John 6:37-40, Jesus said, “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 sees the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.”
These comprehensive and splendid verses are expressed with a odd artistic precision. Jesus’ opening statement,
“All that the Father giveth me shall come to me.” Meaning, all that are drawn by the Father, see verse 44, or all who are influenced by His Spirit and come to Jesus through them. For as many as are led (not driven) by the Spirit are the children of God, Romans 8:14.
Also, though you may have no faith in me, my work here in this world shall in no way be overturned, for all that the Father giveth me shall surely come to me.
So, what is it the Father gave His son? First we must observe that what is given to Jesus by the Father is expressed in the singular number and neuter gender, literally “everything.” While those who come to Jesus are put in the masculine gender and singular number, “every one.”
So, we are speaking of the whole mass, everything so to speak is gifted by the Father to the Son, everything as a unity, or unit, which the Son develops and constructs as one lays one stone upon another, one by one, this in the administration of His trust.
John 17:2, “That He (Jesus) should give eternal life to as many as thou (the Father) hast given Him.” Shall, or should express the glorious fulfillment of this thing. The Father’s will, His promise is to see to it that the gift does not come back as a void sham.
“Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.”
So those who come at the call of the Father, that person is represented here as being giving to His Son. Only through the death and shed blood alone can that person be saved. The coming ones of the second clause “him that cometh,” are the, “given ones,” of the first.
“Him that cometh to me,” or, “whosoever will,” this throwing the door wide open. Jesus speaks of it as a lofty thought, a certainty, something no man can overturn; the assurance as taking effect only by man’s voluntary movement forward to Him and the acceptance of Him; “Him that cometh to me.” It is not simply the willing to come, but the actual coming. These Jesus will not cast out. The idea of coming implies arrival.
“I will in no wise cast out.” Emphatic negative, meaning, I will by no means thrust them out. I will not chase him out. No sinner will ever be rejected by our Savior, regardless of the depravity of their past sins. We come to the Lord of mercy. Not only will we be clothed in white raiment, but we shall be received as a member of His family.
“In no wise cast out,” meaning to give encouragement to the meek, the timid. In opposition,
Revelation 21:27, “There in no wise enter into it (Holy city Jerusalem) any thing that defiles, etc.” this written to meet the audacity of those who have hardened themselves against the Christ.
“For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will.” Here we see the independent part our Lord plays. Not according to human motives or passions, but according to the Divine will, wisdom, goodness and mercy of His Father.
“But the will of him that sent me.”
This is a twofold will of the Father. That will of the Father, we are told in verse 39, and this, in the first place, “is the will of Him that sent me, that of all (meaning everything,) which the Father hath given me (repeating the identical words of verse 37) I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day.”
All that believe should continue in the faith, this is the Father’s will, and in this they shall come to the resurrection, this unto eternal life. This is the will of God. No force is forthcoming to any person to continue in the faith.
God may will a thing to be, without willing that it shall be. An example of this is Judas. The Father drew Judas to His Son that he might be saved, this without willing that he must be saved unconditionally. But Judas sinned and perished. When a person is a worker together with God’s grace, they are saved.
But when the grace of God is given in vain, that person is lost. Not through a lack of mercy from God, but through a lack of that person’s co-operation with the Holy Spirit of grace. We are reasonable creatures, free agents, and will be held responsible for our decisions.
We are born as perishing sinners of the family of Adam, so, to let, “nothing,” of such, “be lost,” but, “raise them up at the last day,” involves.
1. Jesus giving His flesh for all men.
John 6:51, Jesus said, “the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world,” this so that none will perish, but have everlasting life.
“And I will raise him up at the last day.” God’s Holy Spirit will keep you from falling in this life: then the dust of your body will be raised incorruptible, glorious, perfect, whole, wanting nothing, these to Jesus Christ whom the Father gave them. This is the Divine will of the Father concerning the salvation of mankind, not in a manner understood by us fully, but certain.
2. “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. This is the human side, the flesh an blood side which answers to, “him that cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out. What Jesus is saying, whomsoever views the Son as to believe on Him and His work, shall have everlasting life; and that none will be lost, for I shall raise him up at the last day.”
No one is excluded from God’s mercy, it is God’s will that whoever saw, or heard, or has read of His Son, and believes, they shall be saved. The power to believe is in the free will given to all men by God. The use of that power is our own. God gives the grace of repentance and faith to all men, but He will neither repent nor will He believe for us, for each must repent and believe in the Lord Jesus, this through the grace given. Or that persons place will be in the lake of fire.
Phillip Laspino www.seekfirstwisdom.com