A Sunday School Synopsis

NO ONE can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again (John 3:3).
NO ONE can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him (John 6:44).
NO ONE comes to the Father except through me (John 14:6).
NO ONE takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord (John 10:18).
NO ONE can snatch them [true Christians] out of my hand (John.10:28).
NO ONE will take away your joy (John 16:22b).

The Doctrines of Grace in Jesus’ own words are six truth declarations by the Son of God that are so simple a child can understand them … and so profound they boggle the most brilliant mind. They all begin with a universal absolute, two simple words that emphasize God’s sovereign grace over every aspect of our salvation. Jesus is saying in his first no one quote that no one can even glimpse ultimate reality until he is given spiritual rebirth. Just like our physical birth, our spiritual rebirth is a miracle initiated by God. Until he acts man neither sees nor seeks God (Romans 3:11). Then and only then does he have eyes to see God’s truth and a heart inclined by the power of the Holy Spirit to accept it on faith. That is the “drawing” that is meant by his second no one saying—“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.” We are drawn by the omnipotent power of the Holy Spirit working within us to incline our wills to want what he wants for us. “….for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13).

Third, when Jesus said, “No one comes to the Father except through me” he was saying that ONLY through faith in the Son and what he has done for us can we know God the Father. Yes, that gets us in trouble in this fallen world, where “tolerance” is used as a cudgel to intimidate believers, but it is God’s truth and we cannot, we must not deny it (Mark 8:38). As Luther said “Peace if possible, but truth at all cost.” A long line of martyrs, beginning with Jesus’ disciples and extending to this very day, have gone to horrible deaths clinging tenaciously to this unshakable truth, and what an eternity they are having.

Fourth, “No one takes my life, but I lay it down of my own accord.” Jesus’ atoning death on the cross, a key part of his plan of salvation for sinners, was designed in the throne room of God before time and the world began. Jesus told Pilate at his trial, “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above.” In the Garden God’s infinite wrath condemned mankind to an eternity in hell because Adam and Eve ruined his heaven on earth by their cosmic treason. But God, out of his infinite love for his creatures made in his own image, sent his Son incarnate to die a horrible death on the cross to redeem his chosen out of that human race. Only a perfect sacrifice—the Son of God himself—could meet the holy perfection required for admittance to heaven. The Son of God suffered the punishment they deserved and the Father credited their account with the Son’s costly payment. Amazing Atonement!

Fifth, having done such a costly thing on your behalf, rest assured that God never changes his mind, never quits mid-plan. Such a blessed soul as a redeemed sinner can never be lost again…ever—“No one can snatch them out of my hand.” Our repentance (our change of ways), our faith, and our blessed assurance are the gifts of a Sovereign God!

Sixth, if you reside secure in the palm of God’s hand, then yours is a joy, a God-given joy that no one can take away, an unshakable certainty, an eternal truth, a solemn promise guaranteed by the highest level of authority. You can be having a terrible no good horrible very bad day, but no one will take away your joy in the Lord. Your salvation is all of God from first to last in every detail. A glorious eternity awaits as a joint heir with the Son of God who died for you and drew you to himself as a brother, an adopted child of the Living God. Joy! What manner of love is this, that we should be called children of God?

… “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Corinthians 2:9).

See you in church.