Robin Tomlinson

Cheryl, you brought up the question: Does being “taught by God” necessitate that all are taught about Jesus? Well… yes. Jesus said, “No one can come to Me…” and that He would draw all people “to Myself.” This passage is all about coming to Jesus in particular (knowing and understanding His true identity), not just coming to a general belief in God, right? If the drawing is necessary, and if the Father desires to draw people to His Son, then of course, He must teach them about His Son. A verse that comes into mind to illustrate this is, “For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” (2 Cor. 4:6) If it’s true that “the god of this age has blinded” unbelievers, it makes sense that God must intervene somehow in order for His Son to be seen. I once was blind, but now I see… The more I think about it, the more the whole thing seems very…struggling to find the word…God-sided? I mean, it was dark and the Creator spoke and there was light. If God shines “in our hearts” to give “the light of the knowledge” of God “in the face of Jesus Christ” – well, I have to admit that this sounds like a work of God that is not only necessary, but (to borrow a despised term!), effectual! (A side note that really bugs me that I have not seen addressed: I get that the word draw doesn’t mean dragged and all that… but that said, the other instances of the use of the word do, in fact, have the desired results accomplished – the sword really was out of its sheath, the fish really were in the net, the disciples really did have to go along, etc. Doesn’t that have any bearing on how the word is used here as well? Besides that, the Isaiah verse Jesus quoted, “they shall “all be taught,” also seems effectual in its own context. What is up with that?) If you are growing weary of me, no offense taken.