(Jesus said), "But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself." John 12:32
Does the word "all" in John 12:32, mean every person in the world will be drawn to Jesus?
Before we dive into that particular verse, let's look at what other passages in the Bible have to say about God's drawing people to Himself. I'll use some deductive reasoning, examine the context of the verse, and also take a close look at how the word "all" is used in the Bible.
First, I'll define two terms: deduction and logic.
Deduction- The deriving of a conclusion by reasoning.
Logic- Sound reasoning.
(Jesus said), "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day." John 6:44
In case you missed how profound this verse is regarding salvation, I'll repeat it.
"NO ONE CAN COME TO ME unless the Father who sent me DRAWS HIM. And I WILL RAISE HIM UP on the last day."
These words of Jesus lead us to some conclusions:
1. Only those the Father draws to Jesus will come to Him. This is a limited number.
2. On the last day, Jesus will raise the ones the Father draws to Him.
3. God does not draw EVERYONE, because many will not be raised (because of their unbelief).
(Jesus said), "...unless you believe I AM you will die in your sins" (John 8:24b). In other words you will not be raised.
(Jesus also said), "All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out." John 6:37
Once again, some conclusions can be drawn from this verse:
1. God does NOT give EVERYONE to Jesus. He gives only SOME people to Jesus (this is
called ELECTION - Ephesians 1:3-14).
2. Everyone will NOT come to Jesus. Only the limited number of people God gives to Jesus
will come to Him, because we know many will be cast into the lake of fire ("And if anyone's
name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire"- Rev.
20:15).
3. Jesus will cast out many and not raise them up.
4. EVERYONE the Father gives (or draws) to Jesus, WILL come to Him, and He will not
cast them out, and will raise them up on the last day.
THE WORD ALL
We tend to assume that Jesus is referring to every person in the world when He refers to drawing
"all men," but the context defines the meaning of the word "all."
For example, in a meeting of department heads, called by a manager, he may ask, "Are we ALL here?" or "Is EVERYONE here?" Obviously, he is referring to department heads, not every person in the world. The word "all" is used within a context.
The manager is not referring to all major league baseball players, or all doctors in the country. To take the word "all" out of context and say the manager was referring to every person on earth, would be a total misinterpretation of the word's usage. Context defines the interpretation.
Let's look at some other passages of scripture and see how the word "all" is used in context.
1. Isaiah 25:8a- (Referring to the end times) "The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears from ALL faces." Will God wipe away the tears of those who have been cast into hell because of their unbelief? No! Only believers will have their tears wiped away.
2. Luke 2:1- "A decree went out from Caesar Augustus that ALL THE WORLD should be registered "(or taxed). The whole world? The Roman Empire was vast, but even it did not cover the entire planet.
3. Colossians 3:11- "Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is "ALL' and is in "ALL." The NIV commentary says, "Christ transcends all barriers and unifies people from all cultures, races, and nations. Such distinctions are no longer significant. Christ alone matters."
4. 1 Corinthians 15:22- "For as in Adam "ALL" die, so in Christ "ALL" will be made alive." NIV commentary says, "All who are in Adam - his descendants - suffer death. All who are in Christ - related to Him by faith - will be made alive at the resurrection" (John 5:25).
The Greek word for "all" is "pas," which according to the universally accepted, respected, and used
Strong's Greek Lexicon means: 1. Individually
1a) each, every, any, all, the whole, everyone, all things, everything
2. Collectively
2a) SOME OF ALL TYPES
The lexicon makes the point that "all" usually does not mean "all" as we often use it in English. In fact, it rarely does. Christ has redeemed "some of all sorts" (Some Jews, some Gentiles, some rich, some poor, and has not restricted His redemption to Jews or Gentiles only).
Revelation 5:9b - "With your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation."
CONTEXT
John 12:20-22 reveals the context of verse 32. Some Greeks had come to Philip, seeking Jesus.
Dr. James White, in his book 'The Potter's Freedom,' describes the setting: "John 12 narrates the final events of Jesus' public ministry. After this particular incident, the Lord will go into a period of private ministry to His disciples right before He goes to the cross. The final words of Jesus' public teachings are prompted by the arrival of Greeks who are seeking Jesus."
"This important turn of events prompts the teaching that follows. Jesus is now being sought by non- Jews, Gentiles. It is when Jesus is informed of this that He says, 'The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.'" THIS IS THE CONTEXT which leads to Jesus' words in verse 32: 'And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.'"
"Lifted up" refers to Jesus' death on the cross, through which Jesus will draw all kinds of men, all kinds of people to Himself, including Jews and non-Jews. We should understand that the Jews were astonished that Jesus would say that He would draw people who were not Jews to Himself. Jesus wanted to make it clear to the Jews that even some Gentiles would be saved.
So does the Bible teach that everyone is drawn to the cross? 1 Corinthians 1:22-24 says, "For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block, and to Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God."
Dr. James White continues, " Christ is the power and wisdom to "the called," while the cross of Christ is foolishness to the world. These considerations along with the immediate context of the Gentiles seeking Christ, make it clear that if He is lifted up in crucifixion, He will draw all men, Jews and Gentiles, to Himself. This is exactly the same as saying that he has sheep not of this fold (John 10:16), the Gentiles, who become one body in Christ" (Ephesians 2:13-16).
If we assume that God draws every single person to Himself, then we end up with the unbiblical doctrine of universalism (everyone will be saved). Of course scripture teaches that not all will inherit eternal life (Revelation 20:11-15).
God has a Sovereign purpose for drawing His people to Himself, from every tribe, tongue, people, and nation!
Sources: John Samson
James White
Mark Kielar
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