The Stabilizing Power of the Sovereign Grace of God
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
When the world around us is shifting and uncertain, there’s nothing more stabilizing and hope-giving than knowing our God: who he is, what he’s like, and what he’s up to in the world—and more than that, what he’s up to in the church and in our individual homes and lives.
Especially in times like these, the church takes great hope in God’s sovereignty: his irresistible power, authority, and control over all things.
But it’s not just his wise and good sovereignty over presidents and nations, voting and elections, economies and cultures, riots and viruses, masks and mandates, catastrophes and climates that brings us hope.
It’s a fresh realization of his sovereignty over us and our salvation, collectively and individually, that can be so stabilizing in times of uncertainty and struggle, whether those struggles are outside or within, in our nation and its politics and policies or in our neighborhoods, jobs, churches, homes, and hearts.
I’d like to turn our attention tonight to one aspect of God’s sovereignty in our salvation—God’s work of drawing sinners to himself—and see how the God who sovereignly draws us into his family is the same God who sovereignly keeps us and will bring us safely home.
Scripture Reading
Scripture Reading
Turn with me in your Bibles to John 6. We’ll pick up in verse 25, where a crowd from among the 5,000 fed by Jesus were seeking him. We’ll read through verse 69.
25 When they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, “Rabbi, when did You get here?”
26 Jesus answered them and said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. 27 Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal.” 28 Therefore they said to Him, “What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?” 29 Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.” 30 So they said to Him, “What then do You do for a sign, so that we may see, and believe You? What work do You perform? 31 Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread out of heaven to eat.’ ” 32 Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven. 33 For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world.” 34 Then they said to Him, “Lord, always give us this bread.”
35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst. 36 But I said to you that you have seen Me, and yet do not believe. 37 All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out. 38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. 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. 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.”
41 Therefore the Jews were grumbling about Him, because He said, “I am the bread that came down out of heaven.” 42 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’?” 43 Jesus answered and said to them, “Do not grumble among yourselves. 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. 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. 46 Not that anyone has seen the Father, except the One who is from God; He has seen the Father. 47 Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 This is the bread which comes down out of heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread also which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh.”
52 Then the Jews began to argue with one another, saying, “How can this man give us His flesh to eat?” 53 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves. 54 He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 55 For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. 56 He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. 57 As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me, he also will live because of Me. 58 This is the bread which came down out of heaven; not as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live forever.”
59 These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum.
60 Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this said, “This is a difficult statement; who can listen to it?” 61 But Jesus, conscious that His disciples grumbled at this, said to them, “Does this cause you to stumble? 62 What then if you see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before? 63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. 64 But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who it was that would betray Him. 65 And He was saying, “For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father.”
66 As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore. 67 So Jesus said to the twelve, “You do not want to go away also, do you?” 68 Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. 69 We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.”
This is the word of the Lord.
Prayer
Prayer
Pray with me, please.
Father, help us as we consider this rich passage and these important truths together tonight. Help our minds to engage with and understand your truth accurately, and help our hearts to respond and apply your truth to our lives in ways that bring hope, encouragement, and worship.
In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
Transition
This is a rich passage full of all sorts of theological gems. We’re not going to do a full exposition of the entire passage. Instead, I’d like to focus especially on verse 44 and the theological concept of drawing and then draw out some applications from this text and others in a way that I hope will, by God’s grace, have a stabilizing effect on our lives.
The first thing I’d like us to see tonight is that . . .
Slide
1. The Sovereign Grace of God Draws Us In (v. 44)
1. The Sovereign Grace of God Draws Us In (v. 44)
As we saw in the context leading up to verse 44, Jesus is speaking to a Jewish crowd who was looking for him because they liked the physical benefits of his ministry. It was enjoyable to watch him perform miracles and get to eat free food.
Jesus goes on to explain that his mission was to give people spiritual food, and that he himself was that spiritual food that came down from heaven.
The crowds started grumbling because he said he came from heaven.
Now look with me at verse 44 and see how Jesus replied to their grumbling:
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.
In other words, the fact that they were grumbling was evidence that they didn’t know him. Jesus then tells these unbelieving Jews that they can’t come to him unless the Father draws them.
At first glance, you might not be sure how to understand this drawing of God.
What does it mean for God to draw unbelieving sinners to himself?
How does he do it?
Is it decisive?
Does it always result in salvation?
To ask it another way, is the Father’s drawing merely a necessary condition or is it also a sufficient condition?
These are some of the questions I hope to answer tonight.
Most of us are probably inclined to read this text through our theological grid. That’s not a bad thing, as long as our theological system is derived from Scripture and held captive to Scripture. We’re right to interpret Scripture with Scripture. But it’s good to check and challenge our theological presuppositions and make sure they’re contextually defensible and come out of the text rather than being forced into the text. That’s the difference between eisegesis and exegesis, between reading unintended meaning in vs. drawing intended meaning out.
Transition
So, let’s take a look at what drawing means in this passage, and then we’ll explore this term across the New Testament and see how the concept fits in the broader theology of God’s saving work.
Slide
1.1. The Contextual Meaning of Drawing
1.1. The Contextual Meaning of Drawing
The English word draw may convey an attempt that may fail.
I might say, “Let me draw your attention to verse 44.” You’re free to look at verse 44, or you’re free not to. My drawing your attention there isn’t decisive and doesn’t guarantee success.
But drawing in English can also be used for actions that are effective.
The man drew his gun to shoot the bear.
The young girl rode in a horse-drawn carriage.
The couple drew money from their 401(k) to pay for some unexpected medical bills.
But the meaning of the English word isn’t necessarily relevant to properly understanding this passage. We need to understand the range of meanings for the Greek word: ἕλκω or ἑλκύω.
There are several contextual clues that point us in the right direction for understanding how God’s drawing sinners to himself works. Let’s look at them together.
1.1.1. The Promise of Resurrection (v. 44b)
1.1.1. The Promise of Resurrection (v. 44b)
The first clue, which we see in v. 44, is that this drawing is tied to a guaranteed resurrection.
Look at verse 44 again:
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.
The expression “I will raise them up at the last day” follows logically from the Father’s drawing them. It seems that Jesus is equating those the Father draws with those Jesus will raise up at the last day.
Now, certainly, there are necessary conditions between these two events, most notably coming to Jesus in repentance and faith.
But it seems like the strong implication here is that no one in the first group of those drawn falls out and doesn’t make it into the second group of those raised up on the last day.
1.1.2. The Necessity of the Divine Gift (v. 65)
1.1.2. The Necessity of the Divine Gift (v. 65)
Our second clue comes in verse 65, which presents a very close parallel to v. 44. Look with me at verse 65 and notice the similarities:
65 And He was saying, “For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father.”
You can see the clear parallelism with v. 44. Jesus is making the same point but with slightly different language. The implied gift that’s granted by the Father is “to come.” So, clearly there’s some correspondence between
the Father’s drawing in v. 44 and
the Father’s granting to come in v. 65.
Perhaps drawing is how God grants the gift of coming to Jesus.
However, the same question may be raised here: Is this divine gift of coming decisive? That is, does this giving guarantee the coming? Or is it merely an enablement that may or may not be exercised?
There are a few clues that being granted to come and coming are one and the same. Let’s look at them.
1.1.1.1. The Question behind Jesus’ Statement (v. 64)
1.1.1.1. The Question behind Jesus’ Statement (v. 64)
Verse 64 gives us our first clue. Look there with me.
64 “But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who it was that would betray Him.
In verse 65 Jesus is answering the question of why some don’t believe.
Throughout this passage, coming to Jesus and believing in Jesus are used interchangeably.
You can see this most clearly in verse 35:
35 Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
These are clearly parallel statements. Just as there is no difference between being spiritually hungry and being spiritually thirsty, so there is no difference between coming to Jesus and believing in Jesus.
You can see how coming and believing are used interchangeably in vv. 29–30, 36–38, 40, and 44–47.
So, back to Jesus’ answer to the question of why some don’t believe:
They don’t believe, because God hasn’t granted them to believe. It’s important to note here that Jesus provides a single decisive explanation for their unbelief. He doesn’t give two separate explanations: (a) the Father didn’t give them the enablement to believe and (b) they didn’t exercise the enablement to believe.
So coming is equivalent to believing, and both coming and believing are free gifts of God. But can there be a received gift that’s not an exercised gift?
I’m not sure what it would mean to have the gift of faith without exercising it. None of these passages above seems to know anything of an unexercised faith. To have faith is to exercise it. It’s not possible to have faith but put it away in storage or escrow until you’re ready to exercise it. You either have it or you don’t. Jesus said it is given not merely offered, which strong implies reception, and reception necessitates exercise.
And that would mean there’s an unbreakable continuum from drawing = granting to come = granting to believe › coming = believing. If that’s true, then this drawing isn’t a mere invitation or urging or enticement that may or may not lead to salvation. It’s an effectual and successful act of bringing a sinner into the experience of salvation.
1.1.1.2. The Offense of Jesus’ Statement (v. 66)
1.1.1.2. The Offense of Jesus’ Statement (v. 66)
Verse 66 reenforces this interpretation that Jesus had something stronger in view than just help or assistance or an offer. Notice how some of his “disciples” responded to this teaching:
66 As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore.
If all Jesus had in mind was help, assistance, or enablement, then why would they find Jesus’ words offensive? There’s a strong implication here that Jesus’ listeners understood his words in a decisive way.
Without that understanding, it difficult to understand how this would have been the deal breaker that led many of them to leave.
So it seems, then, that the Father’s gift of coming and believing, which is equivalent to the Father’s gift of drawing, actually effects the outcome it intends rather than just making it possible.
Transition
Now, let’s look at the final clue for understanding this drawing work as effectual.
1.1.3. The Success of the Divine Gift (v. 37)
1.1.3. The Success of the Divine Gift (v. 37)
Verse 37 provides the final clue for answering the question about whether this drawing work of God is decisive or not.
Look at it with me:
37 “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.
Those given by the Father to the Son will come to Jesus; that is, they will believe in Jesus. The only way to guarantee this success is for God’s work, not man’s, to be decisive.
Now, the giving here in verse 37 is different from the giving in verse 65.
In verse 65 the Father gives to the sinner the gift of coming and believing.
In verse 37 the Father gives to the Son the gift of the elect—a theme John repeats in verse 39 and in chapter 17 verses 2 and 24 and also found in Heb 2:13.
But the point is clear in both cases: This work of God from eternity to eternity is effective and guaranteed, and the same group that starts in God’s eternal plan will make it all the way home.
This work goes from giving/election in eternity past (v. 37, 39) to drawing/giving to come/believe (vv. 44, 65) to coming/believing (vv. 29, 30, 35, 36, 37, 40, 44, 45, 47, 64, 65, 69) to being raised at this last day (vv. 39, 40, 44, 54).
This is what some theologians have called the golden chain of salvation, which is most clearly seen in Romans 8:29–30, where the exact same group is in view from foreknowledge to predestination to calling to justification to glorification, where Paul makes this same point, no doubt influenced by Jesus’ teaching here in John 6.
The point of verse 37 is reiterated again in verse 39:
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.
In other words, from the eternal plan of God in the past to our eternal home with God in the future, there is no falling out. That strongly implies that the drawing and believing that come between are coextensive with the bookends of giving and raising that come before and after.
The only way God can guarantee the prerequisite coming is to decisively draw those who come.
Jesus makes the same point using a slightly different metaphor in verse 45:
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.
In other words, there’s a kind of teaching and hearing and learning that guarantees a coming and believing.
So, the immediate context of John 6 points strongly in the direction of an understanding of drawing that is decisive and successful, that guarantees and effects the coming and believing.
Transition
But you might still be left with some uncertainty, so we need to look beyond this immediate context and see if we can get help in the broader canonical context of Scripture.
Slide
1.2. The Canonical Meaning of Drawing
1.2. The Canonical Meaning of Drawing
This Greek word ἕλκω or ἑλκύω occurs only 8 other times in the New Testament, so we should have time to briefly survey all of them and see what we can learn about this word and its range of meaning.
It occurs four other times in John’s Gospel, twice in Acts, and twice in James.
However, in only one of the other eight occurrences is it used theologically or spiritually. The other seven occurrences are mundane or non-theological in nature. But that’s a good thing, as these non-theological uses can help to shed light on the meaning Jesus’ listeners would have brought to the theological uses.
Did you know that every soteriological term comes from normal life and brings with it the meaning commonly understood from normal usage in everyday life? It’s a fruitful practice to move from the everyday uses to the theological uses to make sure we have the backdrop and right metaphorical understanding for the theological concepts.
Let’s turn now and briefly look at each of these 8 occurrences.
1.2.1. Jesus Draws All People to Himself (John 12:32)
1.2.1. Jesus Draws All People to Himself (John 12:32)
The next occurrence of this word comes in John 12:32, which is the only other theological use. But we’re going to skip this and and come back to it at the end.
1.2.2. Peter Drew His Sword (John 18:10)
1.2.2. Peter Drew His Sword (John 18:10)
The next passage is John 18:10, where we read,
10 Simon Peter then, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s slave, and cut off his right ear; and the slave’s name was Malchus.
What’s clear here is that Peter acted on his sword in a way that was decisive and successful. He didn’t invite his sword to come out of its sheath and wait for it to come. He acted upon it and guaranteed that it would come out.
Yes, you might say, but swords are inanimate objects that don’t have wills. That’s a fair point, but let’s keep moving through our survey.
1.2.3. The Disciples Couldn’t Haul in the Net of Fish (John 21:6)
1.2.3. The Disciples Couldn’t Haul in the Net of Fish (John 21:6)
Turn next to John 21:6, where Jesus says to the disciples,
6 And He said to them, “Cast the net on the right-hand side of the boat and you will find a catch.” So they cast, and then they were not able to haul it in because of the great number of fish.
On first glance, this passage doesn’t seem to fit the pattern. However, after a little thought it becomes clear that it does. If drawing meant merely to exert some influence regardless of the outcome, then it wouldn’t be correct to say they were unable to haul or draw the net. The statement only makes sense if the act of drawing in view implies an effective or effectual acting upon the object being drawn.
1.2.4. Peter Drew the Net of Fish to Land (John 21:11)
1.2.4. Peter Drew the Net of Fish to Land (John 21:11)
The next occurrence is just 5 verses later in John 21:11, where we read,
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.
Here, again, this drawing action is an effective or effectual acting upon the net of fish. What Peter intended to do he successfully did. To draw is to successfully bring something to its intended destination.
Note, here, that animate objects are in view. Yes, you might say, but fish don’t have wills like humans. Maybe it’s different with people. Let’s see.
1.2.5. The Owners of the Fortune-Telling, Spirit-Possessed Slave Girl Dragged Paul and Silas into the Marketplace (Acts 16:19)
1.2.5. The Owners of the Fortune-Telling, Spirit-Possessed Slave Girl Dragged Paul and Silas into the Marketplace (Acts 16:19)
Next up we come to Acts 16:19, where we’ve been recently in our Acts series.
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,
Again, we see that this drawing or dragging is effective; it’s successful. It’s not a wooing or an inviting or a requesting. Rather, it’s a decisive and effectual acting.
Note, here, that we are dealing people and not inanimate objects.
1.2.6. The People Dragged Paul from the Temple (Acts 21:30)
1.2.6. The People Dragged Paul from the Temple (Acts 21:30)
The next passage is found in Acts 21:30:
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.
This example is very similar to the previous one and follows the same pattern of effectually acting upon an object.
1.2.7. Evil Desire Drags People into Temptation (James 1:14)
1.2.7. Evil Desire Drags People into Temptation (James 1:14)
Finally, there are two passages in James. The first is found in James 1:14:
14 But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust.
Here, James pictures lust as a powerful force dragging sinners into temptation. James isn’t saying that temptation can’t be resisted. What he is saying, though, is that lust acts powerfully and decisively on the sinner’s heart and moves him to the point of temptation.
It’s different from the earlier uses since it’s spiritual and metaphorical rather than physical, but the same pattern still holds true.
1.2.8. The Rich Drag Believers to Court (James 2:6)
1.2.8. The Rich Drag Believers to Court (James 2:6)
Finally, in 2:6 we read about the mistreatment of the poor and the abuse of the rich on believers:
6 But you have dishonored the poor man. Is it not the rich who oppress you and personally drag you into court?
Here, too, there’s a strong implication of an effectual action that leaves these believers no choice but to appear in court.
So, in all 7 of these non-theological uses across the New Testament, the contexts demonstrate that drawing involves a person acting upon a thing or a person such that their action is successful.
A word of caution. In some of these contexts there’s a component of unloving force, where dragging is appropriately used and the connotation is negative. We shouldn’t read that into the theological passages. God doesn’t bring us to himself against our will, kicking and screaming. No, God draws us precisely by making us willing. The point is that the common denominator in each of these uses is that successful outcome of the action.
So, it’s with this pattern of usage and meaning that we return to John 12:32.
1.2.9. Jesus Draws All People to Himself (John 12:32)
1.2.9. Jesus Draws All People to Himself (John 12:32)
It reads,
32 “And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself.”
If we bring this effectual understanding of drawing to this text, we might be inclined to see this text as teaching universalism, that all people will be drawn to Jesus and saved. But we know from numerous texts throughout the Bible that universalism isn’t a biblical idea. I won’t spend our time surveying them all, but our text itself makes that clear in vv. 64, 66, 70.
We’re left with two choices, then:
We either need to revise our understanding of draw and perhaps see this text as the exception to the rule.
Or we need to look for clues in the context that show that this text actually fits the pattern.
Now, it’s possible that “drawing” might have two different senses like its parallel concept of calling does. There’s both a general call and an effectual call. Perhaps the drawing in this passage is like the general call of God whereby he issues the invitation and command to come and believe but doesn’t always also issue his effectual call whereby he provides the ability and certainty of coming and believing.
That’s a possibility, but I think we should evaluate this text in the light of these 7 non-theological uses and the strong implication of the other theological use in John 6:44 first to see if there’s a better solution.
As always, we want to read texts in their immediate and broader contexts to make sure we’re understanding them correctly.
John 12:32 fits within John 12:20–36, so we should start there as we look for clues about its meaning.
This story begins in verse 20 with this setting:
1.2.9.1. The Question of the Greeks (John 12:20–22)
1.2.9.1. The Question of the Greeks (John 12:20–22)
20 Now there were some Greeks among those who were going up to worship at the feast; 21 these then came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and began to ask him, saying, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” 22 Philip came and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip came and told Jesus.
So, what Jesus says in the following verses is in direct response to the Greeks seeking Jesus. That’s a critical piece of context for understanding verse 32.
Recall that this shift from a Jewish-centric people of God to a Christocentric people of God is the major redemptive-historical backdrop to the entire New Testament. This is a theme that’s especially prominent in John’s writings.
As you explore John’s Gospel and letters and see his emphasis on “the world” and “all people,” there’s a strong emphasize on this shift from Jews to Jews + Gentiles on equal footing in the new people of God called the church.
This emphasis on Greeks stresses this universal theme in opening up God’s people to the Gentiles.
1.2.9.2. The Reclaiming of the Gentiles
1.2.9.2. The Reclaiming of the Gentiles
This theme comes up again in verse 31:
31 “Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.
Jesus is about to drive Satan out and lay claim on the people under his dominion, the world, that is, the Gentiles.
It’s in this context that we come to verse 32:
32 “And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself.”
In this context, “all men” likely means all without distinction rather than all without exception and has the sense of “all peoples” or “all nations” or “all races of people.” It doesn’t mean every single person alive at the time and certainly not every single person who has every lived or will ever live.
This may surprise you, but all is rarely used in the New Testament in a completely unrestricted sense. I’ve surveyed hundreds of uses of all, and there are almost always contextual factors that narrow the scope.
This is consistent our use of all in English.
We regularly use all not in an unrestricted sense but do denote all kinds of things.
Just this morning the kids were talking about the prospect of getting candy in their classes, and Beckham exclaimed, “I love all treats.” He didn’t mean that he loves every individual treat that has ever been made or ever will be made. He didn’t even mean that he loves every KIND of treat that exists. What he likely meant is that he loves all the kinds of treats that he’s tried before, excluding any he tried and thought were gross and wasn’t thinking about at the moment. In reality, he meant that he likes a variety of different kinds of treats.
This is a natural way of using “all” that we’re all familiar with.
Look, I just did it. When I say we’re “all” familiar with it, I likely mean something like “all adults under the sound of my voice with sufficient mental capacity who aren’t asleep.”
The point is that we already know how to interpret statements including all in the contexts in which they were spoken or written. We should do the same thing with the Bible.
I thought about illustrated this with “count all the votes,” but I won’t go there.
1.2.9.3. The Unbelief of the Jews
1.2.9.3. The Unbelief of the Jews
This Jewish-Gentile interpretation is reinforced by what immediately follows in vv. 37–40: the unbelief of the Jewish leaders.
37 But though He had performed so many signs before them, yet they were not believing in Him. 38 This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet which he spoke: “Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” 39 For this reason they could not believe, for Isaiah said again, 40 “He has blinded their eyes and He hardened their heart, so that they would not see with their eyes and perceive with their heart, and be converted and I heal them.”
The sounds a lot like Romans 11, doesn’t it?
So the idea, here, is that Jesus by his death will broaden God’s saving work to the Gentiles, fulfilling the mission Israel failed to fulfill in their calling to be a light to the Gentiles.
Transition
Now that we’ve established that the consistent meaning of “drawing” throughout the New Testament is effectual in nature, let’s briefly consider the broader theological meaning of drawing.
1.3. The Theological Meaning of Drawing
1.3. The Theological Meaning of Drawing
As I’ve already suggested, drawing theologically is just another way of talking about God’s work of calling. It’s a parallel concept to effectual calling, which is found all throughout the New Testament (e.g., Rom 8:28, 30; 11:29; 1 Co 1:9; Gal 1:6, 15; Eph 4:1, 4; 1 Th 2:12; 2 Ti 1:9; Heb 9:15; 1 Pe 2:9; 2 Pe 1:10).
It comes between election and believing in just the same way as drawing does, and it serves the same purpose: enabling and causing the lost, dead sinner to come and believe.
This is what theologians have called irresistible grace—the fourth point of the five points of Calvinism, the I in TULIP.
Both drawing and calling are closely tied to regeneration or the new birth. Drawing and calling actuate the new birth, bringing the lost sinner from death to life and issuing forth the first cry of life: faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Drawing or calling is how God grants the gifts of repentance and faith by means of regeneration or the new birth.
So we go from drawing = calling › regeneration = new birth › conversion = repentance + faith = coming.
This theological reality is woven all throughout the New Testament in text after text using a variety of terms and metaphors.
God opens hearts, causing sinners to respond in faith to the gospel:
14 One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message.
God speaks and creates light in dark hearts like he did when he spoke light out of darkness at the beginning of creation.
6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.
It’s beyond the scope of this message to study this theological theme across the New Testament, so I’ll leave that to you for your own exploration.
But the point I wanted us to see tonight is that drawing is equivalent to effectual calling and brings about regeneration, which manifests in faith and repentance.
Transition
The message has been mostly doctrinal to this point. But doctrine for its own sake doesn’t build up the church. We need to apply the truth in order for it to have the effects on our lives that God intends it to.
As we move to our final two points, application moves to the forefront.
This doctrine of God’s sovereign grace has powerful implications for our everyday life experience in this fallen world as we anticipate our future destiny. It fortifies us in the here and now, in the daily grind, in our present battles with temptation and failure, and assures our hearts that the same God who acted effectually on our hearts when he brought us from death to life is still acting on our hearts today to keep us safe and bring us home.
So, next I’d like us to see that . . .
Slide
2. The Sovereign Grace of God Keeps Us Safe (vv. 35, 37)
2. The Sovereign Grace of God Keeps Us Safe (vv. 35, 37)
There are many texts would could go to, but I’d like to stay in John 6 and see if we see this same effectual grace of God beyond initial salvation and into sanctification.
2.1. Permanent Spiritual Satisfaction (v. 35)
2.1. Permanent Spiritual Satisfaction (v. 35)
We can see this first in John 6:35:
35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.
There’s a permanence to this state where God continues to drive away spiritual hunger and thirst both in this life. This isn’t just a future promise. It’s a promise for here and now. And this isn’t merely a possible reality. It’s a guaranteed reality.
2.2. Unbreakable Membership in the Family (v. 37)
2.2. Unbreakable Membership in the Family (v. 37)
We also see this in verse 37:
37 “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.
After God draws us to himself, Jesus promises to keep us and certainly not cast us out.
This is a double negative in Greek: not not (οὐ μὴ). In Greek adding a second negative doesn’t cancel the first negative like in English. Rather, it intensifies it: certainly not, never, in no way whatsoever.
This is a strong promise of God to preserve all those who are his, all those the Father has drawn, who have come to Jesus and believed in him.
2.3. Present and Future Eternal Life
2.3. Present and Future Eternal Life
Thirdly, God’s sovereign keeping grace is also inherit in the concept of eternal life, which is repeated throughout this passage 13 times: in vv. 27, 40, 47, 54, 58, and 68—and sometimes as just life in 33, 35, 48, 51, 53, 57, 63.
We tend to focus on the future dimension of eternal life. But we mustn’t miss its present reality and what it guarantees about the certainty of our future experience of it. There’s a healthy mix of both the present and future dimensions woven throughout the passage.
This theme of God’s keeping his own is all throughout the New Testament, perhaps most popularly in Philippians 2:12–13, but we have time only for this brief taste of it tonight (cf. Col 1:29).
Transition
This sovereign exercise of grace that began in our drawing and calling and regeneration and continues into our sanctification will by necessity culminate in our final glorification.
So, finally, we see that . . .
3. The Sovereign Grace of God Brings Us Home (vv. 39, 40, 44, 54)
3. The Sovereign Grace of God Brings Us Home (vv. 39, 40, 44, 54)
As we already saw briefly, this point is clear from our primary text in John 6:44:
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.
In other words, if God has drawn you and you have come to and believed in Jesus, he promises that he will raise you up on the last day.
This expression occurs only here in John 6, and it occurs four times.
Once isn’t enough; Jesus repeats the point three more times to make it unmistakably clear and sure for his hearers.
This same point was made earlier in verses 39–40:
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. 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.”
He repeats this again in verse 54:
54 “He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.
The certainty of our future hope in the presence of God is a truth repeated all throughout the New Testament.
“He Will Hold Me Fast,” an old hymn made new again, beautifully captures the truths of these texts:
When I fear my faith will fail
Christ will hold me fast
When the tempter would prevail
He will hold me fast
I could never keep my hold
Through life’s fearful path
For my love is often cold
He must hold me fast
Those He saves are His delight
Christ will hold me fast
Precious in His holy sight
He will hold me fast
He’ll not let my soul be lost
His promises shall last
Bought by Him at such a cost
He will hold me fast
For my life He bled and died
Christ will hold me fast
Justice has been satisfied
He will hold me fast
Raised with Him to endless life
He will hold me fast
Till our faith is turned to sight
When he comes at last
Conclusion
Conclusion
Any time you focus on one truth or emphasis of Scripture, you run the risk of becoming imbalanced and distorting a parallel truth. I’d be remiss if I didn’t state the obvious here.
God’s sovereign work of calling, preserving, and glorifying his people is not against our will but through our will. He sovereignly works so we willingly come, believe, obey, work, labor, repent, and persevere. We mustn’t sit ideally by at any stage of salvation. There is no salvation without coming and believing, without pursuing holiness, without persevering until the end. But underneath all of these things is the sovereign, drawing, invincible grace of the God who has promised to bring us safely home.
In closing, let me offer a few points of application for us to meditate on:
Believing in God’s sovereign drawing grace should make us humble. Salvation from beginning to end and everything in the middle is all of grace: undeserved, unmerited, radically free grace. As Paul said, “What do we have that we did not receive?”
Believing in God’s sovereign drawing grace should cause us to worship. The ultimate goal of God’s grace is the magnification of his incomparable glory. If reflecting on his grace from eternity to eternity, from cross to conversion, and in your life here and now doesn’t drive you to praise and worship, you have not yet come to know this amazing grace.
Believing in God’s sovereign drawing grace should give us confidence and hope. The invincible and immutable purposes of the eternally self-existent and omnipotence triune God are unwaveringly for you. The same God who was able to overcome your unbelief at conversion is able to overcome your weak faith now and guarantee your safe arrival home.
Believing in God’s sovereign drawing grace should motivate us to believe, to strive, to persevere until our final breath, giving God all the credit every step of the way. A proper understanding of the sovereign grace of God should never lead to passivity. To the contrary, the New Testament appeals to God’s sovereign grace precisely to motivate our believing and working and striving and laboring and fighting and running.
And finally, for those here tonight who may not know God and his grace in Christ, God’s sovereign drawing grace should incite you to, in the world of John Bunyan, come and welcome to Jesus Christ. If you don’t know this sovereign grace of God tonight, God invites, even commands, you to come. If you feel even an inkling of desire to come to Jesus, then come and find the amazing joy and comfort of being sovereignly drawn by him from eternity to eternity and every moment in between.
Prayer
Prayer
Pray with me.
Our Father, thank you for your amazing and mysterious sovereign grace—grace that was given to us in Christ Jesus from all eternity, grace that was magnificently displayed for us at Calvary, grace that raised us from spiritual death and gave us new life, grace the won’t let us go and holds us fast, grace that will invincibly and successfully bring us safely home to you. May we believe in this grace, may we love this grace and the God of this grace, may we teach this grace and defend this grace, may we be driven by this grace, and we live for the praise of the glory of your grace.
Grant us as your people such a fortitude and stability and a rootedness and groundedness in union with Jesus and his gospel of grace to be unshakable and immovable in the days, weeks, months, and years ahead, until we by grace draw our final breath and see you face to face.
In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
Thank you for your good attention. You are dismissed.