My writing comes after a discussion with a person that espoused universalism and that the use of the word “world” in John 3:16 and other places meant every person born generally, and not a limited audience. I also intend to review the use of “draw” in scripture as well – as it came up in the original discussion.
First – to deal with the word “draw”:
John 6 and John 12 use the same verb, helk? [“draw”], but the question isn’t the meaning of the verb. The question is the extent of those being drawn. In John 6, everyone the Father draws comes to Christ: “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day.” [John 6:44] Notice what Jesus does not say. He does not say, “Some who are drawn will refuse.” No one can come unless they are drawn; everyone that has been drawn everyone whom the Father draws comes to Christ and is raised on the last day. For certain. The drawing is effectual. This effectual drawing always works and never fails. It has its origin in God. Jesus says “no one can come” unless they are drawn by the Father. This is an action done by God and not by the saved person, and this is because the unsaved person is incapable to come because he is spiritually dead. The natural man is spiritually dead (Eph. 2:1), and therefore lacks the moral ability to come to Christ apart from the Father’s regenerating grace. Regeneration precedes and enables saving faith. They need first to be made alive – regenerated – and brought from death to life.
Now carry this interpretation into John 12. If “draw all people” means every individual without exception, then everyone without exception must necessarily come to Christ, because that’s exactly what “draw” accomplishes in John 6. That is universalism and not Biblical. Men try to escape that by saying, “He didn’t say all would come.” Actually, John 6 already did. So the word “all” must mean something other than every person that has lived, and not the way the Arminian intends it to mean.
The same verb cannot be effectual in chapter 6 and merely an unsuccessful well-meaning invitation in chapter 12 unless you can show that from the text. Look at the context of John 12. Immediately before Jesus says, “I will draw all,” Greeks have come seeking Him [John 12:20-21]. That is the turning point. The issue isn’t whether Christ will save every individual Jew and Gentile. The issue is whether His death will gather people from every nation. If the invitation was only a “well-meaning” invitation, that means it could be refused, but the other uses of “draw” exclude that interpretation.
It’s worth looking at the use of “draw” in this study:
“??????” “helko” – “to draw” Follow along with the use of the exact same word across a number of scriptures:
John 6:44 “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw G1670 him: and I will raise him up at the last day.” This can be seen as the Father effectually bringing the sinner to Christ.
John 12:32 “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw G1670 all men unto me.” The meaning of this occurrence must be determined by John’s own use of the verb in chapter 6 and by the immediate context of the arrival of the Greeks in verses 20–21.
John 18:10 “Then Simon Peter having a sword drew G1670 it, and smote the high priest’s servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant’s name was Malchus.” This is more aggressive, but the same word.
John 21:6 “And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw G1670 it for the multitude of fishes.” This use is an exertion, and not a low energy or passive action – it is definite.
John 21:11 “Simon Peter went up, and drew G1670 the net to land full of great fishes, an hundred and fifty and three: and for all there were so many, yet was not the net broken.” An action with a result.
Acts 16:19 “And when her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas, and drew G1670 them into the marketplace unto the rulers,” This is more direct – a dragging away. Same word, defined action with a result.
Acts 21:30 “And all the city was moved, and the people ran together: and they took Paul, and drew G1670 him out of the temple: and forthwith the doors were shut.” Same as above – a defined action with a result.
James 2:6 “But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw G1670 you before the judgment seats?” This is a judicial dragging. Same as other uses above – an action with a result.
In every New Testament occurrence of ????, the object drawn is actually moved. There is no example where the verb describes a merely attempted drawing that fails to accomplish its purpose.
Finally to a person saying, “Don’t question Jesus. Believe Him,” cuts both ways. I do believe Him. I believe when He says: “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me.” [John 6:37], “This is the will of Him who sent Me, that I should lose nothing of all that He has given Me.” [John 6:39], “I lay down My life for the sheep.” [John 10:15], “You do not believe because you are not among My sheep.” [John 10:26], Those statements are every bit as much the words of Jesus as John 12:32. Expanding on the thought in John 10, Jesus says “you do not believe because you are not my sheep” – not ‘you are not my sheep because you do not believe’. Do not miss the order of what Jesus has said. The identity of “sheep” precedes faith… then “My sheep hear My voice”, and “I know them”, and “they follow Me”. From there Jesus says “I give to them eternal life” and finally “they shall never perish.”
The issue is not whether we believe Jesus. The issue is whether we allow Jesus to define His own words in their context, or whether we isolate one phrase – “draw all” – and make it overturn everything else He said about those whom the Father gives Him, draws, and raises on the last day. While the degree of force varies from passage to passage, every New Testament use of ???? involves an object actually being moved. There is no example where ???? describes a mere invitation that may or may not succeed.
Let’s now deal with the issue of our phrase – “the world.” [??????]
John uses the word ?????? in a number of ways – the created order (John 1:10), humanity in rebellion (John 7:7), the nations beyond Israel (John 3:16), the evil world system (John 15:18–19), the realm into which Christ came (John 17). There is not one fixed meaning of this word in John, therefore context is important.
This fits John’s own language throughout the Gospel. John the Baptist says Jesus is “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” John 1:29 “The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” John’s use of world does not mean every single person ever born, but here emphasizes the scope of Christ’s saving work beyond Israel.
The Pharisees complain, “The world has gone after Him.” John 12:19 “Much people of the Jews therefore knew that he was there: and they came not for Jesus’ sake only, but that they might see Lazarus also, whom he had raised from the dead.” The Greeks arrive, and Jesus immediately begins speaking of His death, and the hour for which He came.
Jesus says He gives life “for the world.” John 6:51 “I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”
Nobody argues that ?????? always means every individual without exception. John’s own Gospel uses the term in several distinct senses, each determined by its context.
The same is true here. Christ’s cross will no longer gather only Jews, but all peoples without distinction.
The same principle explains 1 Timothy 2. Paul tells believers to pray “for all men,” then immediately explains, “for kings and all who are in high positions.” Why mention kings? Why mention authorities? Kings and rulers were precisely the sort of people many first-century Jews would have regarded as outside the ordinary scope of God’s covenant blessings. Paul corrects the error of those Pharisees.
The same chapter says Christ gave Himself as “a ransom for all.” The “all” is defined by the context: all sorts of people, including rulers, Gentiles, slaves, rich, poor, male, female – not Jews only. Otherwise God’s desire in verse 4 is eternally frustrated, since Scripture plainly teaches not all are saved [Matt. 7:13-14; Rev. 20:15].
Acts 17 doesn’t help the case of one trying to hold to this position. God orders history so that men “should seek God.” Yet Paul immediately says they are idolaters who must repent [Acts 17:30-31]. The passage explains human responsibility, not universal saving grace.
Romans 1 likewise says creation leaves all men without excuse. It does not say creation gives all men saving ability.
Now, let’s look specifically at the same scripture for “world”, which is “kosmos” – specifically in Matthew 13:38, which is found in the parable of the tares:
13:36 “Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field. 37 He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; 38 The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; 39 The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. 40 As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. 41 The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; 42 And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.”
In verse 38, the field is the “world” in the sense that many Arminians use it. It encompasses every person born. Jesus also says that the “good seed” are children of the kingdom – the elect of God chosen before the foundation of the world. The tares are the children of the wicked one sown by the devil. Jesus also makes the distinction that the tares are not of God but sown by the devil – which is whom they belong to. The tares are not God’s covenant peoples. The tares are not God’s elect. The tares are not the elect chosen before the foundation of the world. Jesus identified both groups before the harvest, and the tares are left at the harvest – specifically because they were not chosen by the Father and given to the Son. They are good only for the flame.
Christ does not describe one homogeneous group that later separates itself. Rather, He identifies two distinct kinds of people already present in the field—the children of the kingdom and the children of the wicked one. The harvest reveals what they already are; it does not transform one into the other.
Can a tare become wheat? In botanical terms, no, tares cannot become wheat. Tares (often identified as darnel or Lolium temulentum) are a completely separate species of grass from wheat (Triticum). While they look almost identical in their early stages of growth, they are genetically distinct and cannot transform into one another. This is the example that the Lord used, just as He used sheep and goats – a goat will never become a sheep – just as a tare will not / cannot become wheat. They look the same. Are in the same field. Growing with the wheat. Indistinguishable – just as the five foolish virgins were indistinguishable from the five wise virgins in Matthew 25. Christ describes two distinct and separate groups – sheep and goats. Wheat and tares.
What we see from this passage is that the world contains those that are good seed and bad seed, and that in the end, Christ is going to separate the two, with the tares being burned. The good seed are the righteous that shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Jesus prays this in John 17:9 “I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.” Again we see Jesus not praying for the world [as the Arminian says and intending every person without exception], but for those which were given Him by the Father. If Jesus were interceeding for all mankind, then He would not have said “not for the world” and not made a distinction of “them which thou hast given me”. This puts to rest any thought of those that would advocate for universal atonement. The atonement is definite and limited, just as Jesus only is praying for those given by the Father.
This begs the question – if a man is left in sin as a tare, what use is he and why has God created him? The use is for the glory of God, both as an example of His goodness to the wheat, and His glory in their destruction. God ordains even the reprobate for the manifestation of His justice (Rom. 9:22–23). Their final judgment magnifies God’s holiness and causes the redeemed to rejoice in the perfect righteousness of His judgments (Rev. 19:1–3), not in cruelty toward fellow image-bearers.
God uses them as the means to help the elect in – life for family means, commerce means, community means, and any other helps the tare can bring to an elect person. Even the existence and final judgment of the reprobate serve God’s eternal purpose in displaying both His justice and His mercy (Rom. 9:22–23).
This is an explanation of this verse in chapter 13:30 “Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.” This also validates these verses in Luke 17:34 “I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. 35 Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 36 Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 37 And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.”
In the harvest, the tares are taken first. In Luke 17, the tares are taken first. The Godly are left, not taken as many popular Christians pastors and writers have tried to state over the years. Also the use of “eagles” in verse 37 is more accurately translated as vultures or buzzards “?????”, or a bird circling it’s carrion / dead body. The disciples ask the question “where, Lord?” The answer is where the corpse is. The tares are gathered together for the feeding of the carrion birds. Even in judgment, God cares for and provides for the birds of the field. They serve Him in His divine purpose. This points toward a judgment and not some secret rapture as the Dispensationalists insist.