Calvinism in John 6
A Study of Total Depravity, Unconditional Election, Irresistible Grace, and Perseverance of the Saints in John 6
As we have previously covered, various passages in the Bible support the doctrines of God’s sovereignty over salvation, often called Calvinism. Among those that we have examined are Ephesians 1 and 2 written by the Apostle Paul. Today, we take this doctrine from a different perspective: What did Jesus teach concerning the Doctrines of Grace?
Jesus himself clearly speaks of the totally depraved nature of fallen men, an unconditional election unto salvation by the Father, an efficacious/irresistible grace given by the Father, and lastly, he teaches that the elect are kept until the end by him.
Before we examine the 6th chapter of John, we must first discuss the context leading up to the verses that we will examine today: In John 6 we have the account of Jesus feeding the five thousand poor men, women, and children. Jesus, knowing that these people were going to attempt to forcibly make him king, departed into the mountain alone. In this time, his disciples entered a ship over the sea to get to Capernaum. At this point, Jesus had not come into the boat with them, and the people of the crowd were aware of this. We then find the account of Jesus walking on water towards his disciples. When the people were at a loss as to the whereabouts of Jesus, they went to Capernaum seeking him. They knew that Jesus had not got into the boat with him and ask him “Rabbi, when camest thou hither?” (that is, when did you come here?). Jesus responds in an interesting way:
“And when they had found him on the other side of the sea, they said unto him, Rabbi, when camest thou hither? Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled. Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.” (John 6:25–27, KJV 1900).
Jesus’s response to these men is not to simply explain how he got there, rather he tells them that they came to Capernaum, not because they saw the miracles and believed, but simply on account of the natural desire for food (them being poor). He tells them to labor for the heavenly bread which is his flesh which is plainly set before them.
The crowd responds:
“Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent. They said therefore unto him, What sign shewest thou then, that we may see, and believe thee? what dost thou work? Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat. Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.” (John 6:28–33, KJV 1900).
Oftentimes prophets and witnesses would come to the children of Israel in the OT with commands and direction from God, and so the people had the conception that Jesus would be ordering or giving them commands to follow. Jesus tells them that it is the work of God or the command of him that they believe on him whom he sent. In pursuit of further food (for Jesus says they seek him not because they saw miracles and believed) they ask what miracles Jesus would perform so that they would believe.
They use the example of Moses giving bread from heaven to eat from the people and demand that Jesus once again feed them. As we saw in verse 26, the reason for the engagement between Jesus and the people was because the people wanted to satisfy their natural desire for food, and not because they actually believed or needed to see the miracles. Jesus, who knows all hearts and every intention thereof, cleverly responds that the true bread from heaven is the one sent by the Father who comes down from heaven and giveth eternal life unto the world (people of every kindred, tongue, tribe, nation, etc.).
In pursuit of worldly desires, and not in humble repentance, the people reply as such:
“Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread. And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and believe not. All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.” (John 6:34–40, KJV 1900).
In response to the superficiality of the crowd's demand for heavenly bread, Jesus retorts that he is the true bread from heaven and that those who come to and believe on him will certainly not hunger nor thirst. His retort does not end here, however.
In the following statement he condemns the unbelief of the crowd who merely desires earthly food: But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and believe not. All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. In this statement, Jesus outlines two things, namely that these people do not believe on him, and that all that the Father gives Jesus will certainly come to him and not be cast out. Jesus’s response to their unbelief is of peculiar interest: He tells them that those who the Father gives him will certainly come to him and not be cast out. In doing so, he is telling them, that they, having been cast out from the Son had not come to the Father, and that the ultimate reason for this is that they have not been given by the Father to believe in him. Jesus does not say that those who come to him will be given to the Son by the Father, but particularly says that those who are given by the Father (past tense) will (future tense) come to the Son. This statement clearly tells us that our coming to the Son is a result (and not a cause) of our being given to the Son. We come to the Father because of his efficacious action of giving us to the Son to believe on him.
The next statement elaborates: For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. The will of the Father is that those who have been given to the Son should not be lost but raised on the last day. The purpose of the Son, according to the divine will of the Father, is that those who God chose to give the Son should be saved. This is a clear reference to the endurance of the elect, who are kept by the Son unto eternal life according to the will of the Father. Notice that in verse 40 Jesus paraphrases this statement: And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day. Those who are given by the Father to come to the Son are the same ones who have a present, unceasing faith in him. This is as opposed to a temporary, merely superficial faith that ceases as seen in the rest of the Gospel of John many times. Those who are given by the Father will be kept by the Son in genuine faith until they are finally raised on the last day.
The crowd responds in scoffing to Jesus’s remarks:
“The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven. And they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? how is it then that he saith, I came down from heaven? Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Murmur not among yourselves. No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me. Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of God, he hath seen the Father. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.” (John 6:41–47, KJV 1900).
Jesus does not respond by engaging them on their misunderstanding of his words, but rather responds to their disbelief. Notice how he responds to their scoffing and doubting: Murmur not among yourselves. No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. Jesus’s response to the scoffers in verse 44 is extremely similar to his response to them in verse 37: I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and believe not. All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. Jesus recognizes the heart issues of the people and calls them out for it. Rather than engaging them in their disbelieving remarks, he tells them that in order to for them to come to the Son, they must be drawn by the Father to come, and he will raise those who are drawn to the Son up on the last day. Man is unable (ουδεις δυναται) to come to the Son unless God works in their hearts for them to believe! Jesus is clearly teaching total depravity! Jesus tells them that they ought not to mock and scoff at his remarks, for those who the Father gives him will come to them. What can we take this to mean except that he is saying unbelievers are simply not drawn or given by the Father to come to the Son? Clearly, this is what Jesus is saying.
Some might argue that the “drawing” in verse 44 is not an efficacious drawing and is not the same thing as being “given” by the Father to come to the Son. In saying this, they attempt to take away the weight of verse 44 by arguing that the Father is not irresistibly drawing men to the Son, but rather that he draws everyone indiscriminately with resistible means in doing so. This does not align with the context, however. Firstly, in verse 37 we see that when Jesus responds to their unbelief as he does in verse 44, and his response to them is that “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out…” (John 6:37). Why should we demand that the “giving” of the Father in verse 37 is any different than the “drawing” of the Father in verse 44 considering they are both in response to the same thing and have nearly the same sentence construction?
Look at the similarities of the following statements in verses 36–40 and verse 44:
“But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and believe not. All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out… (John 6:36–37).
…And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day… (John 6:39).
“The Jews then murmured at him…And they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? how is it then that he saith, I came down from heaven? Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Murmur not among yourselves. No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day…” (John 6:41–44).
Notice the similarities between John 6:36–37, John 6:39, and John 6:41–44. In John 6:36–37 Jesus responds to unbelievers by telling them that all that the Father gives him will come to him and not be cast away. In John 6:39 we are told that the Father’s will is that Jesus should lose none of those who were given to him, but that he should raise it up again at the last day. Jesus will raise up those given by the Father to him. This is almost exactly the same thing that Jesus says in verse 44, but instead of the word “given” being used, we see the word “drawn” being used. How are we to take these two nearly identical statements and not understand that Jesus is saying that the giving of the Father is the drawing of them to the Son? Jesus is saying that among those who are given/drawn by the Father to the Son, those men and women will come to the Son, and he will lose none of them but raise them all up on the last day. Jesus teaches unconditional election of believers in this text as well as an effectual grace that leads to people believing.
Later in the text, verse 44 becomes even more clear when Jesus gives a paraphrase of it:
“Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it? When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you? What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before? It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him. And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father.” (John 6:60–65, KJV 1900).
As the text continues, even some of Jesus’s own followers start to murmur about his teaching that in order to live they must eat his flesh and drink his blood and, thus, they disbelieved in him. Jesus tells us that the Spirit raises from the dead, but that the flesh profits nothing. Only the Spirit can raise men and women from the Spiritual dead as seen in Ephesians 2, and even though Jesus’s words were of Spirit and live, the Spiritually dead “followers” of Jesus would not believe in him and live. Jesus knew from the beginning who were unbelievers and who believed.
Jesus paraphrases his words from verse 44: Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father. Because he knew who they were among them who were Spiritually dead and unbelieving had he said unto them that “no one can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father”. Jesus clearly tells us that the drawing of verse 44 is the same as being given unto Jesus by the Father! God irresistibly draws people to his Son, and because of this it leads to their belief!
The words of verse 65 are clearly a paraphrase of verse 44: When Jesus says Therefore said I unto you, the Greek word εἴρηκα is used, the perfect tense version of the word “to tell”. This is something that Jesus told them in the past and is telling them again. The Greek and English words of verse 44 and 65 are nearly identical except that the word “given” is used in place of “draw”.
Jesus is telling us that what he meant in verse 44 is that “no one is able to come” unto Jesus (believe in him) except it is given by them to the Father to do so. The drawing of the Father is the giving of them to the Son, and unless people are given by the Father to the Son they don’t even have the moral ability to come to Jesus. Man’s nature is completely depraved and evil, as we saw in our study of Ephesians 2, so much so that no man is able to come to Jesus unless they are drawn by the Father irresistably. Jesus teaches the doctrine of total inability or depravity of man in coming to God.
Jesus tells us that he will raise up all of those given to him by the Father, all of those who are drawn to him and as a result come to him. This is a clear testament to the doctrines of Unconditional Election, Irresistible Grace, and the Perseverance of the Saints.
