Ephesians 1 the most abused passage by Calvinists

[civic]

Paul makes the distinction with 2 groups below and contrasts them.

The Jews who were Apostles ( we, us , our )who first believed and were the ones predestined / chosen and with the gentiles ( you ) who believed after, later in verses 13 and beyond. They gentiles did not have the wisdom , knowledge and the mysteries were revealed to the Apostles not the gentiles. Paul is teaching them those mysteries in this letter and educating them. This passage refutes Calvinism it does not support it whatsoever. Only if one uses eisegesis can verses 1-12 be applied to a Calvinist. Exegetically it applies to the Apostles who were given the knowledge, wisdom, the mysteries revealed to them by ejection / predestination not the gentiles in Ephesus.

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,

To God’s holy people in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus:

2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Praise for Spiritual Blessings in Christ​

3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace 8 that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, 9 he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10 to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.

11 In him we were also chosen,having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, 12 in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.

( Now Paul goes from we the apostles to them the gentile Ephesians. The apostles were the first to believe with wisdom from God and not prays for them to have the same wisdom they have)


13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.

Thanksgiving and Prayer​

15 For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, 16 I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. 17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. 18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength20 he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. 22 And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church,23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.

conclusion: the predestined group ( Jewish Apostles ) were the first to believe and were given all wisdom, understanding knowing the mystery of His will. The gentiles ( you, them ) were not the first to believe until way later after Paul was sent to them after Acts 13. Thet were prayed for by Paul as a group to be blesses with wisdom, knowledge, enlightenment so they may know ( they did not know at that time) and did not know the mysteries like the group in 1:3-12. Paul is making the distinction between the Apostles and who he is wrting to like he does in most of his other letters in the introduction of this letter.

The Mystery was given and revealed only to the Apostles and all other believers were taught it by the Apostles. In Ephesians 1:9 Paul as an Apostle was given that mystery that had been kept from everyone except the Apostles , those who were chosen by Jesus, elect and predestined by Him to reveal His will and the mystery that had been hidden. They were the ones given all wisdom and knowledge and the rest had to learn and be taught that wisdom, knowledge and mystery. The elect,chosen, predestined were the Apostles in Ephesians 1 not the gentiles in Ephesus.

Ephesians 3 below confirms Ephesians 1:3-12 is the Apostles- the predestined ones. Paul included himself with the Apostles/Disciples- the 12 chosen by Jesus personally. The foundation the church is built upon is the Apostles- Ephesians 4. Those were Gods predestined ones in Ephesians 1. They not us were given all wisdom, knowledge and the mystery of knowing Gods will. Everyone else needed to be taught what that was through Gods chosen Apostles. Those chosen/elect in the gospels are the 12 disciples/Apostles in Jesus teaching.

Surely you have heard about the administration of God’s grace that was given to me for you, 3 that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly. 4 In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5 which was not made known to people in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets. 6 This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus. 7 I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of his power. 8 Although I am less than the least of all the Lord’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the boundless riches of Christ, 9 and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things. 10 His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, 11 according to his eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. 12 In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence. 13 I ask you, therefore, not to be discouraged because of my sufferings for you, which are your glory.

@makesends @armylngst @PapaLandShark @brightfame52 let me know what you think of my OP and this recent post. Thanks !

hope this helps !!!

 

[praise_yeshua]

@praise_yeshua check out the OP and let me know your thoughts

Sorry. I missed the notice....

I agree with your OP and this a great topic to discuss. If we study the Scriptures while removing all our inherent biases, we can know the Truth of what has been written. We all tend to bring our own wants and desires to the study.

It is rare to get this level of discussing this topic. Mostly because the argument gets so heated that people get too angry to continue. I hope this doesn't happen here. I will respond to a few comments in the thread to continue....

 

[synergy]

The Mystery was given and revealed only to the Apostles and all other believers were taught it by the Apostles. In Ephesians 1:9 Paul as an Apostle was given that mystery that had been kept from everyone except the Apostles , those who were chosen by Jesus, elect and predestined by Him to reveal His will and the mystery that had been hidden. They were the ones given all wisdom and knowledge and the rest had to learn and be taught that wisdom, knowledge and mystery. The elect,chosen, predestined were the Apostles in Ephesians 1 not the gentiles in Ephesus.

Ephesians 3 below confirms Ephesians 1:3-12 is the Apostles- the predestined ones. Paul included himself with the Apostles/Disciples- the 12 chosen by Jesus personally. The foundation the church is built upon is the Apostles- Ephesians 4. Those were Gods predestined ones in Ephesians 1. They not us were given all wisdom, knowledge and the mystery of knowing Gods will. Everyone else needed to be taught what that was through Gods chosen Apostles. Those chosen/elect in the gospels are the 12 disciples/Apostles in Jesus teaching.

Surely you have heard about the administration of God’s grace that was given to me for you, 3 that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly. 4 In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5 which was not made known to people in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets. 6 This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus. 7 I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of his power. 8 Although I am less than the least of all the Lord’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the boundless riches of Christ, 9 and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things. 10 His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, 11 according to his eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. 12 In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence. 13 I ask you, therefore, not to be discouraged because of my sufferings for you, which are your glory.

@makesends @armylngst @PapaLandShark let me know what you think of my OP and this recent post. Thanks !

hope this helps !!!

Every believer is predestined to adoption, inheritence, and conformity to the Image of Christ. As for God's mysteries, I agree that they were revealed to the Apostles first and foremost before they were communicated to the world.

 

[praise_yeshua]

No. Verse 1 makes it clear who is Paul's audience for his entire Epistle. He is addressing the "Saints who are in Ephesus", the congregation of believers from all walks of life.

I believe is just a general salutation. Something rather common among Gentile cultures. We can see the contrast between this verse and how Hebrews is begun.

1. I believe it is fair to ask who "brought" this message/mystery to the Gentiles? They were trained/instructed in the mystery by the apostles. Otherwise, they would not have known. This the revelation of the Gospel that takes place as mentioned in Romans 1:16. The very righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith. We can also add.... What do we have that we have not received from another..... Paul planted the seeds of this mystery among the Gentiles. God gives the increase.

If you make a split at verse 13 then are you saying that only the "you" people were "sealed with the Holy Spirit"?

All believers are being referred to throughout the entire Epistle.

I still agree with the title of your thread. Calvinists have totally misunderstood and utterly destroyed the real meaning of Eph 1:4.

I believe Paul is making an inclusive statement in verse 13. The teacher, including his knowledge of the mystery with those he has "begotten" through the faith.

1Co 4:15 For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel.

 

[praise_yeshua]

Every believer is predestined to adoption, inheritence, and conformity to the Image of Christ. As for God's mysteries, I agree that they were revealed to the Apostles first and foremost before they were communicated to the world.

An unnamed group who only find their identity in who was actually Chosen. Jesus Christ. I don't see any reason to believe that this includes predetermined individuals. Simply a targeted benevolence through faith.

 

[praise_yeshua]

In the "context of the mystery". The "mystery" referenced was not a mystery because it was not foretold nor revealed previous. It is a mystery in the sense that it was not believed. No one can pass on the substance of anything without having faith themselves in that information. Hence, the appeal to "faith to faith".

I believe and I believe we can agree, you show me someone that really knows the Gospel. You let them, through the Spirit of God, declare Jesus Christ.... and it makes all the difference. It is still not a guarantee.... but it certainly leaves man without excuse.

Hence the appeal Paul makes....

1Co 4:15 For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel.

 

[civic]

Sorry. I missed the notice....

I agree with your OP and this a great topic to discuss. If we study the Scriptures while removing all our inherent biases, we can know the Truth of what has been written. We all tend to bring our own wants and desires to the study.

It is rare to get this level of discussing this topic. Mostly because the argument gets so heated that people get too angry to continue. I hope this doesn't happen here. I will respond to a few comments in the thread to continue....

I’m hoping that a few if the Calvinists I tagged with comment on the text.

 

[Icabod]

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[civic]

"

I’m not sure what that means . And welcome to our forum

 

[makesends]

@makesends @armylngst @PapaLandShark @brightfame52 let me know what you think of my OP and this recent post. Thanks !

Several thoughts come immediately to mind.

1. Your grammar would hopefully be easier to understand, if your writing was punctuated well, and proofread/edited to weed out confusion from run-on sentences, misspellings and omissions. (Eg, "...the first to believe with wisdom from God and not prays for them to..." —do you mean, "...wisdom from God and Paul prays for them..."?)
2. I don't see where you present what Calvinists claim, concerning Ephesians 1:1-12, in order to refute it, so I'm not sure what you are trying to say. I just don't follow your line of thought —your reasoning.
3. When I guess at what you are trying to disprove, I'm guessing the notion of predestination of believers, yet you yourself, in your op, quote it as first, "we", who it says were predestined, then, "you", (who you say are Gentiles) are also predestined: "Apostles ( we, us , our )who first believed and were the ones predestined / chosen and with the gentiles ( you ) who believed after,". Are you also saying that this "you" is NOT modern day elect, but that the passage refers only to early believers, including Gentiles? I'm a bit confused just what you are saying.
4. One of the favorite arguments of Arminians is that it is unloving and unfair, and/or robothood, to predestine specific persons, yet here I find you claiming some were predestined. So, then, if it is ok for any to be predestined, why not all?
5. The version you quote grammatically shows "with all wisdom and understanding" to be God's way of making known the mystery, and not, as you claim, wisdom that the apostles were given. ("With all wisdom and understanding, 9 he made known to us the mystery of his will...")
6. If, for the sake of argument, we allow that the first part refers specifically to the apostles and early believers, it does not necessarily imply that later believers were not predestined. If the principle of predestination does apply to them, why would it NOT apply to us?
7. Your statement, "Only if one uses eisegesis can verses 1-12 be applied to a Calvinist", doesn't make sense to me. It seems to imply that Calvinists want the passage to apply to Calvinists, but not to other believers. Is that what Calvinists make out of the passage?
8. If that's the "most abused" passage by Calvinists, then they must be doing pretty good!

 

[civic]

Several thoughts come immediately to mind.

1. Your grammar would hopefully be easier to understand, if your writing was punctuated well, and proofread/edited to weed out confusion from run-on sentences, misspellings and omissions. (Eg, "...the first to believe with wisdom from God and not prays for them to..." —do you mean, "...wisdom from God and Paul prays for them..."?)
2. I don't see where you present what Calvinists claim, concerning Ephesians 1:1-12, in order to refute it, so I'm not sure what you are trying to say. I just don't follow your line of thought —your reasoning.
3. When I guess at what you are trying to disprove, I'm guessing the notion of predestination of believers, yet you yourself, in your op, quote it as first, "we", who it says were predestined, then, "you", (who you say are Gentiles) are also predestined: "Apostles ( we, us , our )who first believed and were the ones predestined / chosen and with the gentiles ( you ) who believed after,". Are you also saying that this "you" is NOT modern day elect, but that the passage refers only to early believers, including Gentiles? I'm a bit confused just what you are saying.
4. One of the favorite arguments of Arminians is that it is unloving and unfair, and/or robothood, to predestine specific persons, yet here I find you claiming some were predestined. So, then, if it is ok for any to be predestined, why not all?
5. The version you quote grammatically shows "with all wisdom and understanding" to be God's way of making known the mystery, and not, as you claim, wisdom that the apostles were given. ("With all wisdom and understanding, 9 he made known to us the mystery of his will...")
6. If, for the sake of argument, we allow that the first part refers specifically to the apostles and early believers, it does not necessarily imply that later believers were not predestined. If the principle of predestination does apply to them, why would it NOT apply to us?
7. Your statement, "Only if one uses eisegesis can verses 1-12 be applied to a Calvinist", doesn't make sense to me. It seems to imply that Calvinists want the passage to apply to Calvinists, but not to other believers. Is that what Calvinists make out of the passage?
8. If that's the "most abused" passage by Calvinists, then they must be doing pretty good!

I'm saying those predestined in Ephesians 1 were the Apostles who were the ones given by God all wisdom/understanding and the ones made known the mysteries directly from God. Paul prays to the Ephesian gentiles that they might gain wisdom and understanding and that they needed the mysteries explained to them by Paul in this letter. He references the mysteries I believe 5 times.

And I apologize for the grammar that was in the OP that made my points appear confusing.

 

[makesends]

makesends said:
Several thoughts come immediately to mind.

1. Your grammar would hopefully be easier to understand, if your writing was punctuated well, and proofread/edited to weed out confusion from run-on sentences, misspellings and omissions. (Eg, "...the first to believe with wisdom from God and not prays for them to..." —do you mean, "...wisdom from God and Paul prays for them..."?)
2. I don't see where you present what Calvinists claim, concerning Ephesians 1:1-12, in order to refute it, so I'm not sure what you are trying to say. I just don't follow your line of thought —your reasoning.
3. When I guess at what you are trying to disprove, I'm guessing the notion of predestination of believers, yet you yourself, in your op, quote it as first, "we", who it says were predestined, then, "you", (who you say are Gentiles) are also predestined: "Apostles ( we, us , our )who first believed and were the ones predestined / chosen and with the gentiles ( you ) who believed after,". Are you also saying that this "you" is NOT modern day elect, but that the passage refers only to early believers, including Gentiles? I'm a bit confused just what you are saying.
4. One of the favorite arguments of Arminians is that it is unloving and unfair, and/or robothood, to predestine specific persons, yet here I find you claiming some were predestined. So, then, if it is ok for any to be predestined, why not all?
5. The version you quote grammatically shows "with all wisdom and understanding" to be God's way of making known the mystery, and not, as you claim, wisdom that the apostles were given. ("With all wisdom and understanding, 9 he made known to us the mystery of his will...")
6. If, for the sake of argument, we allow that the first part refers specifically to the apostles and early believers, it does not necessarily imply that later believers were not predestined. If the principle of predestination does apply to them, why would it NOT apply to us?
7. Your statement, "Only if one uses eisegesis can verses 1-12 be applied to a Calvinist", doesn't make sense to me. It seems to imply that Calvinists want the passage to apply to Calvinists, but not to other believers. Is that what Calvinists make out of the passage?
8. If that's the "most abused" passage by Calvinists, then they must be doing pretty good!

I'm saying those predestined in Ephesians 1 were the Apostles who were the ones given by God all wisdom/understanding and the ones made known the mysteries directly from God. Paul prays to the Ephesian gentiles that they might gain wisdom and understanding and that they needed the mysteries explained to them by Paul in this letter. He references the mysteries I believe 5 times.

And I apologize for the grammar that was in the OP that made my points appear confusing.

So, can you answer for me, points 2 and 7, above, and any points that depend on your answer (to point 2) for what it is that Calvinism claims in its use of Ephesians 1?

 

[civic]

makesends said:
Several thoughts come immediately to mind.

1. Your grammar would hopefully be easier to understand, if your writing was punctuated well, and proofread/edited to weed out confusion from run-on sentences, misspellings and omissions. (Eg, "...the first to believe with wisdom from God and not prays for them to..." —do you mean, "...wisdom from God and Paul prays for them..."?)
2. I don't see where you present what Calvinists claim, concerning Ephesians 1:1-12, in order to refute it, so I'm not sure what you are trying to say. I just don't follow your line of thought —your reasoning.
3. When I guess at what you are trying to disprove, I'm guessing the notion of predestination of believers, yet you yourself, in your op, quote it as first, "we", who it says were predestined, then, "you", (who you say are Gentiles) are also predestined: "Apostles ( we, us , our )who first believed and were the ones predestined / chosen and with the gentiles ( you ) who believed after,". Are you also saying that this "you" is NOT modern day elect, but that the passage refers only to early believers, including Gentiles? I'm a bit confused just what you are saying.
4. One of the favorite arguments of Arminians is that it is unloving and unfair, and/or robothood, to predestine specific persons, yet here I find you claiming some were predestined. So, then, if it is ok for any to be predestined, why not all?
5. The version you quote grammatically shows "with all wisdom and understanding" to be God's way of making known the mystery, and not, as you claim, wisdom that the apostles were given. ("With all wisdom and understanding, 9 he made known to us the mystery of his will...")
6. If, for the sake of argument, we allow that the first part refers specifically to the apostles and early believers, it does not necessarily imply that later believers were not predestined. If the principle of predestination does apply to them, why would it NOT apply to us?
7. Your statement, "Only if one uses eisegesis can verses 1-12 be applied to a Calvinist", doesn't make sense to me. It seems to imply that Calvinists want the passage to apply to Calvinists, but not to other believers. Is that what Calvinists make out of the passage?
8. If that's the "most abused" passage by Calvinists, then they must be doing pretty good!

So, can you answer for me, points 2 and 7, above, and any points that depend on your answer (to point 2) for what it is that Calvinism claims in its use of Ephesians 1?

Calvinist use Ephesians one to prove they were predestined, chosen, elect before creation.

 

[makesends]

Calvinist use Ephesians one to prove they were predestined, chosen, elect before creation.

Or to demonstrate the principle, at least.

 

[civic]

Or to demonstrate the principle, at least.

I would say Romans 8 is a better text to demonstrate election/predestination.

 

[makesends]

I would say Romans 8 is a better text to demonstrate election/predestination.

Not to mention 9. Yeah, I think I agree. Nevertheless, the principle is made obvious, just not so much the application, in Ephesians 1. But it is not the only one.

 

[civic]

Not to mention 9. Yeah, I think I agree. Nevertheless, the principle is made obvious, just not so much the application, in Ephesians 1. But it is not the only one.

Romans 9 is highly debatable with individuals vs nations. So I think 8 is a better text imho.

 

[atpollard]

Ephesians 1 the most abused passage by Calvinists​

Respectfully, John 6:44 is “abused” FAR more often by Calvinists than Ephesians 1.

 

[Johann]

Ephesians 1 the most abused passage by Calvinists​

Respectfully, John 6:44 is “abused” FAR more often by Calvinists than Ephesians 1.

ἐν τοῖς προφήταις. In the division of the Scriptures, so called as distinct from the Law (Joh_1:45), and the Psalms or Hagiographa (Luk_24:44): comp. Act_13:40, and (ἐν βίβλῳ τῶν πρ.) Joh_7:42. The direct reference is to Isa_54:13, which may have been part of the synagogue-lesson for the day (Luk_4:17); but comp. Jer_31:33-34; Joe_3:16-17.

The quotation explains how the Father draws men, viz. by enlightening them.

Note that Jesus does not derive His teaching from the O. T, but confirms it by an appeal to the O.T. Comp. Joh_8:17; Joh_8:56, Joh_10:34.
διδακτοὶ θεοῦ. In classical Greek διδακτός is applied to doctrine rather than pupils, the things that can be taught rather than the persons taught. The Hebrew limmûd in Isa_54:13 is perhaps a substantive, and hence the genitive here without ὑπό; ‘God’s instructed ones,’ i.e. prophets in the wider sense. Comp. διδακτοῖς πνεύματος (1Co_2:13) for the genitive, and θεοδίδακτοι (1Th_4:9) for the meaning.
πᾶς ὁ ἀκ.… κ. μαθ. Every one that hath heard and hath learned from (Joh_8:26; Joh_8:40, Joh_15:15) the Father, and no others; only those who have been ‘taught of God’ can come to the Son. The οὖν after πᾶς in T. R. is not genuine; very common in S. John’s narrative, it is very rare in discourses. Omit with אBCDLST against A.

Both the hearing and the learning refer to an inward spiritual process. The outward teaching of Scripture and of Christ Himself was enjoyed by all the people He was addressing; but they did not come to Him.

It is therefore an inward and individual illumination by the special operation of God that enables men to come to Christ. Whether these verses teach “irresistible grace” may be doubted. That they teach the doctrine which Augustine asserted against Pelagius, viz., that power to use grace must itself be given by God, is undeniable.

That is affirmed in the statement that no one can come to Christ unless the Father draw him. But whether it is also true that every one whom God teaches comes is not here stated; the καὶ μαθὼν introduces a doubtful element. [Wetstein quotes from Polybius διαφέρει τὸ μαθεῖν τοῦ μόνον ἀκοῦσαι.]

 

[atpollard]

ἐν τοῖς προφήταις. In the division of the Scriptures, so called as distinct from the Law (Joh_1:45), and the Psalms or Hagiographa (Luk_24:44): comp. Act_13:40, and (ἐν βίβλῳ τῶν πρ.) Joh_7:42. The direct reference is to Isa_54:13, which may have been part of the synagogue-lesson for the day (Luk_4:17); but comp. Jer_31:33-34; Joe_3:16-17.

The quotation explains how the Father draws men, viz. by enlightening them.

Note that Jesus does not derive His teaching from the O. T, but confirms it by an appeal to the O.T. Comp. Joh_8:17; Joh_8:56, Joh_10:34.
διδακτοὶ θεοῦ. In classical Greek διδακτός is applied to doctrine rather than pupils, the things that can be taught rather than the persons taught. The Hebrew limmûd in Isa_54:13 is perhaps a substantive, and hence the genitive here without ὑπό; ‘God’s instructed ones,’ i.e. prophets in the wider sense. Comp. διδακτοῖς πνεύματος (1Co_2:13) for the genitive, and θεοδίδακτοι (1Th_4:9) for the meaning.
πᾶς ὁ ἀκ.… κ. μαθ. Every one that hath heard and hath learned from (Joh_8:26; Joh_8:40, Joh_15:15) the Father, and no others; only those who have been ‘taught of God’ can come to the Son. The οὖν after πᾶς in T. R. is not genuine; very common in S. John’s narrative, it is very rare in discourses. Omit with אBCDLST against A.

Both the hearing and the learning refer to an inward spiritual process. The outward teaching of Scripture and of Christ Himself was enjoyed by all the people He was addressing; but they did not come to Him.

It is therefore an inward and individual illumination by the special operation of God that enables men to come to Christ. Whether these verses teach “irresistible grace” may be doubted. That they teach the doctrine which Augustine asserted against Pelagius, viz., that power to use grace must itself be given by God, is undeniable.

That is affirmed in the statement that no one can come to Christ unless the Father draw him. But whether it is also true that every one whom God teaches comes is not here stated; the καὶ μαθὼν introduces a doubtful element. [Wetstein quotes from Polybius διαφέρει τὸ μαθεῖν τοῦ μόνον ἀκοῦσαι.]

Without getting too deep into a discussion on John 6:44 in a topic on Ephesians 1 …. What about the rest of John 6. I see a flaw in extracting the verse from its context and whatever Jesus’ intended meaning, John (the author) placed it within a themed collection of verses that precisely DOES connect the dots from the Father to the Son to Eternity for those “drawn” and the “will of the Father”.