The Father’s Gift to the Son, Our Security (6:37-44)

Purpose statement. Your salvation is eternally secure because it originated within God the Father, was effectively orchestrated by God the Father, and is eternally held by God the Son.

Necessity of Belief (6:40)

resounds John’s purpose in his gospel. “For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day” (). John relentlessly points the reader to belief in Jesus. Throughout the entire gospel, John appeals to the broken will of man to receive Christ and in so doing implies that man is responsible for their decision to believe.

In one sense, John offers a very simple solution. Believe. Yet, even though eternal satisfaction can be obtained by simply believing in Christ, there will be many (if not most) that will never believe. In verse 36, Jesus acknowledges their lack of belief. “But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe” (). What likelihood is there of belief for those who have never seen Christ? We more quickly understand why the modern recipient refuses to believe. They have never seen or experienced Jesus. Yet, this large crowd in saw Jesus perform miracles and still failed to believe.

This context of mass unbelief by the crowd begs the question. What if no one believes? What if Christ fails in His attempt to redeem mankind because He can’t get anyone to believe? Is it possible that Christ comes to save the world and no one want to be saved? Could Christ fail in His attempt to reconcile man to the Father? If there is no certainty that some will come to belief, is it possible that none would come to believe?

This is what leads us to the divine side of our salvation. Will Christ fail in his attempt? No! Will Christ come to save the world and no one want to be saved? No! Why? As verse 37 tells us, “All that the Father gives me will come to me.” The Father has already given some to Christ and every one of them will come to believe. God’s sovereign plan will not be frustrated. Jesus confidence rested not in the potential response from well-meaning people. Instead, his confidence lies in His Father’s power to work out his sovereign redemption.

Total Inability (6:44)

Wonderful! Some will come to believe. Yet, John informs the reader in verse 44 that “no one can come to me [in belief] unless the Father who sent me draws him” (). What does it mean that no one can come to Christ on his own?

First pitfall. John does not imply that there are people who want to come to Christ but cannot. Consider two possible analogies. The first, a classroom full of engaged and excited students with their hands raised, asking to come and Jesus informs them only those the Father calls can come. Or secondly, a classroom full of indifferent if not hostile students wanting nothing to do with belief and Jesus graciously reveals himself to those that the Father chose. In the first, we may struggle feeling like God is unfair for choosing a few out of the many wanting to come, and yet the reality parallels more the second analogy. The world is hostile to God. They want nothing to do with him, and in his grace he effectively chooses some.

Jesus just performed several miracles. The crowd wants Him to continue performing miracles, produce more bread, heal more people. He strives to communicate that the bread He speaks of is spiritual and not physical, and yet they remain confused. As Jesus establishes that this bread is eternal, unlike the bread Moses distributed, they desire to have more, and they want it ‘always’ (vs. 34). Jesus discusses the most significant stumbling block for them, that being, He is the Bread of Life that has come down out of heaven. They wonder how that could be, since they knew that Jesus was from Nazareth and was the son of Joseph and Mary (by the way that wasn’t an appropriate relationship). How possibly could He be the bread of life that came down from heaven? They just couldn’t understand.

Jesus then explains why they don’t understand. The Father had not drawn them. Is there evidence of anyone in the group desiring to come to Christ but can’t because the Father had not drawn them? Or, does this group consist of people wanting nothing to do with Jesus and Jesus statement offers an explanation? Jesus indicates that they don’t understand because the Father had not drawn them. Therefore, Jesus emphasizes why people are not coming. He is not acknowledging that there are people that want to come but can’t.

Second pitfall. Often believers can misread this statement, “No one can come unless the Father draws him,” due to a misunderstanding of . John writes, “when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself” (). The logic would go as follows. Only those who are drawn by the Father can come to Christ, but because 12:32 says that all men have been drawn to Christ, then all men (without exception) can come to Christ.

In , does Jesus mean all men without exception or all men without distinction? Does he mean that he will draw every individual to himself or that he will draw all types of mankind to himself? While the question may be challenging, the context helps. In 12:32, Jesus responds to his disciples about Gentiles being welcomed in coming to Christ. Christ impending death benefits not only the Jews but everyone. In being lifted up, Christ will draw not only the Jews to himself but will draw all types of people to himself. Oh, glorious truth!

Serious potential problem. The second half of 6:44 indicates that all those that are drawn to the Father will be raised up with him on the last day. If 12:32 proclaims that Jesus draws every individual man to himself, then the logical conclusion must be that every individual man is as well raised to be with Christ on the last day. The unacceptable theology of universalism would be the result. Therefore, all men in 12:32 must refer to all types of people not every individual person.

Both scripture and modern language often use “all” this way. For instance, “everyone was at Weiner and Kraut day.” “All the church turned out for the picnic and hayride last year.” In these instances, we are not intending to communicate that every single individual showed up but that in large part the church or the town was represented.

Scripture uses “all” this way as well. “And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” (). “And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins” (). “And they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi . . . look, he is baptizing, and all are going to him” (). With great certainty, we don’t conclude that every individual in the country of Judea and all Jerusalem went out and was baptized, confessing their sins. We rightly conclude that a large percentage, and representative of all parts of the city, went out to be baptized.

What “no one can come” means. There is a defect in man’s nature. “Now, the reason why man cannot come to Christ, is not because he cannot come, so far as his body or his mere power of mind is concerned, but because his nature is so corrupt that he has neither the will nor the power to come to Christ unless drawn by the Spirit.”[1]

Let me offer a rather bleak but likely effective scenario. If someone were to ask me to take a knife and stab my child in the heart, what would be my response? “I can’t do that!” That would be an accurate statement on my part. I truly couldn’t do something like that. Why couldn’t I? I have the physical ability to do such an act. I could mentally consider the act and know mentally how to accomplish it. But I would be accurate in saying that I can’t do such a thing. Why? Because it goes against my nature in such a way as to make me sick to think about it. My nature would not allow me to do such a horrible act.

Consider the sinner. A sinner can accomplish any physical act that would accompany salvation, assuming there were physical acts necessary for salvation. A sinner can mentally, at least intellectually, understand what Christ has done and their need for help in salvation. But, a sinner’s nature recoils at the thought of solely resting in Christ. Their nature abhors the thought of depending on someone other than themselves. Their nature cannot imagine humbling itself to dependence on Christ. Therefore, it is correct to say that they cannot come unless the Father draws them.

Effectual Calling (6:37, 39, 44)

“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him” (). “All that the Father gives me will come to me” (). “And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me” ().

The Father must draw. How does the Father draw men to Christ? Potentially, your first response may include preaching. Paul reminds us that “faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ”(). And while preaching is a vital component to the Father’s drawing, there must be more to his drawing that that. The Father’s drawing cannot be synonymous with preaching because there are many people who hear the truth preached but are never effectually drawn to Christ. The group in offer an example. Christ preached the gospel to the crowd and most of them were not “effectively” drawn to the Father. Therefore, there must be more to the Father’s draw than preaching, even though proclamation plays a significant role.

The word translated “draw” can include the idea of force. Friberg describes the Greek word as “tug, draw, drag . . . of a person, forcibly led . . . as a legal technical term lead by force, drag into court . . . (or) a strong pull in the mental or moral life, draw, attract.”[2]

As usual, context determines the emphasis. The immediate context implies power and influence but does not include force. In a message on this text Spurgeon quotes Ralph Erskine. “The man is saved ‘with full consent against his will;’ that is, against his old will he is saved.”[3]

The question remains. How does the father draw men to Christ? The Father draws men to Christ through the teaching of the Spirit. Isaiah proclaims that “all your sons will be taught of the Lord” (). Paul similarly proclaims that a believer understands the things given by God “not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit” (). John makes the same point later in his gospel. “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth” ().

Somehow, in ways unknown to mankind, God moves and changes our wills. He turns us from ourselves to Christ through the work of the Spirit.

God effectually calls all he chose to give to the Son. This is the surety that Christ had. While there were many who did not and would not believe, there were some that the Father had given to the Son, and Christ knew that His work would be effectual. There would be people who would believe. He knew that for a certainty.

Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. ()

Christ knew the Father had “before the foundations of the world” predestined some to be adopted into His family.

even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, ().

The Westminster Shorter Catechism asks the question, “what is effectual calling?”

Effectual calling is the work of God’s Spirit, whereby, convincing us of our sin and misery, enlightening our minds in the knowledge of Christ, and renewing our wills, he doth persuade and enable us to embrace Jesus Christ, freely offered to us in the gospel.[4]

Eternally Held by Christ (6:37, 39, 44)

Just a moment ago, John revealed in three verses that the Father draws men to himself. Each of these verses had an additional and wonderfully encouraging component. “Whoever comes to me I will never cast out” (). “I should lose nothing . . . but raise it up on the last day” (). “I will raise him up on the last day” ().

The wonderful reality that we are held. There are two beautiful realities to the fact that Christ will never cast us out and will never lose any of us. (1) Everyone who comes to Christ will be welcomed. “Whoever comes to me I will never cast out” (). No one will ever say, “I tried to come to Christ, and He wouldn’t have me.” Every single person, who desires to come to Christ is eagerly and lovingly embraced and redeemed. (2) All who come to the Son will be kept and protected by the Son. Your perseverance in the Christian life is not dependent on your own strength but instead is dependent on the fact that Christ is preserving His gift from the Father.

The wonderful reason by which we are held. The reason for the incarnation was so that Jesus could come and redeem mankind. This task was given to Him by the Father and He willingly submitted to that task. He is committed to doing the will of the Father and it is the Father’s will that all that He gives to the Son will be kept by the Son. Every single person who the Father has given to the Son will come to the Son and will be kept by the Son.

[1] C. H. Spurgeon, “Human Inability,” in The New Park Street Pulpit Sermons, vol. 4 (London; Glasgow: Passmore & Alabaster; James Paul; George John Stevenson; George Gallie, 1858), 138.

[2] Friberg, et al. Analytical Lexicon of the Greek New Testament, 144.

[2] Friberg, et al. Analytical Lexicon of the Greek New Testament, 144.

[3] Spurgeon, “Human Inability,” 142.

[3] Spurgeon, “Human Inability,” 142.

[4] Philip Schaff, The Creeds of Christendom, with a History and Critical Notes: The Evangelical Protestant Creeds, with Translations, vol. 3 (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1882), 682.

[4] Philip Schaff, The Creeds of Christendom, with a History and Critical Notes: The Evangelical Protestant Creeds, with Translations, vol. 3 (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1882), 682.