The Doctrines of Grace

Invincible Grace

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Invincible Grace

John 6:35-45

We come this morning again to the Doctrines of Grace. We here at The Bridge stand in the Reformed tradition. We adhere to reformed theology. We teach that a person’s salvation is not ultimately a result of exercising his free will, but of God exercising His sovereign will.

We have looked at the doctrines of Total Inability, Unconditional Election, and Particular Atonement.  This morning I want to study with you the doctrine of Invincible Grace, or as some have put it, Irresistible Grace.

The Bible describes God’s invincible grace in four different ways:  God drawing us, God calling us, God quickening us, and God regenerating us.  We are going to look at these four Biblical descriptions of God’s saving grace, and then look at some questions and applications of God’s invincible grace.

1. Invincible Grace is Described as God Drawing Us

In order to understand God’s drawing of people to Christ, we need to go to John 6:35-45,  “Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me shall not hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. “But I said to you, that you have seen Me, and yet do not believe. “All that the Father gives Me shall come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out. “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. “And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. “For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him, may have eternal life; and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.” The Jews therefore were grumbling about Him, because He said, “I am the bread that came down out of heaven.” And they were saying, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does He now say, `I have come down out of heaven´?”  Jesus answered and said to them, “Do not grumble among yourselves. “No one can come to Me, unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day. It is written in the prophets, `AND THEY SHALL ALL BE TAUGHT OF GOD.´ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father, comes to Me.”

• What does it mean to come to Christ? 6:35. Notice that this verse uses the grammatical device known as parallelism. That is to say, there are two statements that parallel one another and explain one another. In this verse, what is parallel to “comes to Christ”? Yes, it is “believes in Me.” So, we have our answer. Coming to Christ is simply speaking about true saving faith.
• How many can come to Christ on their own? 6:44. No one! The word “can” speaks of ability. No one has the ability to come to Christ, which is the same as to believe savingly on Jesus Christ.
• What did the Father do to make sure some come to Christ? 6:37.  He gave some to Jesus. This is speaking about the doctrine of unconditional election. Before the foundation of the world, the Father chose a great multitude which no man can number, and gave them into the hands of Jesus Christ. He became responsible for them. He came into the world to save them.
• How many of those the Father gave Jesus will come to Him? 6:37.  All of them! But what if they resist Him? God will overcome their resistance! God will not fail in His purpose to save sinners!
• How many of those who were given to Christ will be lost? 6:39. None of them! All will be raised up on the last day. In verse 40 we are told what Jesus means by being raised up on the last day, “everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.”
• What must the Father do so that some come to Christ? 6:44. He must draw them.  Well, how many of those that the Father draws will be saved? Verse 44 says every one of them who are drawn will be raised up on the last day. Every person who is drawn is saved!
• What does it mean for the Father to draw a person? There are different senses in which we use the word “draw.” Sometimes we use the word “draw” for what we do when we take out a pencil and a piece of paper and make a sketch. That’s not how the Bible using this word! The Bible is using this word in the same way that we say that the horse is drawing the carriage, or that the man is drawing the water out of the well with his bucket. The very next verse (45), explains what it means for God to draw a person. It means that God Himself teaches them, and that person hears the Father and learns from the Father. It is the same thing that happened in Peter’s life, when Jesus said, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.” Now, many people think that God drawing a person just means that he woos them, or invites them, or beckons to them, but whether they come or not is ultimately up to them. However, the word “draw” in Greek is usually translated as “drag” in the New Testament. It is used of Peter drawing his sword out of his scabbard (Jn.18:10), or hauling a net containing 153 fish to land (Jn.21:11), of Paul and Silas dragged into the market place before the authorities (Acts 16:19), and of the rich dragging the poor into court (James 2:6). True, there is resistance in every case, but there is not a single example in the New Testament where the resistance is successful. In every case the drawing power is triumphant. The sword is withdrawn, the fish get to shore, Paul and Silas are dragged before the magistrates, and the poor are brought before the court. The Greek word carries the meaning “to compel by irresistible superiority.”
• Can a person who is drawn by the Father not come to Christ? No, verse 44 says that if a person is drawn by the Father he will be raised up on the last day. That is to say, he will be saved.

2. Invincible Grace is Described as God Calling Us

The Bible uses the word “call” in two different senses in the Scriptures.  For example, in Matthew 22, Jesus gives the parable of the wedding feast. He tells the story of a King who gave a wedding feast for his son, and sent his slaves to call those who had been invited. However, when they were called they refused to come. They were m ore interested in their farms and businesses. Well, Jesus winds up his parable in verse 14 by saying, “For many are called, but few are chosen.” This tells us that Jesus is using the word “call” in a general sense. The number of those that were chosen was few. The number of those that were called was many. There is a general call. I call it the gospel call. Whenever the gospel is preached, those that hear it are being called. The gospel is call is issued by men. It can and often is resisted. However, there is another call in the New Testament. It is the effectual call. When this call goes out, it overcomes all resistance, and brings the sinner to Jesus Christ to be saved. The gospel call is issued by men, but the effectual call is issued by God. The gospel call can only reach the ears, but the effectual call reaches the heart. Some have referred to it as the Inward Call, and the Outward Call.  The Puritan Thomas Watson put it like this, “There is an inward call, when God with the offer of grace works grace. By this call the heart is renewed, and the will is effectually drawn to embrace Christ. The outward call brings men to a profession of Christ, the inward to a possession of Christ… God puts forth infinite power in calling home a sinner to Himself; He not only puts forth His voice but His arm. The apostle speaks of the exceeding greatness of His power, which He exercises towards them that believe (Eph.1:19). God rides forth conquering in the chariot of His gospel; He conquers the pride of the heart, and makes the will, which stood out as a fort-royal, to yield and stoop to His grace; He makes the stony heart bleed. Oh, it is a mighty call!… The effectual call is mighty and powerful. God puts forth a divine energy, nay, a kind of omnipotence; it is such a powerful call, that the will of man has no power effectually to resist.”

Romans 8:28-30.  “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the first-born among many brethren; and whom He predestined, these He also called; and whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.”  Now, in this passage, the word “called” appears three times. In verse 28 we are told that the promise that God causes all things to work together for good is only for a particular group of people – those that love God and are called according to God’s purpose. Then in verse 30 Paul introduces his golden chain of salvation. Those that are predestined are called.  Those that are called are justified. Those that are justified are glorified. Now, in this passage, how many of those that are called are not justified and glorified? None of them! The call of God in this passage cannot refer to the gospel call, because most people who hear the gospel reject it and are damned. However, when this call goes out, every one of them are justified and glorified. Notice also the order. A man is first called, and then justified. Now, at what point in this chain does a person exercise saving faith? It is when he is justified. Romans 5:1 says, “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” So, God’s call takes place before there is saving faith, and actually causes faith to well up in the heart of the sinner!

1 Corinthians 1:9. “God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”  Calling in this passage refers to that work of God whereby we are actually brought into a living and vital relationship with Jesus Christ. It can’t be understood as simply a gospel offer. This call does not merely offer us fellowship with Christ. It brings us into fellowship with Christ.

1 Corinthians 1:22-24. “For indeed Jews ask for signs, and Greeks search for wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block, and to Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.”  In this text calling can’t be equated with the mere preaching of the gospel, for the gospel is preached to many who view Christ merely as a stumbling block or foolishness, while those who are called experience Him as the power and w isdom of God. While the larger mass of Jews and Gentiles rejected Christ, a smaller group consisting of “the called” responded in faith to Him.

2 Timothy 1:9. “who has saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity.”  How did God save us?  The text says He did it by calling us. Thus, the exact same group of people that God saved are those that He called. Thus, the “calling” referred to in this passage is not simply the wooing of the Holy Spirit which may be resisted. Rather it is a work of God which brings sinners into a state of salvation. Further, this passage says that our calling was granted us from all eternity.

1 Peter 2:9.  “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”  This passage declares that we were called from something and to something. We were called out of the kingdom of darkness, into the kingdom of light. Thus, this call is n ot merely a gospel offer. Rather, it is a divine summons which brings a sinner out of Satan’s kingdom where he was a slave of sin, and brings him into Christ’s kingdom where he is a servant of righteousness. Further our text says that this call comes to God’s chosen people, who are a people for His own possession.

The Westminster Confession of Faith was written in 1646. In that confession, the authors described God’s call like this:  “All those whom God hath predestinated unto life, and those only, He is pleased, in His appointed and accepted time, effectually to call, by His Word and Spirit, out of that state of sin and death, in which they are by nature, to grace and salvation by Jesus Christ; enlightening their minds, spiritually and savingly, to understand the things of God; taking away their heart of stone, and giving unto them a heart of flesh; renewing their wills, and by His almighty power determining them to that which is good, and effectually drawing them to Jesus Christ; yet so as they come most fgreely, being made willing by His grace. This effectual call is of God’s free and special grace alone, not from any thing at all foreseen in man; who is altogether passive therein, until, being quickened and renewed by the Holy Spirit, he is thereby enabled to answer this call, and to embrace the grace offered and conveyed in it.” 

3. Invincible Grace is Described as God Quickening Us

The word “quicken” simply means to make alive. And this is exactly what God did for us when He saved us.

Ephesians 2:4-5, “But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved).  This text declares that even when we were dead in our transgressions, God made us alive together with Christ. Ephesians 2:1-3 teaches that we were dead to God, cut off from His life, and alienated from His Person. As such, we were under His wrath and unable to do anything about it. What exactly took place when we were saved? God made us alive together with Christ. You see, Jesus possesses eternal life which is the very life of God. God united us to Christ, and when we were joined to Him, His life now became ours. The life flowing through Him, began to flow through us. We were made alive together with Christ! God has implanted His very life in the soul of the elect sinner.

John 5:24-25, “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life. Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear shall live.” Jesus is not talking about our future physical resurrection here, because He says we receive eternal life at the same time we believe. Further, He says an hour is coming and now is when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God and live. Jesus is describing our spiritual quickening. He is telling us that some people will receive new life, God’s very life, and that life will save them. You see, eternal life is not just life that goes on forever. It is that, but it is a whole lot more than that. Eternal life is the kind of life that God has, has always had, and always will have. And when His invincible grace comes to a person, God gives them His own kind of life. 1 John 5:11-12 says, “And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.”

4. Invincible Grace is Described as God Regenerating Us

When I speak of regeneration, I am simply talking about being born again. And actually, God’s drawing is regeneration. God’s calling is regeneration. God’s quickening is regeneration. Invincible grace is nothing more or less than regeneration. It is the New Birth.  Regeneration is sometimes described as the receiving of a new heart.

Ezekiel 36:26-27, “Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.”  Something like a spiritual heart transplant takes place in the new birth. God removes the heart of stone and replaces it with a heart of flesh. This heart of flesh is so different from our old heart, that God calls it a new heart. This points to the radical new affections that a person experiences when he is born again. He receives a new nature with new desires and values. He now hates what he once loved, and loves what he once hated. He now delights in the Bible, in Christian fellowship, in prayer and worship. God becomes his supreme love.

So, how is God’s grace in salvation described?  It is described as God drawing us, calling us, quickening us, and regenerating us.

Some Important Questions

1. Can God’s Grace Be Resisted? In Acts 7:51-52 when Stephen was preaching to the Jewish leaders he said, “You men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit; you are doing just as your fathers did. Which one of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? They killed those who had previously announced the coming of the Righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become.”  Stephen told these unconverted leaders that they were always resisting the Holy Spirit. Now, that is exactly what we should expect because of our first study in this series. The doctrine of Total Depravity teaches us that men will always resist God until they are overcome by grace. When we speak of God’s irresistible grace, we don’t mean that sinners will not resist God. We mean that they will and must resist God until He changes their natures. God will allow sinners to go on resisting Him until He decides to put an end to their resistance. When God regenerates a sinner, He has removed their disposition to resist Him, because He has given them a new heart with new affections and a new life.

2. Do People Cooperate With God In The New Birth? In the new birth, how much do I do, and how much does God do? Is this a 50/50 proposition? Or does God do 99% and I do 1%?  Well, let me ask you another question. Did Lazarus cooperate with Jesus in coming back to life? Of course not! He was dead. He couldn’t cooperate.  Does a baby cooperate with his parents in being conceived? Of course not! He did not exist. He could not cooperate. Yet, the Bible speaks of us being made alive, and being born again. If we could not cooperate in being made alive or being born physically, surely we can not cooperate with being made alive or being born spiritually. If we were spiritually dead in our trespasses and sins, there is no way we could cooperate with God in our spiritual new birth.

3. What Comes First – Regeneration or Faith? Now when I ask what comes first, I do not mean that regeneration and faith can occur days or weeks apart. Now, in the very same instant that regeneration occurs, faith also occurs. My question has to do with what causes what. Does regeneration cause faith? Or does faith cause regeneration? If I take a pistol and shoot a hole in the door, the squeezing the trigger and the hole in the door occur simultaneously. However, what caused what? The bullet caused the hole. I submit to you, that regeneration is the bullet, and faith is the hole. Why? Because faith is a spiritual activity, and a spiritually dead person can’t and won’t believe. If I go outside and get in my car and turn on the lights, and nothing happens, I assume I have a dead battery. I don’t say, “If I could just get my lights to come on, then my battery would be recharged!” No, I understand that I must first regenerate my battery, and then my lights will work. In the same way, God must first regenerate our souls, and then the lights of faith and repentance will begin to show themselves. John 1:12-13 says, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” John goes out of his way to assure us that our new birth had nothing to do with us, but everything to do with God’s sovereign will. In 1 John 5:1 it says, “Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God; and whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him.” The tenses of the verbs indicate that whoever is presently believing that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God in the past. The words “is born of God” are in the perfect tense, which speaks of a past completed action with continuing results. Thus, everyone who presently believes does so because he has been born of God in the past and continues in that state all the days of their life.

4. Where Do Faith and Repentance Come From? Many believers think that faith and repentance come solely from the exercise of their will. They are the contribution the sinner makes to his salvation. Well, what does the Bible say? Let’s take faith first. Acts 18:27 says of Apollos, “he greatly helped those who had believed through grace.” Interesting – they believed through grace. Evidently they did not have the ability so simply believe on their own. Philippians 1:29 says, “For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake.” There it is. To us God granted us to believe in Christ.

Well, what about repentance?  When Peter was preaching before the Council in Acts 5:31 he said, “He is the one whom God exalted to His right hand as a Prince and a Savior, to grant repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.”  Repentance was granted by God. Also, 2 Timothy 2:25 says that the Lord’s bond-servant is to gently correct those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth.  Again the Bible says God may grant repentance.  According to the Scriptures, repentance and faith are not our contribution to our salvation. Instead, they are gifts of grace. They must be granted by God. When God gives regeneration, repentance and faith flow naturally from the renewed heart.

Some Important Applications

1. We should continually call sinners to Christ. Only those who hear the gospel call will receive the effectual call. So tirelessly, relentlessly, call people to Christ. Point them to Jesus, the crucified Savior. Direct them to Him, again and again and again. Folks, we don’t need to sugar coat the message in order to get people to believe! We don’t need to try to work people up into an emotional fervor in order to get them to believe. We don’t need to alter the message to make it more appealing. We should not get rid of terms like repentance, and sin, and surrender, and judgment, and hell. Those are all truths that the Bible unashamedly teaches again and again. The Bible says in Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation for everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” Let’s be busy proclaiming the true gospel, not a candy coated substitute for the real thing.

2. We should be looking for God’s invincible grace as evidence of conversion. To often we pronounce a person saved as long as they took some kind of action we told them to take, like raising their hand at a religious service, praying the sinner’s prayer, walking an aisle, or signing a card. Did you know that none of those things are ever even mentioned in the Bible? Instead we should be asking questions like:  Has he been drawn? Has he been called? Has he been quickened? Has he been regenerated? Can we see evidence of God’s work upon his soul?

3. We should never despair of anyone’s salvation. If there was anyone that we would have all despaired of ever being converted it was Saul of Tarsus. He had made it his life’s ambition to stamp out Christianity. He was tirelessly arresting Christians and even executing them. Yet Jesus Christ appeared to Saul, stopped him in his tracks, and gloriously saved him. In 1 Timothy 1:16 he wrote, “Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life.” The point is if Jesus could save Saul, he can save anyone! Don’t think about your family member and conclude that they are a lost cause. If God’s grace is invincible, then it can overcome any barrier and bring anyone to their knees in faith and repentance. Pray on!

4. We should praise God for His invincible grace in our lives! Do you believe you have received God’s invincible grace? Is there any evidence in your life to show that you have been drawn, called, quickened, and regenerated? Then praise Him! That means that you were one of those He chose before the foundation of the world. Only the elect are drawn to Christ. Praise Him for overcoming your resistance. Praise  Him for working so powerfully upon your heart that you could no longer say no. Praise Him for making you a trophy of His sovereign grace for all eternity!!

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