Greek Verbal Aspect and Revisiting my Question for Arminianism

In my first blog post I raised a question for my Arminian bothers.  There I asked: How is it that you ascribe to God the work of salvation, yet at the same time claim that man has the ability to say yes or no to God’s gracious gift? It is at this juncture that I made the statement that it at least seems that you have marginalized God’s work in Christ. For your salvation is not salvation until you decide, thus making you (the human individual) the final component that completes the work that God has done for us. I find this objection (if it is a valid one) to be quite problematic for one’s theology proper, and also problematic for certain biblical texts.

Given this, it seems relevant that we address the meaning of Jesus’ final words on the cross. On a side note, it is often our first impression and final impression that will remain with people that we come in contact with as the lasting impression and thus the most memorable trait(s). I think the same is true concerning the study of Jesus, and his final impression, which he gives us just before he dies, can be quite telling concerning everything that he did before that moment. As you might remember I briefly addressed the meaning and implications of Jesus’ words on the cross in my second post. There I said something to the affect that Jesus’ work is not finished, if in fact the Arminian objection I raised is valid. Therefore, I have asked my Arminian brothers to tell what is meant by the phrase, “It is finished” (John 19:30).

In addition to my comments I original made on that passage, I would like to add a discussion concerning Greek verbal aspect and its relevance for John 19:30. I know that aspect is heavily debated, so if you would like to discuss it further I would be more than willing to do so; however, for argument sake I will simply assume it and thus we can go from there. Now for those of you who do not know what I mean by verbal aspect I’ll try to slowly bring you into such a difficult subject matter.

The Greek verb system expresses five concepts: Tense, Voice, Mood, Person and Number. However, tense is the only concept that is relevant for our study of John 19:30. In Greek, tense carries two connotations: Time (when the action of the verb occurs) and Aspect (the duration of the action). It is the latter connotation, aspect, that will be of specific importance, and is perhaps the most difficult concept to grasp in Greek verbs, and yet the most important and most misunderstood concept of Greek verbs. To reiterate my point a bit more, the genius of the Greek verb system is not only its ability to describe when the action occurred, but also what type of action is occurring, and again this is what Greek grammarians call aspect. Another way of seeing how aspect is expressed is through understanding how the action of the verb is viewed within the duration of time.

This brings us to the three types of Greek verbal aspect: Continuous, Undefined, and Perfective (or Competed) aspect. The most pending type of verbal aspect for our discussion of John 19:30 is the final one I mentioned: Perfective (or Competed) aspect, which can be understood in duration as often being a past completed action with an ongoing present state or effect. To complicate matters, the ambiguity of the perfective aspect is a bit high as it combines the notion of undefined and continuous aspect. Undefined aspect is a past undefined action being presented as a whole and continuous aspect is an action within present duration. Therefore, the ambiguity of how to exegete and translate the perfective aspect is where to place the emphasis. Do you put emphasis on the past completed action, or on its continuous present effect? However, though our translation of the Greek aspect can never fully grasp its actual Greek expression, we can have both in mind as we do our exegetical and translational work.

Now this brings us back to Jesus’ words in John 19:30. There Jesus says, “It is finished” or “It has been completed”. The Greek verb is Tetelestai (here I have transliterated it), and it is in the Perfect tense. The time again is quite ambiguous, but the aspect is rather clear. Jesus has fully done the work God the Father sent him to do. Moreover, based upon this reality Paul spends all of Romans 5 discussing the implications of our salvation being sure and complete as a result of Christ effectively being our representative and totally (or completely) defeating the effects of Adam’s sin. Furthermore, the effect (or going state) of Christ’s work is presently continuous for believers throughout salvation history.

Therefore, if the Arminian understanding is correct, wouldn’t it follow that Jesus’ work was not finished? Yes he has done all he was sent to do in providing the possibility of salvation, but I it seems that the perfect aspect does not express such a notion nor does Paul’s discussion in Romans 5. Is humanity potentially sinful? No, the depravity humanity is far too real, and so is the effectiveness not the potentiality of Christ’s work. Again, the work is done or completed, not the possibility or implications of the past action. Moreover, the on going affect is one of assurance, not possibility. 

I hope I have been clear as I am discussing a very difficult subject. I would welcome any thoughts on the matter.

Be Blessed,

Nick