There are two schools of thought concerning how sinners are saved. Some believe that the ultimate determiner of whether one person is saved or not comes down to the exercise of their will. The other school of thought believes that it comes down to the exercise of God’s will. Which position is right? See what Jesus taught concerning this in John 6:35-45.
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The Sovereignty Of God in Salvation
John 6:35-45
Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; the one who comes to Me will not be hungry, and the one who believes in Me will never be thirsty. But I said to you that you have indeed seen Me, and yet you do not believe. Everything that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I certainly will 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 everything that He has given Me I will lose nothing, but will raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.” So then the Jews were complaining about Him because He said, “I am the bread that came down out of heaven.” And they were saying, “Is this not 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, Stop complaining 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.
Last week we began our study of the sovereignty of God. In that study, we focused on the sovereignty of God in creation and providence. We learned that God is absolutely free to do as He pleases and is in absolute control over all His creatures and their actions. God governs the heavenly bodies, nature and animals, Satan and demons, political rulers and events, military victories, the bearing of children, random events, our talents and spiritual gifts, the length of our lives, the afflictions in our lives, the good actions of men, and the evil actions of men.
This morning we are going to delve into another area in which God is sovereign. This is undoubtedly the most controversial area, the area of salvation. Now, most Christians that I know admit freely that God is sovereign in creation and providence. He governs His creation which He has made, and is able to cause all things to work together for God for His people. However, not all Christians agree that God is sovereign in salvation.
You see, there are basically two different positions which Christians hold. We all agree that only some people will be saved. So, of those that will be saved, why will they be saved? What is the ultimate reason why a sinner is saved? Either you believe that a person is ultimately saved because of the sinner’s choice or because of God’s choice.
When I say that God is sovereign in salvation, I mean that the ultimate reason any are saved is because of God’s choice, God’s purpose, God’s initiative, God’s free grace.
In our study of the attributes of God, we have been culling Scriptures from all over the Bible to see what they teach about God’s character. However, for this study, we are going to restrict ourselves to John chapter 6. In John 6, we have a very important and powerful teaching of Jesus Christ as Himself being the Bread of Life, the true bread from heaven. As Jesus moves through His teaching in this chapter, He asserts that God is sovereign in salvation.
We are going to be looking at John 6:35-45 in our study today. In this study we are going to see four doctrines of grace: total inability, unconditional election, irresistible grace, and the preservation of the saints.
1.The Total Inability Of People to Come to Christ
In John 6:44, Jesus says, “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.”
1) What did Jesus mean by “come to Me”? We find the answer in verse 35, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.” Here we have an example of Biblical parallelism. Jesus gives two similar statements that help explain one another. In the first statement He speaks about hunger, and in the second statement He speaks about thirst – parallel statements. In the first statement He speaks about coming to Him, and in the second statement He speaks about believing in Him. There is our answer. To come to Jesus is to believe in Jesus. In other words, to come to Jesus, is to believe on Him for salvation.
2) Will all people come to Jesus? No, absolutely not. There will be a great multitude who will be cast into the lake of fire on the final judgment day. Jesus said in Matthew 25:46, “These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” Revelation 20:15 says, “And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”
3) What does the word “can” tell you? Jesus did not say, “No one may come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him.” In fact, all people may come to Jesus. God offers Christ to all people freely. He urges them to come and believe. All have permission to come. All are commanded to come! But Jesus said, “No one can come to Me…” The word “can” denotes ability. The truth is that no one is able to come unless the Father does something for him. How many people will come to Jesus who are not drawn by the Father? None.
Jesus’ teaching here points to the Biblical teaching on total inability. Sometimes we hear preachers say that all people everywhere have the ability to believe and be saved. They say that this ability is inherent within the free will that God has given them. Jesus teaches the opposite. He teaches that no one is able to come to Him and be saved unless God does something for him.
In Ephesians 2 and other places, the apostle Paul teaches us that man is dead in sins. He is completely cut off from God and powerless to save himself. God commands him to repent and believe, but he is unable to do so without God taking the initiative to impart saving grace.
2. God’s Giving Of Certain People to Christ
In verse 37, Jesus said, “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me.” We have already learned that not all people will come to Jesus and be saved. Well then, who will come? All those that the Father gives to Jesus. Does the Father give all people to Jesus? No, because then all people would come to Jesus and be saved. However, we have already established that that is not going to happen. So then, there is a portion of humanity that the Father gives to Jesus, who will come to Jesus, believe on Him, and be saved.
Does John mention anywhere else those the Father gave Him? Absolutely. Let’s take a quick look at each one.
John 6:39, “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.”
John 10:29, “My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.”
John 17:1-2, “Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You, even as You gave Him authority over all flesh, that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life.”
John 17:9, “I ask on their behalf; I do not ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom You have given Me; for they are Yours.”
John 17:24, “Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.”
So, what can we learn about this group of people? Jesus will not lose any of them. No one can snatch any of them out of His hand. Jesus will give eternal life to them. They are separate and distinct from the world, and Jesus prays for them, but not for the world. And Jesus prays that all of them will be with Him so that they may see His glory.
But who are these people that the Father had given Him? They are the ones Jesus came to save. They are His sheep. They are His elect. They are those who are “chosen in Him before the foundation of the world.” These are the ones Jesus came to represent. The Father gave Jesus these people, and Jesus became responsible for them, to save them. He became their surety. A surety, is one who becomes legally responsible for the debts of another.
You see, Jesus did not come to try to save everybody. Jesus came to actually save His people, those the Father had given Him.
Here’s the bottom line – God made a choice of certain persons before the foundation of the world, and gave them to Jesus to save. Jesus came into the world for the express purpose of saving these people. But why were they chosen and given to Jesus? Were they better than the rest? Is that why? No, because all are born dead in sins and by nature are children of wrath. All are unable to come to Christ on their own. And, besides, if God chose those that were a little better than the rest, then our salvation would be at least partly by our works, and we would have something to boast about.
When I speak of unconditional election, I’m saying that God made a choice of certain people to eternal life, and that choice was not conditioned by anything within them. God has not told us why He chose whom He chose, but we do know that it wasn’t because of something within us that attracted Him to us instead of to others.
3. God’s Irresistible Drawing of People to Christ
John 6:37, “All that the Father gives Me, will come to Me.” Now that’s interesting! Every single one of those the Father gives Jesus, will come to Jesus. We have already established from verse 35 that to come to Jesus means to believe in Him. In other words those that come to Jesus are saved. So, we could paraphrase this sentence, “All that the Father gives Me, will be saved.” We have also already established that not all people will be saved. Some will be in heaven forever, and others will be in hell forever. So, what makes the difference? The difference is in whether you were given to Jesus or not. Clearly, not all people were given to Jesus, or all people would come to Him and be saved. Therefore, those that end up coming to Jesus, do so because God gave them to Jesus.
How do they come to Jesus? We find the answer in John 6:44, “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.” Now, that last statement “and I will raise him up on the last day” tells us that every person that the Father draws is eternally saved. How else would it be true that Jesus would raise them up on the last day? The big question is what does it mean for the Father to draw someone?
One view is that this drawing is a beckoning or a wooing. They believe that through the gospel a person is attracted or wooed to Christ, but that he must exercise his free will in order to come to Christ. That’s like a man at a well with a bucket of water down in the well calling out, “please Mr. water bucket, come out of the well! It’s so much better up here in the sunshine and fresh air. You’ll like it so much better up here. Please come!” Of course we all know that when a person draws a bucket of water they don’t beckon or woo – they lift that bucket out of the well by exerting a superior force. That’s exactly how Kittel’s Dictionary of NT Words defines this word – “to compel by irresistible superiority.” The Puritan, John Flavel defined this drawing as “to powerfully and effectually incline the will to come to Christ.” Martin Luther put it like this, “The drawing is not like that of the executioner, who draws the thief up the ladder to the gallows; but it is a gracious allurement, such as that of the man whom everybody loves, and to whom everybody willingly goes.”
Is that true? Let’s see how this word is used in the rest of the New Testament.
John 21:11, “Simon Peter went up and drew the net to land, full of large fish, a hundred and fifty-three, and although there were so many, the net was not torn.”
Acts 16:19, “But when her masters saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the market place before the authorities.”
Acts 21:30, “Then all the city was provoked, and the people rushed together, and taking hold of Paul they dragged him out of the temple, and immediately the doors were shut.”
James 2:6, “But you have dishonored the poor man. Is it not the rich who oppress you and personally drag you into court?”
In three of the four verses I have quoted, the Greek word “helkuse” is translated as “drag.”
The Father compels some people, by irresistible superiority, to come to Christ. Now, why would He have to exert such power to draw them? Because they are spiritually dead. They do not seek for God. Their hearts and wills are bent toward sin. They are spiritually deaf and blind. They are depraved. They are slaves of sin. Only the power of God is able to take a person in that condition, and enable him to come to Christ.
But there is more for us to understand about this drawing of the Father. Jesus Himself explains what it means for the Father to draw someone in the very next verse (45), “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.” So, how does God draw a sinner? He teaches them! They hear and learn from the Father. God singles them out and opens their heart and mind to the truth of Christ and His gospel. This is exactly what God did for Peter. Remember when Peter said to Jesus, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God”? Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of John, for flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.” Peter did not receive this understanding of the true identity of Jesus Christ from any man. He was taught it by God the Father. The very same thing happens whenever a person becomes a Christian. God Himself teaches them. God reveals their sinfulness, Christ as the perfect substitute and mediator for sinners, and the way of salvation to lay hold of Christ. God does it! That is how God draws men to Christ.
Why do I speak of this drawing as being irresistible? Because verse 44 says that the people that God draws, He also raises up on the last day. Obviously every person God draws is saved. We have the same truth in verse 45. All those that hear and learn from the Father come to Jesus. If all of those that are drawn by God are saved, then the drawing is irresistible. God overcomes our sinful resistance by the power of His grace as He opens our heart to His gospel.
4. Christ’s Raising Up of His People on the Last Day
Who are those raised up on the last day? Four times in this chapter Jesus speaks of raising up certain people on the last day, and in every case it is obvious He is speaking of those who are saved. Of course, there is a sense in which all people will be raised up on the last day. They will all be raised from the dead and ushered before Jesus Christ to receive their eternal sentence. However, that is not what Jesus is talking about here. Jesus is talking about people being raised up to spend eternity with Him in glory. How do we know this? Let’s look at the passages.
John 6:39, “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.” Surely, if Jesus will lose nothing, then the person He raises up is not lost. He is saved.
John 6:40, “For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.” The ones that are raised up on the last day are those that behold the Son and believe in Him and have eternal life.
John 6:44, “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will riase him up on the last day.” The ones raised up on the last day are those that come to Christ because the Father draws them. Clearly they are the saved.
John 6:54, “He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” Again the ones raised up on the last day are those who have eternal life.
How long will a person’s salvation last? Everyone who believes in the Son will be raised up to be with Jesus forever. Every person drawn by the Father will be raised up to be with Jesus forever. Every person who comes to Jesus will be raised up to be with Jesus forever. Every one who is given eternal life will be raised up to be with Jesus forever. Do you see the point? No one believes, and then is not raised up on the last day! No one is drawn but is not raised up. No one is given eternal life but is not raised up. Jesus loses nothing!
John 6 teaches in extremely strong language the absolute eternal security of every true child of God. No one is saved for a while, and then forfeits it or loses it. All are raised up on the last day.
Conclusion
So, what does all of this teach us about the sovereignty of God? It teaches us that not only is God sovereign in Creation and Providence, but also in Salvation. It is ultimately the sovereign will of God that determines who will be saved, not the will of man.
Jesus taught that all people are unable to come to Him on their own. They need to be drawn by the Father or they will never come. We refer to this as Total Inability.
Jesus taught that the Father had given Him certain people, and that He had been sent to save these people. We refer to this as Unconditional Election.
Jesus taught that people are saved because God draws them irresistibly. We refer to this as Irresistible Grace.
Jesus taught that all those who are drawn and come to Christ and believe, will be raised up on the last day to spend eternity with Him in glory. We refer to this as the Preservation of the Saints.
My friends, be confident in God. Don’t be confident in yourself. If being saved were all up to you and I none of us would make it. We are just too weak, fickle and sinful. But thank God it is not up to us. It is up to Him! And He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.
My friends, thank God! 2 Thessalonians 2:13 says, “But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth.”
Imitate Christ! Colossians 3:12 says, “So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you.” Paul speaks to those who have been chosen of God. What does He tell them? He exhorts them to put on the same character traits that Christ possesses – compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forbearance, and forgiving. Because God has chosen you, be like Jesus!
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