The Lord brought me to see the truth of the doctrines of grace a few years ago, and ever since, several passages in the Gospel of John, specifically 6:37 and it's surrounding context, John 10, John 17, have been some of the most comforting and encouraging passages to remind myself of. I am making this post to shore up my understanding of these passages in such a way that gives me confidence and assurance of what I believe, as well as an ability to reference them when speaking about Calvinism with my non-reformed brothers and sisters in Christ in such a way as to show how beautifully these doctrines demonstrate God's power to save.
With that being said, about a year ago, I read an alternative interpretation of chapter 6 offered by a seemingly arminian website, claiming that when Jesus speaks of the "giving" of a people from the Father to the Son, He is speaking of faithful Jews who were already looking forward to the promise of the Messiah and in that sense had already "belonged" to the Father, and were therefore His to give to the Son. So along this interpretation, Jesus points out their unbelief in verse 36 ("you have seen Me, and yet do not believe"), and then He explains it in verse 37 by saying that His audience doesn't believe because they have not already "belonged" to the Father in the sense that they were not following His teachings already given through the Old Testament. To me, this interpretation seems consistent with passages like John 5:46 - "For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me", or John 8:42 "If God were your Father, you would love Me". I have seen people dismiss this interpretation by pointing out its inconsistencies with the Reformed systematic understanding of soteriology developed from other parts of Scripture, but given that John 6 and the verses in question are often cited as some of the most powerful evidences of God's sovereignty in salvation, how could one demonstrate from the passage itself that this particular arminian interpretation is incorrect?
As far as chapters 8 and 10, how do we understand Jesus' teaching of His unbelieving audience being "not of God" or "not His sheep" as definitive explanations of man's total hardness of heart toward the Gospel? Before I came to a Reformed understanding of salvation, I would read over these passages with the understanding that Jesus is basically just saying that they won't believe because they will not humble themselves and turn to Him, rather than the idea that there is actually a total spiritual inability on the part of His listeners.
Thank you all in advance for your wisdom, I really do appreciate it. Also, if there are any resources that you find particularly helpful in addressing exegetical issues such as these, they would be greatly appreciated. I have listened to countless sermons & podcasts going over issues like these, but many of them simply don't go into that much depth in demonstrating the truth of the Reformed understanding while also addressing other possible positions.
With that being said, about a year ago, I read an alternative interpretation of chapter 6 offered by a seemingly arminian website, claiming that when Jesus speaks of the "giving" of a people from the Father to the Son, He is speaking of faithful Jews who were already looking forward to the promise of the Messiah and in that sense had already "belonged" to the Father, and were therefore His to give to the Son. So along this interpretation, Jesus points out their unbelief in verse 36 ("you have seen Me, and yet do not believe"), and then He explains it in verse 37 by saying that His audience doesn't believe because they have not already "belonged" to the Father in the sense that they were not following His teachings already given through the Old Testament. To me, this interpretation seems consistent with passages like John 5:46 - "For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me", or John 8:42 "If God were your Father, you would love Me". I have seen people dismiss this interpretation by pointing out its inconsistencies with the Reformed systematic understanding of soteriology developed from other parts of Scripture, but given that John 6 and the verses in question are often cited as some of the most powerful evidences of God's sovereignty in salvation, how could one demonstrate from the passage itself that this particular arminian interpretation is incorrect?
As far as chapters 8 and 10, how do we understand Jesus' teaching of His unbelieving audience being "not of God" or "not His sheep" as definitive explanations of man's total hardness of heart toward the Gospel? Before I came to a Reformed understanding of salvation, I would read over these passages with the understanding that Jesus is basically just saying that they won't believe because they will not humble themselves and turn to Him, rather than the idea that there is actually a total spiritual inability on the part of His listeners.
Thank you all in advance for your wisdom, I really do appreciate it. Also, if there are any resources that you find particularly helpful in addressing exegetical issues such as these, they would be greatly appreciated. I have listened to countless sermons & podcasts going over issues like these, but many of them simply don't go into that much depth in demonstrating the truth of the Reformed understanding while also addressing other possible positions.
