All That the Father Gives Me (John 6:37-39)—in Context!
“All that the Father gives Me [Jesus] will come to Me…This is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day” (John 6:37-39).
Calvinists often quote these verses in support of their doctrines. For example, they say “all that the Father gives me” refers to all the elect, that is, all the individuals that God had foreordained from the foundation of the world would be saved.
And when Jesus said, “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me,” Calvinists say this supports irresistible grace—the “I” in TULIP—which asserts that God’s drawing cannot be resisted.
And when Jesus said, “I should lose nothing of all that he has given me,” Calvinists say this supports the perseverance of the saints—the “P” in TULIP—which essentially means “once saved, always saved.”
But is this really what these verses are teaching…or are they being ripped out of context? Let’s take them one by one.
All That the Father Gives Me
To start with, Who was Jesus referring to when he said, “all that the Father gives me”? Who is the “all”? Calvinists say this refers to all the elect, however, the context shows otherwise. Notice how Jesus describes these people:
“It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me” (John 6:45).
As Jesus said, these were the people who had “heard and learned from the Father.” In other words, they were the righteous remnant of Israel in Jesus’ day—not all the elect. These people already belonged to the Father—because they had previously chosen to be faithful to the Father—and the Father gave these people to Jesus.
Jesus confirms this elsewhere in the book of John too:
“You [the Father] have given Him [Jesus] authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him…They were Yours [the Father’s], and you gave them to Me [Jesus]” (John 17:2-6).
So these people belonged to the Father—they were the righteous remnant of Israel in Jesus’ day—and the Father gave them to Jesus.
When Jesus began his earthly ministry, the righteous remnant of Israel recognized he was their long-awaited Messiah, so they came to him. They recognized that “Jesus and the Father are one” (John 10:30) and that “if you’ve seen Jesus, you’ve seen the Father” (John 14:9)—so they came to him.
In contrast, the reason why the rest of the Israelites in that day rejected Jesus was because they did not really know the Father. They claimed to know him, but they really didn’t. As Jesus said to the scribes and Pharisees in his day:
“If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me…You are of your father the devil” (John 8:42-44).
This is the consistent theme running all through the book of John. The reason why the Jewish/religious establishment rejected Jesus is because they were not faithful followers of the Father. They claimed to be, but they really weren’t. Had they really known the Father, they would have recognized that the Father and Jesus are one…and they would have come to Jesus.
Why Did the Faithful Remnant of Israel Need to be Given to Jesus?
Why did the righteous remnant of Israel need to be given to Jesus? Answer: Because there was no salvation under the old covenant system. “The blood of bulls and goats cannot take away sin” (Heb. 10:4). The old covenant was called “the ministry of death” (2 Cor. 3:7) because it could not save; it could only condemn. That’s why Jesus had to go to the cross…to atone for sin. And this is why the righteous remnant of Israel had to be given to Jesus—so that Jesus could give them eternal life:
“Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him…They were Yours [the Father’s], and you gave them to Me [Jesus]” (John 17:1-6).
“Of all He has given Me [Jesus] I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day” (John 6:39-40).
As these passages show, the reason why the Father gave these people (the righteous remnant of Israel) to Jesus was so that Jesus could give them eternal life—because there was no salvation under the old covenant system.
I Will Lose None
What did Jesus mean by, “I should lose nothing of all that he has given me”? Was Jesus referring to the perseverance of the saints, as Calvinists claim?
The context doesn’t bear that out. As the context shows, the topic was the transfer of the faithful Israelites from the Father to the Son in order that the Son could give them eternal life (see above). Therefore, when Jesus said, “I will lose none,” he simply meant: I will lose none of these people during the transfer from the Father to the Son. After all, if someone loves the Father, he will love the Son too because Jesus and the Father are one—so none would be lost.
All That the Father Gives Me Will Come
What did Jesus mean by, “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me.” Is this referring to irresistible grace, as Calvinist claim?
Once again, Calvinists are ripping the passage out of context. Sure, all that the Father gives Jesus would come to him. But why? As I showed above, if someone loves the Father, he would love the Son too because Jesus and the Father are one. Therefore, they would all come to Jesus—not because they are irresistibly drawn, but rather, because they would know Jesus and the Father are one. Irresistible grace is just not the topic being discussed.
Besides, irresistible grace is the last thing Jesus would have been teaching. Nothing is more resisted than God! Jesus himself lamented:
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!” (Matt. 23:37).
Stephen likewise said about the wayward Jews in his day:
“You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you” (Acts 7:51).
Luke likewise said about those resisting God:
“And when all the people heard Him [Jesus], even the tax collectors justified God, having been baptized with the baptism of John. But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the will of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him” (Luke 7:29-30).
Nothing is more resisted than God/Jesus; so Jesus wouldn’t have been teaching irresistible grace in John 6. And he wasn’t, as the context clearly shows.
By Alex Polyak, Answering Calvinism, 3/29/26.