The Doctrines of Grace as Taught in the Gospel of John
Well, you didn't address the 3 pieces of Scripture I brought up.
You said:
John 6:44 “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him;
This is not talking about Calvinism (that does not exist).
The context of being drawn by the Father is a man has heard and learned of the Father.
44 "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.
45 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." (John 6:44-45).
You said:
John 6:65 And He said, “Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father.”
To properly understand a verse we must consider the context, but first let's take note of what the verse does not say: It doesn't say
how the Father grants people to come to Jesus. It doesn't state what the criteria the Father uses to grant people to come to Jesus. All we know is that people cannot come to Jesus unless the Father allows it. In other words, people cannot decide on their own how they want to come to Jesus and the Father will accept it.
People who saw Jesus in person, including his miracle of feeding 5,000 people were looking for Jesus. They were following him, but for the wrong reason. "
Jesus answered them and said, "Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him"" (
John 6:26-27). By their own inadvertent testimony they stated they did not believe in Jesus. "
Therefore they said to Him, "What sign will You perform then, that we may see it and believe You? What work will You do?"" (
John 6:30). What they wanted was more free food. That the earlier miracle was done to prove that Jesus was the Christ didn't matter to them. Likely with such a crowd no matter how many miracles Jesus might do, it would never be enough. They would always hold out and say "We'll believe in you if you do more miracles." Jesus understood this.
"
But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me" (
John 6:36-38).
These people physically come to Jesus, but since they did not accept Jesus, they didn't fully and truly came to him. Here then is a hint. The Father has given Jesus those who believe in him -- really believe, not just a claim of belief or an offer to believe.
Jesus shortly returns to the same point:
"
No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, 'And they shall all be taught by God.' Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me" (
John 6:44-45).
Here then is
how the Father brings people to Jesus. People are taught by God. Those who hear and actually learn from God will fully come to Jesus. Add in Paul's statement and it becomes very clear: "
So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (
Romans 10:17). Those who believe come to Jesus. How do people believe? They hear the words of God -- words that that came from the Father.
Jesus is not talking about arbitrary selection of individuals from before the creation of the world. He is talking about a plan of God that drew people to the truth. It starts with God's teaching, which then awakens belief in some people who then seek out Jesus with their full hearts.
Jesus points out in
John 6:65 that these people wanted to follow him on their own terms and in their own way. But God's way requires learning and believing. "
For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe" (
I Corinthians 1:21).
Source:
Doesn't John 6:65 teach predestination?
You said:
John 8:34 Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin.
John 8:44 “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do.
John 8:43 says,
"Why do ye not understand my speech?
even because ye cannot hear my word."
So do people not hear his Word because they have not been regenerated or is it because THEY need to see and hear and understand? Scripture says the people's hearts are waxed gross and are dull of hearing and their eyes are closed UNLESS at any time THEY should see with their eyes, hear with their ears, and understand with their heart. For it is written...
"For this people's heart is waxed gross, and
their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with
their eyes, and hear with
their ears, and should understand with
their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them." (Matthew 13:15).
You said:
John 17:2 “as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him.
John 17:9 “I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours. 10 “And all Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them.
This is talking about how salvation first went out to the 12 disciples and the Jews. It is not talking about the Gentiles yet. When Israel rejected their Messiah, then salvation went out to the Gentiles. This is evident when the Canaanite woman came to Jesus and He said to her,
"I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel." (Matthew 15:24).
You said:
John 10:11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.
John 10:14 “I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. 15 “As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. 16 “And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.
Yet, 1 John 2:2 says that he is not only the propitiation for our sins but for the sins of the whole world. It does not make sense to say that he is the propitiation for believers sins and yet he is the propitiation of sins of believers sins. Besides, 2 Peter 2:1 says that there are false prophets who deny that the Lord
bought them. So yes. Jesus died for his sheep but He also died for even false prophets and the WHOLE world just as 1 John 2:2 says.
You said:
John 10:26 “But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you. 27 “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. 28 “And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.
Again, see Matthew 13:15.
You said:
John 1:12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: 13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
This simply means that man cannot come to God on his own terms and that if man does seek God with all his heart, they will find Him.
"And ye shall seek me, and find
me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart." (Jeremiah 29:13).
You said:
John 3:3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4 Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” 5 Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 “Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’
Matthew 13:15 says unless they hear with their ears, see with their eyes, and understand with their heart, they will then be converted. So the decision on being born again is left up the the people. It's why we have a Bible! A person reading it is being told that they must be born again. God is commanding or demanding that of the reader.
You said:
John 5:21 “For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will.
The context is talking about how the Son can quicken or give life just as the Father can quicken and give life. Jesus is talking about how He has power just like God the Father. Jesus is not talking about how Calvinistic regeneration here.
You said:
John 6:37 “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.
John 6:64 “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 would betray Him. 65 And He said, “Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father.”
Already addressed this point before on John chapter 6.
You said:
John 6:47 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life.
Believing is more than just believing in the person of Jesus Christ by their own imagining; One has to believe and follow Jesus as described in the Holy Scriptures; And Jesus commands us to do many things. For Jesus says, why do you call me Lord, Lord if you do not do what I say? Also, when Peter failed to walk on water, he said, "you have little faith." So failing to take proper action for our Lord is a matter of a lack of faith or belief. For faith without works is dead.
You said:
John 15:16 “You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.
This is before Jesus was crucified. This is in reference to the disciples who were Israelites at that time. God had a certain apostleship at that time to reach Israel. A select group who were chosen and appointed to reach the lost house of Israel.