Anchor My Faith

Only Those Drawn Will Come

Scripture: John 6:43-46

We ended the previous lesson with the Jews grumbling about what Jesus was claiming to be and where he was from and who his Father was. We closed with the question, “How will Jesus respond to their grumbling?”

^{Jn 6:43} “Jesus answered 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.” Very often Jesus does not answer the question asked or carry on a given conversation, but will, instead, emphasize a main teaching point, which he does here. Jesus tells them to stop grumbling and listen to what he has to say. What Jesus said is so radical that it divides believers even to this day.

Jesus said, “No one can come to me unless.”  The words “No one” is very inclusive. A certain condition must be met, or you are not included amongst those who can come. What then is that condition? Jesus said, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.” The fact that no one can come implies that no person, on his own, has the moral and spiritual ability to come to Jesus Christ unless the Father draws him or her. In that drawing, the Father gives the desire and the inclination to come and the ability to put their trust in Jesus.

Peter speaks of this in 1 Peter 1:3 (ESV): “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴ to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, ⁵ who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”

These claims and all that Jesus is saying, means nothing if Jesus doesn’t complete the work he was sent by the Father to do. Let us continue on with Jesus and listen and watch. Jesus next says, ^{Jn 6:45} “It is written in the Prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me— ⁴⁶ not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God; he has seen the Father.”

“And they will all be taught by God” is found in Isaiah 54:13 (ESV): “All your children shall be taught by the Lord, and great shall be the peace of your children.” The word that stands out is “children” not all people. In Romans 3:10-11 (ESV): “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God.” The only ones who will seek God or come to Jesus Christ are the ones the Father draws and causes to be born spiritually. All others can hear the gospel and not understand and not desire to come. Those who the Father draws are the children that shall be taught by the Lord.

As with physical birth, there is a spiritual gestation period in which the one chosen by the Father is given spiritual life and develops as a spiritual fetus through receiving the Word, to the point of being sufficiently mature to be born spiritually. The Father determines that time and causes the one chosen to be born spiritually. At that birth the chosen one comes to Jesus Christ as a gift from the Father and the life the Father gave is now extended into eternity as Jesus is the bread that endures to eternal life. Included in this birth process is desire to come, understanding, and belief. I continue to ponder over my birth event. The best example of this is Paul’s conversion on the road to Damascus.

We end this lesson with a brief comment on verse 46. No one has seen the Father in a full and complete way, except Jesus who has always been with him. Some people have seen partial revelations of God in the Old Testament.

Conclusion

Jesus said, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.” and “All that the Father gives me will come to me.” The question not yet answered is, “Are all that are drawn by the Father given?” As you think about that question, read Hebrews 6:4 – 6.