Power of the Son To Save?

Since I mentioned that 2 Peter 3:9 speaks of God’s will in salvation, I thought I would go to an even clearer text. John gives us one of the most wonderful assurance passages in all of Scripture, that being John chapter 6:37-40. This passage takes salvation out of man’s control in every way and places salvation squarely in God’s hands.

The text reads:

“All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day."

Jesus speaks of the Father’s will. He defines what He means by will in these particular verses. The will of the Father is that everyone that He gives to the Son will be raised up on the last day. In other words, everyone that the Father gives to the Son will be saved.

So Jesus comes into the World to save these people. This is not some cosmic accident. It is not just some mere happenstance that men come to Christ. Christ came to save the people that come to Him.

Why do men come to Christ? They come because the Father gave them to the Son. They do not come against their will as some malign Calvinists as believing. They come because the Father has given them. Therefore, Jesus never turns away a man or woman that comes to Him because it is God’s will that He save them.

This passage is so simple and compelling I am always amazed at how men turn it on its head. Philosophical traditions become very powerful at this point. When the Dr. Norman Geislers and Adrianne Rogers are able to interpret this passage in the same fashion that my high school students do in order to avoid the painfully obvious, a clear sign of Tradition clouds the eyes.

Some conclusions must be drawn from a discourse of Jesus’ such as this, if we are going to follow modern evangelicalism. Either (a) Jesus saves everyone if everyone is given by the Father to the Son, or (b) Jesus fails to save millions of men whom the Father has given (if in fact the Father has given everyone), or (c) those who come of their own free-will are the ones given by the Father.

If (a), then you are a universalist. Everyone will be saved. This leads to far more questions than answers. If (b), then you must deny the power of the Son of God to fulfill the will of the Father. Jesus’ death falls to the ground due to the almighty will of man. This is what most evangelicals believe without realizing it.

Or perhaps (c) is your conclusion. This conclusion violates simple grammar. It also places salvation back into the hands of men. This denies the overall clear statements of Christ. It also robs any assurance whatsoever. If I can come to Christ by my own free will, what is to keep me from ever losing salvation? You may respond by saying once we come to Christ “we would never go back” as someone once said to me. My question is why? Those are just the words of men. How do you know?

This leads to another question. After the Coming of Christ and His Kingdom is established, what prevents sin from ever coming back? Is there no free-will in heaven’s Kingdom?

We should be willing to consider the obvious. The Father has given a people to the Son. The Son has all the power needed to accomplish the will of God.