Daily Bible Nugget #676, John 6:44

The Nugget:

Joh 6:44  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.

One of my friends on Facebook posted this interesting comment:

There is something about being created as self directed individuals (angels and humanity) that craves autonomy.

Biblical “Calvinism” affirms the sovereignty of God and the true Gospel of divine sovereign grace.

“…that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;” Romans 10

“…so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2

Criticism of “Calvinism” comes from the spiritual pride of the flesh, as recorded in Genesis 3. It judges God, and telling Him He has to be fair, and that we get to choose by our own “free will” whether to believe in Jesus or not.

 

I posted, in response, this comment:

Criticism of Calvinism may also come from a more careful and accurate study of what the Bible itself actually teaches!

In answer to a question posed to me on Facebook, “What is one thing that you think calvinism teaches that isn’t biblical?” I wrote:

From my long, careful, and thorough study of the Bible I must conclude that the doctrine of limited atonement is unscriptural. There are other doctrines that are unbiblical because those who formulated those doctrines failed to heed the grammatical distinctions maintained in the Greek New Testament, with particular reference to the subjunctive mood.

John 6:44 is a prime example:

Joh 6:44  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. (KJV)

Joh 6:44 no one is able to come unto me, if the Father who sent me may not draw him, and I will raise him up in the last day; (YLT, Young’s Literal Translation)

Notice that the KJV “draw” is more correctly translated “may draw,” as reflected in Young’s Literal Translation of the Bible. “May” represents the subjunctive mood that is present in the underlying Greek text of the New Testament.

draw. or, may draw. Aorist tense, active voice, subjunctive mood, third person singular verb. Logically, Calvinism cannot base absolute sovereignty and absolute predestination or the doctrine of irresistible grace upon (or in the face of) the “may” of the subjunctive mood in the probable future third class condition here and in verse 65 (Joh 6:65), That would be an absolute contradiction in terms. “May” expresses contingency; the “third class condition” expresses probability, but not certainty, because of the contingency. The “third class condition” asserts that if a specified condition is met, a certain result will follow. Thus, the Calvinistic position is proven absolutely untenable according to the grammar of Scripture. The terms of the contingency are expressed in Joh 6:37 and Joh 6:40, and include continuing belief.

Joh 6:37  All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. (KJV)

Joh 6:37 all that the Father doth give to me will come unto me; and him who is coming unto me, I may in no wise cast without, (YLT)

Notice that Young correctly preserves the subjunctive mood by translating the last clause “I may in no wise cast without .”

I will. or, I may (Young). The subjunctive mood marks the contingency: is coming.

Joh 6:40  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. (KJV)

In this instance at John 6:40 the KJV got it right by properly representing the subjunctive mood by the use of “may” in the clause “may have everlasting life.” The “may” of the subjunctive mood reflects the preceding contingency marked by “and believeth on him,” where “believeth” represents the present continuous tense of the verb “believe,” calling attention to the necessity of continued believing.

Joh 6:65  And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father. (KJV)

Joh 6:65 and he said, `Because of this I have said to you–No one is able to come unto me, if it may not have been given him from my Father.’ (YLT)

were given. or, may not have been given (Young). As in Joh 6:44, the subjunctive mood (“may”) marks a stipulated contingency involving continued hearing of His word (Joh 6:63) and believing (Joh 6:40; Joh 6:47; Joh 6:64).

This may not be what you have been taught in Sunday school. It may not be what your church or pastor teaches. It is what the Bible teaches! It is never safe to go by man-made doctrinal systems for they do not accurately represent what the Bible teaches. Study the Bible yourself. Learn all you can. Careful study will make a difference for  all eternity!

That is what Real Bible Study is all about. If you have not been using The New Treasury of Scripture Knowledge or Nelson’s Cross Reference Guide to the Bible or The Ultimate Cross Reference Treasury, you are not studying the Bible to the degree that will most help your spiritual life and Bible understanding! These resources, like their venerable predecessor, The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, let Scripture interpret Scripture.

This entry was posted in Bible Study Tools, Daily Bible Nuggets, Doctrinal Discussions, How to Interpret the Bible Correctly, How to Study the Bible and tagged , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

One Response to Daily Bible Nugget #676, John 6:44

  1. ken sagely says:

    hello jerry john 6:44 is a good bible promise. there are several related cross refs
    that shed that shed light on it . 2 Corinthians 4.6 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness,hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of rhe glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Ephesians 2:8-9 For by grace are ye saved through faith: and that not of yourselves:it is the gift of God: vs 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast. Philippians 1:29 For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake. Col 2;12 Buried with him in baptism,wherein also ye are risen with Him through the faith of the operation of God.
    wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, favorite vs

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