Joh_6:65-66.- Drawing By The Cross = Drawing By The Gospel

17. John 6:65-66.- Drawing By The Cross = Drawing By The Gospel.

“And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given him of my Father. (65) From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.” - John 6:65-66

One must remember that the Bible is here talking about disciples who were saved and lost.  People in both conditions are present.  Because the Bible says “disciples” does not mean they were all saved.  The word “disciple” means “one that follows” and there were people who followed Christ from place to place--some were sincere and some were just spectators.

Mr. Nettleton quotes John 6:65-66 in support of his position of “election to salvation” on page 26 of his book.  These verses are again easily explained by comparing one Scripture with another as we have previously done.  Let us recapitulate.  The Bible speaks for itself in John 12:32 and states:

“And I (Christ), if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.”

We find out, as before, that the Father draws men through the death, burial and resurrection of Christ.  God gave His Son (Christ) to die upon the cross for all.  Therefore, it is the Father's will for all to believe on His Son as the Father draws them by the cross.  How sad it is to see people reject the free gift of salvation when the price has been completely paid for all.

Let us continue our examination of chapter 6 as we find in John 6:54 :

“Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”

Then in John 6:51 :

“I am the living bread which came down from Heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”

“Any man, world, and whoso” in John 6:54, perfectly go together in letting Scripture interpret Scripture.  The free will of man is not limited nor infringed upon by the sovereignty of God.  We do not have to put in a doctrine that makes man a robot, allowing him no right to make a choice.  To say that man will only do as God has elected him to do is erroneous to the true teachings of the word of God!

I am glad God gave us the whole Gospel of John.  Comparing Scripture with Scripture brings into focus the error of pulling one Scripture out of context and isolating it to fit a man-made doctrine.  As we said, this exactly what Church of Christ theologians do with John, Chapter 3, concerning the word “water.”  They apply it to water baptism and disallow Scripture to interpret Scripture.  They say in John 3:5 that:

“…Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”

Then they define the word “water” as literal water.  Yet--if we let the Word of God interpret Itself, we find out that water is used as the cleansing agent as far as salvation is concerned.  If we read on in John 3:1-36 we find that “water” is used in reference to the Word of God.  In John 3:5 the word “water” is referring to God's Word.  The end result is the same as John 3:16 where “believing in Christ” results in “everlasting life.”  “Everlasting life” is equivalent to “entering the Kingdom of God.”  “Believing” is believing the Word of God, which is represented by the “water.”  In the same Gospel (John 15:3) we are told:

“Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.”

Also in Ephesians 5:26 we find that God shall cleanse His church… “…with the washing of water by the word.” As we allow Scripture to interpret Scripture, we find out that it is believing the Word of God which is metaphorically referred to here as “water.” “Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit …” or “born of the Word.” When we find the words “born again” we can go to 1 Peter 1:23 and by letting Scripture interpret Scripture the Bible will tell us what “born again” means:

“Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.”

Those who support “election to salvation” make the same error as the Church of Christ theologians.  They extract one Scripture out of context and apply it to their own doctrine.  If we compare one Scripture with another--as they will always agree--then we have the proper interpretation and the truth as to God's Word and will.