All that the Father gives me shall come to me; and he that comes to me I will in no wise cast out.
All Commentaries on John 6:37 Go To John 6
Cornelius a Lapide
AD 1637
Every thing, &c. There is an anticipation, thus, "Ye will object against Me, "If Thou knewest that we would not believe Thy preaching, why dost thou preach to us?" I reply, "Because there are some of you who will believe in Me, namely those whom the Father hath chosen, and hath given Me to be My disciples and children."" By this He tacitly intimates that most of the Jews on account of their incredulity had not been given to Him, nor elected to the Faith by God, but that in their stead God had elected many others, especially of the Gentiles. Wherefore He saith, every thing, in the neuter gender, which the Father giveth Me, not the masculine, the rather to express the universality of all nations. Every thing (omne), i.e, all of every nation, every race, every age and sex, on whom the Father breathes the spirit of faith, that they may of their own free will believe in Me, these by faith shall come to Me, and become Christians and my disciples. Wherefore I will not repel them from Me, nor banish them from My house, i.e, my Church: but you, 0 ye unbelieving and rebellious Jews, I do repel from Me and My Church, and will banish you to hell: but those I will lovingly embrace, and take with Me to the Church triumphant in heaven.
Observe: when Christ here smites backward and terrifies the unbelieving and captious Jews, He rises to the secret will and predestination of God. For He means to teach that the faith which they lacked was God"s gift. The Father therefore gives unto Christ the faithful from eternity by predestinating, and in time by calling them to the faith, after this manner and plan, that being called freely by God, they obey the call, and believe, and so come unto Christ. For this is the actual cause of faith, or why any one here and now in act believes in Christ. This cause, I say, is the grace of God stirring a man up to believe, when man of his own free will consents to the grace of God, and believes. Therefore the Father giveth us to Christ when by His prevenient and co-operating grace He causes us to be converted in Acts , and freely to believe in Christ. For as He here says Himself, every one who by the Father is given to Christ does in reality come to Christ. So SS. Augustine, Cyril and others.
Observe: Christ here speaks properly concerning predestination to faith and grace, not to glory, just as Paul does. There is an allusion to Psalm 2:8. "Ask of Me, and I will give thee the nations for thine inheritance, and the ends of the earth for thy possession." Wherefore Christ speaks in the future tense shall come to Me, to intimate that the Gentiles by the preaching of the apostles would come to Him. Hear Cyril: "He signifies that the Gentiles were already about to come; and He threatens the loss of grace which the Jews were about to experience."
Moreover God the Father gives believers to Christ, because He merited this by His obedience and Passion. For the merits of Christ are the cause not only of the calling in time, but even of the eternal predestination of the faithful. For God on account of the foreseen merits of Christ predestined and chose the faithful, as Paul teaches (Eph. i4), saying, "He hath chosen us in Him (Christ), before the constitution of the world, that we should be holy." And presently, "He hath predestinated us to the adoption of sons, through Jesus Christ, unto Himself"
I will not cast out of My house: I will not drive him from Me, from My Church, My heaven, but with great care I will cherish him. There is an allusion to a host, who receives to His hospitality well-disposed travellers and friends. As Euthymius says, "Here I will not cast him away from My friendship, nor there from the heavenly kingdom." And Cyril says, "He shall not be disappointed, nor with shame cast out, neither shall he be deprived of my kindness, but he shall be stored in My garner, and shall rest in the heavenly mansions, and shall come whither the mind of man hath not even conceived."
Observe: SS. Chrysostom and Cyril (lib3 , c39) say that they who are given by the Father to the Song of Solomon , are those who by a good use of their free-will have rendered themselves worthy of the vocation and grace of God. Pelagius afterwards crudely taking up this teaching, denied the necessity of grace, saying that free-will was sufficient for him to do good works. But this is an error which S. Augustine confutes. "To believe," he says, "is of the grace of God; to be able to believe, of nature." Wherefore Christ Himself here and elsewhere teaches that all indeed are able to believe, do good works, and be saved, because free-will in all is capable of receiving the grace of God, and often does receive from God grace sufficient for salvation: and yet that only those in act believe and are saved, to whom God gives efficacious or congruous grace, such indeed as He foresees will persuade free-will so that it will co-operate with Himself. On this more is said (ver44).
