John 6:37

No; for πᾶν ὃ δίδωσι … ἥξει. “Everything which the Father gives”; the neuter is used as being more universal than the masculine and including everything which the Father determines to save from the world's wreck, viewed as a totality. Cf. John 6:39. ἀναστήσω αὐτό : and the collective neuter, as in Thucyd., iii. 16, τὸ ἐπιόν for τοὺς ἐπιόντας. Lampe thinks the neuter is used, “quia hae personae spectantur ut reale peculium, haereditas, merces, genus, semen, sacerdotium, sanctuarium Domini”. What is meant by δίδωσι ? It is an act on God's part prior to the “coming” on man's part; the coming is the result of the giving. Calvinistic interpreters have therefore identified the giving with election. “ Donandi verbum perinde valet ac si dixisset Christus, quos elegit Pater, eos regenerat” Calvin. “Patrem dare filio est eligere” Melanchthon; and similarly Beza and Lampe. On the other hand, Reynolds represents a number of interpreters when he says, “It is the present activity of the Father's grace that is meant, not a foregone conclusion”. This identifies the Father's “giving” with His “drawing,” John 6:44. It would rather seem to be that which determines the drawing, the assigning to Jesus of certain persons who shall form His kingdom. This perhaps involves election but is not identical with it. Cf. John 17:6. Euthymius replies, from a Semi-Pelagian point of view, to the objections which arise from an Augustinian interpretation of the words. The purpose of the verse is to impart assurance that Christ's work will not fail. καὶ τὸν ἐρχόμενον … ἔξω. Grotius thinks the “casting out” refers to the School of Christ; Lücke thinks the kingdom is referred to. It is scarcely necessary to think of anything more than Christ's presence or fellowship. This strong asseveration οὐ μὴ ἐκβάλω, and concentrated Gospel which has brought hope to so many, is here grounded on the will of the Father.