“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. It is written in the Prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me— not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God; he has seen the Father. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life.” (John 6:44-47 ESV)
Now this is only a small portion of this larger passage of Scripture which really begins with John 6:22 and ends with John 6:66 (John 6:22-66). So, if you are able, it is best if you can read the whole passage in its full context to get the full meaning of what this passage is teaching. And much of it is written in symbolic terms, which should be obvious, for Jesus described himself as the bread of life which came down from heaven. And he said that we must eat of his flesh and drink of his blood to have eternal life in him.
But let’s begin with verse 44 for this is really where it all begins. In other words, not one of us can come to faith in Jesus Christ unless God the Father draws us to Christ. And the biblical meaning of “faith” is “persuasion.” And since the faith to believe in Jesus is authored and perfected by Jesus Christ, and it is gifted to us by God, and it is persuaded by God, and it is not of our own doing – not of the will nor of the flesh of man – then we will be persuaded of God according to his will and purpose for our lives.
[Hebrews 12:1-2; Ephesians 2:8-10; John 1:12-13; John 6:44]
So God the Father is going to persuade us as to his holiness and righteousness and of our sinfulness, and of our need to repent of (turn away from) our sins to follow him in obedience to his commands (New Covenant). For Jesus said that if anyone would come after him he must deny self, take up his cross daily (die daily to sin) and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to our lives of living in sin and for self, we will lose them for eternity. But if for Jesus’ sake we deny self, die to sin daily, and follow him in obedience, then we have the hope of eternal life with God (see Luke 9:23-26).
And then notice what this says here. “And they will be taught by God.” And then he said, “Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me.” So what is this saying? If we are not being taught by God, we are not of God. If we are learning from the Father, meaning that he is teaching us and we are listening to him and we are obeying him, then we will come to Jesus Christ. But coming to Christ is doing what Luke 9:23-26 says. It is denying self, dying daily to sin, and following our Lord in obedience.
So, when this says that everyone who believes has eternal life, this is not talking about a belief that we make up in our own minds. For that faith is not of our own doing. It is not of the will nor of the flesh of humans. It comes from God, it is persuaded of God, and it is gifted to us by God, and thus it will agree with God’s will and purpose for our lives. And Jesus also said that not everyone who calls him “Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one DOING the will of God the Father in heaven (Matthew 7:21-23).
And this is why Jesus said that we must (symbolically speaking) eat of his flesh and drink of his blood if we want to have eternal life in him. For his flesh and his blood were given up for us on that cross so that when Jesus died our sins died with him, and when he was raised from the dead, he gave us the hope of new life in him. So, when we believe in Jesus with God-persuaded faith in him, we are crucified with Christ in death to sin, and raised with him to walk in newness of life in him, no longer as slaves to sin but as slaves to God and to his righteousness (Romans 6:1-23).
And that’s what this all means. We must die to sin and live to God and to his righteousness. We must participate with him in his death to sin and in his resurrection to new life in him to be lived for his purposes and for his glory. But all this is of God, and it all comes from God, and not from our own flesh. We can only die to sin and live to God because of what Jesus did for us on that cross, and only by the grace of God and in the power, wisdom, and strength that comes from God and is provided for us by way of the cross.
So, if you want to be saved from your sins and to have eternal life with God, faith in him means dying to sin and to self and walking in obedience to his commands in holy living, from now to eternity – all in the power of God.
[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:35-58; Jn 15:1-11; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-24; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-11; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 10:23-31; 1 Co 10:1-22; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]
For Our Nation
An Original Work / September 11, 2012
Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Trust Him with your life today.
Make Him your Lord and your Savior.
Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.
He will forgive you of your sin;
Cleanse your heart, made new within.
Men betraying: Our trust fraying.
On our knees to God we’re praying,
Seeking God to give us answers
That are only found in Him.
God is sovereign over all things.
Nothing from His mind escaping.
He has all things under His command,
And will work all for good.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Men deceiving: We’re believing
In our Lord, and interceding
For our nation and its people
To obey their God today.
He is our hope for our future.
For our wounds He offers suture.
He is all we need for this life.
Trust Him with your life today.
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