John 10:25-30, I and the Father are One

25 Jesus answered them, "I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name bear witness about me, 26 but you do not believe because you are not part of my flock. 27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one." 

Deuteronomy 18:15-19 foretells that a new prophet like Moses will arise from the people and speak for God: “I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him” (18:18). Jesus is quite clear. Not to believe the words he speaks or the works he does is not to believe God himself. He and the Father are so intimate in their relationship that he says they are one, recalling and referencing the words of the Shema in Deuteronomy 6:4: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.” 

When we the sheep hear the voice of Jesus, we hear the voice of God, who summons us to follow and believe in Jesus, listening to and obeying his voice. As his sheep we receive a new status (saved) and a new security (eternal life). No one can take us away from the Good Shepherd. I have heard some teach that God has reached down a hand to us, and it is our job to grab it and hold on for dear life. If we let go, then our relationship with the Father is gone. The forgiveness of our sins is gone, and our salvation is destroyed. The words of Jesus totally contradict this foolish and hurtful teaching. Salvation is a gift from God. We don’t earn it but receive it by grace. How can one lose what one doesn’t earn? Who can snatch us away from God? The real question is not, “Can I lose my salvation?” It is “Can God be overpowered, and I be taken from him? Can God fail?” Jesus’ answer is that “no one is able to snatch [us] out of the Father’s hand.” No one. Never. 

Consider your status and security in Jesus and discuss it with him in prayer.