John 6:37-40 - Homilies By B. Thomas

The Father's will and its Executor.

We see:

1 . That the majority of Christ 's hearers disbelieved him . His verdict at last was, "Ye believe not;" "Ye will not come."

2 . That they disbelieved him in spite of the greatest advantages to faith . ( John 6:36 .)

3 . That in spite of their obstinate unbelief and cruel rejection, the gracious purposes of God and the mission of Jesus will not be void . "For all that the Father giveth me," etc. Notice—

I. THE FATHER 'S WILL . We see in this will:

1 . That he has given a certain number of the human family to Christ . In a general and a true sense all the human family have been given him; they are the objects of his saving love and grace. All are invited to the gospel feast, and commanded to repent. The earth is Immanuel's land, and the human race, without exception or partiality, are the objects of his saving mercy. But there are some specially given to Christ; they are spoken of as such: "All that the Father giveth me." They have been given in the past in purpose; they are given in the present in fact. This suggests:

2 . That the Father gave these to Christ, because he knew that they would come to him . Let it be remembered that the division of time, as past, present, and future, is nothing to God. All time to him is present. In his plans and election he experienced no difficulty arising from ignorance, but all was divinely clear to him. And we see that he is not arbitrary in his selections, We know that his authority is absolute; that he has the same authority over man as the potter over the clay. He can do as he likes, and perhaps this is the only answer he would give to some questioners, "I can do as I like." But we know that he cannot like to do anything that is wrong, unreasonable, or unfair. He cannot act from mere caprice, but his actions are harmonious with all his attributes, as well as with the highest reason; and can give a satisfactory reason for all acts, and justify himself to his intelligent creatures. The principle on which he gave certain of the human family to Christ was willingness on their part to come to him. In the gifts of his providence he has regard to adaptation—he gives water to quench thirst, etc. But, in giving human souls to Christ, he had a special regard to the human will. He knew as an absolute fact that some would refuse his offer of grace in Christ, and that others would gladly accept the same offer under the same conditions. The former he neither would nor could, the latter he graciously gave. It is an invariable characteristic of those given to Christ that they give themselves to him.

3 . Those given to Christ shall certainly come to him . "All that the Father giveth me shall," etc. Jesus was certain of this. And if given, they come; and if they come, they were given. Divine foreknowledge is never at fault, and Divine grace can never fail to be effective with regard to those thus given to Christ. Their coming was included in the gift. There was the knowledge of their coming, and every grace, motive, and help was promised with the gifts; so that their arrival to Christ is certain. They shall come, in spite of every opposition and difficulty from within and without.

4 . That these were given to Christ in trust for special purposes . These are set forth:

II. JESUS AS THE EXECUTOR AND TRUSTEE OF THE FATHER "S WILL . In these capacities:

1 . He is most gracious, for

2 . He is most tenderly and universally inviting . "Him that cometh to me I will," etc. These words are most tender and inviting. They were uttered in the painful consciousness that many would not come to him, although there were infinite provisions and welcome. The door of salvation need not be wider, nor the heart of the Saviour more tender, than this. There is no restriction, no favouritism. "Him that cometh."

3 . He is most adapted for his position . This will appear if we consider:

LESSONS.

1 . The purposes of the Divine will are in safe hands . Not one shall suffer on his account.

2 . The lives of believers are in safe custody . Nothing will be lost.

3 . The mission of Jesus is certain of success . "All that the Father giveth me," etc.

4 . The perdition of man must come entirely from himself . All the purposes and dispensations of God, all the mediatorial work of Jesus, are for his salvation. All that God in Christ could do for his deliverance is done. Nothing but his own will can stand between him and eternal life.

5 . The duty of all to come to Jesus and accept his grace . There is a marked difference between the conduct of Jesus and the conduct of those who reject him. He receives the vilest; they reject the most holy and gracious One. He opens the door to the most undeserving; they close it against the pride of angels, the inspiration of the redeemed, and the glory of heaven and earth. Beware of trifling with the long suffering mercy of Jesus. The last thing he can do is to cast out; but when he casts out, he casts out terribly.—B.T.