John 6:38

38. I came down] Better, I am come down or have descended. Four times in this discourse Christ declares that He is come down from heaven; Joh_6:38; Joh_6:50-51; Joh_6:58. The drift of these three verses (38–40) is;—How could I cast them out, seeing that I am come to do my Father’s will, and He wills that they should be received?

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Joh_6:38-40

For I came down from heaven, not to do Mine own will, but the will of Him that sent Me

The love of the Father

The amazing love of the Father appears

I.

IN HIS SPARING THIS GUILTY WORLD, though He spared not the angels that sinned. His mercy is seen in mans long day of grace, and in thy day of grace, sinner. Accept it ere the dawn of the day of judgment.

II. IN CHOOSING AND DRAWING GUILTY MEN TO BE SAVED. To give men liberty to be saved is love indeed; to provide a ransom is love higher still; but its loftiest height is seen in the drawing operations of Father, Son, and Spirit. But for this men would not come at all.

III. IN HIS GIVING CHRIST TO BE THE WAY OF SALVATION (chap. 3:16; Rom_8:32). Had He shot down a beam of heavenly light, or caused us to hear a heavenly note, this would have left us inexcusable; but He gave the best of His treasures. He resolved that all salvation should be found in the Son, and avoided leaving any details to us.

IV. IN HIS REVEALING HIMSELF TO US THROUGH CHRIST (chap. 14:9, 10). Not through an interpreter, but through One who shared His nature and was the perfect embodiment of His will.

V. IN APPOINTING THE ETERNAL REWARD FOR REDEEMED SINNERS THROUGH CHRIST (Joh_6:39-40). (A. A. Bonar)

The purpose of Christs coming

I. CHRIST CAME DOWN FROM HEAVEN.

1. How does it appear that He was originally in heaven? (Joh_6:33; Joh_6:51; Joh_6:62).

(1) He had a real existence before He was born (chap. 1:15; 8:58).

(2) He was before the world (Heb_1:8); for He made the world Heb_1:2; Heb_1:8; Heb_1:10; Col_1:14-16; Joh_1:1-2).

(3) The existence He had before was purely Divine (Php_2:6-7; Act_20:28).

(4) The Divine nature was communicated to Him from the Father (chap. 5:26, 7:29, 16:15; Heb_1:3).

(5) Hence He is said to be in heaven by reason of His Divine essence, which He always had from and with the Father (Joh_6:62).

2. What are we to understand by His coming down from heaven? His assuming our human nature, and in it conversing upon earth (Jn 1Ti_3:16).

II. As Christ came from heaven, so HE CAME NOT TO DO HIS OWN WILL, BUT HIS THAT SENT HIM.

1. Christs will as He is God is no way different from the Fathers.

2. As man His will was distinct from the Fathers, but still subordinate to it Luk_22:42); and therefore though He had a will of His own as man, yet He came not to fulfil that.

3. But our Saviour speaks not here of Himself, either as God or man, but as God-man, Mediator, one sent from the Father to do His will.

From hence it follows

1. That Gods will only is the fountain of mans happiness and salvation. For

(1) God made man upright and happy (Ecc_7:29).

(2) Man made himself sinful and miserable (Hos_13:9).

(3) But he cannot make himself happy again (Jer_10:23).

(4) And as man cannot, so none but God can. None else could find out a way, and none else effect it when found.

(5) God hath no other motive but His own will and pleasure to save Eph_1:5).

(a) Man himself could be no motive (Deu_7:7-8).

(b) Neither could the hope of glory be so, God receiving nothing thereby (Job_22:2-3; Psa_16:2).

2. That Christ came to accomplish the will of God.

(1) By acquainting us with what is necessary to be known or done in order to be saved (Joh_14:2).

(2) By giving us, in His own person, a perfect example. (Mat_11:30).

(3) By enabling us sincerely to perform whatsoever is enjoined us (chap. 15:5; Php_4:13).

(4) By dying for us (Mat_20:28; 1Ti_2:16).

(5) By continuing to intercede for us (Heb_7:25; Joh_1:1-2).

III. USES.

1. Give God the glory of your salvation.

2. Bless Him for all the means of it.

(1) For sending His Son to die for us.

(2) For sending His Spirit to live within us.

(3) For vouchsafing to us the means of grace.

3. Trust Him only for the accomplishment of your salvation.

(1) By the pardon of your sins.

(2) The strengthening of your graces (Php_2:13).

(3) Power to persevere (Mat_10:22).

4. Hence learn also of your Saviour

(1) To submit your wills to Gods (1Sa_3:18).

(2) To do the will of Him who sent you hither.

And it is His will

(1) That you repent (Act_17:30).

(2) That you turn from your sins (Eze_18:30; Eze_33:11).

(3) That you love the Lord with all your hearts (Mat_22:37).

(4) That you earnestly endeavour to work out your salvation Php_2:12). (Bp. Beveridge.)

Perfect obedience

In a daring inroad beyond the Tigris, Abu Taher advanced to the gates of the capital with no more than five hundred horse. By the special order of Moctador the bridges had been broken down, and the person or head of the rebel was expected every hour by the Commander of the Faithful. His lieutenant, from a motive of fear or pity, apprised Abu Taher of his danger, and recommended a speedy escape. Your master, said the intrepid Carmathian to the messenger, is at the head of thirty thousand soldiers; three such men as these are wanting in his host. At the same instant, turning to three of his companions, he commanded the first to plunge a dagger into his own breast, the second to leap into the Tigris, and the third to cast himself headlong down a precipice. They obeyed without a murmur. Relate what you have seen, continued the Imam. Before the evening your general shall be chained among my dogs. Before evening the camp was surprised and the menace executed. (Gibbon.)

To do the wilt of God is the true end of life

The end of life is not to do good, although many of us think so. It is not to win souls, although I once thought so. The end of life is to do the will of God whatever it may be. (Professor Drummond.)

This is the Fathers will … that of all which He hath given Me, I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.

The Fathers will

I. THE DIVINE SIDE OF THE WORK OF SALVATION.

1. How sovereign its character. The Fathers will is independent, omnipotent, unchangeable, perfect, full of love.

2. The obedient servant of that will (Joh_6:38). Christ came not to do His own will, His own private purposes, but the commandment of the Father (Psa_40:1-17.). To this end He took on Him the form of a servant (Isa_42:1-25.).

(1) This was needful as an example for us;

(2) and that we may know that Christ is no amateur Saviour. He has come willingly enough, but the reason was the Fathers will. So that when Christ forgives or receives it is the Fathers will.

3. Gods will was that His Son should have disciples, a flock, members, a bride, brethren.

4. These persons Jesus undertook to keep, and to raise them up at the last day.

II. THE HUMAN SIDE OF THE WORK OF SALVATION (Joh_6:40).

1. This is still based on the Divine will.

2. The same obedient servant is engaged in it.

3. The terms are seeing and believing on the Son. We cannot see Christ with our natural organs, but we can read and hear about Him. The eyes of our understanding discern Him; the sense of faith recognizes Him.

4. These terms are open to all. Every one, the man of great or of little faith, rich or poor, etc. None are excluded but those who exclude themselves.

5. Those who believe in Jesus are in a present state of safety. They have everlasting life.

Conclusion:

1. Never fear that there is anything in the secret purposes of God which can contradict His open promises. Never dream if you are a believer that any dark decree can shut you out from the benefits of grace.

2. Fear not that your believing will end in failure. (C. H. Spurgeon.)

Doing Gods will in our daily work

(text, and Mar_6:3):--Scripture speaks of Christ as the Servant of the Lord. But not till most of His brief history had passed did He begin to preach the gospel. For thirty years He was engaged in the everyday duties of life.

I. OUR DAILY WORK MAY BE TRUE SERVICE FOR GOD. Housework, the innumerable details of a mothers lot, manual labour, a sufferers duties, commercial life, brain-toil--for these we may be as truly sent of God as an apostle or a prophet.

1. Gods providential appointment shows where He wants our work. That we have our particular gifts, that our training fits us for a special post, that circumstances uncontrolled by us have brought us to a certain position, that our position involves definite duties--what are these but God pointing to what He requires us to do.

2. It were unlikely that most of our life should be necessarily spent on what has no vital bearing on eternity. No small feature of the blessedness of heaven is that there they serve Him. Consecration to Christ involves that He be glorified by our entire being. He claims us wholly. It is said that there is a point in the upper air where the discordant sounds of earth blend in harmony, the noise of the streets cannot be distinguished from the murmur of the sea, nor the shout of the battle from the chime of bells, nor the mirthful song from the sufferers moan--there they are one; so the varied parts of our life may blend in a harmonious voice of praise ceaselessly rising to our exalted Lord, as by Himself the will of God was done as truly at the carpenters bench aa in the most solemn agony of the garden and the cross.

II. SOME OF THE DIRECTIONS IN WHICH THIS DIVINE SERVICE MAY BE RENDERED.

1. Our daily toil tends to the well-being of others. The domestic servant contributes to the comfort of the home, the mechanic serves many a real human need, the teacher by voice or pen spreads knowledge, the physician and the nurse heal the body, the artist trains some of the higher faculties of the mind, the merchant produces or makes earths productions available; there is no right calling which does not in some way benefit mankind.

2. And daily toil presents the best opportunity for manifesting the religion of Christ.

3. Daily toil is one of the great schools for training spiritual life.

III. THE POSSIBILITY OF THIS SERVICE SHOWS THE SACREDNESS OF OUR WORKDAY LIFE.

1. That all work may be Divine may well reconcile us to tasks that seem lowly.

2. This suggests a searching test of our belonging to Christ. For what is it to be Christs, but to share His life. If we are only Christians on Sundays we are not Christs.

3. This shows Gods way to larger service presently. Was it not because He did the will of Him that sent Him in that humble village home, that He learnt to say in trial more awful than man can know, Father, not as I will, but as Thou wilt? (C. New.)

The believers safety

I. CHRIST WILL LOSE NONE THAT ARE GIVEN TO HIM.

1. How doth God give us to Christ?

(1) By making us sensible of our sin and misery (Jer_8:6;Joh_16:7-8).

(2) By making us humble (Isa_64:6; Mat_5:3; Mat_11:28).

(3) By inclining us to piety by His preventing grace (Jam_4:6).

(4) By convincing us that Christ was sent to be our Saviour.

2. How shall those not be lost? They shall have

(1) Their sins pardoned (1Jn_2:1-2).

(2) Their hearts renewed (Eze_36:25; Tit_3:5).

(3) God reconciled (Rom_5:10; 2Co_5:18).

(4) Their graces confirmed (Luk_22:32).

(5) And so their souls eternally saved.

(6) This Christ is able (Heb_7:25) and willing (Luk_13:34) to do.

II. CHRISTS CARE OVER HIS PEOPLE REACHES TO THE DAY OF THEIR RESURRECTION.

1. Gods justice will raise the wicked

(1) To judge (Ecc_12:14; 2Co_5:10).

(2) To condemn.

(3) To punish (Mat_25:46).

2. Christ will raise the saints to bless them

(1) With freedom from all evil (Rev_21:4).

(2) With the confluence of all good (1Co_2:9).

III. USES.

1. Carefully attend those means which God gives to bring your souls to Christ.

2. Commit your souls only to Christs care (1Pe_4:19).

3. Live as becomes Christians. (Bp. Beveridge.)

Christ our keeper

The next thing we learn here is that all these persons Jesus Christ undertook to keep. He should lose nothing. This is a very remarkable expression. The Lord Jesus Christ, therefore, has taken all those who were given of the Father to Him into His custody. He is the surety; He is responsible for them, and He keeps them. (C. H. Spurgeon.)

The last day.

I. EACH MAN HAS HIS LAST DAY. To each a sun rises of which he never sees the setting, or a sun sets of which he never sees the rising.

II. FAMILIES HAVE THEIR LAST DAY. Households part never to meet again. Ancient lines dating back beyond the Conquest, at last come to an end. The ancestral mansion is vacant, the title is extinct, the estates revert to the state. In almost every community there is one alone, he hath neither child nor brother, and his last day will be the last day of his name and race.

III. STATES ALSO HAVE THEIR LAST DAY. Where are the thrones of Carthage and Tyre, of Assyria and Egypt, of Macedon and Rome? One sun arose on them still breathing, the next found them only matters of history. In the interval they had passed from something to nothing. And other states occupied their places; not a few of whom, in their turn, have expired and been laid away in the cemeteries of history.

IV. THE WORLD WILL HAVE ITS LAST DAY. We have the best authority for saying that the time will come when the human race will disappear in a body from the earth, and the planet itself and all things therein be burned up. Exactly when this greatest of last days will come we are not informed. The month, the year, the century, the millennium even, in which it will occur, is not foretold. So little hint is given of its exact locality in history, that its actual advent will take the world by surprise. Up rolls the last sun from the east as brightly and steadily as usual. Men get them to their business, their pleasures, without a thought of change. (E. F. Burr.)

The resurrection of believers

When a farmer holds in his hand the first ripe sheaf of corn he has in possession an unassailable proof that he will have a harvest. More decisive and satisfactory evidence to that effect could not be desired by any reasonable man. Long before this time the precious seed had been east into the dark bosom of the earth, when no tokens were visible that nature possessed any power of life. But in due season the sun began to warm the sleeping world, the gentle rain from heaven fell upon the place beneath, and the winds of the south whispered of a coming revival. Soon there was first the blade, then the ear, and after that the full corn in the car, soon the first ripe sheaf telling of a harvest at hand. Christ is the first-fruits of them that slept, the infallible proof that we shall have a resurrection from the gloomy winter of death. (Archibald Craig.)

The resurrection of believers a certainty

Trees, in the winter time, appear to the view of all men as if they were withered and quite dead, yet when the springtime comes, they become alive again, and, as before, do bring forth their buds, blossoms, leaves, and fruit, The reason is because the body, grain, and arms of the tree are all joined and fastened to the root where the sap lies all the winter time, and from thence, by reason of so near conjunction, it is derived in the springtime to all parts of the tree. Even so the bodies of men have their winter also, and that is in death, in which time they are turned into dust, and so remain for a time. Yet in the springtime, that is, in the last day, at the resurrection of all flesh, by means of the mystical union with Christ, His Divine and quickening virtue shall stream from thence to all the bodies of His members, and cause them to Live again, and that to life eternal. (Strode.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Joh 6:38-40. For I came down from heaven — Into this lower world; not to do mine own will — Or to seek any separate interest of my own; but the will of him that sent me — Who is loving to every man, and willeth not the death of a sinner. And this is the Father’s will — This he revealeth to be his will; that of all which he hath given me, I should lose nothing — It is the will of my Father that every thing necessary be done, both for the conversion of sinners and for the preservation of those in the paths of righteousness who are already converted. He even willeth all men to be saved, yea, eternally saved; and in order thereto, to come to the knowledge of the truth, and to persevere therein. But he willeth these things conditionally, and not absolutely: men through his grace must repent, and bring forth fruit worthy of repentance: they must believe in Christ, and in the truths and promises of his gospel, with a faith that worketh by love: they must resist the devil, steadfast in the faith; overcome the world, and crucify the flesh: they must endure unto the end, believing, loving, and obeying; must be faithful unto death, and then they shall receive the crown of life. And this is likewise the will of him that sent me — This also he wills conditionally; that every one which seeth the Son — Seeth the character and mission of the Son in the miracles which he works, and in the other evidences wherewith his mission is attended: as in Joh 6:36; or who recognises the Son, views him with an attentive mind; as θεωραω seems evidently to imply; that sees him so as to know him; and in consequence of that knowledge, cordially believeth on him — Receiving him by faith, and trusting in him as an all-sufficient Saviour; may have everlasting life — It is the fixed determination of the Father, to bestow everlasting life on all who persevere in this faith; and therefore, in execution of my Father’s will; I will raise all such up at the last day — I will make them completely happy, both in soul and body, in the enjoyment of a glorious immortality: nor are there any purposes or decrees of God inconsistent with this. Thus did Jesus place the character of the Messiah in a light very different from that in which his hearers had been accustomed to view it; and taught them, that instead of temporal blessings, which they expected from him, they were to receive none but such as were spiritual.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Joh 6:38. Καταβέβηκα, I came down) This speech in many things flows from His personal union with the Father. For His descent from heaven refers to the nature which He had, prior to His birth from Mary according to the flesh.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Joh 6:38-39 . ὅτι καταβέβηκα … ἡμέρᾳ . Everywhere Jesus forestalls the idea that He is speaking for Himself, and is uttering merely human judgments, or is in any way regulated in His action by what is arbitrary: it is the Supreme Will He represents. And this will requires Him to protect and provide for all that is committed to Him. ἵνα πᾶν ὃ δέδωκέ μοι , on this nominative absolute, see Lücke or Raphel, who justify it by many instances. The positive and negative aspects of the Redeemer’s work, and the permanence of its results, are indicated. On ἀναστήσω … ἡμέρᾳ , Bengel says: “Hic finis est ultra quem periculum nullum,” and Calvin finely: “Sit ergo hoc animis nostris infixum porrectam esse nobis manum a Christo, ut nos minime in medio cursu deserat, sed quo ejus ductu freti secure ad diem ultimum oculos attollere audeamus”. It is a perfect and enduring salvation the Father has designed to give us in Christ.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

38. ἀπό for ἐκ (from Joh 6:33; Joh 6:41; Joh 6:51).

38. ὅτι καταβ. Because I am come down. Four times in this discourse Christ declares His descent from heaven; Joh 6:38; Joh 6:50-51; Joh 6:58. The drift of Joh 6:38-40 is; ‘How could I cast them out, seeing that I am come to do My Father’s will, and He wills that they should be received?’ see on Joh 8:31.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

See John 5:22.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

For I came down from heaven not to do Mine own will--to play an independent part.

but--in respect to both the foregoing things, the divine and the human side of salvation.

the will of Him that sent Me--What this twofold will of Him that sent Him is, we are next sublimely told (Joh 6:39-40):

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 38. Not to do mine own will] I am come, not to act according to human motives, passions, or prejudices; but according to infinite wisdom, goodness, and mercy. Jewish passions and prejudices would reject publicans and sinners as those alluded to, and shut the gate of heaven against the Gentiles; but God's mercy receives them, and I am come to manifest that mercy to men.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

38. For I came down from heaven. This is a confirmation of the preceding statement, that we do not seek Christ in vain. For faith is a work of God, by which he shows that we are his people, and appoints his Son to be the protector of our salvation. Now the Son has no other design than to fulfill the commands of his Father. Consequently, he will never reject those whom his Father hath sent. Hence, finally, it follows, that faith will never be useless. As to the distinction which Christ makes between his own will and the will of the Father, in this respect, he accommodates himself to his hearers, because, as the mind of man is prone to distrust, we are wont to contrive some diversity which produces hesitation. To cut off every pretense for those wicked imaginations, Christ declares, that he has been manifested to the world, in order that he may actually ratify what the Father hath decreed concerning our salvation.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(38) Not to do mine own will.—Comp. Joh_5:30. He has spoken of the Father’s gift and of human action. He now once more identifies His own will with that of the Father, and yet states the fact of His possessing an independent will. It cannot be that He should cast out any one who comes. He knows, indeed, with the knowledge of human nature, how hard it is for men to read the spiritual through the sensuous, and what are the hindrances in the way of every seeker of truth. Added to this, He knows, with a divine knowledge, what is the infinite love of the Father, and He has Himself come down from heaven to fulfil heaven’s will in love to man.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And this is the Father's will which hath sent me,.... This explains both who he was that sent him; the Father of him, and of his people; whose sending of him does not suppose any change of place, or inequality between them, or disrespect unto him, or compulsion of him, but agreement between them, and love to the persons on whose account he was sent; and also what is the will he came to do, and is what was declared by him to Christ, when he gave the elect to him: for this expresses his secret will in the council and covenant of grace,

that of all which he hath given me, I should lose nothing; that is, that of all the elect which were given to Christ by his Father, in eternal election, he should not lose anyone of them, not the meanest among them, nor anything of theirs, their grace, or glory, or anything belonging to them, either to their souls or bodies, and particularly the latter;

but should raise it up again at the last day; even every part of their bodies, and every dust belonging to them; their bodies being given to Christ, and redeemed by his blood, as well as their souls: so the Jews (o), speaking of the resurrection, and making mention of that passage in Num 23:10, "who shall count the dust of Jacob?" add,

"and he (i.e. God) shall order it all, , "and not anything shall be lost", but all shall rise again; for, lo, it is said, Dan 12:2, "and many of them that sleep in the dust", &c.''

(o) Zohar in Exod. fol. 43. 4.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

38 For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.

Ver. 38. Not to do mine own will] As man, he did his Father’s will; as God, he hath the same will with the Father.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

For I came down ... - This verse shows that he came for a specific purpose, which he states in the next verse, and means that, as he came to do his Father’s will, he would be faithful to the trust. Though his hearers should reject him, yet the will of God would be accomplished in the salvation of some who should come to Him.

Mine own will - See notes at Joh 5:30.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Christ does not say this as if he did not whatever he wished; but he recommends to us his humility. He who comes to me shall not be cast forth, but shall be incorporated with me, because he shall not do his own will, but that of my Father. And therefore he shall not be cast forth; because when he was proud, he did his own will, and was rejected. None but the humble can come to me. (St. Hilary and St. Augustine) --- An humble and sincere faith is essentially necessary to believe the great mysteries of the Catholic faith, by means of which we come to God and believe in God. (Haydock)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Our Lord confirmeth what he had before said concerning his gracious reception of believers, and preserving them by his grace in their state of grace, so that they shall not be cast out with reprobates in the day of judgment, from this, that he came not to execute any particular will of his own, but what was also the will of his Father, who sent him into the world.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

38. Not to do mine own will—Not to separate myself by personal self-will from the Father, but perfectly to cooperate and carry out his scheme of redeeming mercy.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Because I came down from heaven, (cf. Joh_3:13) not that I might do my own will, but the will of him that sent me. (see Joh_5:19, Joh_5:30, notes) The practical, ethical force of this statement is to shape and defend the previous assurance. Christ"s gracious reception and benediction is in willing harmony with, and not in opposition to, the Father"s heart. There is no schism between the Father and Son. A separate will in and of itself assigned to the Son is not inconceivable, nay, it is imperatively necessary to posit, or we should lose all distinctions whatever between the Father and Son, between God and Christ. But the very separateness of the wills gives the greater significance to their moral oneness. "Not my will, but thine be done," "Not as I will, but as thou wilt," involve submission, voluntary surrender, to the Father"s will; but here the Lord insists on absolute harmony and free cooperation. The bare idea of the Incarnation suggests the conditions of freedom which might conceivably issue in divarication of interest and aim. Christ declares that the Divine commission of his humanity is the spontaneous and free, but perfect, coincidence of his will with the Father"s. Christ"s embodiment of the Father"s will, and coordination with it, make all his attractiveness to the human soul. His healing, feeding, and satisfying powers become a revelation of the Father"s heart. If he will not cast out the coming ones, it is because he came down out of heaven to fulfil the Father"s will (see further, vers. 44, 45), to explain the world wide hunger, to meet and execute the will of the Father. The frequent assertions by our Lord in this discourse (and in Joh_3:13) of his descent from heaven as One charged with a full knowledge of the Divine will, implies that the Lord was conscious of pre-existence in the very bosom of God. This was language which, with more of the same import, led St. John to the overwhelming conclusion that the Jesus whom he knew in the flesh was the Only Begotten of the Father was the Logos made flesh.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

In these words our Saviour gives us the confirmation of the foregoing promise, that he will in no wise cast out those that come unto him, by assuring us, that it was the great end for which he came into the world. His Father sent him to do his will, and not his own: that is, not to do his own will without his Father’s, but to do his own will and his Father’s. For Christ, as God, had a co-ordinate will with his Father’s, and as man, a will subordinate to the will of his Father. Now, it is the will of both Father and Son, that such as believe in him should be preserved from perishing, and be raised up by Christ at the last day.

Learn hence, 1. That the Lord Jesus Christ stands not only inclined by his own mercy and goodness to save repenting and believing sinners, but doth also stand obliged thereunto by virtue of a trust, committed to him from the Father. Therefore Christ mentions the will of him that sent him, as a reason of his fidelity in this matter.

Learn, 2. That the Father’s will and good pleasure is the original source the fountain and first spring, from whence the salvation of believers doth proceed and flow. It is the Father’s will that sent me, that every one that seeth the son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life.

Learn, 3. That such as are given to Christ by the Father, and put as his trust into his keeping, he looks upon them as his charge, and stands engaged for the preservation of them. This is my Father’s will, that of all which he hath given me, I shall lose nothing. Yet hath the Father so committed the care of believers to his Son, as that he keeps them still in his own hand. My Father which gave them to me, is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. Joh 10:28-29

Learn, 4. From those words, I will raise him up at the last day, that the Lord Jesus Christ is truly, essentially, and really God. That person who can by his own almighty power raise the dead, must certainly be God. And this power Christ had. He raised others from the dead, and his own dead body from the grave also, by his own power; and therefore Christ says, I am the resurrection and the life; and I will raise him up at the last day. Doubtless he that spake these words and made these promises, knew his own power to perform them; and that power must be omnipotent, and that act of omnipotence doth prove him to be God. It is true, the disciples raised the dead, who yet were no God, by with this difference, they raised the dead by Christ’s power; but Christ raised others and himself also by his own power.

William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

38. For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will. Christ will refuse none who come to him; all such are given by the Father and he came to do the Father's will.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

Connecting Statement:

Jesus continues speaking to the crowd.

him who sent me

"my Father, who sent me"

I would lose not one of all those

Here litotes is used to emphasize that Jesus will keep everyone that God gives to him. AT: "I should keep all of them" (See: Litotes)

will raise them up

Here to raise up is an idiom for causing someone who has died to become alive again. AT: "will cause them to live again" (See: Idiom)

translationWords

heaven

will of God

last day

God the Father

Son of God

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

38-40.] His reception of men is not capricious, nor even of His own arbitrary choice; but as He came into the world to do the Father’s will, and that will is that all who come to Him by faith shall have life, so He receives all such;—loses none of them;—and will raise them all up (here, in the fullest and blessed sense) at the last day. (ἀπολέσω again is not ‘destroy,’ ‘condemn,’ but lose: see ch. 12:25; 17:12. ἵνα μὴ ἐξ ἐμῆς αἰτίας ἀπόληταί τις, Euthym.) Olshausen remarks, that “in ch. 4 we had only the inexhaustible refreshing of the soul by the water of life; but this discourse goes further;—that not even death itself shall destroy the body of him who has been nourished by this bread of life” (ii. 167).

ἀναστήσω refers to the only resurrection which is the completion of the man in his glorified state;—it does not set aside the ἀνάστασις κρίσεως, but that very term is a debasement of ἀνάστασις: its true sense is only ἀνάστασις ζωῆς.

Bengel has beautifully given the connexion of this last promise with what went before: “hic finis est, ultra quem periculum nullum.” But there is much more than this in it. In this declaration (vv. 39, 40) is contained the key of the following discourse, vv. 44-59. The end of the work of God, as regards man, is the glorification of his restored and sanctified nature,—body, soul, and spirit,—in eternity. Without this,—salvation, restitution, would be incomplete. The adoption cannot be consummated without the redemption of the body. Rom 8:18-23. And the glorification of the body, soul, and spirit,—of the whole man,—cannot take place but by means of the glorified Body of the second Adam. “He who does not see this, will never understand either the Holy Communion, or this testimony of the Lord in its inner meaning.” Stier, iv. 243, edn. 2.

The θεωρῶν here is a different thing from the mere ὁρᾶν of ver. 36. It is the awakening of the attention preparatory to faith, answering to the looking on the serpent of brass: τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς τῆς ψυχῆς, Euthym.; but afterwards he makes the θεωρεῖν = πιστεύειν, to which it is only preparatory.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

38. καταβέβηκα ἀπὸ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ. So ABLTWΘ fam. 13; but καταβέβηκα ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ is read by אDΓΔ, and may be right. The phrase καταβαίνειν ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ is found again (of Christ) at 3:13, 6:33, 41, 42, 50, 51, 58; see also Rev 3:12, Rev 3:10:1, Rev 3:13:13, Rev 3:16:21, Rev 3:18:1, Rev 3:20:1, Rev 3:9, Rev 3:21:2, Rev 3:10 and Joh 1:32; whereas καταβαίνειν ἀπʼ οὐρανοῦ only occurs at 1Th 4:16 of the Second Advent. In any case the meaning is the same, for it is an excess of refinement to distinguish in Jn. between the force of ἀπό and of ἐκ. See on 1:44.

οὐχ ἵνα ποιῶ τὸ θέλημα τὸ ἐμόν κτλ. This is said also at 5:30, οὐ ζητῶ τὸ θέλημα τὸ ἐμὸν ἀλλὰ τὸ θέλημα τοῦ πέμψαντός με. See notes on 4:34 and 5:30.

The argument is: “Every one whom the Father gives to me comes to me, and I will not reject him (v. 37), because (ὅτι) I came from heaven to do my Father’s will (v. 38), and His will is that none should perish of those whom He has given me” (v. 39).

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

From heaven [εκ του ουρανου] . But the best texts read ejk, from, instead of ejk, out of, the idea being rather that of departure (I came down) than of origin. I came down should be as Rev. (I am come down). The tense is the perfect.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.