Who chooses who?

To some degree, and at some point, every true Christian must deal with John 6.

Why is it that Jesus said, "no one CAN come to Me, unless it has been granted to him by My Father" (John 6:65)? Grammatically it’s quite simple. Just think back to junior high and what your english teacher might’ve said to you if you asked her "can I go to the bathroom?" You might’ve heard something like, "I’m sure you can and you also may!" So why the correction? Well, because "can" speaks of ability, while "may" speaks of permission. God isnt saying men dont have permission, and that that's why it has to be granted by the Father. He’s saying they "can’t" for some reason.

The Bible teaches "no one seeks God", in the context of some very staggering truths about fallen man (Romans 3:10-18). From this, "no one seeks God", we must conclude that those who seem to seek God, or do seek God, were/are either not seeking God Himself but are maybe seeking an idol, or, they’re led by God Himself to seek Him. The latter brings to mind John 6:44, "No one CAN come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him". Again we hear from Christ that they exists an unability in man to come to Him. In fact, the word translated "draws" literally means "to drag" in the Greek.

Why exactly "can’t" anyone come to Christ apart from God’s drawing? Is it because God won’t let them? Or, is it because they in themselves are not able to? And if they’re unable to, why are they unable to? Whose preventing them? Are they being prevented by God, by themselves, or by some other outside force? Is it related to all of makind's being dead spiritually (Ephesians 2:1)? Does it have anything to do with the fact that the will of man is enslaved to sin and satan (John 8:34,44, Eph. 2:2))? Is it because spiritually dead beings are unable to even comprehend spiritual truth (1 Corinthians 2:14)? Jesus said, which parallels 1 Corinthians 2:14, that no one can "see" the Kingdom of heaven unless he is born from above, or in other words, born spiritually. The word "see" literally means "unable to comprehend or perceive" the Kingdom of heaven. Now if these are all related, and God must enable a person, draw a person to Christ, and give them spiritual life to comprehend His spiritual truth... does God do this for everyone? If yes, does He allow those who reject the gospel, after being drawn and brought to spiritual life, to go back to spiritual death and blindness. Is it Biblical to say that God brings to life some sinners, who, after rejecting the gospel go back to spiritual death?

Now, if "no one seeks God", and those who do only do after God has gave them spiritual life to see, and drawn them to Christ to choose, then is it reasonable to conclude that the "will" of man is not actually free to choose Christ, but is unable to, due to its enslavement to lesser and evil desires/inclinations? When Paul stated that "no one seeks God", he stated that, apart from God’s regenerating grace, no one would ever "will" to choose Christ. Lastly, look at John 6:37: "All that the Father gives Me, will come to Me". The "coming" of the saints to Christ is preceded by the "giving" of them by the Father. Does the Father give all people to Christ? On what basis are the given, given to Christ? Was this something planned before creation? The Scriptures reveal that this was an eternal covenant between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. John 6:37 is tough to chew for many evangelical teachers. But it’s all pretty clear isn’t it? If you reference John 6:37 to Romans 8:30, we see that not only did God predestine people, but in this predestination He, in His infinite mind, called, justified and glorified His elect. "For those whom He predestined, He also called; and those whom He called, He also justified; and those whom He justified, He also glorified". There’s a parallel to be found between these two texts (John 6:37 and Romans 8:30). In God’s mind, every person He predestined, He predestined to call, justify, and glorify. Every one. Not one that He planned on calling will He not justify, and ultimately glorify. Those He calls are the ones He gives to Christ (John 6:37). Without fail, "ALL that the Father gives" Christ, "will come to" Him.

"ALL that the Father gives Me WILL come to Me".

Do we then set aside the decision a person makes in receiving Christ? No! But we give God all the glory for it, literally. For a person to choose Christ, his will must be inclined (set free) to do so. A spiritual corpse has no such inclinations, nor can it...because it loves and lives for self.

"to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God— children born NOT OF natural descent, NOR OF HUMAN DECISION OR WILL, BUT BORN OF GOD" (John 1:12-13). The spiritual birth is not a mere human decision. The power to quicken the minds and wills of dead men belongs to the omnipotent God of creation alone (2 Corinthians 4:6). We must preach an uncompromised gospel as believers, because in it God has put His "power unto salvation" (Romans 1:16). And we preach this uncompromised gospel, in love and grace, with unwavering boldness, because we know Who alone actually saves people!

If this is a tough truth for you to understand or embrace, or if you have any questions, please feel free to ask anything or comment on this. From the sincere love of Christ which abounds in my heart for my brethren, I have no desire for vain debate. I do, however, believe the truth of God’s Word ought to be clearly understood by His saints, and therefore view discussion and clarity as being necessary and edifying. Disagreement does not exclude love, it merely presents opportunity to reflect the true nature of love. For love to be love, it must be in accordance with truth. The same One who is love is also "the Truth" (John 14:6). To sit back under the banner of "love" and embrace unity through compromising truth (ecumenism), is to misunderstand love completely. Thanks for taking the time to read this. SOLI DEO GLORIA