effectual calling

{{short description|God calling a person to himself}}

Effectual calling (or effective calling), 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."{{cite book|last=Grudem|first=Wayne|author-link=Wayne Grudem|title=Systematic Theology|year=1994|publisher=IVP|page=692}} Grudem appeals to the story of Lydia: according to Acts 16:14, "The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message" (NIV).Grudem, Systematic Theology, p. 693.