THE REASON FOR SALVATION

JOHN 6:35–40

“All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away”

(John 6:37).

In John 6, Jesus sets out the doctrine of predestination to His disciples. He tells them in verse 44 that “no one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him.” He reiterates this fact in verses 63–65, where He tells them that the flesh profits nothing—that is, the flesh cannot save—but it is the Spirit who gives life: “That is why I told you that no one can come to Me unless the Father has enabled him.”

I know of no reason ultimately why God would save me other than to honor His Son. There is nothing in me, or in you, that compels God to save us. It is God’s love for us that causes Him to deliver us from death to life. However, it is God’s love for His Son that brings about our salvation.

Isaiah expressed it this way: “After the suffering of His soul, He will see the light of life and be satisfied” (Isaiah 53:11). God intends to reward Jesus’ suffering with the gift of a people, and God does not intend to be thwarted. As Jesus told His disciples in John 6:37, all those that the Father intends to give to Jesus will come to Him. When God appoints you and me to be His personal gift to His Son, He sovereignly makes sure that He has a gift to give. He makes us alive again, and gives us to Jesus.

The Gift of Faith

Paul expresses this truth in Ephesians 2:8, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.” What is the gift of God? Our faith. We did not have within ourselves the ability to exercise such faith. It had to be given to us by God’s sovereign invasion of our souls.

God gives us the faith that enables us to lay hold on salvation. He does this to provide a bride for His Son. No one is going to prevent God the Father from carrying out His purposes in this matter, and no one is going to snatch Christ’s bride from His hands.

CORAM DEO

When we see that we are God’s gift to His Son, we realize even more fully how secure we are in our salvation. Does this help you understand why God has called you to such high expectations of holiness and perfection? Seek God’s help and begin today to rectify that area you perceive to be the most troubling blemish of sin in your life.

For further study: Ephesians 5:25–32; Colossians 1:21–23

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