Ferus says, " Cleaving to Christ by faith, thou art sure of thy predestination."
We learn fom these words the irresistible power of God's electing grace. All who are given to Christ shall come to Him. No obstacle, no difficulty, no power of the world, the flesh, and the devil, can prevent them. Sooner or later they will break through all, and surmount all. If "given," they will "come.' To ministers the words are full of comfort.
[Bim that cometh unto me IwiU in no wise cast out.] These words declare Christ's willingness to save every one that comer to Him. There is an infinite readiness in Christ to receive, pardon, justify, and glorify sinners. The expression " I will in no wise cast out," implies this. It is a very powerful form of negation. " So far from casting out the man that comes to me, I v/ill receive him with joy when he comes. I will not refuse him on account of past sins. I wUl not cast him off again because of present weaknesses and infirmities. I will keep him to the end by my grace. I will confess him before my Father in the judgment- day, and glorify him for ever. In short, I will do the very opposite of casting him out."
The distinction between the language of this clause of the text and that of the former clause, should be carefuUy noticed. They who " shall come to Christ," are " that whole thing " which the Father gives. But it is " each individual man" that comes, of whom Jesus says "I will in no wise cast him out."
To " cast out of the synagogue," — to " cut off from the con- gregation of Israel," — to "shut out of the camp," as the leper was shut out (Lev. xiii. 46), were ideas with which all Jews were familiar. Our Lord seems to say, " I will do the very opposite of all this."
A. Clarke thinks that the idea is that of a poor person coming to a rich man's house for shelter and relief, who is kindly treated and not " cast out." But may we not suppose after all that the latent thought is that of the man fleeing to the city of refuge, according to the law of Moses, who, once admitted, is safe and not "cast out"? (Num. xxxv. 11, 12.)
We learn from these words that the one point we should look to is, "whether we do really come to Christ." Our past lives may have been very bad. Oar present faith may be very weak. Our repentance and prayers may be very imperfect and poor. Our knowledge of religion may be very scanty. But do we come to Christ? That is the question. If so, tlie promise belongs to us. Christ will not cast us out. We may remind Him boldly of His own word.
We learn from these words, that Christ's offers to sinners are
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wido, broad, free, unlimited, and unconditional. We must take care that we do not spoil and hamper them by narrow statements. God's election must never be thrust nakedly at unconverted sin- ners, in preaching the Gospel. It is a point with Avhich at present they have nothing to do. No doubt it is true that none will come to Christ but those who are given to Him by the Father. But who those are that are so given we cannot tell, and must not attempt to define. All we have to do is to invite every one, without exception, to come to Christ, and to tell men that every one who does come to Christ shall be received and saved. To this point we must carefully stick.
Rollock observes, how close this glorious promise stands to our Lord's words about God's election and predestination. Election should never be stated nakedly and baldly, without reminding those who hear it of Christ's infinite willingness to receive and save all.
Hutcheson remarks, " Saints do indeed ofttimes complain of casting off; but they are the words of sense and not of faith* they may seem to be cast off when really it is not so."
38. — [For I came down... .not mine own will, etc.] The meaning of this verse appears to be as follows. " I did not become man and enter this world to do anything of my own independent will and volition, and without reference to the will of my Father. On the contrary, I have come to carry out His will. As God, my will is in entire harmony and unity with my Father's will, because I and my Father are one. As man, I have no other will and desire than to do that which is in entire accordance with the will of Him who has sent me to be the Mediator and Friend of sin- ners."— What the Father's will about man is, our Lord goes on immediately to state in the two following verses. One part of the Father's will is, that nothing should be lost that He has given to the Son. That " will " Christ came to carry out and accom- plish.— Another part of the Father's will is, that every one who trusts in Christ, may be saved. That "will" again Christ came to carry out and accomplish. — The verse before us and the two following are closely connected, and should be looked at as one great thought. It was the Father's " will " that free salvation by Christ should be brought near and within the reach of every one, and it was also His " will " that every believer in Christ should be completely and finally saved. To work out and accomplish this will of His Father was Christ's object in coming into the world.
The expression, "I came down from heaven," is a strong proof of the pre-existence of Christ. It could not possibly be said of any prophet or apostle, that he " came down from heaven." It is a heavy blow at the Socinian theory that Christ was nothing more than a man.