READING TIME: 3-5 MINUTES
March 2, 2020
Please explain John 6:44-45 since I’ve heard Calvinists use this to attempt to teach total inability and that faith for salvation is a gift from God.
John 6:44-45: 44 No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day. 45 It is written in the prophets, ‘AND THEY SHALL ALL BE TAUGHT OF GOD.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father, comes to Me.
Jesus affirms that the Father “draws” (ἑλκύω) and that unless He does, no one comes to Christ. A normal reading of the passage does not lead us to the conclusion that He draws irresistibly and necessarily because of supposed human total inability (Lopez).
We should observe, however, that John 6 simply talks about something present—about drawing—thus the means of one coming to the Father is in view, not the fact of election in eternity past (Meisinger).
WORD STUDY AND SEMANTIC RANGE OF “DRAW”
Even though faith is not mentioned, many interpret verse 44 as referring to the human inability to “come” to Christ (i.e., “believe in Him”; see vv. 35-37, 39-40, 47) unless the Father does a special work. Much of the argument here focuses on the term ἔλκω (“draw”), which proponents of this view say means to compel a person against his will (Lopez).
The argument of one particular Reformed theologian, R.C. Sproul, fails, not because he has invented a non-existent nuance for ἑλκύω, but because he (a) moved away from John’s meaning in the immediate context of John 6:44-45 and (b) leaped outside of John’s usage altogether to gather in a meaning for “drag” that suits his theological system. Such a hermeneutical practice may be characterized as theological eisegesis (Meisinger).
However, John’s four other uses of ἔλκω do not include the idea of coercion (12:32; 18:10; 21:6, 11). In 12:32 John wrote that Christ’s resurrection will draw everyone to Him, but verses 37-40 include even unbelievers. Then, “drawing” here does not mean God will coerce everyone in the world to believe, because many have died without believing in Christ. John 18:10 records the incident in which Peter drew his sword. Of course, that could not mean coercion because the sword had no volitional ability to resist. In John 21:6 and 11, the verb speaks of Peter dragging in his fishing net. Did he coerce his nets? Did his nets have volitional ability to resist him?
Of course, the semantic range of ἔλκω does include the idea of influence (TDNT).
While ἔλκω can mean to coerce or drag (as in Acts 21:30 and James 2:6), it can also mean to attract. Bauer, Arndt, and Gingrich give “draw” and “attract” as the meaning of ἔλκω in John 6:44 and 12:32. In John 6:45 Jesus quoted Isaiah, who wrote, “They shall all be taught of God” (Isa. 54:13). Then Jesus added, “Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father, comes to Me” (John 6:45). In other words, those whom the Father “draws” to Him are those who learn of Him. Nothing is said here about faith being a gift (Lopez & Meisinger).
MORE DETAILS ABOUT THE ISAIAH 54:13 QUOTE
In John 6:45, “taught” clarifies or answers the question “how does the Father draw people?” He draws through the teaching of His Word. Moreover, Jesus builds on the Isaiah quotation, saying, everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me (6:45b). Then continuing through 6:58, Jesus works to teach and persuade all of them—to make them hear and learn—even though some are not elect (cf. 6:64). James 1:17-18 throws light on the subject: all good gifts, such as the free gift being drawn to the Lord, are from the Father. He regenerates those who receive the gift that “the word of truth” reveals (Meisinger).
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION
Calvinist (wrongly) misuse John 6:44 to supposedly prove an unbeliever’s inability, but this verse does not teach this. The key is to read the next verse (John 6:45), meaning, that the Word about Christ has been shared and those who understand the Word come to Christ. Later on, in the Gospel of John, Jesus elaborates on this drawing (see John 12:32-33). So, it is the event of the crucifixion of Christ that has paid for the sins of the world and has made it possible for the world to come to Christ in faith when people hear and understand His Word. This account testifies that the Word of God is the agency that generates faith in the unregenerate person.
John 6:44 is very important to include with other passages dealing with man’s ability or lack thereof. Without the aid of the Father and the Holy Spirit in the wooing and persuading process, it would be accurate to say that man, on his own, cannot come to Christ. But it would also be inaccurate to say that the Father forces or drags a man to become a believer (Anderson).
Sources Consulted
Anderson, David R. Free Grace Soteriology: 3rd Edition. Grace Theology Press, 51-52.
Lopez, René A. “Is Faith a Gift from God or a Human Exercise?” Bibliotheca Sacra 164 (July-September 2007): 259-276.
Meisinger, George E. “The Issue of One’s Ability to Believe: Total Depravity/ Inability.” Chafer Theological Seminary Journal Volume 11.1 (2005): 65-96.