“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.” (ESV)
“No one is able to come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him, and I will raise him up in the last day.” (literal) – John 6:44

I love word studies. Maybe that makes me nerdy or something, and that’s ok, but I love them. Studying the meaning of a word, how it was used in its historical context, what it means in the original language found in scripture, always helps me understand better what the Lord is saying to me in His Word.

Now I’m not going to do a full blown exposition here, just a little gleaning for purely selfish reasons. I say selfish because as far as I’m concerned, nobody needs more grace than I do. I know what and who I am, and God is always showing me!

I’m asked on occasion why I use the term ‘dragged’ when referring to the cross, or when speaking of grace in general. It has raised some eyebrows on more than one occasion. Such an insult to men! Well, of course it is! The doctrines of grace are always offensive to an unregenerate man. Yet what a comfort for the child of God, and what motivation for true worship! Well, I thought I’d share a bit on this word and what I’ve found with whoever is out there in the blogosphere. Hope it’s salty for you. I’ve quoted both from the ESV and literal translations because, well, I like doing that.
Let’s break it down and look at some words here.

“No one”. The word used here is the Greek word ‘oudeis’, literally meaning ‘Not even one’ . My Strong’s Concordance says “ not even one (man, woman, or thing), that is, none, nobody, nothing:”

“can” The word here is the Greek word dunatai, meaning “power” or “ability”.
In other words, this passage could be translated, “No one has the ability to come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him.”

Now a lot of folks I know see this verse and think it’s speaking of “prevenient grace”, a ‘luring’ or ‘attraction’, as if being drawn is merely a sentimental attraction. That is an incorrect and even tragic assumption. Obviously, there is more going on here than that. In fact, the passage, and these words make such an understanding impossible!

Now, as a preacher, I tell you that no matter how eloquently you present the gospel, no matter how many tears shed, no matter the drama, and certainly no amount of the ‘right kind of musical nuance’ you create in the Sunday morning service… none of it, neither your message nor your presentation will be worth a hill of beans…..unless God moves according to His sovereign decree and for His glory! Think of Ezekiel in that valley of “very dry” bones.
This verse is one more in a myriad of passages, from Genesis to Revelation which express that glorious truth called Irresistible Grace!

D.A. Carson has said,“The combination of v. 37 and v. 44 prove that this ‘drawing’ activity of the Father cannot be reduced to what theologians sometimes call ‘prevenient grace’ dispensed to every individual [or at least to many], for this ‘drawing’ is selective, or else the negative note in Verse 44 is meaningless.”

Steve Lawson adds: “This call represents the invincible power of God to bring sinners to saving faith in Christ. All those chosen by the Father and redeemed by the Son are effectually drawn by the Spirit. God makes them willing to believe in the day of His power. James White writes, “Irresistible grace, then, is simply the assertion that God’s grace, expressed in the sovereignly free act of regeneration, is irresistible. When God chooses to raise one of His elect to life He can do so without asking permission of the dead creature.” (“Foundations of Grace: A Long Line of Godly Men,” p.288, Reformation Trust publishing, Ligonier Ministries)

So no one has the ability in and of themselves, none whatsoever, to come to Christ, to be saved….unless! You just have to love that little piece of sunshine coming through. “Unless the Father who sent Me draws him…”, which of course, brings us to our word for the day.

“draw” here is the Greek word helkuo which is translated, most accurately, drag. Check Strong’s, check Thayer’s, ask any pastor worth his salt in Greek what the word means, and you will be told the same….it means to drag off, by forceful power, to impel.

I love how Webster (1860 something edition) describes it’: “To pull along; to haul; to cause to move forward by force applied in advance of the thing moved or at the fore-end, as by a rope or chain.”
This word, ‘draw’, occurs 8 times in the New Testament: John 6:44; 12:32; 18:10; 21:6; 21:11; Acts 16:19; 21:30; and James 2:6.

1. John 21:6 states, “He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, because of the quantity of fish.
2. John 21:11 states, “So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, 153 of them. And although there were so many, the net was not torn.
3. Acts 16:19 states, “But when her owners saw that their hope of gain was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the rulers. “.
4. James 2:6 states, “But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court?

Unregenerate men and women hate God from birth. They are born haters of God, perverted, twisted, out of order from the very beginning. They neither want, desire nor seek the things of God (Romans 3:11). Men are evil. God is holy. Men hate God and the more they are presented with truth of and from God, the more they hate Him. It has broken my heart more than once to be teaching and to see a deacon throw his head back as if having his hair pulled from behind and say “I just totally reject that. I know you read it, I see it, but I don’t believe that for a second!” So for a man to truly come to Christ and be saved, what must happen? The Spirit of God must move. It is that simple.

A.W. Pink has said concerning this word: “Well, you say, what do you mean by [“draws”]? I mean this, that God had to overcome the resistance of your will, God had to overcome the reluctance of your heart, God had to overcome your loving of pleasure more than [your] loving of God, your love of things of this world more than Christ. I mean that God had to put forth His power and draw you; and if any of you know anything of the Greek…look up that Greek verb for “draw” in John 6:44…It means “use violence.” It means to drag by force. There is not a Greek scholar on earth that can challenge that statement…It is the same Greek word that is used in John 21 when they drew the net to the land full of fishes. They had to pull with all their might, for it was full of fishes. They had to DRAG it.

Yes, my friend, and that is how you were brought to Christ. You may not have been conscious of it, you may not have known inside yourself what was taking place, but every last one of us was a rebel against God, fighting against Christ…and God had to put forth almighty power and overcome that resistance and bring us to our knees; and if any of you object to that strong language, then I am here to tell you, you do not believe in the teaching of this Book on the absolute depravity of man.”

Paul Washer nailed it when he said “ God can do anything. God is going to violate a lot of people’s will on the day he throws them in hell. Don’t you see? God violates…he thwarts the wills of kings. He stops angels in their tracks. He is God. Do you see what we have done in America? We have created this god who is subservient to the wills of wicked men.”

Part 2 of this article can be found here.