Kay

Mark,
For John 6:35-44, the view I hold regards who the “all that” refers to. Many calvinists identify the “all that” in verses 37 and 39 as “those whom, in his great love, he elected long ago to save.” It appears to me such an understanding cannot be justified when we compare the “all that” found in verse 39 with verse 40. Notice the parallel lines in the ABCCBA structure of verses 39-40

A raise them up at the last day
B that I shall lose none of all that he has given me
C this is the will of him who sent me
C’ For this is the will of my Father
B’ that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life
A’ raise him up at the last day

Note the connective word ‘de’ in verse 40. There is a logical connection between the last sentence and the following. This connection was self-evident in the ABCCBA structure of these verses. The “all that” in verse 39 whom the Father “has given” to Jesus is none other than “everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him,” in verse 40. Both verses affirm that all believers will be raised up on the last day.

Quoting well known Calvinist F. F. Bruce: “In verse 39 ‘all’ is neuter singular (pan) as in verse 37a, and when Jesus says that he will ‘raise it (auto) up on the last day’ he speaks of the *sum-total* of his people. In verse 40 ‘every one’ is masculine singular (pas), and when Jesus says that he will ‘raise him (auton) up at the last day’ he speaks of each individual believer as in verse 37b.”

“The “all that” in verse 39 is identical to that in verse 37. In the first part of verse 37 the pronoun ‘all’ is neuter singular (Gk. pan), denoting the sum-total of believers. In the second part (‘the one who comes’) *each individual* member of that sum-total is in view. This oscillation between the (believing) community as a whole and its individual members reappears in verses 39 and 40.”

The “some” to be given to the Son are “the sum-total of believers” or “the whole mass of believers,” or better yet “all believers regarded as one complete whole” (Vincent, Word Studies, 2:150). Individual persons are not selected and then given to Jesus in order to *become* believers, as Calvinist’s assert, people are given to Jesus because they are *already believers*.

It is significant that the Greek word for “come”in verses 35, 37b, 44, and 45 is different from that of “will come”in 37a. “Will come” (heko) emphasizes the idea of reaching or arriving, whereas the one who comes (erchomai) to Jesus emphasizes the process of coming. In verses 35 and 37b, “comes” is a present participle that refers to ongoing action and is literally translated “coming.” It is synonymous with “believing” in this context. It is also significant that “believe” is used as a present participle in verses 35, 40, 47. Also, “believe” is used as a present participle in verses 35, 40, 47. Individual believers who keep on coming to Jesus in faith are promised that they will never be spiritually hungry (v 35a), nor will they be driven away or “cast out” from Jesus.

It appears that in verse 37a, Jesus does not specifically have the individual believer in mind, but all believers seen as a *collective whole*. It is they who will come to Jesus. The Greek word for will come (heko) is not a present participle but a future indicative. How is it that all believers, regarded as a complete whole, will come to Jesus or reach Him in the future? The answer is provided just two verses later by the other “all that” verse 39: “And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day.”

According to verse 39, all believers as a group, regarded as a complete whole, given to Jesus will be raised up on the last day. In verse 37a, all believers, regarded as a complete whole, that the Father gives to Jesus will come to Jesus. Each time the verb “raise up” (anistemi) is used in John (6:39, 40, 44, 54) it is in the future indicative like “will come” (heko). It seems resonable to conclude, from the immediate context, from the corresponding phrase “all that,” from the change in the Greek word and its tense, that “will come” to Christ in verse 37a is parallel in meaning with the phrase “raise up on the last day.” Certainly, “all” believers will come to Jesus in the resurrection.