A relationship with God based on trust -eternal security. John 10:28-30

John 10:22 begins at the time of the Feast of Dedication which is Hanukah which is celebrated in the winter. This is two months after John 10:21.

 

John 10:22 At that time the Feast of the Dedication took place at Jerusalem;

 

John 10:23 it was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple in the portico of Solomon.

 

John 10:24 The Jews therefore gathered around Him, and were saying to Him, "How long will You keep us in suspense? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly."

 

John 10:25 Jesus answered them, "I told you [message is most important], and you do not believe; the works that I do in My Father's name, these bear witness of Me [miracles back up the message].

 

John 10:26 "But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep.

 

They did not want relationship with God, therefore a vacuum was created in the soul into which was drawn religion, legalism, emphasis on the details of life, mental attitude sins, etc.

 

John 10:27 "My sheep hear My voice, and I know [love with full knowledge of them] them, and they follow Me;

 

There is the concept here of provision and protection and, along with one other word, this is the plan of God: a) Relationship - “my sheep”; b) Provision; c) Protection. God is perfect; His plan is perfect, and these three words describe His plan.

 

The provision is doctrine but the protection is His person, His essence—the wall of fire which He has provided for us. In the plan of God there is relationship, provision and protection. This is going to exist forever because for ever He will be your Shepherd and you will be His sheep.

 

Now, for your relationship to Christ to be real there must be security. If you are not convinced of your eternal security then there is no relationship with Him.

 

The next verses address that. If it is possible for God to ever leave you or forsake you then you cannot have a real relationship with Him.

 

The scripture is clear that the Lord will never leave us or forsake us. But it is also clear that we can think He will when we believe certain lies.  

 

John 10:28 and I give [by means of grace] eternal life to them, and they shall never perish [double negative - they will not no never perish]; and no one [no angel, no man, not even God] shall snatch them out of My hand.

 

Believers who lack grace orientation and a personal sense of destiny constantly doubt God’s eternal gifts.

 

Without grace orientation you will think you have to work for it. Without a personal sense of destiny you will think that you have to make your own future. All of this will end up in doubt.

 

The word for “snatch” is arpazo which means to seize by violence; it doesn’t means to pluck, like the KJV has it.

 

Arpazois used here because there is a lot of violence in the world. This is the devil’s world and every person who lives in this world has an old sin nature and is therefore potentially violent. All of the violence in the world could not take one believer out of the plan of God. All of the power combinations that have existed since the beginning of history together could not blast one believer out of the plan of God.      

 

John 10:29 "My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand.

 

“My Father.” Whenever Jesus used the words “My Father” He was speaking from His humanity.

 

“gave” is a perfect active indicative of didomi.

 

The perfect tense means that this was given in eternity past. Who were the sheep given to?

 

“me” the Lord said - everything that is important, that is security, everything that is inner happiness, peace and blessing is tied up in the person of Jesus Christ.

 

It is not tied up in the things of this life. Jesus is saying, “My heavenly Father gave me those who are believers.”

 

Believers are in union with Christ. The Father gave us to the Lord Jesus Christ in eternity past, we are now His in reality after salvation (historically), therefore even though the devil is the ruler of this world we are still a gift from God the Father to God the Son.

 

And God the Son does not treat such a gift lightly, and He has made thorough and total provision for each one of us.

           

He goes on to say that His Father “is greater than all” - present active indicative of eimi, ‘keeps on being.’

 

The word greater is meizon, a comparative adverb which means greater in degree. It is a reference to God the Father, the author of the divine plan.

 

It indicates that our security in no way depends upon anything in this life, it depends entirely upon the Father, the Son and the Spirit—members of the Godhead.

 

Our security depends upon God the Father and therefore it says “no man” or literally, “no one is able to snatch them out of my Father’s hand.”

 

No onerefers to the creatures of this earth: fallen angels, unbelievers. Because the Father is greater than any power in this world we have one perfect security.

           

“able” - present active indicative from dunamai which means to have the ability or the power.

 

No one, angel or human, has the ability or the power; “to snatch” - again we have the present active indicative of arpazo again, which means to seize by violence, to do violence to.

 

So we have the hand of the Father and the hand of the Son both holding you in eternal security and no power can take you out of their hands, even if it’s attempted violently by every creature in the universe.

 

In fact, no one has the ability to do violence to the believer, apart from His permission.

 

Whenever He permits it there has to be a very unusual reason for it, and it becomes an individual matter where it occurs. The believer is under His security and His protection all the way.

           

 

“my Father’s hand” is an anthropomorphism to indicate the protection used in the previous verse. [Anthropomorphism = ascribing to God some human anatomy].

          

 “Out of my Father’s hand”

1.       This is an anthropomorphism of eternal security.

2.       God is perfect; His plan is perfect.

3.       Therefore everything in the plan of God depends on His perfection, His resources, His love - His character.

4.       God’s plan is greater than our failures.

5.       God’s plan is greater than our sins.

6.       God’s plan is greater than our disasters.

 

You as a believer are anchored in union with Christ and nothing can shake it, nothing can destroy it. You are in something that is perfect and permanent.

 

John 10:30 "I and the Father are one.”

 

Here He clearly indicates His deity while speaking from His humanity. For this reason the Jews will again pick up rocks to stone Him.

 

Remember in verse 24 they said, “tell us plainly,” and here it couldn’t be any more plain.

 

He mentions His hand and the Father’s hand and here indicates that they have identical power to keep you and protect you.

 

So you are not in one hand but two. Two of the most powerful hands in the universe are clamped around you and no one in the universe is powerful enough to pull them apart. If every creature in the universe was together, half on one hand and half on the other, trying to pull them apart, they couldn’t budge them.

 

The Lord doesn’t say that He and the Father is the same person, but that they are identical in essence. So it’s not one hand that they both share, rather it is two hands that both share the essence of deity, and in this case the emphasis is on omnipotence.

 

This is the doctrine of the hypostatic union.

 

John 14:28 "You heard that I said to you, 'I go away, and I will come to you.' If you loved Me, you would have rejoiced, because I go to the Father; for the Father is greater than I.

 

This is clearly spoken from His humanity. If they had understood they would have rejoiced because the humanity of Christ was going to be successful on the cross and be resurrected and then ascended to the highest position of authority, the right hand of God. This is the fulfillment of GEN 3:15 and the strategic victory of the AC.

 

Deity cannot be die for the sins of the world, deity cannot die physically and so it cannot be resurrected. Deity cannot sit at the right hand of God because deity is omnipresent.