John 6 Theology Quiz
John 6:26-27 ESV
[26] Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. [27] Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.”
A) He rebukes them for their impure motives and challenges them to get their priorities straight. He tells them to work for spiritual food, which he would give them if they changed their attitudes.
B) It's unclear.
C) He describes their impure motives and prepares to give them a theology lesson about why they can't believe in him.
[28] Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” [29] Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”
A) The people must believe. That's the work God expects of them.
B) It's not clear.
C) God does the work of causing people to believe in Jesus.
...
John 6:32-33 ESV
[32] Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. [33] For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
A) The Father sent Jesus as a source of life and offered him even to these stubborn unbelievers. Jesus is the bread of life God offers to everyone in the world.
B) It's not clear.
C) Jesus is the bread from heaven given to the Elect so that those specifically chosen by God according to his secret plan can receive life.
They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.” [35] Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.
A) People come to Jesus and believe in him and he gives them himself, the source of life. They get eternal life by "eating" Jesus, meaning believing and trusting him as their source of life.
B) It's not clear.
C) The Holy Spirit unconditionally and irresistibly regenerates people so that they can be spiritually alive enough to come to Jesus and believe in him.
[36] But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. [37] All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. [38] For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. [39] And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. [40] For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”
A) To give everyone who believes in Jesus eternal life. The Father gives to the Son every person who puts their trust in him (without any exceptions) so that the Son will give all of them (no exceptions) eternal life. No one who comes to Jesus is turned away.
B) It's not clear.
C) The Father's will is to give to Jesus a group of people he has chosen according to His secret, unknowable plan. While God has not told us his criteria for who is given to the Son, the one thing that is clear is that it does NOT depend on their choice to come to and believe in Jesus. God's election is what causes them to come and believe.
A) The causal relationship between these things is not explicit because correlation is distinct from causation. All those the Father gives to Jesus will come to him, but the surrounding verses make it clear that the Father gives to Jesus everyone who looks on and believes in him.1
B) It's not clear.
C) Yes, this verse clearly teaches the doctrines of unconditional election and irresistible grace.
John 6:41-44 ESV
[41] So the Jews grumbled about him, because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” [42] They said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?”
A) Don't grumble among yourselves, I'm not saying this because I'm arrogant. I'm saying that everything I'm talking about is the work of God. People coming to me is the result of God drawing them, and God sent me specifically to do this work of raising up and giving life to everyone who believes in me. You should recognize this because it's consistent with everything the Father has been teaching through the prophets. If you had been listening to and being taught by God this whole time, you would come to me because everyone who listens to God comes to me, believes in me, and receives eternal life.
B I don't know.
C) Don't grumble among yourselves, it's time for a lesson on the theology of salvation: It's impossible for you to believe in me because the Father hasn't chosen to irresistibly draw you to me. Everyone taught by God, that is, everyone who is supernaturally and irresistibly regenerated by God, will come to me after God gives them spiritual life.
[43] Jesus answered them, “Do not grumble among yourselves.
[44] No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.
A) The Father drawing people is necessary for salvation (but it does not cause them to be unconditionally and irresistibly saved).2
B) It's not clear.
C) This verse says clearly that, whenever God draws, salvation is the guaranteed result in every case.
John 6:45 ESV
[45] It is written in the Prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me—
A) This verse gives an example of what God's drawing involves: He teaches people the truth. Everyone who listens to the message AND learns from it comes to Jesus.
B) It's not clear.
C) This verse describes the irresistible work of God to regenerate people so they can come to Jesus. The Elect are taught by God so that all of them come to Jesus.
…
John 6:47 ESV
[47] Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life.
A) I'm really serious about this. Whoever (and I mean anyone at all) who believes in me has eternal life immediately upon believing.
B) It's not clear.
C) I'm really serious about this. When the Elect express their belief, that is proof that God already gave them eternal life by regenerating them before they believed.
John 6:48-51 ESV
[48] I am the bread of life. [49] Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. [50] This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. [51] I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
A) Jesus is the source of life, and you get life by believing in him ("eating the living bread from heaven")
B) It's not clear.
C) Jesus is the source of life, but you can't believe in him unless you are made alive first.
John 6:52-53 ESV
[52] The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” [53] So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.
A) After eating the flesh of Jesus and drinking his blood. That is, after believing in and being united to Jesus.
B) It's not clear.
C) Before you put your faith in Jesus
John 6:54-57 ESV
[54] Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. [55] For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. [56] Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. [57] As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. [58] This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.”
A) Whoever feeds on Jesus will live because of him
B) It's not clear
C) Whoever has been chosen by God will be made alive so that he can feed on Jesus.
If you answered A to most or all of these questions, your interpretation of this passage aligns most with Arminian Theology. You get an A for Arminianism.
If you answered B to most or all of these questions, your interpretation of this passage is confused and noncommittal. You get a B for Befuddled.
If you answered C to most or all of these questions, your interpretation of this passage aligns most with Calvinist Theology. You get a C for Calvinism3.
1 For example, all people who eat food will eventually die, but this does not mean that eating food is what causes people to die.
2 This is the distinction between necessary and sufficient means. For example, no one can board a plane unless they have a ticket, but having a ticket does not automatically cause someone to board a plane.
3 This is still a passing grade because, despite the total depravity of your answers, the results are based on grace rather than works ;-)