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Thelo, "I will", occurs four times in this section and its expansion, which occupies
chapter 5::
"Wilt thou be made whole?" (5: 6).
"The Son quickeneth whom He will" (5: 21).
"Ye were willing for a season to rejoice in His light" (5: 35).
"Ye will not come to Me, that ye might have life" (5: 40).
The faith of God's elect, the faith as taught in the Scriptures, must embrace all that has
been written on the subject. To follow one's own leanings, and pick and choose texts and
passages, is the surest way to produce another heresy (for the word heretic in the Greek,
means, literally, "a chooser"), but it does not lead to the wholesome doctrine that is
taught in the Scriptures.
In John 5: the Calvinist would be attracted to the
pronouncement, "The Son quickeneth whom He will". The Arminian to the words, "Wilt
thou be made whole?" The Berean should be attracted by both passages, and his creed
must embrace both. Those who deny freedom of will to man, seldom, if ever, quote or
expound the pathetic words of Matt. 23: 37, "How often would I . . . . . and ye would
not" where the word translated "would" is thelo.
Predestination does not stand alone; in Rom. 8: 29 it is stated to be according to
foreknowledge. Election does not stand alone, but is according to the foreknowledge of
God the Father (I Pet. 1: 2). For daring to believe and to teach these scriptural facts when
writing the series on Romans, both we, and many of our readers in this country and
abroad, were submitted to a series of anonymous letters wherein the writer, shielded by
his anonymity, did not refrain from abusive language. It is in the doctrinal links that bind
into a whole the eight signs of John, that this inter-relation of will, evidence, conviction,
faith, choice, election, being drawn, being given the will, meet us. Among the last words
of the N.T. canon are these: "Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely"
(Rev. 22: 17), and they contain the last occurrence in the N.T. of thelo. As these
various aspects of a great truth appear, will be the right time and place to deal with them.
On occasion of the first sign, the turning of the water into wine, no opposition was
manifested, "His disciples believed on Him" (John 2: 11). After the second sign, not
only did the nobleman believe, but his whole house (John 4: 53), and again there is no
indication of opposition. But on the occasion of the third sign opposition is manifested.
A characteristic of John's Gospel that can be summed up in a few words, is this:
REVELATION
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RECEPTION - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - REJECTION.
From the prologue, where, after the revelation is given, we read of some one who
received Him not and of others who did receive Him, this twofold attitude is apparent
throughout the Gospel.