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NASB | Romans 4:6 just as David also speaks of the blessing on the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Romans 4:6 And in this same way David speaks of the blessing on the one to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: |
Subject: Imputed Righteousness |
Bible Note: You wrote: "I.e. if the past tense reference to our glorification refers to the future then, by the same standard, the past tense reference to our justification and calling would refer to our future justification and calling also." Not necessarily. Let's go through the two verses in question and the time frame of each event: "For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified." --Romans 8:29-30 The list in these verses is often referred to as the "golden chain of salvation," because each of the actions of God mentioned in this passage is linked to the one before and after it. The events mentioned here in the order of salvation are directed toward God's people. The first thing listed is that God FOREKNEW His people. We agree that this took place in eternity past, so a past-tense verb doesn't cause a stir. Likewise, those whom God foreknew, He PREDESTINED. This too is an action in eternity past, so both foreknowledge and predestination are events that have already been carried out. We come to our first apparent problem, however, in the next link in the chain. Those whom God foreknew and predestined He also CALLED. You and I have both been called, but that is an event which took place in our lifetimes, not in the first century when Romans was written. From the perspective of the apostle Paul, our calling was a future event, not a past one. Furthermore, even for us in our time, there are those in the world today who have already been foreknown and predestined, but whom God has not called yet. The same problem arises in the next link. Those whom God foreknew, predestined, and called He also JUSTIFIED. Now, knowing that we are justified by means of our faith, it was impossible that we were justified 2000 years ago from a human perspective. You and I have been called and justified, but it took place long after Paul's epistle to the Romans. And, like calling, justification has not occurred for all of God's people yet. So for us, calling and justification are past events, but for others among God's foreknown and predestined, calling and justification are still future events. Then we get to the last link mentioned, that God GLORIFIED those whom He foreknew, predestined, called, and justified. We have already seen how Paul has used the past tense to talk about events that are past for us personally but not for others. Therefore, it is not far-fetched at all to suggest that foreknowledge and predestination occur in eternity past, calling and justification occur in the lifetimes of God's people, and glorification will occur at the end of the age. Despite Paul utilizing the past tense from God's perspective (more on that below), from our human perspective, bound in time and space, it is a future event. There is another reason why it makes sense to see glorification in this way, and that reason is in the very same chapter: "The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him." --Romans 8:16-17 Just a few sentences earlier, Paul is describing our glorification as an event subsequent to our suffering with him, in other words, a future event. Here he says not that we HAVE BEEN glorified, but rather so that we MAY also BE glorified. So we have an apparent difficulty here. Either Paul is contradicting himself in the same line of thought, or we have to do something with that "past-tense" glorification in verse 30. A very simple answer is that God, existing outside of time and space, seeing the end from the beginning, and sure of His own actions (God does all of the things listed in v. 29-30), that he can speak with a certain "past tense of certainty." In other words, even though we have yet to experience glorification, as far as God is concerned, it is so certain to occur that it is "as good as done." This is not the only place where we see this advancing of verb tenses in Scripture. In Judges 6:12, the angel refers to Gideon as a "valiant warrior" as Gideon is hiding in fear from the Midianites. He WILL BE a valiant warrior, but he isn't then. Likewise, many OT prophecies are not given in the future tense, but in the present tense, despite the future being described. OT saints were considered atoned for (such as Isaiah in Isaiah 6), even though Christ's atonement had not yet occurred in time and space. These are some of the reasons why so many Bible scholars have concluded that we are yet to be glorified, using the Bible as their guide (not to mention the obvious fact that we sure don't SEEM glorified like Christ is). --Joe! |