John 6 from Great Falls

Alright, let's get back in here, because I want to get you out of here at a proper time.

I want to show respect for the folks taking care of kids. Tomorrow is school day, all the rest of that stuff.

So, if we can gather back together, I'd really appreciate it. Because I want to have as much time as I can get here.

I started preaching there, sorry. I wanted to get done a little earlier than I did. But every once in a while I start preaching, so I apologize for that.

But I don't want to shortchange this next text of scripture either.

So we can take our places. Going the wrong way there, brother. I'm not letting you preach.

And our guest preacher for today is... Alright, as I mentioned,

I want to demonstrate the consistency between the reading that we just gave to the 9th chapter of Romans and the teachings of Jesus himself.

And so I invite you to turn with me to the longest chapter of the Gospel of John. John chapter 6.

The 6th chapter of the Gospel of John, wherein we have the recording of the great miracle, the feeding of the 5 ,000.

We have Jesus sending the crowds away when they want to make him king.

Then men see the next day that Jesus has left, so they get in boats. And they are seeking after Jesus.

These are Jesus seekers. They go to the other side of the lake.

I mean, look at these people. They are really putting themselves out to follow after Jesus.

In fact, in most churches today, I think they would have been made deacons almost immediately. They were putting out so much effort.

We can't get folks to come to Sunday school and these guys are rowing boats across lakes looking after Jesus.

Is there not any greater evidence that these are Christians? No. Jesus is going to demonstrate that they are not

Christians. That they are, in fact, false disciples. And so, beginning in verse 25, when they found him on the other side of the lake, they said to him,

Rabbi, when did you get here? And Jesus replied, I tell you truly, you are looking for me.

You are searching for me. Seeking for me. Not because you saw the signs, but because you ate the bread and were filled.

You saw a miracle. You didn't understand what it meant, but you got some free food and you thought that was great.

Work? Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which abides unto eternal life, which the

Son of Man will give to you. This one, the Father has sealed, has put his seal of approval on him.

So, notice immediately, Jesus attempting to take the conversation away from physical food, physical things, and move it on to spiritual realities.

So they said to him, what must we do to work the works of God? Jesus answered and said to them, this is the work of God, that you believe in the one whom he has sent.

Don't try to be doing works. You need to believe in the one whom he has sent.

So they said to him, what sign do you do that we might see and believe in you?

What work do you accomplish? Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness.

Just as it has been written, he gave them bread from heaven to eat. Therefore, Jesus said to them, truly, truly,

I say to you, Moses did not give to them the bread from heaven, but my Father gave to them the bread, the true bread from heaven, is giving to them,

I'm sorry, the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who came down from heaven and is giving life to the world.

Therefore they said to him, Lord, always give to us this bread. And Jesus said to them,

I am the bread of life. The one coming to me will never hunger, the one believing in me will never thirst.

Now may I just mention in passing, for those of you who might have loved ones within the

Roman Catholic system, John chapter 6 is a text that Rome misuses and abuses in reference to what's called the

Eucharistic sacrifice of the manna. And we'll drop down to verses 50 and following and say, see,

Jesus said you eat of his flesh and drink of his blood. Please note that the first place for eating and drinking is mentioned here.

Jesus himself says, the one coming to me will not hunger, the one believing in me will never thirst.

The hungering and thirsting and eating of John 6 is spiritual, not physical.

It is a gross misuse of this text to read into it some type of Eucharistic theology that would not develop for another thousand years.

Besides that, Rome doesn't believe what's going to come between now and verse 50 in regards to sovereignty of God and salvation to begin with.

I want to begin focusing in at verse 36. Our time, unfortunately, is very limited. But I said to you that you have seen me and you are not believing.

You've seen me. You saw the miracle I worked yesterday. You saw me feed the 5 ,000.

But you're not believing. You're not believers. Now you see, from our perspective, we look at these folks, how can you say that?

Well, Jesus knows the hearts and minds of men. Remember in John chapter 2 when men saw the signs that Jesus did, it said many believed in him.

But it uses a form of believe that in the Gospel of John never refers to saving faith. It's just a temporary thing.

And there in John chapter 2 it says Jesus did not entrust himself to them. He literally did not believe himself to them because he knew what was in the heart of man.

He knows these men. They don't truly believe. He says you have seen me and you are not believing.

Why? Why does one believe and another does not? Why do these who possess the scriptures,

Jews here in the synagogue at Capernaum, why are they not believing? Was it

Jesus? Does Jesus say here, you know, my sermon yesterday really wasn't all that good. I wasn't as clear as I could have been.

The worship band was off. The PowerPoint wasn't working. So let me try again. Is that why they weren't believing?

I didn't work on my sermon long enough. And so let me bring a drama group in to help out.

Is that why they weren't believing? Verse 37. All that the

Father gives me will come to me and the one coming to me I will never cast out because I have come down out of heaven not in order to do my own will but the will of the one who sent me and this is the will of the one who sent me in order that of all that he has given to me

I lose none of it but raise it up on the last day for this is the will of my

Father in order that all the ones looking upon the Son and believing in him might have eternal life and I myself will raise him up on the last day.

Let us hear the words of Jesus. All that the Father gives me will come to me.

Follow that word coming to me. Remember we saw it up in verse 35.

The one coming to me will not hunger. The one believing in me will never thirst.

Coming and believing, they're the same thing. And so Jesus says, all that the

Father gives me will come to me. Now, there's no question of this in the language.

Again, there's a difficult textual issue here or anything else. The only reason people struggle with this is tradition.

Think about it for a moment. All that the Father gives me will come to me.

Which action comes first? The giving of the Father or coming to the

Son? If I say all that I give a ticket to will go into the football game, what comes first?

The giving of the ticket or the going into the football game? This is not a difficult question.

This isn't a trick question. And no, we're not going to a football game. But why do

I labor this? Because of the depth of men's traditions.

I can't tell you how many people I've taken them to this text. I've tried to walk through this text with them.

And they get to this verse and the glasses they put on move the words around the page to fit their traditions.

And they think what the Jesus is saying is all that the

Father sees will believe in me He gives to me. But that's not what it says.

All that the Father gives to me will come to me. My coming to Christ is due to my having been given to Him by the

Father. It's plain, it's biblical, it's clear.

You see, a lot of folks like John 6 .37 but they don't like the last part of the verse. They love.

And the one coming to me I will never cast out. Oh, that's beautiful. Christ will never cast away one who comes to Him.

And that is a tremendous promise. But it's the second half of a sentence. Those of you who are parents with teenagers know that teenagers are good at cutting sentences up into pieces.

Clean your room, and we'll go have pizza. So the teenager becomes brr -brr -brr -brr, go have pizza.

Right? There are a few parents here going ha -ha -ha -ha -ha.

But, while we might laugh at that when it results in disciplinary problems that shows a disrespect for the parent, does it not?

When it's ongoing, when it's constant. Aren't we showing disrespect for God's Word when we cut

His sentences up into pieces? The one coming to me

I will never cast out. Why is that? It's the second half of a sentence. The first half of the sentence lays the foundation.

All that the Father gives me will come to me. He's just said, you do not believe in me. Why? Because you have not been given to me by the

Father. At the end of this discourse, think about John chapter 6 for a moment.

Remember the big story here. Beginning of John chapter 6. Five thousand men followers, not including women and children, excited about the teachings of Jesus.

End of the discourse, John chapter 6. Twelve confused disciples, one of whom's a devil.

This is where Jesus found the church shrinkage movement. But he did so purposely.

Because Jesus does not intend to fill His church with unbelievers.

Hear me there. Because there are many today who seem to want to do that.

The one coming to me, and please note something, that's present tense. Not the one who one time comes to me and tips his hat.

The one coming to me, I will never cast out. Ongoing, always going to Jesus, believing in this text, is ongoing, present tense.

He's talking about true saving faith in this text. And the one coming to me,

I will never cast out. Strongest form of negation you can have in the original language.

I will never cast that one out. Why? All because I'm just so loving, that no matter how bad you might be,

I'll just always accept you. That's what He says. Here in John chapter 6, for a moment, it's one of those tremendous places in Scripture, where for a moment, the very veil of eternity is drawn back, and we are able to see communication between the

Father and the Son. In verse 38 we're told, because I have come down out of heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of the one who sent me.

Why will I never cast that one out? Because the Father has expressed His will for me. I'm not doing my own will,

I'm doing the will of the Father who sent me. And what is that will? Verse 39.

This is the will of the one who sent me. That of all that He has given me,

I lose none of it. I raised it up on the last day. Now did you hear how I translated that?

I said none of it. There's something important to see here.

In verse 39, instead of using the masculine to refer to an individual, a person, the text switches over to the neuter, to refer to a group.

The whole group of those given by the Father to the Son. It is the

Father's will that of all that He has given to Him, that whole group, that as a group is entrusted to the

Son, the Father's will to the Son is that He save everyone in that group perfectly.

He lose none of it. I have one question for you.

Can any redeemed heart even ponder the possibility that the

Son could fail to do the will of the Father? Such a thought should cause you to recoil in horror.

The very idea that the Son could fail to do the

Father's will would mean we have absolutely no hope. But what's the corollary to that?

God saves perfectly. What must be true of Jesus in light of verse 39?

Jesus must be a perfect and powerful Savior.

He cannot be one who depends on you and me for the success of His work.

Because if my work has to be added in, you know your heart if your work has to be added in.

Or all the trouble. Why does

He not cast out any of those? The Father gives them. It's the

Father's will that He save them perfectly. That of all that He has given me,

I lose none of it, but I'll raise it up on the last day.

That's how you have eternal life, is to be raised up on the last day by Jesus. That's not just some general resurrection.

That's having eternal life. Jesus can save every one of those given to Him by the

Father perfectly. That is the promise of Scripture. That's the very foundation of our only confidence.

In the worst times of our life, in the darkest times of our life, that is a rock that will not move.

But it stands only upon the firm foundation of the sovereignty of God.

For this is the will of my Father. In order that everyone looking upon the

Son, that's present tense, just as coming and believing is a present tense participle, everyone looking upon the

Son and believing in Him would have eternal life, and I will raise

Him up at the last day. Who are the only ones who look to Jesus as the source of their spiritual life?

Who are the only ones who are believing in Jesus for eternal life? Those the

Father has given to the Son. And what does mankind do here when the traditions get stomped upon?

They skip over verses 37 -39, jump down to verse 40 and say, see, everybody can look and everybody can believe, and therefore there is no choice on God's part.

I have never found, and I have been looking for a number of years, I have never found any position that can start at the beginning of John chapter 6 and walk straight through in the context, in the original language, to the end of John chapter 6 that does not teach the absolute sovereignty of God and salvation.

Oh, I've found some incredibly interesting ways to get around this text. Most of the time it involves reading it upside down.

No, I don't mean hanging upside down, I mean reading it upside down. But I have never found, and I have honestly sought for some kind of meaningful counter -exegesis interpretation.

I've never found it. You cannot walk through this text without hearing what

Jesus is saying. The Jews heard it. I love the beginning of verse 41.

My poor children, it's difficult to be raised as the son of an apologist who also teaches

Greek and things like that. The verse 41 begins, the Jews were grumbling concerning him.

The word grumbling in Greek is gungusmu. Doesn't that sound like grumbling? Gungusmu. And so we'd be driving in the car and you know how kids are in the back seat, stop gungusmu -ing back there.

My kids know how to warn against gungusmu. The Jews are gungusmu -ing concerning him because he said,

I am the bread which came down from heaven. And they're saying, what? Isn't this

Jesus, the son of Joseph? We know his father and his mother. How is it that he's saying,

I've come down from heaven? Jesus answered and said to them, don't gungusmu amongst yourselves.

Stop grumbling amongst yourselves. Then verse 44.

What a clear text and oh, again, the ways that people have found to get around it. What does it say?

No one is able to come to me unless the father who sent me draws him and I will raise him up on the last day.

You don't need to grumble because no one can come to me unless the father who sent me draws him.

He's going to finish at the end. Look down at verse, I believe it is 64. But there are some of you who do not believe for Jesus had already known from the beginning who those were who did not believe and who it was who had betrayed him.

So Jesus was saying, and literally it seems he was repeating this, because of this, for this reason

I told you, no one can come to me unless the father has granted it to him.

Unless it's granted him to the father. Notice verse 66. After this, many of his disciples stopped following him.

Jesus knew that would be offensive, but he said it anyways. No one is able to come to me except something happens.

What is it? The drawing of the father. Oh, good. Because we know

God draws everybody, right? That's what immediately is said. How many times

I've seen people go, oh, oh, oh, wait, and they jump out of John 6 and they jump six chapters into the future of John 12.

Now even before we look at that, as soon as you see someone who has to jump out of one text and go someplace else to interpret this text, that should raise a big warning flag in your mind.

That's not how you interpret the Bible. You don't go running off to someplace else and then read that back in here.

Besides that, the people to whom Jesus was talking wouldn't have been able to follow what he was saying if that was the case.

Oh yeah, you're going to say that in the future. Okay, yeah. Makes no sense. But what do people do?

Oh, unless the father said he draws him, let's find other places where the word draw is used. Oh, here in John chapter 12,

Jesus says, I will draw all men unto me. When the Son of Man is unto me, I will draw all men unto myself, so therefore everything is okay, because God draws everybody.

Well, there's a little bit of a problem. There's two problems. First of all, that ignores the context of John 12. John 12.

Greeks, some Greeks. Remember they come to Philip, because they knew Philip had a Greek name. They come to Philip and they want to talk to Jesus.

You ever notice something? Jesus didn't talk to him. He didn't.

He went away. He didn't talk to him. There wasn't time. The Gentile mission was yet in the future.

And in the context of explaining, at the end of the public ministry in John chapter 12,

Jesus said, and if I be lifted up, I will draw all men unto myself.

Now, what did any writer at that time mean by all men? What's the context?

Greeks, Gentiles coming to Jesus. When I'm lifted up, gentlemen, I will draw

Jews and Gentiles unto myself. What did Paul just say in Romans 9? Who are the vessels of mercy made of?

Jews and Gentiles. Those who are the called. But it has amazed me how many people have said, oh yeah, yeah,

John 12 .32. That means every human being has ever lived. Really? The Amorites were drawn to the cross of Jesus?

Oh, okay. Not people before Jesus. But since then, everyone's been drawn to the cross of Jesus.

Really? Is that what the New Testament teaches about the cross? What is the cross to those who are perishing?

Is it something that attracts you? Something that's beautiful to you? It's foolishness.

Paul says it's the stench of death. The cross repels those who are perishing.

It is only the power and wisdom of God and the very essence of life to those who are being saved who are the called of God.

So the very idea that John 12 is just this escape act makes no sense at all and it abuses

John 12. So we come back to John 6. There's a second problem. Notice what it says.

Listen very carefully. No one is able to come to me unless the

Father who sent me draws him and I will raise him up on the last day.

Now, we just saw being raised up on the last day is the same as eternal life. Look at verse 40. Jesus will raise up who on the last day?

All those that the Father gives him. Who is it that the Father draws to Jesus? Those that he's given to him.

But if you say, well, God draws everybody but it's up to you whether you come to Jesus then there's a contradiction in verse 44 because there is absolutely no reason to assume that there's two different hymns

H -I -M -S in John 6 .44. When it says the

Father draws him and I will raise him on the last day it's the same him.

Whoever is raised up has been drawn by the Father. Whoever is drawn by the Father will be raised up.

If you want to say everyone's drawn then you have to be consistent. Everyone's going to be saved. You have to become a universalist.

If you have no way around it, I'm sorry. It's right there. Or you have to recognize the consistency of this text.

From the beginning. The Father gives a people to the Son. They come to the

Son. He will not cast any of them out. Why? Because the Father has given them to the

Son and it's the Father's will that he save all of them and raise them up at the last day.

All of this has been an explanation of the statement in verse 36. You have seen me but you do not believe in me.

Why? Because the Father hasn't given you to me. Well is this the only place

Jesus said that? No. It's amazing how many places in Scripture this comes up in John.

Turn with me to John chapter 8. Our time is short but I just want to look at this. You see it's not just one text. This theme comes up over and over and over again.

In John chapter 8 remember you had some false believers. Verse 30 while he was saying these things many people believed in him but that's the form of believe that does not in John mean saving faith.

It's a temporary thing. These are the same people who by the end of the chapter could pick up stones to stone him. And so Jesus offends them in verse 32.

If you continue to follow my teaching you are truly my disciples. You will know the truth. The truth will set you free. And as soon as Jesus says we need to be set free.

Oh man. Don't tell me I need to be set free. What do you mean

I'm enslaved? And so the battle begins.

Jesus tells them you individuals you're doing the deeds of your father. And then verse 43.

Listen to what Jesus says. Why don't you hear? Why do you not understand what

I am saying to you? Because you are not able to hear my word.

Why don't you hear what I'm saying? Why don't you understand? Because you're not able to hear my word. Doesn't mean they were deaf.

But there was something wrong with them. They lack a capacity. They cannot hear. Just as Paul said the natural man does not receive the thanks of the spirit of God.

They're foolish. They're spiritually discerned. And then listen to verse 47.

The one who is of God or belongs to God hears the words of God. For this reason you are not hearing.

And what would man's tradition say at this point? Because you don't choose to. Because by your free will you've chosen not to.

That's not what scripture says. Because you don't belong to God. That's what

Jesus said. Why don't you hear what I'm saying? Because you're not of God.

Those who are of God hear the words of God. You don't hear what I'm saying because you're not of God. Well, is that the only place where that type of thing is said?

No. Let's look at John chapter 10. Oh, the good shepherd passage. That's so wonderful.

We like passages where Jesus is carrying little lambs around and stuff like that. And that's nice.

But notice what Jesus says. In verse 24.

So the Jewish leaders surrounded him and asked,

How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly. Jesus replied,

I told you and you do not believe. The works which I am doing in the name of my

Father, these testify concerning me. But you are not believing because you are not of my sheep.

My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me.

This is why you don't believe. You're not of my sheep. Now earlier in this text, what did Jesus say about he and his sheep?

I give my life for the sheep. And then he says to the Jewish leaders, you're not of my sheep.

That's why you don't hear. That's why you don't follow. One last text.

John 17. John chapter 17. The high priestly prayer of our

Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The last public words, well not even public words, private words, before his betrayal.

And he's praying for his disciples. Verse 9.

I am praying on behalf of them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given to me for they are yours.

High priestly prayer. Not praying for the world. I'm praying for who? You hear

John 6? Those you have given to me? And he's going to go on and talk about those who are going to believe based on their testimony.

It's the same group. And in his high priestly prayer, Jesus recognizes there are certain people that the

Father gives to him. And that's why they have saving faith. It's a theme that runs throughout the red letters.

The red letters. So I go back to Jesus' words.

I ask us to remember. What we saw in Romans 9.

We saw in Romans 8. Paul's statement. In 1 Corinthians.

But to those who are called, Christ the power of God. Christ the wisdom of God. The offhanded comment of Luke.

As many as were ordained to eternal life believe. The offhanded comment of Paul to Timothy.

I endure all things for the sake of the elect. These aren't just a few scattered verses.

This is the very fabric of the recognition on the part of the inspired writers.

That God is sovereign in his creation. There are many people who don't mind the sovereignty of God as long as it's limited.

We'll allow God to keep the earth in orbit. That's a good thing. We'll allow

God to keep the sun burning and the stars shining. He can take care of those big things.

And we'll let God be sovereign over the affairs of men as far as the big macro stuff.

Like nations rising against nations. Why would anybody pray to God that we would have peace in our land if God can't actually give us peace?

Ever wondered about that? There are a lot of people that will allow God to be sovereign out there.

But when it comes to the single thing that God has done that most glorifies him.

The single thing that the Trinity itself in eternity past has decreed to do.

To bring about the triune majesty's own self -glorification. That is before time began.

The Father, the Son, and the Spirit covenanted together to create and to redeem.

That it was decided before creation itself that the Son, not the

Father or the Spirit, the Son would enter into his own creation.

So as to provide the one means of salvation. That a people would be united with him so that his death becomes their death.

His burial, their burial. His resurrection, their resurrection. So that throughout eternity to come, his grace and mercy would be glorified.

That in that one central thing that God does, man insists,

God will not be sovereign in that. I will be. So mankind comes up with his traditions.

He says, oh, can't be saved without grace. Everybody needs grace.

But you see, grace isn't enough unless I add my approbation, my approval, my acceptance.

Resultant presentation, whether those who make it realize it or not. You have

God the Father, the fount and source of salvation. Decreeing salvation.

The Son entering into his own creation to provide it.

The Spirit coming to make it alive in the hearts of men and women. The Triune God trying to save an almighty man.

Frustrating the Triune God. But an amazing thing,

God has never failed in bringing about his own glorification. He is the sovereign creator and he is the sovereign savior.

We are to but bow down in amazement and love.

That despite the fact that we love our sin. We were enslaved to our sin.

Before eternity itself, he set his love upon us. And when the right time came, his

Spirit drew us to Jesus Christ and caused us to love him.

It is by him that you are in Christ Jesus, 1 Corinthians chapter 1 says. So that he who boasts, let him boast in the

Lord. I wrote a book,

I saw a copy of it yesterday here. A couple of you have looked at it a number of years ago.

Where I was responding to a very well known evangelical scholar's presentation.

And one of the most startling, shocking statements in that man's book.

Had to do with the atonement. He said Christ's death did not save anyone.

It made us all stable. Think about that. Christ's death saved no one, it made us all stable.

Is that what we saw in Hebrews chapter 10, 9 and 10, 7. Here in John 6,

John 17. Do we see that anywhere? But that's what happens when we allow traditions.

To overthrow the exegesis of the text of Scripture. At the end of this chapter,

I want you to see it in your mind's eye. Remember what we read? Look at it once again at the end of 65.

Jesus said, this is why I told you no one can come to me unless the

Father has allowed him to come. Has granted it to him. After this, many of his disciples quit following him, did not accompany him any longer.

Can you imagine what that was like? Clearly, we don't have the entirety of everything

Jesus said in the synagogue at Capernaum. Because he was repeating this over and over again. He made other illustrations that John was looking for.

And can you just see it in your mind's eye, it started toward the back. First one person just goes.

Then a group of two look at each other and go. Some walk away because it's pretty obvious there's not going to be any free food today.

But others are like, what's he saying? He's pointing to himself. He's saying that we need to find our whole spiritual sustenance in him.

Who does he think he is? I thought he was pretty cool yesterday, but not. Let's go find something else to do.

The crowd gets smaller. Smaller. To find the last one walks away.

They're the disciples. Now, earlier in John chapter 6, they were pretty excited.

They were pretty happy. When they were passing out that supernatural bread and the supernatural fish.

Yeah, I know Jesus. I've been with him for a long time. Enjoy it up there. They're going, oh, that's one of the disciples of Jesus.

And now they've watched as Jesus has systematically driven them all.

So Jesus said in 12, you don't want to go away too, do you? And here is the difference between a heart that's been touched by the spirit of God.

And those that were just seeking after free food. Lord, to whom would we go?

You have the words of eternal life. Why did Peter say that?

Because he was smarter and better than all those other people who just walked away. Peter said that because he was one of those given by the

Father to the Son. That's why he'd never be driven away.

That's why he has eternal life. Because in the sovereign decree of God, God has set his love upon him from eternity past.

And that's why Simon Peter hears the words of eternal life.

It's not just Romans 9. It's not just Ephesians 1.

It's not just 2 Timothy chapter 1. From Genesis to Revelation, God is sovereign in his creation and over the affairs of man.

There is such tremendous peace to be found in recognizing that I am the creature of God.

He is accomplishing his purpose. This world is a scary place today.

Ahmadinejad is getting nukes. The future is a scary thing.

But you know what? Back during the bubonic plague in Europe, it looked like the whole world was going to an end, didn't it?

And yet God has purpose. God was accomplishing his will. That is our strength.

Our foundation is one. And that is why we glorify him.

Because salvation is of the Lord. Let's pray. We pray you

God, we thank you that your word has revealed to us your glory, your majesty, your power, your holiness and your wrath against sin which has caused us to flee from that, your mercy, your love as well.

So we thank you for your word. And we ask that you would cause us to truly have a heart that says,

I must believe what God's word reveals. That you would help us to understand your truth.

Edify your people. And may we rejoice in the glory of the gospel revealed in the scriptures.

We pray in Christ's name. Amen. Thank you very much for having me.

I enjoyed my time with you. Who knows, the Lord may bring me back up here sometime.