No Man Can Come Except the Father Draw Him
No Man Can Come Except the Father Draw Him
Written on 18 July 2026.
Introduction
Jesus Christ taught that no one can come unto Him unless the Father draws that person. The Lord did not explain in this passage exactly how the Father draws. Throughout the Old Testament, however, there are many occasions where God works in the lives of individuals and nations, after which they come to know that He is the LORD.
This raises the question of whether some of these events may illustrate God's work in bringing people toward Himself, even though the Scriptures do not explicitly identify them as the drawing spoken of in John 6.
No man can come except the Father draw him
John 6:44 (KJV)
"No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day."
Jesus plainly states that coming to Him depends upon the Father drawing the individual. The verse itself does not explain the manner in which the Father draws.
Later in the same chapter Jesus says:
John 6:65 (KJV)
"And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father."
"Ye shall know that I am the LORD"
A repeated expression throughout the Old Testament is:
"And ye shall know that I am the LORD."
This statement often follows events in which God acts openly in history. Whether through judgment, deliverance, or restoration, the result is that people come to know that He is the LORD.
For example:
Ezekiel 6:7 (KJV)
"And the slain shall fall in the midst of you, and ye shall know that I am the LORD."
And again:
Ezekiel 37:6 (KJV)
"And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the LORD."
The repeated statement emphasizes that God reveals Himself through His works.
Nebuchadnezzar
After seven years in which his understanding departed from him, Nebuchadnezzar declared:
Daniel 4:34-35 (KJV)
"And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the most High, and I praised and honoured him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation:
And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?"
He concludes the chapter by saying:
Daniel 4:37 (KJV)
"Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in pride he is able to abase."
The passage records Nebuchadnezzar acknowledging and praising the King of heaven. Daniel does not state that this is the drawing spoken of in John 6, nor does it discuss faith in Jesus Christ. It simply records what happened.
Observation
John 6 teaches that no man can come to Jesus Christ unless the Father draws him.
The passage does not define every aspect of that drawing.
The Old Testament repeatedly records God working in the lives of individuals and nations so that they know that He is the LORD. Whether particular events should be identified as the Father's drawing is not stated explicitly in those passages.
The Scriptures therefore present both truths: the Father draws people to Christ, and God works in history so that people know that He is the LORD.