A Verse We Can't Explain Away or Avoid

"All that the Father gives me will come to me; and whoever comes to me, I will never cast out."
- John 6:37

There are some especially challenging verses in the Bible which are simply profound and glorious, and are to be believed and enjoyed. Yet some professing Christians simply can't seem to believe them because they can't make the verses fit into their theological system or tradition, or they are so prejudiced against what such verses say that they have to explain it away or avoid it.

I have met people who do not like and won't even read Romans 11 because they actually can't stand what Paul says in that chapter. Some pastors will avoid preaching entire sections of Scripture because they know if they preached them, they would be greatly opposed in their church. So they remain silent about those passages by avoiding them.

Such a verse is found in the words of our Lord in John 6:37: "All that the Father gives me will come to me; and whoever comes to me, I will never cast out." How are we to read it and understand it? What is it saying? Some simple obvious observations we see even from a casual reading:

1. "All the Father gives me..."
There are some souls who have been given by the Father to Christ the Son.

The verse specifically and clearly says this; Am I to change it or try to adjust it to fit my theology? Why not let it stand and say what it says? Did Jesus mean what He taught there? "All that the Father gives me." So a right biblical doctrine from this text is this: Some have been given to the Son by the Father.

One might reply, "Yes, but would it not be right to say that ALL people--everyone--would have been given to Jesus by the Father? No, that would not be right, and the context of the verse clearly shows why, which we answer in our next observation.

2. "All that the Father gives me WILL COME to me" . . .
All those who have been given by the Father to the Son DO come to Jesus Christ.

Jesus said this clearly: "All that the Father gives me WILL COME to me." If ALL PEOPLE UNIVERSALLY had been given to the Son, then everyone would end up coming to Him for sure because He says all who are given by the Father DO come to Him.

3. "Whoever comes to me shall never be cast out" . . .
Anyone, anywhere, anytime who truly comes to Christ will never be rejected or cast away.

That's pretty clear and simple. Anyone who truly desires to come and does come, will be received and is never rejected or turned away.

Summary doctrine- God the Father has already given to His Son, as His inheritance, a great number of individuals as His bride--its called in the Bible His body, the true church of Jesus Christ. All those who have been given to Christ by the Father will certainly come to Him. Everyone who truly comes to Him in saving faith will be received and not cast away.

Application- It is wrong for us to negate what one Scripture clearly teaches by saying, "But what this verse says can't be truly saying that because other verses contradict what it says." No, they actually don't. Scripture never contradicts Scripture; but it often does state objective truths that seem impossible to reconcile because our minds cannot see how they both could logically be true. When that happens, we must let every truth stand alone and we must say, "Both are equally true and I just don't have enough understanding yet."

John 6:37 is infinitely glorious truth that we must believe and rejoice in, even if it is beyond us.

- Mack Tomlinson