Roman Pontiff."2

These conciliar statements serve to affirm the truth of the Holy Catholic Church but then limit that Holy Catholic Church to those who acknowledge that the Roman Church localized and headquartered in Rome, Italy, has supreme and full primacy and jurisdiction over it. That is what the Roman Catholic Church believed concerning the Holy Catholic Church in the 13th century and what it continues to believe in the 21st century. Anthony Wilhelm writes: "If one comes to know and believe in the Catholic Church, he should become a catholic."3

In contrast to what Roman Catholicism believes concerning the article of the Apostles Creed, the Holy Catholic Church, our Heidelberg Catechism at #54 states what it is we believe concerning this article: That out of the whole human race, from the beginning to the end of the world, the Son of God, by His Spirit and Word, gathers, defends and preserves for Himself unto everlasting life a chosen communion in the unity of true faith; and that I am and forever shall remain a living member of the same.

While Rome circumscribes the article the Holy Catholic Church and limits it to those under its jurisdiction, our Heidelberg Catechism states that the Holy Catholic Church ". . . embraces all that the Son of God has chosen and gathered by His Word and Spirit, out of the entirety of the human race, in whatever place they have been or will be, and in whatever time they have lived from the beginning, or will live to the end of the world, inclusive of the living and the dead. It then goes on to state that ". . .  I am and forever shall remain a living member of the same." In other words, every true believer who is part of this Son of God gathered, defended, preserved, chosen communion is now and ever shall remain a member of this Holy Catholic Church.

Thus what we believe is diametrically opposed to what Rome believes, though we claim to believe the same article concerning the Holy Catholic Church.

Now in order to understand why we believe what we believe concerning this article of the Apostles' Creed, let me break the article down into the three heads of belief explicit in it, in the light of scripture.

I BELIEVE . . . IN THE CHURCH

In confessing I believe in the . . .Church, what does the scripture mean by the use of the word "church" or as it is in the original ekklessia? The word ekklesia is comprised of two words in the original, which when combined mean a calling out of. In Greek usage, as exemplified in the New Testament, the word was used of the calling out of a group of citizens to an assembly to discuss some affair of state.  It may be a riotous spontaneous assembly such as in Acts 19:324 (comp. 19:41) or an official civil gathering as in Acts 19:39. In both of these cases the word translated assembly (KJV) is the word ekklesia.

The word ekklesia is also used to speak of an assembly of professed believers gathered in a local setting such as Ephesus (Acts 20:28) or Corinth (1 Corinthians 1:2) etc. And it is used in the New Testament in the plural to speak of several assemblies of professing believers in a region or regions (Acts 19:31; 1 Thess. 2:14; Rev. 1:11, etc.). In these cases, as it is used of assemblies of believers, it is translated by the English word church.

As the Apostles' Creed uses the word church in the article before us, it is not using it of a civil gathering, or of a local church, or of churches in terms of regional location, though both local and regional churches are included. The scope of the article is much larger. It is using the word in the way Christ employed it in Matthew 16:18, when he said: "I will build my Church." This church is  further described in Ephesians 1:22-23 and 5:23, as synonymous with the redeemed efficaciously called out of a state of sin, redeemed from sin and united by grace through faith to Christ as His body, Christ Himself being the Head. In other words, the church we believe in is the full, total or complete company of the redeemed united to Christ by true faith, that the Son of God by His Spirit and Word gathers, defends and preserves for Himself and who are a chosen communion in the unity of the true faith. The church we are confessing to believe in is the full company of the redeemed in all ages from the beginning to the end of the world who hold to and are united in the bonds of the true faith. This would automatically exclude any organization who might call itself a church but who does not hold to the true faith (Comp. John 17:17; Rom. 16:25-27; Gal. 2:16; Phil. 3:9 &c.) which would include Roman Catholicism and all sects and cults.5

Now it is important to note here the authorship and agency of this church as stated by the catechism as it explains what we believe concerning the Holy Catholic Church.  This church is not designed or built by men or councils of men. This church is gathered by the Son of God. He is its author. He is the one who builds the church (Matt. 16:18). He calls it "my church." The church is wholly conceived in the counsel of the Triune Godhead with Christ as its Head (Ephesians 1:22) and cornerstone (i.e. from which the whole building takes its alignment) (Ephesians 2:20; 1 Peter 2:6).

In building this church He does so through the agency of His Spirit and Word (Romans 1:16; 10:11-17 c). We therefore believe, as John Gerstner put it, "Ubi Spiritus ibi ecclesia - Where the Spirit is, there is the Church." Rome holds just the opposite view: "Ubi ecclesia ibi Spiritus -Where the church is, there is the Spirit."6

Therefore, when we confess I believe . . . in the church we mean we believe that all those who will or have, by the agency of the Spirit and Word, believed and received the Gospel of Jesus Christ and trusted in Christ alone as their Saviour and Redeemer as He is revealed in the Word of God, in whatever age that church existed or shall exist, and whether that church is visible or invisible, that all these, comprise the church of whom Christ alone is, and ever shall remain, the Head and cornerstone.

I BELIEVE IN THE . . . CATHOLIC CHURCH7

While a direct line of connection cannot be made from the creed to the scriptures, particularly in reference to the Church, there is somewhat of a connection. The Greek word, from which our English word catholic comes from is found in the Bible. In Acts 4:18 in the context of the Jewish authorities commanding Peter and John not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus, the words at all (KJV) are the translation of a form of the Greek word katholikos. Its meaning as used here in Scripture is that of at all, wholly, entirely, totally. Under no circumstances, in any way, shape, or form were the apostles to preach or teach in the name of Jesus. They were to be wholly, entirely totally quiet. In other words they were to be universally quiet. A universal muzzle was placed on the Apostles, which of course they ignored out of obedience to God. But it is here that we are first introduced to the word we now know in English as catholic.

Eusebius, the Church historian, introduces this same word katholikos a little later in church history when recording the martyrdom of James the brother of Jesus. He uses the word in reference to the epistles of James, Peter, John and Jude and calls them Catholic Epistles. By this he meant they were not written to any one church alone, but to all, the whole, the entirety of the churches. They were thus general or universal epistles as opposed to local or regional epistles.8

The word katholikos was also used in connection with the church of Jesus Christ very early in the church's history. In the account of the death of Polycarp, a disciple of John, recorded in the Encyclical Epistle of the Church at Smyrna, we read the following in the introduction: "The Church of God which sojourns at Smyrna, to the Church of God sojourning in Philomelium (a City in Phrygia -RP), and to all the congregations of the Holy and Catholic Church in every place: Mercy, peace and love from God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ be multiplied."9 This is one of the early records of the word "catholic" being used with reference to the Church having as its meaning universal.

To cite one other reference (and there are many), Ignatius, also a disciple of John in his Epistle to the Smyrneans writes in chapter 9: "Wherever the bishop shall appear, there let the multitude [of the people] also be; even as, wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church."10

Very early the word katholikos came to carry the more permanent meaning of universal which is to be found in most modern dictionaries. As it applied to the church, the word catholic was used in speaking of the church of Christ as universal rather than local or particular. By contrast, under the Old Covenant, the church or assembly of God's people (Heb. Kahal YHWH) was limited to the Hebrew nation (Acts 7:38). And under the New Covenant, at the time of the incarnation of our Lord, the church  was very localized and visible in Jerusalem. It was, nevertheless, the Lord's intention in building His church to send His gospel into the world (Acts 1:8) and, where that gospel was received, to establish local churches as the book of Acts clearly shows did take place. Acts is the record of the development of Christ building the Catholic Church. It is, in fact, the catholic nature of the church that made and continues to make missions possible.

As Christian assemblies formed in various places far removed from one another, having never seen one another and without any hope of ever seeing one another, the narrow limits of the church confined to the Hebrew nation and later to a few disciples gathered at the Lord's last Supper, rapidly expanded. The preaching of the Word that began at Jerusalem by the Apostles on the day of Pentecost, preaching accompanied by a mighty outpouring of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1-2) was destined by the Lord who gathers his chosen, to go out into all the world universally. The church He would gather, defend and preserve by His Word and Spirit in the unity of the true faith would be a Catholic Church, a universal Church.

Thus the church would be built by Christ of redeemed men and women from every kindred, tribe, tongue, and nation (Rev. 5:9). It would have a universal complexion. Whereas the church under the Old Covenant was centralized, under the New Covenant it would be de-centralized (John 4:20-21). There would be no central organization or holy place to which the people of God would turn to worship God. As James Bannerman put it:

Wherever on the wide earth there is a true worshipper, there is a true temple of Jehovah, and there He may be worshipped in Spirit and truth. . . . There is now no national membership in the Church of Christ, limited to one hereditary family or favored race; but in the fellowship of one sort, all, of whatever tribe or tongue or nation, are one with Christ and one with each other. The narrow barriers of a former economy have been thrown down; and in the gift of the Spirit to all believers, and in the fellowship of the Spirit co-extensive with all, there is laid the foundation of a Church, no longer confined to one nation as before under the law, but world-wide and universal. "11

While Rome cannot conceive of the church beyond her own localizing limits believing that the universality of the church does not extend beyond her authority and jurisdiction, we believe in the . . . Catholic Church. As Gerstner put it: "We cherish to the word  because we cherish the concept."12

I BELIEVE IN THE HOLY CATHOLIC CHURCH

While more will be said on the subject of holiness (sanctification), as the next article in the Apostles Creed is taken up in this series, it is important here to briefly stress that the Scripture in referring to the people of God, that Christ has gathered and is gathering as His church, calls them a "holy nation" (1 Peter 2:9);  "holy brethren" (Heb. 3:1);  a "holy temple" (Ephesians 2:21); and "saints" [i.e. holy ones] (1 Cor. 1:2; 2 Cor. 2:1). Holiness is very clearly an attribute of the Catholic Church of Jesus Christ; it is something that constitutes its very essence.

The church is holy, first, because God has determined to separate for Himself a people from the world of sinful men. Anything that God separates or consecrates to Himself is considered holy. In fact the basic definition of "holy" is separation. Thus, His people are separated unto Him and thus holy (Lev. 20:26; Deut. 7:8; 1 Peter 2:9 &c.).

Second, the Church is holy because it is judicially cleansed from its pollution by the blood of Christ (1 Cor. 1:30; Heb, 2:11).

Third, the Church is holy because Christ labours to continually cleanse it from its defilement (Ephesians 5:25-27).

Fourth, the Church us holy because of its calling to be holy as He is holy (Lev. 19:2; Matthew 5:48; 1 Peter 1:5)

Fifth, the church is called holy because of the holy image of the One into whom it is renewed and to be conformed (Ephesians 4:24)

Sixth, the Church is holy because it called to actively and continually progress in holiness (Hebrews 12:14).

Ursinsus, in his commentary on the Heidelberg, well states the essential understanding we ought to have when we confess I believe in the Holy Catholic Church.:

It is called holy because it is sanctified of God by the blood and Spirit of Christ, that it may be conformable to him, not in perfection, but by the imputation of Christ's righteousness, or obedience; and by having the principle of holiness; because the Holy Spirit renews and delivers the church from the dregs of sins by degrees, in order that all who belong to it may commence and practice all the parts of obedience. It is also called holy, because it is consecrated to a holy and divine use, and is separated from the ungodly who are without its pale."13

CONCLUSION

Part of the glory of Christ's Church is its holy catholic nature which we confess when we say with the Apostles Creed I believe in the Holy Catholic Church. It is part of what constitutes the glory of the Church of Jesus Christ.

In his introduction to The Glorious Body of Christ wherein he treats the holy, catholic nature of the Church, among other attributes, R.B. Kuiper writes:

The Word of God tells us that Christ's church is glorious. Not only does history ascribe to it a past that is in many respects glorious and does prophecy or predict for it a glorious future, it is essentially glorious. The Christian Church is glorious in its very nature.14  To this we are constrained to reply, in the light of our study: "Amen brother Kuiper, Amen."

biblography

1 What The Church Teaches, Documents of the Church in English Translation, Jesuit Fathers of St. Mary's College, St. Mary's, Kansas, Tan Books, 1973, p.72.

2 Ibid.

3 Christ Among Us, A Modern Presentation of The Catholic Faith, Paulist Press, 1975, p. 380

4 Note: This text finds its way every few years into RCUS Synod meetings at strategic moments through the agency of a wit who shall here remain unnamed.

5 For more on this distinction see Belgic Confession of Faith article 29.

6 The Gospel According To Rome, p. 14, cited in Roman Catholicism, Loraine Boettner, Presbyterian and Reformed, 1981, p. 22

7 For additional helpful reading see The Church is Catholic a two part essay by Dr. J.W. Maris appearing in Lex Mundi, Volumes 24: Numbers 1 & 2 (March and June 2005) a publication of the Committee on Relations with Churches Abroad of the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands (Liberated) and recently reprinted in The Clarion a publication of the Canadian Reformed Churches.

8 The Church History of Eusebius, Book 2, Chapter 23:25; 25 (and footnote 48), The Nicene and Post Nicene Fathers, Eerdmans, 1982 Vol. 1, p. 128

9 The Ante Nicene Fathers, Eerdmans 1981, Vol. 1, p. 39.

10 Ibid, p 90

11 The Church of Christ, Still Waters Revival, 1991, Volume 1, p. 43.

12 The Gospel According to Rome op. cit.

13 Commentary on the Heidelberg Catechism, reproduction of the 1852 American Edition, P & R Publishing (no date), p. 289

14 Banner of Truth Trust, 1987, p. 13