The Will of God Part II
John 6:37-40
All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. 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.
According to the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, the word of God (the scriptures: writer) cannot be broken: “If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken” (John 10:35). The scriptures cannot be broken means that the word of God is always true. At the same time the scriptures declare that the word of God must be “rightly divided” as it is written: “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (II Timothy 2:15). The scriptures must interpret themselves, verses must be compared against the “volume of the book”. That is verses must be compared against the preponderance of scripture. Building doctrinal principals on one or two verses of scripture may lead to confusion and heresy.
For example, consider the subject verses. It is clear from these verses that our Lord Jesus Christ was sent of the Father into this world to do the will of the Father. Further it is clear that the will of Father is that Christ Jesus should give eternal life to all that the Father hath given him. It is also clear from John 10:11 that the Lord Jesus gave His life for those He calls the sheep: “I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep” (John 10:11). From John 10:26 we learn that some men are not the sheep of Christ: “But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you” (John 10:26). And therefore it must be true that those who are not the sheep of Christ were not given him of the Father, and therefore that the Father did not send Christ to save those who are not of His sheep. From these truths it is obvious that the Father did not send His only begotten Son to save all men, but to save only those the Father had given Him.
Therefore it cannot be the will of God that all men should be saved, as some affirm from I Timothy 2:4 : “Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth” (I Timothy 2:4). Now if this verse were the only verse of scripture that we have in the Bible, then the writer would agree with the persuasions of the Arminians (the proponents of freewill-works religion). However we have the rest of the Bible to define what is meant by this verse in the writings of the Apostle Paul. In fact the interpretation is given in verses one through three of the same chapter. There the Apostle writes: “I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour” (I Timothy 2:1-3). The Apostle exhorts therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks , be made for all men, for kings, and all that are in authority. His definition of his term (all men) is given as kings, and all that are in authority. That is men in high positions of authority, so that those who fill common positions may lead a quit and peaceable life. All men are not kings, and all men do hold positions of authority. The Apostle exhorts that prayers be made for all sorts of men, and it is all sorts of men that are saved. That includes men “from among” (Revelation 14:4) all kindred, tongues, people, and nations, (Revelation 5:9) but not all men without exception.
This expression is carried on into verses four through six. Where he says that Christ Jesus gave Himself a ransom for all, that is some men of all nations, kindreds, and tongues. But according to John 10:26 some men are not of the sheep of Christ, and since Christ Jesus testified that He gave His life for His sheep, we are given to understand that He was not a ransom for all and every man without exception, as the Arminians claim. But our Lord Jesus did give His life a ransom for many, according to His own word: “Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28). Christ Jesus gave His life a ransom for many, all those who are ransomed, even all the Father gave Him before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:3-6; II Thessalonians 2:13; II Timothy 1:9; Romans 8:28-30; Psalm 65:4; John 17:23-24; Jeremiah 31:3; Isaiah 53:8,11; and the list could go on and on )but “he that hath an ear let him hear”(Revelation 2:7; Matthew 13:11-17).
In the epistle to the Galatians it is written: “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree” (Galatians 3:13). It is not said that Christ hath redeemed us if we believe, but that Christ hath redeemed us. Christ Jesus redeemed all that the Father gave Him in eternity past. And because Christ hath redeemed all the Father gave Him, they will all be given faith at the time appointed of the Father. It is said “Christ hath redeemed us” and according to the Apostle Peter Christ redeemed us by or with His precious blood: “ Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot” (I Peter 1:18-19). All that our Lord Jesus redeemed, were redeemed at the same time by His bloody cross death. Redemption was accomplished some two thousand years ago and there are no new instances of redemption, although there many who are discovering daily that they were redeemed by the blood of Christ. Those to whom God gives the knowledge of His Christ, are those whom He saves. They are saved because they were redeemed some two thousand years ago. God “hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began” (II Timothy 1:9). God the Father sanctified the children of the everlasting covenant before the foundation of the world, by putting them in Christ Jesus (this is His giving of them to Christ) in whom they are preserved. Jude 1:1; I Corinthians 1:2). The children of the covenant know nothing of their inheritance of grace until the are taught of the Spirit of God: as it is written: “And all thy children shall be taught of the LORD; and great shall be the peace of thy children” (Isaiah 54:13). The Apostle John writing on the same glorious subject said: “It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me” (John 6:45). The children of God experience the salvation of God because they were chosen unto salvation (II Thessalonians 2:13) in the covenant of Grace before the world was made. The elect were given to Christ Jesus by the Father and it became the responsibility of Christ to bring the “many sons to glory” (Hebrews 2:10). No verse of scripture gives any indication that men are redeemed because they have believed. The fact is that men experience the salvation of God because Christ Jesus redeemed them at the cross, and at the cross Christ Jesus redeemed all that the Father had given Him in eternity past.
In the book of Galatians the Apostle Paul made this statment: “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). The entire church was crucified with Christ, along with the Apostles for there is one body, the church, which consists of apostles, pastors, teachers, deacons, as it is written: “ And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues. Are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? are all workers of miracles” (I Corinthians 12:28-29). There are many different offices in the church but still there is only one body the church, and all the members of the one body are crucified with Christ who is the Head of the body and in the reckoning of God they are one new man in Christ Jesus.
Since all the church of God is crucified with Jesus Christ, they are dead to the law of God by the body of Christ (Romans 7:4) and therefore dead to sin (Romans 6:2; I Peter 2:24). “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit” (Romans 8:1). Those who have no condemnation under the law of God are justified from all things from which they could not be justified by the deeds of the law, as it is written: “Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified” (Galatians 2:16) and again “And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses” (Acts 13:39). The people of God are justified through the death of Christ because they were in union with Christ in His crucifixion. They satisfied the penal demands of the law of God in the Body of Christ. The scriptures do not declare that persons are crucified with Christ because they believe, but that they believe because they were accounted crucified with Jesus Christ by God.
The saints of God are saved by the Savior. They are saved because the Savior has saved them. They are not saved because they do certain things, such as believe the gospel, and trust Jesus Christ. The saints of God believe the gospel and trust Jesus Christ because He has saved them. Life is the basis all functions of life, without life there can be no functions of life. Faith and repentance are functions of spiritual life therefore life must be given before any spiritual functions can be expected. Our Lord Jesus Christ said: “ Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life” (John 5:24). The persons who hear the word of Christ and believe on the Father do so because they have the life that is in Christ Jesus (I John 5:11) as it is written: “When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory” (Colossians 3:4). Men do not save themselves by believing. Their faith is the gift of God. Men believe because they have been given the “faith of God’s elect” (Titus 1:1; Ephesians 2:8) according to the will of God, who saves His people by Jesus Christ alone. Men have nothing to boast in, for it is God who makes one to differ from another, as it is written: “ For who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it” (I Corinthians 4:7). Men may not boast in their choice, their decision or their willingness for all our salvation is of God, as it is written: “In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins”(I John 4:9-10). And again it is written: “But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: that, according as it is written, He that glorieth, (he that boasts, writer) let him glory in the Lord” (I Corinthians 1:30). The people of God boast in the finished work of Jesus Christ for all their salvation. They do not boast in themselves or their choices.
AJ Ison
See the writer’s blog at www.hebrews915.blogspot.com hear the true gospel preached at www.13thstbaptist.org webcasting live at listed service times.
