Biblical "Cannots"

The Bible is full of "cannot". Now, this is an interesting concept because it is absolute. It isn't a "might not" or "may not", but "cannot". Well, let's look at some examples:

Jesus answered him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:3).

"Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot hear My word" (John 8:43).

For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God (Rom 8:5-8).

You get the idea. "Cannot", not "unwilling" or "maybe won't". But what exactly is this "cannot"? The Greek phrase is a two-word construct: ou dunamai. The first, ou, is an absolute negative (not merely "not", but emphatically not). The second is dunamai, from which we get "dynamic" or "dynamo" or "dynamite". It means "having the power to". Thus, ou dunamai is "has absolutely no power to". This same sequence appears in every one of the "cannots" above except one. That is in Rom 8:7 -- "indeed, it cannot." That one is oude dunamai ... which means but ou, or "neither does it have any capacity to (submit to God's law)." So all of these examples are not merely "not able", but "absolutely lacking in power to".

Now, when you look at the things that are being referenced as "absolutely outside the realm of capability", I don't think they would typically be viewed as "cannot". We tend not to think that a person who is not born again is lacking the ability to "see the kingdom of God". He or she can see it; they just refuse to acknowledge it or appreciate it. Why didn't people understand what Jesus said? Well, because they weren't paying attention or didn't care to understand or were hostile. No, that's a "cannot". Why is it that unbelievers do not please God? It's because they don't want to. No, that's a "cannot".

If you let that sink in, it will likely shift your thinking a bit. People aren't saved because they cannot be. We tend to think of it as a lack of will; the Bible calls it a lack of power. Thus, your kind endeavors and skillful arguments and careful presentations also lack the capacity to change this condition. There is a wall of inability. You're asking a man with no legs to walk or, to be more biblical, a dead man to come forward and pray the prayer. In order to alter that condition, God has to do something miraculous first, and it's not merely a "call". It's a literal empowerment.

There's one more that you should notice:

No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God (1 John 3:9).

And that last one is a little unnerving. The one born of God does not make a practice of sinning because he cannot. He absolutely lacks the ability sin continuously. The wording doesn't allow for "he might not" or "if he's willing". It isn't a matter of his agreement with God. The text says that the one born of God absolutely lacks the power to make a practice of sinning. He can sin. He can violate God's law. But in an ongoing, continuous sense, John says that the ability of the one born of God to go on sinning is lacking. It's not there. It doesn't exist. Something to think about.