QUESTION: John 12:32 says that if we lift up the Lord in our meetings all will be drawn to Him. If we truly have the Lord in our midst, why are so few drawn? Why among us

Let's open this passage in John 12 and read verses 31 and 32: "Now is the judgment of this world; now will the prince of this world be cast out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself".

Before trying to answer your question, it is necessary to understand that this passage does not speak of the testimony of the gospel in this time of grace. The context of the chapter is the millennial kingdom of Christ. The Lord had come to Jerusalem and was being received by the crowd, who cried: "Hosanna! Blessed is the King of Israel who comes in the name of the Lord" (ver. 13). The people expected Him to establish the kingdom and reign in power and glory. The Gentiles are also mentioned as having gone to the feast to worship, which is another important aspect of the millennial kingdom (Zech. 2:11; Isa. 14:1; 56:6; Ps. 47:9; 72:10-11). The Lord saw that, for all this to be fulfilled, He must fall into the earth and die, just like the "grain of wheat" (ver. 24). By dying, He would bear "much fruit". The truth is that this was the real reason He had come "to this hour" (vers. 27-30). But if He were "lifted up" on the cross in rejection, His promise was that there would be a day when He would draw all nations to Himself in the Millennium. The world was about to crucify the Lord, but in doing so, it would be condemning itself. That is why the Lord said: "Now is the judgment of this world".

Therefore, this passage is not speaking of believers "lifting up" the Lord in evangelistic testimony, but of unbelievers who would lift Him up on the cross in mockery. The next verse (33) confirms this. There it says: "He said this to indicate what kind of death he was going to die". Furthermore, the fact of drawing "all" to Himself, which is what it says here, does not necessarily refer to believers. In the Millennium, when all the nations of the earth take their stand with the Lord, many will not even have faith. The passage could not be referring to the evangelistic campaigns that occur today in evangelical Christendom, for even the largest and most successful campaigns do not come even close to drawing "all" to the Lord.

I understand that this does not answer your question, but I thought it important for us to know that the passage cited in the question is not referring to evangelistic campaigns. And I believe I understood your question perfectly: You want to know the reason why we see so much blessing in religious denominations and do not find the same among us, despite us being gathered in the correct way and they not. It is a good question and deserves a good answer.

ANSWER: The problem lies in considering success in the testimony of the gospel as evidence of whether or not a group of Christians is gathered on the correct ecclesiastical ground. It is a mistake to think this way. It is perfectly understandable that someone would have such an idea. You might think that if God approves something He will identify Himself with it in power and His blessing will be poured out upon it so that everyone may see. But things are not necessarily like that.

I believe there is a good reason why there are many blessings in the preaching of the gospel in evangelical churches in our days, and relatively few results among those gathered to the name of the Lord.