John 6:44 From a Non-Calvinist Perspective

John 6:44 loses its Calvinistic luster when its realized that a word has to be removed, and two others mangled in order to maintain the gnostic appeal.

[MarkNOTW]

3 verses later... “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes has eternal life.”

[tivmego]

An exegetical commentary on John 6:1-45 for anyone who wants to dig deep a bit. Not so heavy on any greek jargons. Just short pointers. :
*John chapter 6:1-45*

John 6 is a continuation of John 5. Hence, it is mischievous for a Calvinist to ignore what Jesus has been saying in the previous chapter as well as going a bit forward.

john 6:1 began with "After these things Jesus went over the sea of Galilee, which is the sea of Tiberias" After what these? After the event of John 5. His speaking to the Jewish leaders and his miracle of the man by the pool of Bethesda on Sabbath day.
Because of this miracle and similar other miracles, a great multitude followed him.

This multitude was then the listeners of his conversation in chapter 6. So, it becomes important to understand what he was telling them from chapter 5 up till chapter 6.

In verse 14, after yet another miracle, the people were convinced this is the prophet but Jesus knew the miracle is NOT really the main reason they are after him. So, he left them to the other side. verse 22-25, they searched and found him and came over to him. They even called him rabbi(master).
verse 26, Jesus boldly tells them they are after him because of the earthly food he fed them with. verse 27, He tells them to labour after the right meat that never perishes, the one the Son of man shall give unto you.

verse 31, they refused Jesus’ spiritual meat! Why? because our fathers(anyone thinking they could just cherry pick words here and there and not follow the ‘people’ in the context, need not discuss context) did eat manna in the desert. In other words, we don’t need any spiritual food from you because we already have it. This was the same belief Jesus was correcting from chapter 5:44-47).
verse 32. Jesus repeated it again, Moses(one of your fathers) gave you not bread from heaven but my Father giveth true bread from heaven. Who was that bread? Jesus was the bread(verse 35). If you come(come does means believe as used in the example in this verse) to that bread shall never hunger;

Please, notice all along, he is speaking to a Jewish crowd about their history and beliefs. There is nothing here about a generative sense. He is simply speaking to these group of Jews(some who believe, some who don’t) about their belief system.

verse 36. After telling them He is the bread, he now reminds them of why he doubted their praises in verse 26. The reason is that though they have seen Him, they believe not.

verse 37 All that the Father giveth(this is NOT a past event. The tense is Present and the Mood is Indicative. Hence, to read in some people the Father gave him from eternity past is nonsense). This is a continuous thing the Father is doing, giving/granting a certain group of people among the Jews(the reason will be revealed later in the chapter)
shall come. These people have NOT yet come to Jesus, they are coming. And him that cometh[this is where you erroneously assume the coming here is the same as that in verse 35. In this verse, they are coming to the bread. They have not yet arrived(as used in verse 35; where they are talked about eating and drinking already)](the person coming) to Christ, will not be cast away.

verse 38. why won’t Christ cast them away? Because He came down to do NOT His will(talk about Christ having a different will to His Father while he was on Earth) but the Father’s will.

39. What is the Father’s Will? all which he hath given(this is the contextual meaning of draw in John 6) Christ should lose nothing. Notice something unique in this verse. The given in this context is actually different from the one in verse 37. For in this context it is a (perfect indicative). In other words, the all meant here are a select few ALREADY given to Christ. Notice also Christ saying He is NOT going to lose none of them. Does this construct look familiar? Yes, John 18:9 at the margin of your NIV is a reference to this verse. Who are these people from that context? His disciples! Not everyone. His disciples. Say it louder? His disciples. Look at the same construct in John 17:12.

Now, you are going to ask, does this mean believers are not given to Jesus and this is ONLY to Israel(or his disciples)? Nope. Mostly, Calvinists play these Bulverism tactics (something you already played in you assuming by me meaning the ‘prophets’, I mean some prophets running around). Firstly, there is a sense in which the Father is continuously giving(verse 37) and has given(verse 39). Those he already gave are the disciples who are Jews. But there are also those He is continuously giving based on a certain CONDITION. Now, we could claim, The Father is giving us, today's believers, to Jesus IF we also fulfill this condition. That is fine but that will be missing the context of what Jesus is saying in chapter 6. Any bible believer understands first that the bible is written *for* us NOT *to* us. Hence, we should be careful to just grab anything unless we can see it applicable to us in biblical history. John 17:20 is where Jesus includes us(modern believers) into the story of His ministry. That is about 11 chapters away! So, while we want to do this, the context doesn't allow it.

So, how is He continuously giving? Look at the next verse?
verse 40: Also, the will of the Father, everyone(not just the disciples alone, but every one which sees the Father and believes will( this is subjunctive. It is a condition) have everlasting life. And they also will be raised up at the last day just like those in verse 39.

verse 41
they murmured because he claimed He is the bread that came from heaven. Why? because they have a belief that they already have that bread. Their fathers already gave them the bread(verse 31). This has been the problem. They don’t believe that Jesus is that bread even though it is there in their prophets(OT writings that Jesus is the bread). This is what Jesus was rebuking them for in chapter 5:44-47. This special privilege rather than believing in the everlasting bread from heaven. Doesn’t this sound familiar to Calvinists and their special(elect) privileged attitude? They just have to read in their elect status into every bible verse rather than understand the culture, the background and then finally the principle?
Notice also, that it was the ‘Jews’ who murmured. These were the people who have been talking about their Fathers. Context, context, context please Calvinists. The jews will continue this attitude of murmuring UNTIL Jesus hits on the nail in verse 44.
verse 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.
Firstly, remember the last clause: "I will raise him up at the last day". This is the Father’s will that both the ones(disciples) already given(verse 39) and those the Father is continuously giving(verse 37) are raised up on the last day.

Notice, all the while, he(Jesus) has not explained how the Father is giving these Jewish people who are coming to the Son to Him. The next verse explains that.
Verse 45:
Jesus quotes Isaiah 54:13 to show how the father grants these people coming. Those coming are those who already have heard the Father and learned from him. The emphasis is not only on hearing but also on learning. These are those who "come" to Jesus. This is the final evidence this is a reference to faithful Jews as well as faithful gentiles. Those who were able to identify the Son because they have been faithful in learning to the Father. These are in contrast to the ones of Chapter 5:47. These people who are coming to the Lord via the Father are those who believed Moses(an OT prophet), hence they were able to Jesus. This is the simple comparison Jesus was making in chapter 5:47. This is the same comparison he has been making about his listeners and what Moses actually represented. This is why I said, we should be careful to insert ourselves in here. Jesus was speaking to Jews of His day and was telling them that ONLY the ones who have believed what was already written or revealed by the prophets will come to Him. We as believers today, are NOT proselyte Jews, we are NOT coming to Jesus physically because He is already ascended.

I believe I can stop here now as any belief that John 6:37, 39, 40 is about some special People God chose to bestow His love upon in eternity past and are the only one who can come because the Father already gave them to Jesus is classical evidence of *CONTEXTOMY

[jcthomas]

I love how Jesus draws all people! John 12:32

[tannpl]

THANK YOU so MUCH for your teaching! Every time my husband and I come across one of these Calvinistic "proof texts" I run to you to get rid of my Calvinistic brainwashing, and then I am not trapped into agreeing with my husband, who says he can "see it both ways". HA! I have made him think twice a few times. He doesn't like to argue so he keeps quiet and I don't always know if I've gotten through. At least I am free from Calvinism. Hallejujah! Thank you, Kevin.

[nicholasdibari]

This is such confirmation for me! I’ll never forget when I was first reading John 6:44 I didn’t know how to interpret it without Calvinist manipulating the way I read it but when I read it once the word “can“ stuck out like a sore thumb and the Lord showed me this! It’s all about the ability

[EymardF]

Even if you were to remove the word “can” (and change “come” to “comes”) you still don’t end up with Calvinism. You could say “no one comes into the store without shirts and shoes” but that doesn’t mean that if you have a shirt and shoes on, you MUST come to the store.

[Dmlaney]

Matthew 15 :8 This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.

[elgriego]

Wow great point brother. I never looked at it that way.

[BornAgain]

I have two requests: one, I wish you would make more shorts. Something like this can be viewed in a Sunday School setting without taking up the entire class. Two, is there any way that you could list the videos in your playlist according to the TULIP acronym so that we know what videos cover which topic? I know you're busy and all but that would be most helpful. Thank you. Your work is essential, and I wish there were more books on this. Every commentary and theology book I own is polluted with Calvinism, every one, and I'm an Independent Fundamental Baptist (no SBC related).

[JulietManx]

If Calvinists were ‘drawn’ to context then they would clearly see this truth.

[eugenejoseph]

I like to point out Jeremiah 32:3 when talking with a reformed Calvinist regarding the word "draw". When God draws men, He does it with lovingkindness, not a meat hook! When I got saved, I first sensed His LOVE and when you encounter His love, you repent because He shows you what you've always needed, real forgiveness! Keep it up Kevin.

[Dmlaney]

Irresistible Grace you say... Hebrews 10 :38 Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.

[Dmlaney]

James 4 : 8 *Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded* How much of the scriptures did they bother reading before coming up with their doctrine?

[xwingvalet]

Dear Calvinist, please assist me in clarifying the Bible--- The Holy Spirit

[landonsmith]

I definitely understand the point, but, there is one more point made by Calvinists in this verse that wasn't addressed. Jesus says that the same people the father draws will be raised on the last day "the Father which hath sent me draw him; and I will raise him up at the last day." so regardless of the "can" every single person drawn by the Father will be raised up at the last day.

"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 6:39‭-‬40 KJV

Since every single person drawn will be raised up on the last day, and only those who believe will be lifted up on the last day. Then the conclusion is that God must not draw every single person, or else, every single person would be lifted up on the last day. Even though the draw only grants the ability to believe, the fact that Jesus continues to say that every person drawn will be raised up means that the drawing of God does in fact result in the person believing in His Son.

[urawesome]

Jesus was talking to the disciples in John 12:32. To the disciples, when Jesus used the word “all”, they interpreted it as all men, not just the Jews (we need to understand the Jewish history that led up to this). The mindset in the first century by our standards today, was very racist. They identified themselves with groups of people. Jesus was not talking to me nor Kevin.

This video is an example of someone comparing scripture with scripture with confirmation biasness. Rather than comparing scripture to scripture in an accumulative way. Kevin is overlooking the setting, audience relevance, chronology and Jewish history in this video and substituting himself as the primary audience with today’s setting. I see a lot of hermeneutical problems like this in Kevin’s videos.

Also when looking at the Greek definitions being used for John 6:44, it suggests no one has the ability, so God has to drag or draw (like pulling a custom out of a well) then raise him up on the last day. Looks to me another video of Kevin dancing around the Greek definitions.

[timothybierl]

I tend to think that Jesus in John 6:44 is speaking of the disciples or apostles at the time which is why in John 12:32 Jesus says when he is lifted up he WILL draw ALL men to himself. As usual, context kills Calvinism and in this case, just keep reading.

[jaygee]

Kevin...Merry Christmas, brother. Keep doing what you do, and may God richly bless you and your loved ones in the coming year through our Lord Jesus Christ.

[CrabTribe]

Something I’ve thought about and don’t hear mentioned for the “all really means all kinds of people” is that simply isn’t true historically. There are civilizations that have risen and fallen without ever hearing the gospel, like the Mayans or Moriori. God’s still revealed Himself then and they could have been saved I believed if they responded to the limited revelation in nature. I guess there are somewhat descendants of extinct races now but it depends on how you define “kinds”. Is it genetic, language group, cultural groupings? Calvinists can never give a clear answer.

[granthollandvideos]

I love your teachings so much, bless you Kevin