Featured Given, Granted or Allowed?

John 6:65 (NASB)
And He was saying, “For this reason I have told you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father.”

John 6:65 (NIV)
He went on to say, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled them.”

Now the Greek word translated as granted by the NASB, enabled by the NIV, and given by the KJV is "didōmi" (Strong's G1325). It means to give or let someone have something, and does not include in its meaning whether the one being given or allowed to obtain something is otherwise able to obtain it. Thus "enabled" is an agenda driven mistranslation.

The idea based on the context of John 6:65 is a person cannot come to faith in Christ, unless God allows him or her to believe. Thus if God has chosen to harden a person's heart, as depicted in Romans 11, then that person cannot come to Jesus.

Some of Christ's followers actually did not believe Christ was the Messiah, and Jesus knew who did not believe, whether able to or not, and who would betray Him and was not able to believe because He had been hardened to be the "betrayer." Thus no one can come to faith in Christ unless (1) they have not hardened their hearts like soil #1 in Matthew 13, and (2) they have not been hardened by God for His purpose as in Romans 11, and (3) God has revealed the Gospel through His witnesses and they were receptive and open to good news of the gospel. Recall that some receive the gospel with joy, but no deep commitment, and others also receive the gospel but do not make Christ the overriding priority of their lives. Thus no one can come to faith in Christ, faith that God might choose to credit as righteousness, unless it has been allowed by our sovereign God.


Here is an interpretive translation of John 6:65

So Jesus added, "Because of this I told you that no one can trust in Me unless the Father has allowed him to believe.​

 

Once again a Calvinist falsely claims G1325, can only be accurately translated as give or grant, and does not include God allowing or not allowing something. These Calvinists claim God does not allow choice, or does not set before us "an open door" which we may or may not enter.

This Calvinist uses the NKJV yet does not know the NKJV actually translates G1325 as allow. Were those NKJV translation choices agenda driven of did that choice seem best to convey the contextually indicated meaning? Do other translations, i.e. CSB and NASB and NLT) also translate the word as "allow?" Yes of course. To claim "allow" does not fall within the meanings of the word is nonsense.

If God hardens a person's heart, he does not "allow" the person to believe. Thus to allow or permit is clearly the contextual meaning of the word in John 6:65.

 

Hello, please name the boat I missed.

Assuming it is this:

So Jesus added, "Because of this I told you that no one can trust in Me unless the Father has allowed him to believe. ​

Your reasoning seems to be if God must allow a person to believe, i.e not harden his or her heart, that makes God responsible for their choice not be believe. As the saying goes, that is a non sequitur.

Finally your "God would not allow them to "come to God" is the opposite of biblical truth. Only when He hardens someone's heart, such as Judas, does He not allow someone to trust in Christ. But just because someone trusts does not result in automatic salvation, God must credit their faith as righteousness and set them apart in Christ, which is the only mechanism for salvation by God alone.

 

Often when our word is translated as "grant" the idea is for God to allow something. For example to allow disciples to sit in a place of honor. Thus "permit or allow" works many times where we might see "grant."

 

Once again your claim does not follow logically. If God did not allow Judas to believe because Judas was chosen to be the betrayer, it does not follow that God is responsible for Judas not believing before he was hardened. God chooses people well suited for the role they would play in His purpose and plan.

Next you make the false claim I do not answer questions! Just because you did not grasp or agree with my answer does not mean I did not answer. Stop addressing your disparaging view of me and start addressing the topic.

The context of John 6:65 requires that God did not allow belief.

Can you not grasp that not allowing specific individuals to believe due to God hardening their hearts, does not equate with God taking action to allow and enable everyone else the opportunity to believe?

You have ignored the context and read in something that is not in the text.

 

Once again, this poster misrepresents what I said.

So Jesus added, "Because of this I told you that no one can trust in Me unless the Father has allowed him to believe. ​

Only when God hardens someone's heart, such as Judas, does He not allow someone to trust in Christ. But just because someone trusts does not result in automatic salvation, God must credit their faith as righteousness and set them apart in Christ, which is the only mechanism for salvation by God alone.

Can you not grasp that not allowing specific individuals to believe due to God hardening their hearts, does not equate with God taking action to allow and enable everyone else the opportunity to believe?

You have ignored the context and read in something that is not in the text.

 

Mark 10:37 (NET)
They said to him, "Permit one of us to sit at your right hand and the other at your left in your glory."

Here the New English Translation translates G1325 as "permit" thus the Greek word has as one of its meanings to allow or permit according the Dr. Dan Wallace.

 

Revelation 2:7 (CEB)
If you can hear, listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches. I will allow those who emerge victorious to eat from the tree of life, which is in God’s paradise.

Here the Common English Bible translates G1325 as "allow" thus the Greek word has as one of its meanings to allow according to the translators who rendered that verse

 

John 6:64 (NASB)
“But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray Him.

Here we see some of the "context" of John 6:65. Two differing reasons for their unbelief are on display. First, some of His followers did not believe such that their faith had been credited as righteousness, but had been allowed the opportunity to believe, and two, Judas was not a believer when chosen and his heart had been hardened to not allow belief as he had been chosen from the beginning to be the "betrayer."

Judas had not been allowed to believe, but the others had chosen not to believe, or believe fully with deep conviction. They had not been hardened.

 

Here once again we have the Calvinist claim to be spiritually dead means to suffer from "Total Spiritual Inability" the "T" of the TULIP. It is false doctrine.

Here is the Calvinist rewrite of John 3:16, God loved some of humanity in this way, He gave His Son so that everyone God had chosen before creation would be compelled by irresistible grace believe into Him, will not perish but have everlasting life.

This interpretation is precluded by verse after verse, such as "your faith" has saved you. None of those many verses say "your faith which was instilled within you by irresistible grace, has saved you.

 

Laugh out loud, that is the opposite of what I said.

Can a person whose heart has been hardened believe? Nope. Thus if God hardens a persons heart, they are not allowed to believe.

Can you not grasp that not allowing specific individuals to believe due to God hardening their hearts, does not equate with God taking action to allow and enable everyone else the opportunity to believe?

See post 16 for "context."