John 12:32 and God’s Saving Grace

By Mark W. Christy, PhD

In John 12:32, Jesus declares, “And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself.”[i] On the surface, some suggest that this verse is offering evidence that Christ draws all people to Himself in such a way that all people can freely respond to saving grace. This position, known as the doctrine of resistible grace (RG), lies in stark contrast to what has been called the doctrine of irresistible grace (IG). According to IG, whomever God sovereignly chooses, he elects unto salvation and pours out His saving grace upon them in such way that they will certainly respond with repentance and faith and thus be saved.

Emotionally and experientially speaking, it would seem that RG is preferable. After all, if one’s salvation is dependent on a call from God that only goes out to a select group of people, then it would seem totally unfair for God to allow people to live and await their ultimate condemnation to hell in hopeless futility. For Americans, this seems especially unconscionable because no room is left for them to engage in the process with their own freewill.

This freewill, furthermore, seems to be a vital part of the salvation process, at least experientially. When gospel proclamation is received, the person has to make some sort of decision in regard to it. They can ignore it, consider it, reject it, or accept it. All of these require an engagement of will whereby a person makes a decision on how to respond.

Despite these hurdles, IG advocates maintain that God plays the deciding role in salvation and people merely respond to the work he does in their inner persons. Such a view, however, places one’s salvation completely in the control of God and beyond the efforts of man. Given such a lack of control, this view surrenders many to an utterly hopeless situation because they have no means to change the will of God regarding themselves.

With all of the aforementioned material in view, one must allow Scripture to cast the deciding vote, and then use it as lens to interpret one’s salvation experience. John 12:32 appears to say that Jesus draws all people, and therefore it would seem all people could potentially be saved. In the context, John is discussing how some Greeks had appeared with a desire to see Jesus (John 12:20-22). When the disciples informed the Lord, he then launched into the monologue that includes John 12:32. With this context, it is highly possible that Jesus is simply saying that the gospel is to be available to people from all ethnicities and not just the Jews.

To obtain further evidence in this effort to ascertain the meaning of John 12:32, one should look for evidence in the broader context of the whole gospel. In John 6:44, Jesus says, “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.” This verse clearly states that those whom the Father draws will indeed inherit eternal life. Does this mean, then, that Jesus is asserting universal salvation (the idea that all people will be saved) in John 12:32? Looking back at John 6:44, one learns from Jesus Himself that those who are to be saved must be specifically drawn by the Father.

John, and other New Testament writers, also declare that the Elect (those who are saved) are chosen by God. In John 10:11, Jesus pronounces, “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.” Are these sheep all-inclusive of all humanity? No, he straightforwardly declares that his sheep are those given to Him by God and this group does not include all human beings:

“But you do not believe because you are not of My sheep. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand” (John 10:26-29; cf. John 17:6, 9).

Here, Christ Himself confirms the doctrine of unconditional election (which directly supports IG) whereby God chooses those who are to be saved (the Elect). It is quite clear that some people are not chosen and therefore do not believe the gospel. Those who do believe the gospel are first chosen by God. In John 6:38-39, Jesus says, “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day.” In this passage, Jesus confirms that His activities are fully in line with and at the behest of the will of the Father and that that which He was given He would make sure to keep hold of.

To further confirm the true meaning of Christ’s words, a short tour of Scripture beyond the gospel of John will prove helpful. In Ephesians 1:4, Paul states, “[God] chose us in [Christ] before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.” This verse along with those in John make it clear that truly saved individuals are chosen by God before the creation and given to Christ before His atoning work.

With this in view, saving grace is apportioned to people at the behest of God apart from any choice a person may make. Should God graciously supply His grace to a person, that person will certainly inherit eternal life. This irresistible grace will ultimately engage the will of a person in such a way that they respond to the gospel with repentance and faith.

[i]All Scripture references are taken from NASB1995.