"Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent” (John 6:29).
The Jewish people who followed Jesus not only sought Him because they wanted their physical needs satisfied, but because their entire theology was physically based. Their salvation was seen in terms of physical transactions between God and them. They sought Jesus because they wanted Him to satisfy their physical desires, and when His rebuke put their needs into a “spiritual” context, they immediately thought of “works”: “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?” (v. 28). See how the concept of grace was totally absent in Jewish mindset.
Because works were so ingrained into their thinking, Jesus responded by using their own terminology: “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.” Notice Jesus’ emphasis: This is a work of God, not a work of man. If you want to serve God, obey His law, “labor for the food that does not perish,” the only way you can do it is through faith—and this faith is a work of God. How is faith a work of God? It is the renewing of your soul through the power of the Holy Spirit to enable you to see your need for forgiveness, Christ’s sufficiency in granting that forgiveness, and your total dependence upon Him for forgiveness. God enables you to exercise faith: “For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is a gift of God” (Eph. 2:8–9).
Some groups in the church have misinterpreted Jesus’ response in the passage as teaching that faith is itself a work; thus they conclude that salvation is based on an act of man, not a gift of God. While faith is certainly active participation on the part of man, it is not a meritorious work. Hendriksen uses the following illustration to make this point: “the roots of a tall oak perform a well-nigh unbelievable amount of work in drawing water and minerals from the soil to serve as nourishment for the tree. Nevertheless, these roots do not themselves produce these necessities but receive them as a gift. Similarly, the work of faith is the work of receiving the gift of God.” This is what Jesus wanted the Jews to understand. They could do nothing to save themselves. All they could do, all anyone can do, is believe in the One whom God has sent to deliver His people from their sins.
In your own words, explain why faith is not a “work of man.” Explain why faith is a work of God, using the verses below to help. Jesus emphasizes that this faith is in the One whom God sent. In other words, it is not generic faith. Explain why Jesus is the only way and why we must have faith in Him alone to be saved.
