Featured Chosen to Eternal Life? [Acts 13:48]

The passive participle can be confused with a middle, but in the case of Acts 13:48, the construct is a periphrastic construction (ἦσαν τεταγμένοι). In other words, certain auxiliary words can clarify and reinforce the participle to distinguish it from the middle--as a pluperfect.

 

As many what? Individuals or people groups? Calvinists are known for pointing to the fact that scripture often refers to individuals from all nations, rather than 'all.' Well, the same type of application can be made here.

You have to remember that the word "Gentiles" means 'the non-Jewish nations.' And the big question of that day was not if God had chosen to save this individual or that individual, the question was wether God had chosen to save that nation or this nation, for up to that point in history, it was believed that God had only chosen the nation of Israel.

So, how did the people know what nations were chosen? By their faith. If a Philistine or a Samaritan came to faith that was proof that God had appointed them unto salvation. He had granted them entrance, or grafted them in to the tree (Rm 11).

 

Were there "representatives" from all Gentile nations present there for your "people group" application to work?

There is a clear meaning in the wording there: "As many as were ordained... believed." It is saying that, at that moment, the same exact set of those who "were ordained" were the same exact set who "believed."

The word τεταγμένοι is distinguishable from the middle voice because it is reinforced as a pluperfect through the auxiliary ἦσαν, which is an imperfect "was." The tense of this periphrastic construction makes it clear that the action happened before the events being discussed in the narrative. It is also tensed before the aorist ἐπίστευσαν ("believed").

The lexical order of the words in this verse is:
and [they] believed--as many as (or the same ones that) were ordained/appointed/disposed to life eternal.

Try as you might, there is no escaping the following observations:

1. ἦσαν τεταγμένοι is a periphrastic construction that disallows the notion of a middle voice. It strongly emphasizes a passive participle.
2. "As many as" ties the set of individuals ordained to the set of individuals who believed at this point in time; thus, their ordination--as individuals--according to the tense of the periphrastic construction was before they even heard the message.
3. The lexical order of the words of this independent clause lists "believed," then the periphrastic construction as a modifer, providing a commentary that emphasizes the causal relationship between the "ordination" to eternal life and the resultant "believing."

 

Well, I'm not a Greek scholar, but I am a grammar geek and get a steady diet of James White.

 

Basically, there was a group of peoples within a larger group that God had "marked out' to be saved beforehand, and once they heard the message, they were saved by grace of God!

God marked them out and determined before they heard the message that those were the ones to get saved by the message!

 

That is beside the point being made. Luke is simply saying that they are proving that they (their people) have been appointed for eternal life...that God has, from the beginning, chosen to 'graft in' other nations besides Israel. They prove that by their faith.

I appreciate the greek explanations, I really do. I studied the language for several years, and still have much to learn. But when I travelled overseas to the Holy Land I spoke with some very intelligent believers who actually speak and write in Greek about this and other verses. They literally laughed out loud at the Cal/Arm controversy. They find it superfluous and tedious. They said, 'we don't think in those terms,' and went on to explain how the 'Western' culture is too ego centric and thinks everything is about them individually. I was a bit offended at first, as I was a Calvinist at the time, but after much maturing and study, I think he is exactly right.

Leo Garrett, in his well known Systematic Theology, wrote this on the subject, and I think explains the issue quite well:

"From Augustine of Hippo to the twentieth century, Western Christianity has tended to interpret the doctrine of election from the perspective of and with regard to individual human beings. During those same centuries the doctrine has been far less emphasized and seldom ever controversial in Eastern Orthodoxy. Is it possible that Augustine and later Calvin, with the help of many others, contributed to a hyper individualization of this doctrine that was hardly warranted by Romans 9-11, Eph. 1, and I Peter 2? Is it not true that the major emphasis in both testaments falls upon an elect people -- Israel (OT) and disciples or church (NT)?"
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There is truth in what you say here, but I do not believe God "passes over" some folks. I believe God knows who will believe, thus Paul could say he was separated from the womb to preach to the heathen.

Gal 1:15 But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace,
16 To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood:

I believe God knew Paul would not be an ordinary believer. Yes, the Lord himself had to appear to Paul before he believed, but once he did, he was completely "sold out" to Jesus like no other man in history. Paul was absolutely willing to give his life to spread the gospel. No man worked harder or suffered as much as Paul to spread the gospel.

I personally believe God wants all persons to believe and trust Jesus, and no man is excluded. Nevertheless, I also believe God knows who will believe and places them in the right place at the right time to hear the gospel.

And this is what Acts 13:48 is saying, those who were ordained to eternal life believed. But it does not say God compelled or forced them to believe.

 

No doctrtine stands on one witness. Show scripture to prove your point is true, sure, but show more than one witness. One witness just doesn't stand by it's self. Not only that there is no chosen in this verse.
MB

 

just saying that the way the Greek text is constructed, words that were inspired to be written down there...

It does indicate that it was the definie will of God that a specific group would be the ones who heard the message to be saved by it by God!

 

This doctrine and verse stands as a clear light on God's election of individuals to salvation. There is no escape or way out of this verse as well as many others.
Some go out of the way to try and isolate and pervert the meanings.It would be better if we believe God as he has revealed His truth.
As a matter of fact, Jesus delared that His sheep would hear His voice:thumbs::thumbs::thumbs:

Archangel,OR, and aresman...good posting and holding the word faithfully.

 

I agree, but this does not prove or even imply Irresistible Grace. It simply says those persons whom God ordained to eternal life believed. It doesn't refute IG as well, this verse is silent about WHY these persons believed.

But many Calvinists insert their own presupposition here, and say it proves IG when it does not.

 

Calvinists understand there are no contradictions in scripture. they know what God says about regeneration and conversion, being the work of the Spirit...not the flesh. This verse blends into all the other verses dealing with the teaching...better than a Bob Ross painting blends all the colors together.

 

Well that in all honesty comes from something we ALL do, that is "opining".

 

I do appreciate your response and input and do not pejoratively dismiss you. Yes, obviously, I will "default" to those who "see things" in the way I do scripturally, but we ALL do that don't we. EVERYONE likes to think that we (ourselves) take the most appropriate (correct) interpretive roads in scripture. Unfortunately, I do not have the time (or the calling) to be a scholar of biblical languages, so yes, I must trust others to that calling and task. My calling in life is to be a positive influence and model for young college students and perhaps teach them a little bit of mathematics along the way. But I do thank you.

 

Well, I have no idea what YOU mean by regeneration. The word regeneration means to be made alive AGAIN. No one can be spiritually alive until all their sins are forgiven, thus no one can be regenerated until they first believe.

By the way, the word regeneration refutes Total Depravity. If you are born dead in sin, then you would not be alive AGAIN, because you were never alive to begin with.

If Original Sin were true, then it should be said a man is generated, not REgenerated. Words have meaning.

 

:laugh::laugh::laugh: maybe one day you will go back and read the many responses you have been given and ignore:thumbs:

 

Yet another thread where the Calvinist misrepresentation of a verse is presented yet again. The word translated appointed or ordained means an arrangement by mutual consent. It is not the word used for a unilateral assignment. Thus the many that were appointed were those who took Paul's direction, not God's assignment, and His direction was whoever believes in Him shall not perish. So those that took that direction believed.

All this effort to make this seem like something only a person well studied in Greek could comprehend is simply an effort to disenfranchise opponents of false doctrine.