5. ὁ ὢν ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ …

This is not a technical Greek comment but a theological one, yet there was a theological point made in the audio hint. Is the doctrine of election really contained in these verses? Was Jesus really excusing his audience by saying "You men are not actually part of the elect, so you will not be able to understand my words?" It seems rather, that they were not excusable, but culpable, because God had given them the ability to understand Jesus, which was the purpose of John's ministry (John 1:7b), yet they chose self-righteousness and envy instead of obediently submitting to God's revelation in His Son. Could the Pharisees whom Jesus warned "you are not from God" not have turned from their sin and embraced the gospel? Is it not in hearing the gospel that a person genuinely encounters the option of persisting in self-reliant rebellion or repenting of sin and believing God's testimony? Is Jesus really saying "You Pharisees can't understand me because Abba didn't choose you! and there is no hope for you either because an unconditional decree was passed before time that you would not be able to hear, but I will speak to you anyway!" Jesus tells the Pharisees "unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins" (John 8:24) which seems to indicate that even they, the hard-hearted Pharisees, could have believed in Jesus. If "those who are not of God" are not-elect, what hope is there for an opponent of the Gospel? There was a time when Paul was "not of God" and did not "hear the words of God" (Eph 2:2-3) but that did not mean he was not elect. Even James did not hear Jesus' words (John 7:5) during the days of his ministry, and if he had of died then without believing, he would have died in his sins like the Pharisees. James knew personally that "whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death" (5:20) since he himself was in eternal danger before he believed. The point is that those who are 'not of God' can still get saved. At least that's what I think the author is saying.