John 6:45

It is written in the Prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Perceiving as God the folly existing in His hearers, He leaves not this His Word without witness, but shows already that He was of old fore-announced and fore-proclaimed by the holy Prophets, both taking away aforehand occasion from those who imagined that they ought to gainsay Him, and at the same time laying bare no less the unlearning that was in them, in that they were unable to see this, albeit instructed by the law unto the understanding of things to come. He persuades them therefore to consent even against their wills: for it was not likely that they would withstand the voices of the holy Prophets, that God the Father would instil the Mystery of Himself in those who were worthy, and would reveal His Own Son, ineffably speaking to each, and in God-befitting way implanting understanding thereof. But having said above, No man can come to Me, except the Father Which sent Me draw him, He shows that it is not a compulsory nor forcible drawing, adding, Every man that hath heard of My Father and hath learned, cometh unto Me. For where there is hearing and learning and the benefit of instruction, there is faith, to wit by persuasion and not of necessity: and the knowledge of Christ is given by the Father to them that are worthy, helpful as of love, rather than constraining. For the word of doctrine requires that free-will and free choice be preserved to the soul of man, in order that it may ask the just rewards of its good deeds, and if it have fallen from right, and from heedlessness have transgressed the Will of the Lawgiver, it may receive the doom of its transgression and that most reasonable. But we must know that even though the Father be said to instruct any in the Mystery of Christ, yet He will not work alone to this end, but will rather effect it through His Wisdom, i. e., the Son. […]

"How then," saith some one, "doth the Father draw?" This the Prophet explained of old, when he proclaimed beforehand, and said, "They shall all be taught of God." Seest thou the dignity of faith, and that not of men nor by man, but by God Himself they shall learn this? And to make this assertion credible, He referred them to their prophets. "If then 'all shall be taught of God,' how is it that some shall not believe?" Because the words are spoken of the greater number. Besides, the prophecy meaneth not absolutely all, but all that have the will. For the teacher sitteth ready to impart what he hath to all, and pouring forth his instruction unto all.

"But what of those," saith some one, "who were before His time? Were not they taught of God? why then the special application of the words here?" Because of old they learned the things of God by the hands of men, but now by the Only-begotten Son of God, and by the Holy Ghost. Then He addeth, "Not that any man hath seen the Father, save He which is of God," using this expression here not with reference to the cause, but to the manner of being. Since had He spoken in the former sense, we are all "of God." And where then would be the special and distinct nature of the Son? "But wherefore," saith some one, "did He not put this more clearly?" Because of their weakness. For if when He said, "I am come down from heaven," they were so offended, what would they have felt had He added this?

I was ashamed of all those others who … intrude into the most sacred offices and, before becoming worthy to approach the temples, lay claim to the sanctuary. They push and thrust around the holy table as if they thought this order to be a means of livelihood instead of a pattern of virtue, or an absolute authority instead of a ministry of which we must give account.

No one is wise unless he is taught by God, for "No one comes to the Father but through Me," says the Saviour. And in John: "They all shall be taught of God." No one is taught in matters of faith except through God; and …

"It is written in the Prophets: They shall all be teachable by God," that is, all shall be taught by God; "in the Prophets" is said, because it is found in several places; Jeremiah 31: "I will place my law in their inward parts and …

He uses the plural, In the Prophets, because all the Prophets being filled with one and the same spirit, their prophecies, though different, all tended to the same end; and with whatever any one of them says, all the rest agree; as with the prophecy of Joel, All shall be taught of God. (Joel 2:23)

These words are not found in Joel, but something like them; Be glad then ye children of Sion, and rejoice in the Lord your God, for He hath given you a Teacher. (Quia dedit nobis lectorem justitiæ. Vulg.) And more expressly in Isaiah, And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord. (Isa. 54:13)

941 Then (v 45), he considers the way we are drawn. First, he states the way; secondly, its effectiveness (v 45b); and thirdly, he excludes a certain way of being drawn (v 46). 942 The manner in which we are drawn is appropriate, for God …

Above He said that whoever the Father draws comes to Me. Wishing to confirm this, He refers to the prophets. "It is written in the prophets," He says, "and they shall all be taught by God" (Isa. 54:13); all, of course, meaning those who are …

Christ having checked their murmuring, continues what he was saying, ver. 40. No man comes to me, unless my Father draw him - No man can believe in Christ, unless God give him power: he draws us first, by good desires. Not by compulsion, not by laying the will under any necessity; but by the strong and sweet, yet still resistible, motions of his heavenly grace.

quarantine:anchor (2026-07-29) — cites-ver-40-anchored-45-45

It is written in the prophets,....

THERE is something here which troubles many seeking souls. They hear the Gospel preached in this manner, "Look and live," or, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved." This comforts them and they say to themselves, "This is a way in which we can run. We delight to be told of salvation by faith in Christ." By-and-by, they hear a discourse upon our Savior's Words, "You must be born again," or they listen to descriptions of the inward experience of a child of God.

I SUPPOSE that you never noticed any great literary excellence in Bradshaw's Railway Guide. "No," you say, "one writing would be very much out of place in such a book as that—it is meant to be a plain direction to travelers. When we consult it, we do not wish to be entertained, we want to be guided as to the best and quickest route to our desired destination."

Every man therefore, &c.--that is, who hath been thus efficaciously taught of Him. cometh unto me--with absolute certainty, yet in the sense above given of "drawing"; that is, "As none can come to Me but as divinely drawn, so none thus drawn shall fail to come."

Jews murmured--muttered, not in our Lord's hearing, but He knew it (Joh 6:43; Joh 2:25). he said, I am the bread, &c.--Missing the sense and glory of this, and having no relish for such sublimities, they harp upon the "Bread from heaven." "What can this mean? Do we not know all about Him--where, when, and of whom He was born?

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes

Jesus replied, "Do not complain about me to one another. No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Everyone who hears and learns from the Father comes to me. (Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God—he has seen the Father.) I tell you the solemn truth, the one who believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life.

Jesus replied, "Do not complain about me to one another. No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Everyone who hears and learns from the Father comes to me. (Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God—he has seen the Father.) I tell you the solemn truth, the one who believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that has come down from heaven, so that a person may eat from it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats from this bread he will live forever. The bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh." Truths of the weightiest importance follow each other in rapid succession in the chapter we are now reading. There are probably very few parts of the Bible which contain so many "deep things" as the Sixth Chapter of John. Of this the passage before as is a signal example. We learn, for one thing, from this passage, that Christ's lowly condition, when He was upon earth, is a stumbling-block to the natural man. We read that "the Jews murmured, because Jesus said, I am the bread that came down from heaven. And they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that he says, I came down from heaven?" Had our Lord come as a conquering king, with wealth and honors to bestow on His followers, and mighty armies in His train, they would have been willing enough to receive Him. But a poor, and lowly, and suffering Messiah was an offence to them. Their pride refused to believe that such an one was sent from God. There is nothing that need surprise us in this. It is human nature showing itself in its true colors.

THERE is something here which troubles many seeking souls. They hear the Gospel preached in this manner, "Look and live," or, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved." This comforts them and they say to themselves, "This is a way in which we can run. We delight to be told of salvation by faith in Christ." By-and-by, they hear a discourse upon our Savior's Words, "You must be born again," or they listen to descriptions of the inward experience of a child of God. They are taught that there must be a brokenness of heart before there can be a true binding up. There must be a stripping before there can be a clothing. There must be death before there can be resurrection and then they say to themselves, "This, we fear, is true. But how different it is from the message we heard the other day! Are there two things equally true—salvation by simple faith in Christ—and yet the necessity of a new heart and a right spirit?" They are equally true, and they ought to be preached with equal clearness, and equal earnestness! But I would say to every seeker, "You will find it very injurious to get worrying yourself with such difficulties as these. As a rule, you had better leave those questions for another day." Suppose that you were puzzled concerning specific gravity, the weight of a body in water? if you were a drowning man, I would recommend you to waive the consideration of such a subject till you were safely on shore! It is hardly the time, I think, to enter into difficult disquisitions while you are in grave peril. And, in like manner, you may leave many theological questions until, by faith in Christ, you are saved. Then, going into His school, you may ask Him to teach you these other more advanced lessons.

I SUPPOSE that you never noticed any great literary excellence in Bradshaw's Railway Guide. "No," you say, "one writing would be very much out of place in such a book as that—it is meant to be a plain direction to travelers. When we consult it, we do not wish to be entertained, we want to be guided as to the best and quickest route to our desired destination." Well, that is the sort of sermon I am going to try to preach—one which, I trust, shall be a guide to Heaven to some who hear it, or who may afterwards read it—I long, above all things, that through my words many may find rest and peace in Jesus Christ our Lord. Notice, dear Friends, what our Savior was aiming at in this discourse. The Jews had been murmuring at Him. Certain followers of the scribes and Pharisees, who always opposed Him, had been whispering among themselves and finding fault with Him. Our Lord did not condescend to come down to their level and parley with them. They pretended that their difficulty was that He was well known among them, that He was the son of Joseph, the carpenter, and that they knew His mother and His brothers and sisters. Our Lord does not appear directly to answer them, but He takes quite a different tack. He says, "Murmur not among yourselves about this matter. Do not imagine for a moment that I am disappointed because you do not believe in Me, and do not suppose that your unbelief will at all frustrate My Father's purpose or surprise Him. You may reject Me if you are determined to do so, but your folly and sin will make no difference to anybody except yourselves. On your own head shall be the guilt of your own blood. I knew that you would not believe in Me.

It is written in the prophets - Isa 54:13; Jer 31:34. They shall be all taught of God - This explains the preceding verse. God teaches a man to know himself, that, finding his need of salvation, he may flee to lay hold on the hope which his heavenly Father has set before him in the Gospel. God draws men by his love, and by showing them what his love has done for them. Fear repels, but love attracts. He who is ever preaching the terrors of the law, and representing God as a vindictive judge, will never bring sinners to him. They are afraid of this terrible God: but they love him, who so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him might not perish, but have everlasting life.