Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/Sermons/zz20051002.htm

JOHN: TRUSTING JESUS AS MESSIAH AND GOD
Part XX: Trusting What God Has Revealed To Gain His Added Insight
(John 6:14-71)

Introduction: (To show the need . . . )

As evidenced by the writings of 13 Evangelical leaders in the book, The Coming Evangelical Crisis edited by John H. Armstrong, p.31-36, Evangelicals today have become deeply divided over a theological issue that has plagued the Church for centuries, an issue where the different sides strain what Jesus said in one passage of Scripture against what He said in another (as follows):

On the one hand, Calvinists hold one trusts in Christ as Savior ONLY if God in eternity CHOSE and so predestined him to DO so, a view promoted in John Calvin's, Institutes of the Christian Religion, Book III, Ch. XXII, Sec. 7. There, in response to critics (Ibid., Sec. 1), Calvin upheld his claim that God chose who would trust in Christ when he wrote: "Now, let the Supreme Judge and Master decide on the whole case . . . The words of Christ are too clear to be rendered obscure . . . No man can come to me except the Father which hath sent me draw him'. . . (John vi. 44, 45)" (Ibid., Institutes, trans. by Henry Beveridge, 1972, vol. II, p. 218-219, 212, emphases ours).

On the other hand, Arminians and others have felt Calvin's view contradicts this same Jesus' words to Nicodemus in John 3:16: there Christ said that God so loved the "world" that He gave His only Begotten Son that "whosoever" believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life (KJV). If the word, "world" there, taken in its simplest meaning alludes to every individual, John 3:16 has CHRIST claiming every human being can trust in Him if he wants so that man has free will to author faith. If man did not have free will as Calvinists hold, then critics of Calvinism argue John 3:16 should read: " . . . that those of the elect who believe in Him should not perish . . ."

Yet, Calvinism holds ALL the elect WILL believe, so its critics claim that "whosoever" in John 3:16 must mean that any human being may of his own free will author faith in Christ!



Accordingly, INSTEAD of PITTING the words of Jesus in John 3:16 against what He said in John 6:44, HOW do we RECONCILE Jesus' words in these two passages? How was Jesus speaking CONSISTENT truth in BOTH passages that we might believe on Him as the TRUTH-TELLING God?

(We turn to the sermon "Need" section . . . )

Need: "When I read John 6:37, 44 and 65, I admit that theologian John Calvin's claim that Jesus there held no one could trust in Him unless God chose him to believe in Him SEEMS to have WEIGHT! Yet, I also know John 3:16 reveals Jesus said God so loved the world' that WHOEVER trusts in Him will be saved, apparently implying ANYONE can believe of his OWN FREE WILL! Well, CAN these words of Jesus be reconciled so He is seen as truthful?!"
  1. Jesus' words in John 6:37, 44 and 65 in their CONTEXT shows He did NOT THERE assert Calvin's view that God elects who is YET TO BELIEVE in Him; rather, Jesus claimed God drew to Himself ONLY those who had ALREADY accepted truth from the Father:
    1. In the CONTEXT, the five thousand had faithlessly misused their perception of Jesus' miraculous feeding, so He CEASED giving them MORE insight while He kept giving more to His disciples:
      1. When the five thousand were miraculously fed by Jesus like Moses was used of God miraculously to feed them, they realized Jesus was the prophet like Moses that Moses back in Deuteronomy 18:15-19 had predicted would come unto Israel, cf. John 6:14.
      2. Yet, INSTEAD OF HEEDING that Prophet like MOSES had ordered Israel to do back in Deuteronomy 18:15b, 19 this faithless throng planned to force Jesus by their own agenda to be king on THEIR OWN TERMS, so Jesus squelched their efforts, Jn. 6:15!
      3. In reward, Jesus displayed MORE miraculous signs of His Person to His disciples [(a) in walking on the sea and (b) instantly shifting their boat miles across the sea] while HIDING such added signs of insight from the faithless crowd, cf. John 6:16-21, 22-25!
    2. Later, Jesus explained His discrimination actions to the crowd: He noted they were in UNBELIEF over God's INITIAL sign about Him in His feeding miracle, so He urged them to trust in Him, 6:26-35.
    3. Yet, as their INITIAL UNBELIEF HINDERED their accepting even His present explanation, Jesus told the throngs that they were not DRAWN by the FATHER to Him since they had NOT BELIEVED God's INITIAL revelation re: Him in the feeding miracle, 6:36-65:
      1. Jesus' John 6:36-65 words that the crowd did not have the Father "draw" them to Him (John 6:37, 44 and 65) are all given in view of their unbelief of God's PAST revelation in the feeding miracle:
        1. Jesus' John 6:37 claim that all the Father gave Him would come to Him is made after He said the crowd had still not believed in Him since the miraculous feeding as they should have, 6:36, 26.
        2. Then, Jesus' John 6:44 statement that no one could come unto Him lest the Father drew him is made right after Jesus replied to the crowd's voiced ( continued) unbelief, that He was the son of Joseph and Mary and so was not from heaven, John 6:38-43.
        3. Finally, Jesus' John 6:65 word that no man could come to Him without the Father's drawing him repeats His John 6:44 claim, and that upon Jesus' statement that even some of His regular disciples were not trusting Him, either, cf. John 6:61-64!
    4. Indeed, John 17:6b in the Greek text reveals the crowd of the five thousand did not belong to the Father as they were NOT believers !
      1. The verb "were" (KJV, NIV, ESV) in John 17:6b is aysan, the present imperfect form of eimi, "be," cf. U. B. S. Greek N. T. , 1966 ed., p. 396; Machan, N. T. Greek for Beginners, p. 250, #602.
      2. This tense in the Greek language indicates "continued action in past time," Ibid., Machan, p. 65, #122.
      3. Thus, those the Father had given Jesus had ALREADY belonged to the FATHER as believers BEFORE trusting in CHRIST!
      4. This insight reveals the crowd in John 6 was not drawn to Jesus by the Father as they had not already believed the Father !
  2. Indeed, Jesus CONTINUED this theme, revealing that even among His CLOSE TWELVE disciples was a FALSE unbeliever, 6:67-71!
Application: May we OF OUR OWN FREE WILL (1) TRUST in God's Son, Jesus Christ for salvation from sin and hell unto eternal life, John 1:11-12; 3:16. (2) As BELIEVERS, may we (a) ALWAYS ACCEPT the truths God GIVES us that we might enjoy (b) MORE gifts of insight as did the disciples, Mk. 4:23-25!

Lesson: (1) In John 6:14-71, Jesus MERELY revealed that ONLY as one TRUSTS God's INITIAL revelation does God give him MORE insight. Thus, Jesus urged the spiritually blind crowds to react rightly to the INITIAL truth revealed in His miraculous feeding of them by believing in Him and submitting to His Messiahship for further insight and blessing! (2) In like manner, Calvinists have misinterpreted John 6:37, 44 and 65 to teach an election unto justification for doing what Jesus critiqued the five thousand had done in His day: Calvinists have not accepted the INITIAL truth of salvation by faith from human free will in John 3:16, and so have mishandled Christ's words at John 6 to promote the ERRANT view that God selects just WHO can EVER TRUST in Christ!

Conclusion: (To illustrate the sermon lesson . . . )

 A Bible teacher who belongs to the Evangelical Theological Society, Dr. C. Gordon Olson, Th. M., D. Miss., reflects the same interpretation of John 6:37, 44 and 65 that I have shared with you.

On page 4 of his paper, "Beyond Calvinism And Arminianism: Toward An Amyraldian Soteriology", a work he read before the Evangelical Theological Society's Annual Meeting in Toronto on December 29, 1981, Dr. Olson noted how Calvinists have erred in their treatment of various passages including John 6:37 as follows: "John 6:37 is also misused in this connection. Christ is not saying that all the elect shall infallibly come to Christ, but the context indicates that He is rather speaking about the remnant of regenerate Israelites who belong to the Father. Now the Son has come, and that remnant is being turned over to Him by the Father and will certainly come to Him. But MOST in that MULTITUDE were NOT a part of that REMNANT . . ." (emphases ours)



Jesus was CONSISTENT in His teaching: in John 3:16 He taught that all men are free to trust in Him of their own volition, and in John 6:37, 44 and 65 He revealed God REWARDED those in His day who had BELIEVED in the Father's PREVIOUS revelation BY LEADING THEM TO HIMSELF!

In this way, God gave more truth to those who favorably accepted truths He had PREVIOUSLY given them, and this principle is repeated by Jesus' warning in Mark 4:24-25 NIV where we read: "Consider carefully what you hear,' he continued. With the measure you use, it will be measured to you -- and even more. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.'"



May we then heed what truth God has ALREADY given us, and believe in Christ as Savior and HEED all the truth He has given us as believers so we will CONTINUE to be BLESSED of GOD in being granted MORE and MORE invaluable insight from His Word!