John 6: 63b-65
” ‘The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit and life. Yet there are some of you who do not believe.’ For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him. He went on to say, ‘This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled them.’”
The BIble presents us with a number of conundrums. One is that we have to lose our life to gain it. (Matthew 16: 25) In today’s passage we are confronted with another conundrum: No one can come to Jesus unless the Father has enabled them. Like the conundrum about being saved by grace but still needing to do deeds reflecting faith in God (James 2: 14), we are torn between two ways of looking at our world. One way is through human eyes, the other through God’s eyes. Only Jesus was able to successfully do both.
Q: How is God’s view of life different than our own?
God’s view is eternal; ours is temporal.
Absolutely! That alone makes a huge difference in perspective!
The BIble presents us with a number of conundrums. One is that we have to lose our life to gain it. (Matthew 16: 25)
We value physical life which we view as reality when in fact we are eternal spiritual beings housed in temporary physical bodies. Feeding the physical life, hardening our hearts to the conviction of the Holy Spirit, will leave us spiritually dead. Separated from God.
In today’s passage we are confronted with another conundrum: No one can come to Jesus unless the Father has enabled them.
John 6:44, John 16:8, Nobody can come to the Father without the convicting power of the Holy Spirit, all are convicted, yet few open their hearts and respond.
Like the conundrum about being saved by grace but still needing to do deeds reflecting faith in God (James 2: 14), …
16, If one of you tells him, “Go in peace; stay warm and well fed,” but does not provide for his physical needs, what good is that. 17, So too, faith by itself, if not complimented by action is dead.
True faith cannot be contained. If we do not see works, fruit, Christ working through us. we should look to the Lord for His saving faith. Like John the Baptist, true faith will cause us to decrease that Christ may increase.
I think Isaiah sums it up well: Isaiah 55: 8 – 9: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”