Ephesians; 1:4 – The calling of the elect, part 2: Can the drawing from God be resisted?

Wednesday January 23, 2019

 

Ephesians; 1:4 - The calling of the elect, part 2: Can the drawing from God be resisted?

 

3g. The elect are called, beloved, and kept, Jud 1.

 

Jud 1 Jude, a bond-servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to those who are the called, beloved in God the Father, and kept for Jesus Christ:

 

The believers were called by the Holy Spirit. Theologically, the “effectual calling” is a work of the Holy Spirit; it is the calling that brings one to salvation.

 

Mystery surrounds this calling, as we will see, because of man’s free-will. There is a general call to the human race. As we saw last time, Jesus said that He would draw all men to Himself. He also said that no one can come to Him unless the Father draw him, and that the Father draws through hearing and learning. Since all hear and all learn, we would conclude that the Father draws everyone and some can resist it. Man can certainly resist His will. It would follow that they can also resist His drawing.

 

JOH 6:44 "No one can come to Me, unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.

 

JOH 6:45 "It is written in the prophets, 'And they shall all be taught of God.' Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father, comes to Me.

 

JOH 6:46 "Not that any man has seen the Father, except the One who is from God; He has seen the Father.

 

JOH 6:47 "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life.

 

Faith can only be applied to hearing and not to seeing. No one has seen the Father. All have heard Him, ROM 1:20.

 

ROM 1:20 states that His invisible attributes are seen by all men, but if they’re invisible, they are not seen by the physical eye, but the eye of the heart.

 

ROM 8:24 For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one also hope for what he sees?

 

ROM 8:25 But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.

 

Here, and as we know in many other passages, the vehicle for eternal life is the faith of the hearer. It cannot be forced. So, it is not because some have seen the Father, because none have seen Him. The elect have heard and learned from the Father (as have all) and believed. None have seen the Father.

 

Jesus said to the Pharisees that they were unwilling to come to Him. That was their choice as it was their choice to come to the conclusion that salvation was in keeping the Mosaic Law.  

 

JOH 5:39 “You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is these that bear witness of Me;

 

JOH 5:40 and you are unwilling to come to Me, that you may have life.”

 

JOH 5:40 “ou thelete” - you will not (present active indicative).

1TI 2:4 “thelei” - He wills (present active indicative).

 

1TI 2:3 This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior,

 

1TI 2:4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

 

The Greek in 1TI 2:4 is very clear:

Pantas anthropous sothenai = all men to be saved (passive: receive salvation).

 

On the final day of the celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles, Jesus offers to quench any man’s thirst.

 

Let’s first look at this phrase “come to Me” as it is used in the Scripture.

 

ISA 55:3

“Incline your ear and come to Me.

Listen, that you may live;

And I will make an everlasting covenant with you,

According to the faithful mercies shown to David.”

 

MAR 10:14-15

But when Jesus saw this, He was indignant and said to them, "Permit the children to come to Me; do not hinder them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it at all."

 

JOH 5:40

“and you are unwilling to come to Me, that you may have life.”

 

JOH 6:37

“All that the Father gives Me shall come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.”

 

JOH 6:44

“No one can come to Me, unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.”

 

JOH 6:65

And He was saying, "For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me, unless it has been granted him from the Father."

 

They all, including JOH 7:37, use the verb erchomai with the preposition pros and the object me, except for one, JOH 6:37 uses the verb heko, which means “to come” but emphasizes the arrival of the one who comes. I am cautious to read any significance into it, especially since 6:65 uses erchomai, which is virtually the same (drawing vs. granting).

 

JOH 7:37 Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If any man is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.

 

Feasts:

Passover

Unleavened Bread

First fruits

Pentecost

Trumpets

Atonement

Tabernacles

 

The scene happens on the last day of the feast of Tabernacles, on which day (the seventh day), the celebration came to a climax. On each day of the feast there was a procession to Siloam, where water was dipped to be brought to the temple to the accompaniment of music and the recitation of scripture.

 

ISA 8:6-7

"Inasmuch as these people have rejected the gently flowing waters of Shiloah, And rejoice in Rezin [king of Syria] and the son of Remaliah [king of Israel]; "Now therefore, behold, the Lord is about to bring on them the strong and abundant waters of the Euphrates, Even the king of Assyria and all his glory;

 

Shiloah was a gently flowing spring that ran between Mt. Moriah and Mt. Zion. It represented the peace of God as it flowed under the foot of the mount where Abraham sacrificed Isaac. It flowed at the foot of the mount upon which David bought the threshing floor of Oman and upon that sight, his son Solomon would build the temple of God. It flowed past the foot of Mt. Moriah where a foothill name Golgotha would hold the cross of Christ. The spring was used to fill the pool of Shiloah to which Christ sent the man born blind to wash his eyes. Though only mentioned once in Isa 8, the importance of this little spring in representing the peace of God given to men cannot be overstated.

 

ISA 12:3

Therefore you will joyously draw water

From the springs of salvation.

 

On the seventh day of the feast, the company would proceed six times around the altar and water from Siloam was poured out on the altar of the burnt sacrifice. Just then, Jesus spoke JOH 7:37.

 

JOH 7:37 Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If any man is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.

 

JOH 7:38 "He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.'"

 

The Holy Spirit within him would fulfill his every need and dream and empower him to walk in the way of the Lord, ministering to others and impacting the world around him with faith, hope, and love.

 

What more could we need in this life?

 

JOH 6:44 “No one can come to Me, unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.”

 

When He says "unless the Father draw him," He is not saying that the Father hasn't drawn everyone. In other words, it's like saying "You can't breathe unless you have lungs."

 

Some theologians have concluded that no one could resist the drawing of God. Yet it is obvious that mankind can resist His will. That pretty much sums up the entire history of Israel.

 

Could He be saying, "No one comes to Me on their own. My Father must draw you, and He has drawn all of you, but some of you are unwilling."? 

 

JOH 12:32 "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself."

 

This verse is generally used for the common call to all men in the world through the gospel.

 

JOH 16:8 "And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin, and righteousness, and judgment;

 

JOH 16:9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me;

 

JOH 16:10 and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you no longer behold Me;

 

JOH 16:11 and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.

 

If the Spirit convicts the world concerning these three things, and world means everyone, then people can resist the conviction and say no to the invitation.