Welcome to Episode 3 of The Single Eye Podcast.
I know I promised you an introduction to the Gospel of John, but some events have made it clear to me that most Christians do not understand the difference between the sovereignty of Yahweh (which most will openly articulate) and free will, which most who attend Methodist (or offshoots) and Evangelical/Pentecostal churches believe.
So, before we enter into the Gospel of John, it is important to lay the foundation of how we are saved.
Be present.
You’re here.
And the Spirit is bearing witness within you.
Today… we’re exploring the big one: salvation itself.
Not as a debate.
Not as a system.
But as a way of seeing.
A way of seeing Yahweh.
A way of seeing yourself.
A way of seeing the story you were born into.
This is Soteriology—the theological word for the study of salvation. From the Greek words soteria, meaning “salvation”, and logia, meaning “the study of”.
As a foundation in scripture, my position is as Isaiah prophesied:
Isaiah 46:9-10 LSB “Remember the former things long past, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me, (10) Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things which have not been done, Saying, ‘My counsel will be established, And I will accomplish all My good pleasure’,
Let these words wash over you.
Yahweh…
declares the end from the beginning.
Yahweh…
does all His pleasure.
Yahweh…
stands alone in His sovereignty.
Salvation begins here.
Not with us.
Not with our decisions.
Not with our striving.
But with Yahweh, who speaks the whole story before the first page is turned.
Throughout history, two lenses have shaped how believers understand salvation.
Two ways of seeing.
Two voices.
Two centres.
The first one is Synergism—the belief that Yahweh and man cooperate in salvation, exemplified today by the belief that we have free will to choose Yahweh or not.
And the second is Monergism—the belief that salvation is the work of Yahweh alone, exemplified today by the belief that Yahweh is the author and finisher of our faith.
These two theological positions are mutually exclusive. They cannot possibly both be right. Yahweh is either the author and finisher of our salvation, or He is not.
Both claim to honour Scripture.
Claim to protect Yahweh’s character.
Claim to be faithful to the gospel.
But they cannot both be right.
Because they rest on different centres.
Different sources.
Different starting points.
One begins with Yahweh’s will.
The other begins with human will.
One begins with Yahweh’s initiative.
The other begins with a human response.
One begins with Isaiah 46.
The other struggles to fit within it.
Let’s walk slowly through each one…
not to argue…
but to see.
Synergism is the Dual Eye I talked about in Episode 2.
Synergism says:
Yahweh offers salvation…but you must accept it.
Yahweh provides grace…but you must activate it.
Yahweh initiates…but you must complete.
It is a two‑source vision. A dual eye.
Part Yahweh. Part man.
Part divine will. Part human will.
It feels fair. It feels balanced. It feels cooperative.
But beneath the surface, something subtle happens.
The centre shifts. The weight moves. The story becomes dependent on the human will—the most unstable thing in the universe.
And suddenly…Yahweh desires all to be saved, but cannot accomplish His desire.
Yahweh offers salvation, but waits for permission.
Yahweh’s eternal plan becomes contingent on human decision.
The Creator becomes reactive to the creature.
Monergism is The Single Eye
Monergism is not a system. It is a way of seeing.
A single eye. A single source. A single centre.
It says:
Yahweh saves. Yahweh calls. Yahweh regenerates. Yahweh grants faith. Yahweh grants repentance. Yahweh keeps.
Yahweh completes.
Salvation is not a cooperation. It is a resurrection.
It is not Yahweh making salvation possible. It is Yahweh making salvation actual.
It is not Yahweh offering and man deciding. It is Yahweh deciding and man awakening.
It is not Yahweh waiting for the human will. It is Yahweh changing the human will.
It is not Yahweh reacting to man. It is man reacting to Yahweh.
Monergism is the gospel that matches Isaiah 46:9-10.
A Yahweh who declares the end from the beginning and does not wait to see what humans will choose.
A Yahweh whose counsel stands and does not hinge His plan on human cooperation.
A Yahweh who does all His pleasure and does not leave salvation to chance.
Monergism is the single eye.
The eye that sees salvation as the work of Yahweh alone.
Let us look at the born-again analogy Jesus used in John 3.
John 3:3-8 LSB Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of Yahweh.” (4) Nicodemus *said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” (5) Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of Yahweh. (6) “That which has been born of the flesh is flesh, and that which has been born of the Spirit is spirit. (7) “Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ (8) “The wind blows where it wishes and you hear its sound, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who has been born of the Spirit.”
Nicodemus was perplexed at this revelation.
Ask yourself this question:
Did you have any influence on your physical birth?
Of course not!
Hence why Jesus used the metaphor.
You have no influence on Yahweh’s Monergistic and sovereign decision to save you. I will read Verse 8 from above again for you:
John 3:8 “The wind blows where it wishes and you hear its sound, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who has been born of the Spirit.”
Please let this verse sink in.
Jesus uses the wind as a metaphor, and it is frequently used in scripture to represent the Spirit. Jesus is cryptically explaining that being born again is a spiritual rebirth, not something under your control.
“but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who has been born of the Spirit.” Does that sound like a salvation that depends on your decision?
Listen to the rhythm of other Scriptures:
Romans 9:14-18 LSB What shall we say then? Is there any unrighteousness with Yahweh? May it never be! (15) For He says to Moses, “I WILL HAVE MERCY ON WHOM I HAVE MERCY, AND I WILL HAVE COMPASSION ON WHOM I HAVE COMPASSION.” (16) So then it does not depend on the one who wills or the one who runs, but on Yahweh who has mercy. (17) For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “FOR THIS VERY PURPOSE I RAISED YOU UP, IN ORDER TO DEMONSTRATE MY POWER IN YOU, AND IN ORDER THAT MY NAME MIGHT BE PROCLAIMED THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE EARTH.” (18) So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires.
“I WILL HAVE MERCY ON WHOM I HAVE MERCY, AND I WILL HAVE COMPASSION ON WHOM I HAVE COMPASSION.” Does that sound like a salvation that depends on your decision?
John 6:41-45 LSB Therefore the Jews were grumbling about Him, because He said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” (42) They were saying, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does He now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” (43) Jesus answered and said to them, “Stop grumbling among yourselves. (44) “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day. (45) “It is written in the prophets, ‘AND THEY SHALL ALL BE TAUGHT BY YAHWEH.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me.
“No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him.” Does that sound like a salvation that depends on your decision?
Acts 13:47-48 LSB “For so the Lord has commanded us, ‘I HAVE PLACED YOU AS A LIGHT FOR THE GENTILES, THAT YOU MAY BRING SALVATION TO THE END OF THE EARTH.’” (48) And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed.
“As many as had been appointed.” Does that sound like a salvation that depends on your decision?
Of course not! Absurd!
Ephesians 1:11-14 LSB In Him, we also have been made an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, (12) to the end that we who first have hoped in Christ would be to the praise of His glory. (13) In Him, you also, after listening to the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, (14) who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, unto the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.
“having been predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will.” Does that sound like a salvation that depends on your decision?
This is not cooperation.
This is not partnership.
This is not synergy.
This is Yahweh.
Acting.
Initiating.
Saving.
Finishing.
This is the Yahweh of Isaiah 46:9-10
Pause here.
Feel the difference.
Synergism places the weight on you.
Your will.
Your response.
Your ability to stay faithful.
Monergism places the weight on Yahweh.
His will.
His purpose.
His faithfulness.
One produces anxiety.
The other produces rest.
One produces striving.
The other produces worship.
One produces uncertainty.
The other produces assurance.
Monergism is not cold.
It is not mechanical.
It is not distant.
It is the warmest truth in the universe:
Yahweh saves the helpless.
Yahweh finishes what He begins.
I have heard it said that Eve exercised the free will granted by Yahweh in the Garden when she ate the fruit from the forbidden tree. In what we have just learned, this is a ridiculous proposition.
It ignores the nature of Satan.
He is a deceiver, the master deceiver in fact, and ever since Eve was deceived and brought the weak Adam with her, he has ruled the world and everything in it, except the truly saved.
Eve was tempted by the dual eye, and she fell for it, along with Adam.
Our job as born-again believers is to resist Satan and his evil deceptions.
James 4:7 LSB Be subject therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
The Single Eye is not about winning theological debates. It is about seeing Yahweh as He is.
Seeing Yahweh as the initiator.
Seeing Christ as the centre.
Seeing the Spirit as the indwelling witness.
Seeing salvation as a divine act, not a human achievement.
It is about letting the weight shift from your shoulders to His.
It is about resting in a salvation that does not depend on the instability of human will but on the unchanging counsel of Yahweh.
It is about seeing the story of your life as something Yahweh declared before you ever breathed.
It is about waking up to the truth that you are held by a Yahweh who does all His pleasure.
As you breathe now…
as you sit in this moment…
let the Spirit bear witness.
Let the dual eye close.
Let the single eye open.
Let salvation become something that is glorified, not something YOU manage.
Something sovereignly received, not something YOU decide to receive.
Something that is completed, not something YOU complete.
The two theological positions are polar opposites and cannot both be right.
This is Soteriology through the Single Eye.
A salvation declared from the beginning.
A salvation accomplished by Yahweh.
A salvation secured by Yahweh.
A salvation completed by Yahweh.
A salvation that allows you to rest.
Because the Yahweh who saves is the Yahweh who finishes.
And His counsel shall stand.
I can tell you honestly that my own experiences have echoed what I have just outlined.
I have been a wandering minstrel most of my journey with Yahweh, but about ten years ago, my pilgrimage began in earnest.
Not because of anything I did, but because Yahweh changed me without my input.
I started reading the Bible like it was a new book from that day on.
How you SEE Yahweh determines how you read about Him.
I want to leave you with this statement:
The dual eye reads relativity.
The Single Eye reads absolutes.
How do YOU read the Bible?
“Who do YOU say that I am?” Luke 9 verse 20
Next episode, it is onto the Gospel of John from the Single Eye of the sovereign Yahweh, the author and finisher of our salvation.
Blessings to all my listeners.
