© Eric M Schumacher – Preached July 27, 2008 at Northbrook Baptist Church, Cedar Rapids, IowaAudio will be available here.“Can these bones live?” That is the question that the Lord posed to Ezekiel in Ezekiel 37. The Lord brought him in the Spirit to the middle of a valley, which was full of bones. These were not just any bones; they were “very dry bones,” which meant they had been dead for some time. It that setting, the Lord asked Ezekiel, “Can these bones live?”
That is the same question that we might ask after last week’s message. Last week we saw, in consideration of John 6:44, that we, in our natural condition, are quite dead. Jesus said, “No one can come to me.” That is, no one possesses the ability or the willingness to believe in Jesus Christ. That is because we are spiritually dead. In our natural condition, as Genesis 6:5 states, every intention of the thoughts of our hearts are only evil continually. As Romans 3 states, "None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” Humanity is a valley of very dry bones.
And yet, some of us are alive. We have come to Jesus Christ. How did this happen?
Furthermore, we are called to “go and make disciples of every nation.” We are called to do evangelism, to raise our children to follow Christ, to help people leave sin and love the Lord. How is this possible?
Perhaps you find yourself this morning in a situation similar to that of Ezekiel. You are attempting to share the Gospel with those the Lord has placed in your life. You desperately want your children to be converted. You are ministering to someone who is ensnared in sin. You desire revival and genuine life in the church. You are becoming discouraged. You are on the verge of hopelessness. You are beginning to ask the question, “Can these bones live?” Can my friends and children be converted? Can people be freed from sin? Can the church be revived and full of genuine spiritual life? “Can these bones live?”
Ezekiel’s answer was simple—“O Lord God, you know.” The Lord did know. He commanded Ezekiel to preach:
Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord.
The content of the message was what the Lord would do to the bones. They would not make themselves live. He would breathe on them. He would give them sinews and cause flesh to come upon them and cover them with skin and put breath in them. It would be his work. And, as a result of his work on these dead bones would live and would know the he is the Lord.
Ezekiel did as was commanded of him. And as he prophesied a rattling sound as the bone came together. And as Ezekiel watched, there was sinew and flesh and skin on them—but no breath was in them. (This was to emphasize a point—that life does not come through the preacher and his preaching.)
The Lord commanded Ezekiel, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breath on these slain, that they may live.”
Ezekiel did again as was commanded of him. “The breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.”
Then the Lord explained that these bones were the house of Israel, who the Lord would resurrect and bring into the promised land. He would put his Spirit within them, so that they would know that he is the Lord.
This scene in the Valley of Dry Bones in Ezekiel 37 was then an illustration of what the Lord had promised in Ezekiel 36. We read there:
Ezekiel 36:24-28 I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God.
We recognize this, of course, as the work God would do in the New Covenant. He would gather his people from all the nations of the earth, cleanse them of their sin, give them a new heart of flesh in the place of stone (that is, life instead of death), put his Spirit within them, and cause them to walk according to his Word. He would bring them to the promised land where he would be their God and they would be his people. It is Old Testament wording for what we read in Revelation. It is what we see happening through the New Covenant inaugurated in the blood of Christ as the Gospel is preached and disciples are made from every tribe, language, people and nation.
All this would happen (and happens today), exactly as the Lord showed Ezekiel in that valley. The fulfillment of God’s purposes would not rest upon the strength of his people or their ability and willingness to respond to him. Rather, God would accomplish his work by his Spirit through the proclamation of his word.
That is what we see in the second half of John 6:44.
The Impossible Made PossibleWhen Jesus sent the rich young ruler away sad, he told his disciples, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” They responded, “Who then can be saved?” In other words, “You’re making it impossible for a person to be saved!” Jesus did not respond, “Oh no. Some will come, but they will be particularly strong.” He replied, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” With man, Jesus said, it impossible for anyone to enter the kingdom. But, with God, the impossible becomes possible.
That is what we see in verse 44. Jesus has stated that it is impossible for anyone to believe in him. “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.” Jesus introduces the Father’s action, making the impossible possible.
Unless…Jesus says, “Unless,” which introduces a “necessary condition.” For a person to come to Jesus (to believe in Jesus), this must occur. If this does not occur, the person remains incapable of coming to Jesus. What is this necessary condition? Jesus says, “The Father who sent me draws him.”
“The Father who sent me” refers, of course, to God the Father. “Who sent me” are not intended to prevent us from confusing God with some other Father. The words “who sent me” remind us that Jesus was sent by the Father on a mission—specifically to save everyone of those who are given to him by the Father. It should not surprise us then to see the Father actively involved in bringing about the success of the mission he planned and sent Jesus to accomplish.
Draws…What the Father does to bring people to believe in Jesus is described here by Jesus as “draw.” He “draws” them. What does it mean for the Father to “draw” someone to Jesus?
Kittel’s Theological Dictionary of the New Testament defines word here translated “draw” as “to compel by irresistible superiority.” Let’s see if its use matches that definition.
It is used eight times in the New Testament. (In fact, in all of these, the KJV translates it “draw.”)
In John 12:32, it is used similarly when Jesus states, “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” The similar use here does not help us define it in our verse.
In John 18:10, it is used when we read that “Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest's servant and cut off his right ear.” Simon Peter used his strength to “draw” the sword out of the sheath.
It is used twice in John 21 (6, 11) of hauling a new of fish. “So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore.” The fishermen used their strength to “draw” (compel) the net of fish to get it to shore.
It is used in Acts 16:19 where we read that the owners of a demon-possessed girl healed by Paul, “seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the rulers.” They used their strength to “draw” them into the marketplace.
It is used in Acts 21:30 were we read that the people of the city, “seized Paul and dragged him out of the temple, and at once the gates were shut.” The people of the city used their strength to “draw” Paul out of the temple.
It is used in James 2:6 where James writes, “Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court?” The rich use their strength (either legal or physical) to “draw” them into court.
In each of these uses—a sword drawn from the sheath, a net of fish hauled to the shore, Paul and Silas dragged into the marketplace, Paul dragged out of the temple, Christians dragged into court—“compel by irresistible superiority” fits the usage.
Leon Morris notes that, “There is not one example in the New Testament of the use of this verb where resistance is successful. Always the drawing power is triumphant, as here.” Thus, “irresistible superiority.”
If we used this definition of “draw,” we would say that for the Father to draw people to Christ is for him to compel them to believe in Jesus with irresistible superiority.
That certainly fits in this context, since what is said next shows us that everyone who is drawn comes to Jesus. Jesus says, “And I will raise him up on the last day.” This resurrection is to eternal life. The one who Jesus says he will raise up is the one who is drawn. In order to have eternal life and this resurrection, a person must believe. Therefore, we can conclude that everyone who is drawn comes to Jesus. There is not one person who is drawn with this drawing that fails to come to Christ. The drawing never fails. (Therefore, it is not “common grace,” “prevenient grace,” or “wooing.”)
What is it?So, what is this drawing of the Father to the Son? It is God overcoming our hearts and bringing us to faith in Christ so that we can be saved.
It is the Father opening the eyes of our heart, revealing of who Christ is to us. In Matthew 16, when Simon Peter confesses, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replies, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.” The Father revealed to Simon who Jesus was.
Therefore, coming to Jesus is the gift of the Father. Jesus will say in John 6:65, “no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.” The ability to come to Jesus Christ is a gift granted by the Father.
Irresistible GraceTheologians have sometimes called this “irresistible grace,” a phrase often misunderstood. Some will certainly object to the use of the word “irresistible.”
We do not mean that the influence of the Holy Spirit cannot be resisted in some sense. Obviously, people do resist. In Acts 7:51, Stephen says before the Council, “You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you.” They resisted the Holy Spirit. We know from elsewhere in the New Testament that the Spirit can be “grieved” (Eph 4:30) and “quenched” (1 Thess 5:19).
What “irresistible grace” means is that God can overcome any resistance at any time, should he choose to do so. It means that God cannot be resisted successfully. It means that you can resist God until he decides to allow you to resist him no longer. It means that he, as Nebuchadezzar confessed in Daniel 4:35, “does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, “What have you done?”
Some have argued that this is a gift and gifts can be refused. Yes, they argue, God draws us but we can always resist that drawing. William Barclay argues, “God can and does draw men, but man’s resistance can defeat the pull of God.” Aside from the fact that this claim to resistance does not hold true in the use of the word “draw” anywhere and aside from the awful statement that man can defeat God, we should also not that, in this situation, the gift is the removal of resistance. God is making the unwilling willing.
God’s gift is making us alive, what was once called “quickening.” This drawing is regeneration, being raised from the dead to new life, to which we respond by standing up and walking to Jesus Christ.
This is an effectual drawing (calling).I prefer the term “effectual drawing” or “effectual calling.” That is, this drawing is the extension of grace that effects what God desires. Effectual calling is God’s call which contains the power to effect what it commands.
We see two types of calls spoken of in the Scripture—a general call and an effectual call. The general call is the proclamation of the Gospel—such as what I am doing right now. I declare that Jesus Christ was crucified as a sacrifice for sins, bearing the wrath of God deserved by sinners. I declare that after being buried, he rose from the dead, showing that his sacrifice was accepted by God. I declare that all men everywhere are sinners, under the wrath of God. I call people to repent—to leave their sins—and to trust in Jesus Christ alone for forgiveness of sins and eternal life, which I do to you this morning if you are an unbeliever.
When I preach, my words do not contain the power to raise the spiritually dead. If all that occurs is I preach, then nothing will happen.
Nothing will happen, unless God issues his effectual call. This is when the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit work through the preaching of the Gospel to regenerate souls, making them alive and willing to believe in Jesus Christ.
We see both of these in 1 Corinthians 1:23-24;
…we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
They “preach”—they call everyone to believe. However, their call is a stumbling block and folly. Nevertheless, Paul writes, “to those who are called” it is the power and wisdom of God. That second call is God’s effectual work, for everyone called regards the cross as the power of God.
That is what this drawing is—God working regeneration and faith in a soul so that they arise and come to Jesus Christ.
John's Gospel
This has been emphasized since the beginning of John’s Gospel. This is such a prominent theme in this Gospel that the ancient commentator, Bernard, wrote, “Here is a fundamental doctrine of the Fourth Gospel, viz. that the approach of the soul to God or Christ is not initiated by the man himself, but by a movement of Divine grace.”
Throughout the Gospel of John, especially in Jesus’ teaching, divine initiative, whether the Father or the Son, is always emphasized. Jesus never defends the freedom or the ability of the sinner to come to him.
Those who believe are “born of God.”
John 1:12-13 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
To enter the Kingdom, you must be “born again” by the Spirit of God. John 3:3-8
John 3:3-8 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit."
The Son gives life to whom he will.
John 5:21 For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will.
We are slaves who must be set free by the Son, who draws people to himself.
John 8:34-36 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”
John 12:32 And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.
BiblicalThis doctrine appears, not just in John’s Gospel, but throughout the Bible:
God causes us to be born again.
1 Peter 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead
God made us alive when we were dead.
Ephesians 2:4-5 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved…
Colossians 2:13-14 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.
God began the good work in us.
Philippians 1:6 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
God is at work in us both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
Philippians 2:12-13 …work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
God has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
2 Corinthians 4:4-6 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
It is because of God who chose us that we are in Christ Jesus.
1 Corinthians 1:30 And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, "Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord."
God grants it to us to believe.
Philippians 1:29 For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake
God grants repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth.
2 Timothy 2:24-26 And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, 25 correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, 26 and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.
John 6:65 And he said, "This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father."
Acts 5:31 God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.
Acts 11:18 When they heard these things they fell silent. And they glorified God, saying, "Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life."
God’s Spirit is given so that we might understand.
1 Corinthians 2:12 Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God.
The Father and the Son reveal each other to some.
Matthew 11:25-27 At that time Jesus declared, "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
The Lord opened Lydia’s heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul.
Acts 16:14 One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul.
God saved us by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit.
Titus 3:3-7 For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
And, this is what Southern Baptists have taught.E.Y. Mullins, the fourth president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary said, “Grace always persuades and convinces and makes us willing to come, however mysterious and mighty it may be in its actions upon our hearts.” Our willingness to come, he taught, is a product of grace that necessarily precedes us responding.
The Baptist Faith and Message (article IV.A), since 1963, has taught that:
Regeneration, or the new birth, is a work of God's grace whereby believers become new creatures in Christ Jesus. It is a change of heart wrought by the Holy Spirit through conviction of sin, to which the sinner responds in repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Repentance and faith are inseparable experiences of grace.
God regenerates us, changing our hearts. The sinner responds to this change in repentance and faith. He arises, leaves his sin, and comes to Jesus Christ. This happens in an instant, so that these things are experientially inseparable.
David Dockery in Southern Baptist Consensus and Renewal writes of Southern Baptists (83):
We do not or cannot deny that people on occasion seek and ask for God’s grace, but even the asking or seeking is a response to the gift of grace. God does not graciously accept us because He sees our change for the better, as if conversion were the basis for receiving God’s grace. Instead, the Bible pictures God coming into our lives, taking us just as we are because He is abundantly merciful (Eph 2:1-10).
DrawnThis does not mean that anyone is “dragged kicking and screaming” into the Kingdom of God. It does not mean that God forces people to be saved who don’t want to be saved. It does not mean that God does not allow people to be saved who want to believe. It does not mean that God does violence to the human will or is guilty of divine rape.
It means that, even though everyone is dead in sin and unable to come to Jesus Christ, God the Father graciously makes some of them alive with Christ. He makes them want to come to Christ. It means that God is gracious to whom he is gracious. He is gracious—he rescues people who are dead and deserve to stay dead and makes them alive and seats them with the King in glory.
It Means That We Should……give God all the glory—salvation is a Trinitarian work.…keep the Word central in ministry. The way that God gives us new birth is through his word.
1 Peter 1:23 …you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God…
…pray and preach, preach and pray.…be emboldened in evangelism and ministry.It means that these bone can live! Furthermore, God will not forsake those bones that he has brought to life.
