“And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.” (John 6:39)
When studying this verse, the question that pops into my head is whether or not the will of God is always accomplished. This scripture immediately causes me to think of how God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). It is clearly God’s will that none should perish, but is his will accomplished? No. Many perish everyday, because they refuse to repent.
I studied this more and found that, though it is clearly the will of God that none given to Christ will perish…one did (John 17:12). Jesus didn’t fail; it was Judas’ choice. In 1 Timothy 2:1-4 we see that God wills that all be saved and come to the knowledge of truth…but many don’t. In Matthew 23:37-39, Christ desired to gather all Jerusalem under His wing…but they refused. Also, the Scribes and Lawyers rejected the will of God for themselves by refusing the Baptism of John (Luke 7:30).
It is clear that God’s will is not always accomplished, and when it is not, it is because of the will that He gave man.
I don’t see this verse teaching that a Christian cannot fall away. Rather, the main purpose is to show the heart and intention of the Father. He loves us and desires that we ALL come to him. But He did not create us to be robots. He gives us the choice.
Another argument as to why this verse does not teach the doctrine of perseverance is the subjunctive mood. This is very interesting.
The Greek verb, in the phrase translated “should lose nothing,” is “apolesw” — first aorist active subjunctive. The purpose of the subjunctive mood is usually to imply some level of uncertainty, and “generally represents the verbal action (or state) as uncertain but probable.”1 This probability depends on certain objective factors or circumstances. Likewise, in the clause, “I should raise him up at the last day,” the verb translated “should raise up” is “anasthsw” — aorist active subjunctive. This is a statement, not of result, but of intent or purpose alone. Jesus communicated the Father’s desire that Jesus would eventually raise up all who saw Him and believed on Him. These verses do not state what absolutely WILL occur. Rather, Jesus relayed the wishes of the Father. The importance of this will become obvious when we compare Jesus’ final report to His Father regarding His completing this mission at the end of His earthly ministry. (http://pfrs.org/calvinism/calvin10b.html)
To me, it is clear that this verse is not teaching that a Christian cannot fall away. Therefore, when studying passages that teach a Christian can fall away, John 6:39 should not cause us to have the presupposition that a Christian cannot fall away
