Does God have to drag a person to faith in Christ for them to be saved? It really boils down to this question: Can a person choose Christ of their own will? Calvinists highlight and underline the word "draw" in this verse and preach an interpretation that is shaped by their meaning of the word "draw". They say that nobody comes to faith in Christ unless the Father God DRAGS them there. Nobody can come of their own choosing because we are too sinful (and "dead") to choose Christ. They claim that the word "draw" actually means "to drag" and claim it is so forceful a meaning that there is no other way to interpret this verse. This verse is used the same way the Ephesians' verse is used in blogpost 1. John 6:44 in NIV says:
"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, 'They will all be taught by God.' Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me."
Answer:
Regardless of what the word "draw" (helkuo) means, it is not the focus of what Jesus was stating. Context is king when it comes to interpretation-- not the apparent meaning of one word in that sentence. That one word's meaning, rather, is constrained by the context and not vice-versa. The context surrounding John 6:44 makes the meaning of this verse unmistakeably clear.
Jesus has just miraculously fed 5,000 men and now has been followed by the crowd when Jesus tells them to work for food that lasts forever which he would give them. They asked what work they must do to do the work of God and Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent." (6:29) When they ask for a miraculous sign from him, Jesus tells them that "the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." (John 6:33) When they ask for him to give them this bread, Jesus answers, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe." He tells them the way to eternal life here, but then reprimands them for not accepting this "bread" that God has given, which they now ask for. And now in v. 37 he will make a statement that is very much like v.44: "All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away." This statement appears to support Calvinism, but the next statement starts providing clarification of the meaning in v. 38: "For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me…" Jesus states the thrust of his message here-- that what he is doing is the Father's agenda-- not his own. In other words, the Father will give to Jesus people who desire to do God's will and learn from him. This becomes more clear in upcoming verses.
The Jews' hearts become more clear now by saying: "At this the Jews began to grumble about him because he said, 'I am the bread that came down from heaven… Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, 'I came down from heaven?'" The question at issue is his origin and they rightly understand his claim of eternality-- that he came from heaven-- and take great offense at it and move to refute it. This is why Jesus makes the statement under study in this blog (v.44). The emphasis in Jesus' statement is not the word "draw" though; it is "the Father who sent me".
Point 1: He calls God his Father, reiterating his origin-- that he is from heaven-- not earth-- and is in essence Divine.
Point 2: The Father whose mission he is on is the one working the miracles through him and is drawing to Jesus the ones who are already following the Father. Verse 45 makes the meaning crystal clear: "It is written in the Prophets, 'They will all be taught by God.' Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me." Jesus' point is that those in the crowd who grumbled did not know the Father God. They did not listen to him nor learn from him as a disciple does. In chapter 8 of John, Jesus' point is made even more clearly when he tells them at a different time and place that their father is the devil-- and not God-- and tells them that if God were their father that they would love him (Jesus). Remember that in John 5:39-- which precedes our text but is part of our wider context-- he has already told these Jews that, "You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you have eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life." In v. 5:46 he tells the reason why they don't believe in him: "If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me." They don't believe the Scriptures they study; they simply use the Scriptures to serve their pusposes. They don't believe the Scriptures' author Moses (chapter 5's condemnation) nor the ultimate author, God (chapter 6's condemnation).
Let me summarize: Jesus' point in saying "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him", is NOT that the Father has to drag someone to faith in Jesus. That is a complete misunderstanding of Jesus' words and would not serve his purpose for exhorting them in John 6:29 to do the only "work" God requires-- to believe in the one God sent and to take the bread God had given from heaven. His point is that the grumblers did not follow him because they did not follow the Father himself, and this was a HUGE indictment on the Jewish leaders in this crowd whose entire profession was to lead others to follow God. This indictment stated most directly and shockingly at them later in John 8, is what led them to the vendetta that eventuated itself at the cross. What this verse communicates is not that God must draw/drag but that the reason why the grumblers were not coming to him is that they did not follow where God led and God leads all to Christ.
Point 1: He calls God his Father, reiterating his origin-- that he is from heaven-- not earth-- and is in essence Divine.
Point 2: The Father whose mission he is on is the one working the miracles through him and is drawing to Jesus the ones who are already following the Father. Verse 45 makes the meaning crystal clear: "It is written in the Prophets, 'They will all be taught by God.' Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me." Jesus' point is that those in the crowd who grumbled did not know the Father God. They did not listen to him nor learn from him as a disciple does. In chapter 8 of John, Jesus' point is made even more clearly when he tells them at a different time and place that their father is the devil-- and not God-- and tells them that if God were their father that they would love him (Jesus). Remember that in John 5:39-- which precedes our text but is part of our wider context-- he has already told these Jews that, "You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you have eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life." In v. 5:46 he tells the reason why they don't believe in him: "If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me." They don't believe the Scriptures they study; they simply use the Scriptures to serve their pusposes. They don't believe the Scriptures' author Moses (chapter 5's condemnation) nor the ultimate author, God (chapter 6's condemnation).
Let me summarize: Jesus' point in saying "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him", is NOT that the Father has to drag someone to faith in Jesus. That is a complete misunderstanding of Jesus' words and would not serve his purpose for exhorting them in John 6:29 to do the only "work" God requires-- to believe in the one God sent and to take the bread God had given from heaven. His point is that the grumblers did not follow him because they did not follow the Father himself, and this was a HUGE indictment on the Jewish leaders in this crowd whose entire profession was to lead others to follow God. This indictment stated most directly and shockingly at them later in John 8, is what led them to the vendetta that eventuated itself at the cross. What this verse communicates is not that God must draw/drag but that the reason why the grumblers were not coming to him is that they did not follow where God led and God leads all to Christ.
Comments are welcome. I would love to hear your thoughts.
