EFFECTUAL CALL
The term effectual call, as related to salvation, comes from Chapter X of the 1647 Westminster Confession of Faith. The effectual call is understood as God's sovereign drawing of a sinner to salvation. The effectual call to a sinner so overwhelms his natural inclination to rebel that he willingly places faith in Jesus Christ. The apostle Paul refers to the effectual call when he writes, "It is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill His good purpose" (Philippians 2:13). The necessity of the effectual call is emphasized in Jesus' words, "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them" (John 6:44)