Calling and Regeneration

Outline

1. Before Calling

2. Calling

3. Regeneration and Conversion

4. Exceptional Salvation

(i) The calling of God is the starting point of subjective salvation, but the divine plan of salvation started already before calling: “And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.”(Rom 8.30) Eph 1.4 clarifies that “he[God] chose us in him[Christ] before the creation of the world.” Together with our election, “He[Christ] was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake.”(1Pet 1.20)

(ii) Our union with Christ, unio cum Christo, is mystical because it started even before our personal existence, so it is called mystical union, unio mystica. And it is inseparable forever: “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? … No, … neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”(Rom 8.35-39)

(iii) Christ and we are united in all the process of salvation: “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ sunezwopoi,hse tw/| Cristw even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up sunh,geire with Christ and seated us suneka,qisen with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus evn Cristw/| VIhsou.”(Eph 2.4-6) This union with Christ was maintained from election to glorification, including calling, regeneration, justification, sanctification, mortification, vivification, and resurrection. This union with Christ as our covenant representative is called objective union or federal union: “one died for all, and therefore all died.”(2Cor 5.14) It becomes subjective union by active participatio Christi, and it is organic union for it is united to the body of Christ.

(iv) The evn Cristw/| VIhsou formula describes the mystical union with Christ. G. Adolf Deismann found that Paul used this formula 164 times as technical term. Christian identity is found in Christ: “I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.”(Gal 2.20) Reciprocal use of ‘I in Christ’ and ‘Christ in me’ shows the perfect union with Christ.

(i) Calling or vocation, vocatio, is the Gospel invitation of God to participate in salvation by faith in Christ the Savior. The Scripture used ar;q' or kalew more than 700 times, and most of them means simply to call, name, or ask God for help. But a special use to mean God’s call to office or mission corresponds to the soteriological concept of calling.

(ii) Calling is distinguished into external and internal calling, ineffective and effective calling, general and special calling, primary and secondary calling, individual and social calling, or single and continual calling. Gospel call is given to all, but not all respond positively, but only those who received effective calling of the Holy Spirit(Mt 22.14, 1Cor 12.3). However, the possibility of effective calling without Gospel call, i.e., evangelism is denied: “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent?”(Rom 10.13-15)

(iii) All the three persons of the Trinity works for the effective calling. God the Father is the Caller(Phil 3.14, Ac 2.38-9), Christ, i.e., God the Son provides the ground of calling(Heb 9.15), and the Holy Spirit, the Paraklhtoj meaning the Para-Called to help us to believe the Gospel and respond positively to the divine call(Jn 14.16-7, 16.7-8, 13). So, we “are called to belong to Jesus Christ.”(Rom 1.6) The Son was called before we are able to be called, so we are called in Christ.

(iv) The characteristics of this divine call are transcendental, holy, eternal, and immutable. It is the heavenly calling klh,sewj evpourani,ou of God coming from above(Heb 3.1, Phil 3.14), and the holy calling kale,santoj klh,sei a`gi,a| in nature and purpose(2Tim 1.9, Eph 1.4). It is the eternal calling: “[God] called us to a holy life--not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time.” Also, “God's gifts and his call are irrevocable.”(Rom 11.29) This call is given sola gratia, i.e., only by the grace and love of God(1Cor 1.26, 1Tim 1.9, Rom 9.11). And, “in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”(Rom 8.28)

(v) The primary purpose of the divine calling in general is to make him/her holy, i.e., saints(1Thess 4.7-8) in order to serve the Kingdom of God effectively. One is called to be free from every bondage of sin, death, law and Satan(Gal 5.13), to have koinonia with God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit as well as the fellow saints(1Cor 1.9, 1Jn 1.3, 2Cor 5.18-19), to love(1Pet 3.9), and to participate in suffering(1Pet 2.21, Mk 8.34-35), for God calls to follow Him in spite of any difficulties with total commitment.

(vi) This calling is not only individual but also social, for it is the call to serve the Kingdom of God in one’s social settings including family, church, organization, nation and world etc. in one’s own time and space. Church is the community of the called, i.e., ekklhsia. Occupation and work is called vocation, because it is regarded as a divine calling. It is urged “to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.”(Eph 4.1) Calling is holistic, for it demands total obedience: “If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.”(Rom 14.8) Therefore, all the elements of calling is united into one calling, not only individually but collectively: “There is one body and one Spirit--just as you were called to one hope when you were called.”(Eph 4.4)

(i) Re-generation paliggenesia means ‘born genesia again palin’. It is a spiritual birth, so second birth after first physical birth, as “Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.” Jesus clearly excluded the possibility of salvation with regeneration: “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit gennhqh/| evx u[datoj kai. Pneu,matoj.”(Jn 3.5-6) The spiritually dead receives spiritual life zwh distinguished from physical life bioj by the Holy Spirit.

(ii) Two occurrences of the noun form of regeneration signifies two kinds of regeneration: individual and cosmic regeneration or renewal. 1Tim 3.4-5 indicates spiritual rebirth of individual: “when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit dia. loutrou/ paliggenesi,aj kai. avnakainw,sewj

Pneu,matoj ~Agi,ou.”On the other hand, Matt 19.28 indicates the renewal of the whole universe, i.e., new heaven and new earth: “Jesus said to them, ‘I tell you the truth, at the renewal of all things evn th/| paliggenesi,a|, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne…” Regeneration is the work of new creation of individual and universe corrupted by sin.

(iii) Objective regeneration happened already with the resurrection of Christ, for we are united with Him: “God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ sunezwopoi,hse tw/| Cristw even when we were dead in transgressions”(Eph 2.4-5) Col 2.12-13 describes both subjective and objective regeneration: “having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead. When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ.” Calling becomes effective when one believes in Christ, and regeneration occurs simultaneously with effectual call by the work of the Holy Spirit.

(iv) Human soul is radically changed through regeneration: “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation kainh. kti,sij; the old has gone, the new has come!”(2Cor 5.17) New self is created through the removal of spiritual resistance against God and complete reorientation/transformation of habitus including intellect, emotion and will. Though the old self survives, one’s new self takes initiative with new freedom. Regeneration is totally passive and results in passive conversion. New self restores his/her relationship with God the Father and the Son with the help of the Holy Spirit by calling Christ his/her personal Lord kurioj and God ‘Abba!’.

(v) Regeneration and conversion is partly conscious and partly unconscious, as it involves a holistic change including consciousness and sub-consciousness. However, the degree of consciousness varies according to the personality and culture as well as religious life. The fact of regeneration may be recognized by the observation of one’s relationship with God and world and life view, both in word and deed.

(vi) Regeneration in the absolute sense of spiritual rebirth from spiritual death happens only once in lifetime. However, life-long process of mortification and vivification for spiritual renewal continues to occur, and it is called regeneratio continua. As Paul said, “I die everyday”(1Cor 15.31), Christians continues to die and live in spiritual sense, for old self and new self co-exist and struggle each other.

(vii) The purpose of regeneration is to participate in the Kingdom of God which unifies all the humanity and universe in Christ. It is the ministry of reconciliation and restoration, and new self are created to be Christ’s ambassador of reconciliation.

And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God.

(i) The Gospel suggests the ordinary way of salvation without clear descriptions about special cases such as the mentally handicapped, infant or pre-Christian ancestor. Therefore, those who are unable to understand the Gospel or died in such an age are open to salvation. Westminster Confession 10.3 states: “Elect infants, dying in infancy, are regenerated and saved by Christ through the Spirit, who worketh when, and where, and how he pleaseth. So also are all other elect persons who are incapable of being outwardly called by the ministry of the Word.” It may be applied also to the mentally handicapped. Jn 9.1-7 shows that physical handicap has some redemptive significance: “Neither this man nor his parents sinned… but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.”(3) Lk 16.25 suggests future blessing of the handicapped

(ii) Concerning the salvation of ancestor before the coming of the Gospel, the Scripture is ambiguous. Everybody is sinner and therefore all will be condemned without salvation of Christ. However, it is a distinction between those heard the Gospel and those not heard: “In the past God overlooked u`peridw.n such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.”(Ac 17.30)