John 6:44-46 reads, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. 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— not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God; he has seen the Father” (ESV). Verse 45 tells us that we must receive teaching from a divine source in order to come to Jesus. This is the means by which God draws people, i.e., through teaching.
The question, now, is what source of revelation do we have access to that can teach us of God and His will? There are all kinds of claims from “mystery” religions to the modern philosophies of dreams and visions. The naturalist finds God in the marvels of the universe. However, if we are to know God, He must reveal himself to us. 1 Cor. 2:6-13 reads, “Yet among the mature, we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But, as it is written,
“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,
nor the heart of man imagined,
what God has prepared for those who love him”—
these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except for the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.” God revealed His mind to us through the Spirit who imparted that revelation to the apostles. From them, we have that written word and can know the “freely given things” of God (Eph. 3:1-3). Again, Hebrews 2:3 reads, “how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard him.” We are either taught by the world’s standards that use carnal methods to accomplish our ends and purposes or we rely on the Word and the revelation made known to the ambassadors whom Jesus sent into the world aided by the Spirit. Without being taught of God, no man can be drawn to Christ.