John 6:64-65

John 6:64-65 — "For this reason I said to you, no one can come to Me unless..."

The Connection Between Verses 64 and 65

This passage is often misread by detaching v.65 from v.64 and connecting it back to v.63. Cheryl demonstrates through Greek discourse analysis that v.65 is grammatically and logically connected to v.64 — not v.63.

Verse 64 — Jesus Knows the Unbelievers

"But there are some of you who do not believe." For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who it was that would betray Him.

Jesus identifies the problem: unbelief. He knew from the beginning: 1. Who would not believe 2. Who would betray Him (Judas)

This is Jesus' omniscient knowledge of human hearts, not a decree causing unbelief.

Verse 65 — The Reason for the Inability

"And He was saying, 'For this reason (διὰ τοῦτο) I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father.'"

"For this reason" (διὰ τοῦτο): This phrase points BACK to what was just said — the unbelief described in v.64. Jesus is saying: "Because of the unbelief I just described, I told you that no one can come to Me unless the Father grants it."

Discourse Structure Analysis

The Lexham Discourse Greek New Testament marks the sentence structure:

Verse 64: - Point (most important): "There are some of you who do not believe" - This follows the lesser Counterpoint from v.63 about words being spirit and life

Verse 65: - Point (most important): "It is granted him by the Father" - Counterpoint (lesser): "No one can come to Me"

The two Points (unbelief in v.64 and granting by the Father in v.65) are the emphatic focus of this passage. Verse 63 provides background; verses 64-65 deliver the main argument.

Why the Connection to v.64 Matters

If v.65 connects to v.63 (as some Calvinists argue), then the meaning would be: "Because the Spirit gives life and the flesh profits nothing, no one can come unless granted by the Father" — which supports a regeneration-precedes-faith reading.

But if v.65 connects to v.64 (as the grammar shows), then the meaning is: "Because some of you do not believe (and I knew this), I told you that no one can come unless granted by the Father" — which connects inability to unbelief, not to unregenerate nature.

The Flow from John 5

This connection is reinforced by the preconditions Jesus established in John 5: - Those who do not believe Moses cannot believe Jesus (5:46-47) - Those seeking human glory cannot believe (5:44) - These unbelievers lack God's word abiding in them (5:38)

The "granting" by the Father is His revelation and teaching (as explained in v.45). Those who reject prior revelation are not granted further revelation — not because God arbitrarily withholds, but because they have refused what was already given.

Peter's Confession (v.68-69) Confirms the Pattern

Peter responds: "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God."

"Having believed" (πεπιστεύκαμεν) — perfect tense, indicating a completed action with ongoing results. The disciples had believed and continued believing. They accepted Jesus' words of eternal life. The unbelievers walked away because they had never believed the Father's word in the first place (John 5:46).

Greek Analysis: John 6:64-65

Key Terms

ᾔδει γὰρ ἐξ ἀρχῆς ὁ Ἰησοῦς (ēdei gar ex archēs ho Iēsous) — "For Jesus knew from the beginning." The verb ᾔδει is the pluperfect of οἶδα ("to know"), indicating settled, complete knowledge. ἐξ ἀρχῆς ("from the beginning") refers to the beginning of Jesus' ministry and relationship with these disciples, not necessarily from eternity past. Jesus had known all along which of His followers were genuine and which were not.

οἱ μὴ πιστεύοντες (hoi mē pisteuontes) — "the ones not believing." Present active participle with the negative μή — those characterized by ongoing unbelief. This is a description of their current and continuing state, not a label assigned by decree.

τίς ἐστιν ὁ παραδώσων αὐτόν (tis estin ho paradōsōn auton) — "who it was who would betray him." The future active participle παραδώσων describes Judas. Jesus' foreknowledge of Judas's betrayal is presented as knowledge of what Judas would freely choose, not as causation of that choice. This distinction between foreknowledge and foreordination is critical.

ἐὰν μὴ ᾖ δεδομένον αὐτῷ ἐκ τοῦ πατρός (ean mē ē dedomenon autō ek tou patros) — "unless it has been granted to him by the Father." The periphrastic perfect subjunctive (ᾖ δεδομένον) is significant. The perfect tense of δίδωμι indicates a completed state — "has been given and remains given." But the key question is: What is being given? Calvinists read this as "the ability/regeneration to believe." Non-Calvinists read it as "the opportunity, revelation, and drawing" that makes faith possible (consistent with vv. 44-45).

Grammatical Observations

The logical flow of vv. 64-65 is often misread. Jesus says: (1) some of you do not believe, (2) I have known this from the beginning, (3) this is why I said no one can come unless the Father grants it. The Calvinist reads: "Some don't believe because the Father didn't grant them the ability." The non-Calvinist reads: "Some don't believe despite the Father's drawing and granting — their unbelief is their own choice, which Jesus foreknew."

The word παραδώσων (betray) is crucial context. John inserts the note about Judas to illustrate the kind of unbelief Jesus foreknew. Judas was among the Twelve, called by Jesus, given every opportunity — and still chose betrayal. His failure was not because the Father withheld grace but because he resisted it. Foreknowledge of Judas's betrayal does not equal foreordination of it.

Debate Application

The distinction between divine foreknowledge and divine predetermination is the crux of this passage. Calvinists collapse the two: if God foreknew, He must have foreordained. But this is a philosophical assumption imported into the text, not a conclusion demanded by the Greek. The text says Jesus knew (ᾔδει) — a verb of cognition, not causation. He knew who would not believe and who would betray. This is consistent with comprehensive divine foreknowledge (as in classical Arminianism) without requiring exhaustive divine determinism. The Father's "granting" (v. 65) parallels the "drawing" of v. 44 and the "teaching" of v. 45 — all of which describe God's universal initiative that can be resisted.

For the full argument analysis, see the Argument Library entry.

Summary: Some Calvinists connect v.65 back to v.63 ("the Spirit gives life; the flesh profits nothing") to argue that the inability to come to Jesus is rooted in man's unregenerate fleshly nature. The "granting" by the Father is then equated with regeneration — God must first make a person alive before they can believe.