John 6:41-51 “Human Inability, Divine Ability”

I’ve been looking for this sermon by Dr. S L Johnson, I heard maybe 10 years ago. It has this excellent description of the common purpose, of God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son, and the Holy Spirit work in all together to bring us into salvation and Eternal Life.

Towards the end of John’s Gospel chapter 6, we read:

Joh 6:66  From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.

Joh 6:67  Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away?

Joh 6:68  Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.

Joh 6:69  And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.

Click the link below for Dr. Johnson’s whole sermon, along with an audio of him preaching it.

Now, Mr. Prier when he was telling you what he was telling you before hand, of course had not heard this message, but he knew what I was going to say. Mr. Prier has studied logic and mathematics. Heʼs a graduate of Annapolis, and he also has taught mathematics in the University of Oklahoma, and he has studied logic, and he likes anything logical. And he first many years ago pointed this out to me that a necessary condition is a circumstance in whose absence a given event could not occur. Or a given thing could not exist. For example in verse 65 of this chapter we read, “Therefore said I unto you that no man can come to me except it were given unto him by the Father. ” Thatʼs the necessary condition for the existence of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. “No man can come unto me except it were given unto him of the Father. ” Thatʼs called a necessary condition. No man can really come to Jesus Christ unless it has been given to him to do it by God the Father.

Now all of the elect are the given of God. We will later see that very plainly in the Gospel of John. The Father gave the body of believers to Jesus Christ. We are the given ones by God the Father. And no man can come unless heʼs given. Now a sufficient condition is a circumstance such that when ever it exists a given event occurs or a given situation exists.

Now we have a sufficient condition in verse 37 . Notice the words. “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me. ” Now when we have a necessary condition and a sufficient condition, well we have what we call logically an airtight case. There is no way in which we can escape the fact that the Bible teaches an unconditional election of the people of God, a sovereign sovereignty. Let me illustrate. “No man can come to me unless heʼs given. Everyone given shall come. No man can come unless heʼs given. Everyone given shall come. ”

All right, can you think of some exceptions? Perhaps you would say, “Suppose everybody is given. Suppose sufficient grace means that everybody is given. ” Well if everybody is given then verse 37 says, “All that the Father giveth me shall come. ” Thus we would have to believe in universalism, but the Bible clearly does not each universalism. Well that wonʼt work. Suppose none are given. Suppose there is no such thing as being given. Suppose there is no such thing as this doctrine of election. Well then no man can come to me except it were given him of the Father. ” No one would be saved if there is no given of the Father. ” Well suppose we come by our free will. Well it says in verse 65, “No man can come to me except it were given him of the Father. ” We cannot come of our free will, which by definition means that we come of ourselves. We have to be given by the Father. So free will cannot do it.

Well suppose we say, “We must exercise faith. ” Thatʼs true. We must exercise faith. Faith is however the coming and that faith is given. So everyone who is given to me shall come. He shall exercise faith. Faith itself is the result of the giving of God. In the ages past in the counsels of the eternal Trinity, the Father elected a people of God. The Son of God agreed to come and execute the work of redemption laying the foundation for their salvation, winning for them eternal life and the gift of faith by which they would receive it, and the Holy Spirit also covenanted to apply that gift to the people of God. That is what is meant when we read, “Everyone given shall come and no one can come unless heʼs given. ” This, my dear friends, is the doctrine of the prophets. It is the doctrine of the ambassador of the King. It is the doctrine of the apostle to the Gentiles. It is the doctrine of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is the doctrine of heaven, and unless we bow to this doctrine we shall not understand the teaching of God. “No man can come to me, ” Jesus said, “unless the Father who sent me draws him.” But when we come by the grace of God he will raise us up at the last day. Hallelujah, Hallelujah, what a doctrine, what comfort, what assurance we have in all the experiences of life. We are given by God the Father to Jesus Christ as the people of God.

Well itʼs an airtight case. I donʼt know why people donʼt rejoice in this. I donʼt understand why they donʼt shout from the house tops the wonderful program and plan of God, and incidentally we are called upon to preach a universal gospel because we donʼt know, we mere humans we donʼt know the make up of the final family of God. We proclaim this message. Trust the Holy Spirit to be the instrumentality of the Fatherʼs drawing to Jesus Christ. We preach the glories of the Son of God the greatness of his salvation and invite men to come to him, and promise them on the authority of the word of God eternal life. The Lord Jesus says in the last few verses, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life. I am that bread of life. ” What a magnificent claim. In fact his is simply a reiteration of those claims.

The Sermons of S. Lewis Johnson

John 6:41-51

“Human Inability, Divine Ability”