THE PROMISES OF GOD
Besides the nine points covered already, there is still another point. Of the nine points that have been covered, none can be overthrown by you, or even by God. No method or way can overthrow them. Once a person is saved through God’s grace, no longer can anyone cast him away. But the Lord Jesus considered this as not good enough; He was concerned that we would doubt His work. For this reason, He gave us promises to purposely show us that we will not be lost. We all remember John 10. This portion of the Scripture shows us clearly what our destiny hinges on. Our destiny does not hinge on ourselves; rather, it hinges on the Lord Jesus and the Father.
John 10:28-30 says, "And I give to them eternal life, and they shall by no means perish forever, and no one shall snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all, and no one can snatch them out of My Father’s hand. I and the Father are one." The word of the Lord here cannot be clearer: "And I give to them eternal life, and they shall by no means perish forever." These words alone are adequate. Here the Lord speaks in such a solemn and definite way that we shall "by no means perish forever." It is just like saying that we shall not be cast away forever, as mentioned earlier. It is also like saying that we will not come into judgment, but have passed out of death into life, as mentioned in John 5:24. These are all absolute words: "And I give to them eternal life, and they shall by no means perish forever." God is an eternal God. Those who do not know God do not know what God has done. If a man knows God, he knows that whatever God does is eternal. God does not ever do anything temporary. God never changes from one time to the next. What God has done is done once for all. God will not change after two days. Once God has done something, it is done forever. God will not save you today and cast you into hell tomorrow. He will not save you again the following day and cast you into hell again the day after that. If that were the case, the book of life would not look very nice; there would be deletions and corrections here and there. God is eternal. What He gives to us is eternal life. That is why we can never perish. We need to see that whatever God does is eternal. God will never change after a while. Man can change at will, but God cannot change at will. Once He saves us, we are saved eternally; never again could we be in danger of perishing.
What proof do we have of this matter? "No one shall snatch them out of My hand." The words "no one" in the original text have the meaning of "not any created thing." The Lord says that none of the created things can snatch us out of His hand. "I am a good shepherd; I gave life to My sheep, and My sheep shall never perish." As the Father has given the Lord the sheep, no created thing can snatch them out of the Father’s hand. John 10:28 speaks of the Lord’s shepherding. Verse 29 makes a turn and mentions the Father. Verse 29 says, "My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all, and no one can snatch them out of My Father’s hand." The hand mentioned in verse 28 is the Shepherd’s hand, and the hand mentioned in verse 29 is the Father’s hand. Who is the Father? He says that the Father is greater than all. All things are included in this "all." All the created things, all the angels, all the evil spirits, all the human beings, all the created things in the world, including you and me, are included in this "all." The Lord says that the Father is greater than all. No one can snatch us from His hand. He has a big hand that keeps His sheep. How can they ever be lost again? Only one that is greater than the One who is greater than all could possibly snatch us away.
(Gospel of God, The (2 volume set), Chapter 16, by Watchman Nee)
