In 1 Corinthians 8:4-6 (Concordant Literal New Testament) we read the following:
We are aware that
an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is no other God except One. For
even if so be that there are those being termed gods, whether in heaven or on earth,
even as there are many gods and many lords, nevertheless for us there is one
God, the Father, out of Whom all is, and we for Him, and one Lord, Jesus
Christ, through Whom all is, and we through Him.
In this passage we find Paul affirming
the following related truths concerning the one God:
·
There is no other God except One.
·
For us there is one God, the Father.
Taken together, these two statements
affirm the following concerning the identity of the one God: There is, for
us, no other God except One, the Father. Or, to put it another way: The
Father alone is the one God.
We can thus conclude that, according to
Paul, the Father alone is the one God who made the
heavens and the earth (Gen. 1:1; Neh. 9:6; Acts 14:15-17; 17:24-29; Rev. 4:11
[cf. 5:1-7]). Paul, therefore, understood the Father to be the one God who
identified himself to Moses as “Yahweh” (Exodus 3:14-15), who commanded Israel
to have no other gods before him (Ex. 20:1-3), and who is referred to in
Deuteronomy 6:4 as follows: “Hear, O Israel: Yahweh
our God, Yahweh is one!”
According to Paul, it is the Father alone who is the source of the existence of all (“out of Whom all is”) as
well as the goal of/purpose for our
existence (”and we for/into Him”). The fact that all is
“out of” the Father implies that he is the only
uncreated being (hence Christ’s reference to the Father as “the only
true God” in John 17:3). Rather than being “out of” anyone, the Father is
the eternal source of all else that exists.
Paul went on to write in 1 Cor. 8:6 that, in
addition to the one God, there is also
”one Lord, Jesus
Christ, through Whom all is, and we through Him.” Since Paul already established the fact that the one God is the Father,
it follows that the “one Lord” referred to here (i.e., Jesus Christ) is distinct from the “one God” previously
mentioned. And since Paul distinguished the one God from Jesus Christ, the
implication is that Christ is among the “all” that is “out of” the Father, and
of whom the Father is the Creator. In fact, Christ himself affirmed that he
came “out of God.” For example, in John 8:42 we read the following:
Jesus, then, said to them, “If God were your
Father, you would have loved Me. For out
of God I came forth and am arriving. For neither have I come of Myself, but
He commissions Me.”
See also John 13:3 and 16:27-28. Since God is the creator of all
that has come “out of” him – and since Jesus Christ came out of God – it
follows that Christ was created by God (and is thus not an eternally-existent
being). But when, according to
Scripture, did Christ come “out of God?” That is, when was Jesus Christ created
by God?
Answer: This occurred when Christ was begotten by God, and God
thus became the Father of his Son. But when did this event occur? According to
“orthodox” Christian theology, Christ was begotten before the creation of the
world (or, according to some theologians, the begetting of Christ is an
“eternally ongoing event”). For example, in the Nicene Creed – which is considered
by most Christians to be the “standard of orthodoxy” with regard to the
doctrine of Christ’s nature – we’re told that Christ was “begotten of the
Father before all ages” and that he was “begotten, not made.”
Aside from the incoherent idea expressed in the words “begotten,
not made” (“begotten” implies that one had a beginning to one’s existence),
Scripture is completely at odds with the creedal assertion that Christ was
“begotten before all ages.” For according to Scripture, Christ was begotten by
God (and God became the Father of his Son) when Jesus’ mother, Miriam, became
pregnant with him (see Matthew 1:20-21 and Luke 1:35). As I’ve argued in more depth
elsewhere (see, for example, the following article: Who
created the heavens and the earth?), the word translated
“generated” in these verses (gennaō) is the same word translated “begotten”
elsewhere, and refers to the event by which a father brings his child
into existence, and thereby becomes the father of that child. This
being the case, it follows that the generating (or begetting) of Christ that’s
referred to in Matt. 1:20 and Luke 1:35 was the event by which God
became the Father of Jesus (and thus brought his Son into existence, giving him
life).
In fact, according to the words of Gabriel in Luke
1:35, the very fact that Jesus was generated/begotten by God when Jesus’
mother became pregnant with him is the very reason why Jesus
would be “called the Son of God.” Since God became Jesus’ Father when
the words of Luke 1:35 were fulfilled, it follows that Jesus Christ was
brought into existence as the Son of God when he was conceived. God was
not, therefore, Jesus’ Father – and Jesus was not God’s Son – until the
supernatural event referred to in these verses occurred. Significantly, the
same word translated “generated” or “begotten” in Matt. 1:20 and Luke 1:35 was
also used to refer to what took place when Christ was resurrected (Acts 13:32-33; cf. Heb. 1:5; 5:5). Because Christ’s
resurrection involved his being brought back into existence by God, this event
marked the second time that God became the Father of his Son.
Now, when Paul referred to Jesus as “one Lord” in 1
Cor. 8:6, it should be noted that he wasn't implying that the Father doesn’t also have the status of “Lord” (for this
is a truth that’s clearly affirmed elsewhere in Scripture; see, for example,
Matt. 11:25; Acts 3:19-20; 4:29; 17:24; Heb. 8:2; James 1:7; 5:11; Rev. 4:8,
11; 21:22; 22:6). But if the Father is also
Lord, how could Paul say that there is “for us” (i.e., for we who are in the body of Christ) “one Lord?”
Answer: When Paul affirmed that there is “one Lord,” the implication is that there is, for us, one Lord who is distinct from, and
subordinate to, the “one God.” That is, in
addition to our having one God (i.e., the Father), we also have one Lord over us who – by virtue of not being identical
with the “one God” – is subordinate to the one God.
What we
read in Ephesians 4:5-6 confirms this understanding of what Paul had in mind
when he referred to the Father as our one God and to Jesus as our one Lord. In
these verses we read that there is “…one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, Who is over all
and through all and in all.”
As in 1 Cor. 8:6, the “one Lord” referred to above is
undoubtedly a reference to Jesus Christ. Moreover, the fact that Paul
identified the one God of all as the Father means that the “all” whom we’re
told the one God is “over” includes
Jesus Christ, the “one Lord.” For – as Paul makes clear elsewhere – the one God
and Father of all is the God and Father of Jesus Christ. Consider, for example, Paul’s words in Ephesians 1:1-2:
“Grace to you and peace from God, our Father, and the
Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ…”
Notice how Paul first identified God as “our Father.” Only after
identifying God as our Father does Paul then include the words, “and the Lord
Jesus Christ.” After making this distinction between the one God and the Lord
Jesus Christ, Paul then further identified God as “the God and Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ.”
In
accord with this fact, Jesus himself referred to the Father as both “my Father”
and “my God.” For
example, in John 20:17 we read the following:
”But go to My brothers and tell them that I
am ascending to My Father and your Father—to My God and your
God.”
Similarly,
in Revelation 3:12 we read that Christ declared the following at least thirty
years after his resurrection:
”He who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my
God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name
of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new
Jerusalem which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my
own new name.”
Thus we find that Christ – in his glorified and exalted state –
believed his Father to be his God. And since the one God does not have a God, it
follows that Jesus is not the one God.
The fact that God, our Father, is “the God and Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ” means that the one God identified in 1 Cor. 8:6 as the
Father is over the “one Lord, Jesus
Christ.” We can thus conclude that the “one Lord” who is Jesus Christ is
subordinate to, and dependent on, the “one God and Father of all.”[i]
That the Lord Jesus Christ is subordinate to God is also evident from what we read in 1 Corinthians 11:3:
“Now I want you to be aware that the Head of every man is Christ,
yet the head of the woman is the man, yet the Head of Christ is God.”
Christ’s Lordship implies that he is “the Head of every man.”
But the fact that God is the “Head of Christ” implies that Christ is
subordinate to his God and Father. In accord with this fact, Christ declared
the Father to be “greater than all” (John 10:29), including himself (John
14:28).
The last time in Paul’s letters where we find the
expression “one God” used is in 1 Timothy 2:4-6. In these verses we read that
“…[God] wills that
all mankind be saved and come into a realization of the truth. For there is one God, and one Mediator of God and mankind, a Man, Christ
Jesus, Who is giving Himself a correspondent Ransom for all…”
As the one Mediator of God and mankind, Christ is distinct from
the “one God” on whose behalf he is the one Mediator. However, Christ is also distinct from the “mankind” on whose behalf he
is the one Mediator. Although Christ is a man (as is explicitly affirmed by Paul in
this passage), he does not belong to the category of sinful, condemned humans
for whom he gave himself “a correspondent Ransom” (and whose salvation we’re
told is willed by God). As the one Lord under the
one God, Jesus Christ mediates between mankind and the one God, and is the one
through whom mankind is reconciled to the one God.
Not only is it implied that the “one Lord” referred
to in 1 Cor. 8:6 (i.e., Jesus Christ) is subordinate to the one God (i.e., the
Father), but we also know that Christ’s present exalted status/position as the
one Lord under the one God is not a status that he has always had. Instead (and
in
contrast with the Lordship of the Father), the Lordship of Jesus Christ is derived.
In defense of the truth of the derived nature of
Jesus’ Lordship, let’s consider the words of Peter as recorded in Acts 2:29-36.
In these verses we read the following:
“This Jesus God raises,
of Whom we all are witnesses. Being, then, to the right hand of God
exalted, besides obtaining the promise of the holy spirit from the Father,
He pours out this which you are observing and hearing. For David did
not ascend into the heavens, yet he is saying, ‘Said the Lord to my Lord, “Sit at My right Till I should be placing Thine
enemies for a footstool for Thy feet.”’ Let all the house of Israel know certainly,
then, that God makes Him Lord as well as Christ -- this Jesus Whom you crucify!”
In these verses, Peter was quoting from
Psalm 110:1 (“Yahweh said to my Lord: ‘Sit at my
right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.’”). In this prophecy of David, we find Yahweh (i.e.,
the one God, who is the Father) inviting someone distinct from himself to sit
at his right hand. Besides literally referring to a physical location in the
heavenly realm, sitting at God’s right hand also implies a position of
authority and preeminence that is second only to God’s. It implies that one has
been given all authority in heaven and on earth.
While it is clear that the individual being told to
sit at Yahweh’s right hand would’ve been understood by David as being superior
in authority to himself (hence David calls him “my Lord”), it is equally clear
that this individual was understood as being distinct from, and subordinate to,
Yahweh himself. This is in accord with the fact that the Messiah had
consistently been prophesied in the Hebrew Scriptures as being a member of
Adam’s race, and as being distinct from the one God of Israel (see, for
example, Genesis 3:15; 12:3; 22:18; 28:14; 49:10; Numbers 24:17-19; Deuteronomy
18:15; 2Sa 7:12-13; 1 Chronicles 17:13; Psalm 45:2-7, 17; 72:1; 89:3-4; 110:1;
132:11; Isaiah 7:14; 11:1-5; 52-53; Jeremiah 23:5; 30:21; Daniel 7:13; Zech.
6:12-13; Micah 5:2).
Now, based on Peter’s appeal to Psalm 110:1, it’s
evident that he understood this prophecy to have been fulfilled (or to
have begun to be fulfilled) through
the resurrection and ascension of Jesus. It’s also evident that he believed the
exalted status/position that David prophesied Jesus would have (and which is
indicated by his being invited by Yahweh to sit at his right hand) is a status
that was given to Jesus when he was resurrected. It was at this time that
God made Jesus “Lord.”
There is, of course, a sense in which Jesus was
“Lord” before his death and resurrection. However, it must be kept in mind that
anyone who was considered to have a superior rank or status in relation to
others could be addressed as “lord” or “Lord” (the capitalization of the term
depends entirely on one’s translational preference). In addition to the
numerous examples of humans being addressed as “lord” in the Hebrew Scriptures,
we also find examples in the Greek Scriptures of people other than Jesus being
addressed as “lord,” as well (e.g., Philip in John 12:21 and a celestial
messenger in Acts 10:3-4 and Rev. 7:14). Prior to his death and resurrection,
Jesus was Lord in the sense that every king of Israel could be considered
“Lord.” The authority that Christ received when he was resurrected, however,
made him “Lord of all” (Acts 10:36). And it is this highly exalted status that Peter had in mind when he exclaimed
that God had made the risen Jesus “Lord.”
What we read in Acts 2:36 concerning Jesus’ being
made Lord is in accord with the words of Christ himself after his resurrection.
In Matthew 28:18 we read that Christ declared to his disciples, “Given to Me was all authority in heaven and
on earth.”
Although Jesus had relatively great authority
during his earthly ministry (having been anointed by God “with holy spirit and
power” when he was baptized; Acts 10:38), he did not have “all authority in
heaven and on earth” until after his death and resurrection.
The reason for this is that Christ’s universal authority (and related exalted
status as Lord of all) was given to him by God as a reward for his great obedience to God. In
Philippians 2:8-11 we read the following:
“…and, being found in
fashion as a human, [Christ Jesus] humbles Himself, becoming obedient
unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore, also, God highly exalts
Him, and graces Him with the name that is above every name, that in
the name of Jesus every knee should be bowing, celestial and terrestrial and
subterranean, and every tongue should be acclaiming that Jesus Christ is Lord,
for the glory of God, the Father.”
We also read in Romans 14:8-9 that
Christ died and was restored to life by God so that “he should be Lord of the dead as well as of the
living.” This implies that Jesus was not “Lord
of the dead as well as of the living” before his death and
resurrection. We’re also told in Hebrews 1:2, 4
that God appointed Jesus “enjoyer of the allotment of all,” and that Jesus became
“so much better than the messengers as
He enjoys the allotment of a more excellent name than they.”
In contrast with what we read
concerning Jesus, Yahweh has never had to become better than
any other being or class of beings, or receive from someone
higher than himself “a name that is above every name.” Yahweh has never had to
be made “Lord,” or be given “all authority in
heaven and on earth.” Why? Answer: Because Yahweh is “the Most High” and “the
only true God.” In contrast with Jesus Christ, no one made the Father Lord or gave him his authority; he has always been Lord, by virtue of his
inherent divinity.
“Through Whom all is, and we through Him”
Having considered what Paul meant by his use of the expressions
“one God” and “one Lord” in 1 Cor. 8:6 (and what it means for Christ to be the
“one Lord” of whom Paul wrote), let’s now consider what Paul wrote in this
verse concerning the distinct role, or function, of Jesus Christ. Here,
again, is how this verse reads in the CLNT:
“…nevertheless for us there is one God, the Father, out of Whom all
is, and we for Him, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through Whom all is, and we
through Him.”
Here is how it reads in the Dabhar translation:
“…but to us there is but one God, the Father, out of whom are the
all, and we into Him, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are the all, and
we through Him.”
It’s possible that, when Paul used the pronoun “we” in the
second part of each expression (instead of the expression “[the] all”), he
was including himself among (and speaking on behalf of) the “all.” I find it more
likely, however, that Paul’s change in terminology (from “all” to “we”) reflects
a shift in focus and emphasis to what is especially true with regard to
believers. That is, Paul’s “we” most likely refers to the same people whom he
previously referred to as “us” in the same verse (in the expression, “nevertheless
for us”). In
any case, it’s evident that, in this verse, Paul was making an important
distinction between the Father and Jesus Christ.
As noted earlier, when affirming what is true of the Father in
relation to creation, Paul referred to him as both the source of the existence
of all (“out of Whom all is”) and the goal of, or purpose for, our existence
(”and we for/into Him”). In contrast with what
Paul wrote concerning the Father, we read that the Lord Jesus Christ is the one
through whom all is (and by “all”
Paul clearly had in mind the same “all” that is out of God). That is, instead
of being “out of” Christ, “the all” is “through Christ.”
In fact, Paul emphasized Christ’s function as the one Lord by
his repetition of the word “through” when referring to both “the all” and “we.”
In doing so, Paul contrasted Christ’s status and function as the one through whom we exist
with God’s role and status as the one out of and for/into we exist. Unlike God, Christ’s
status and function as the “one Lord” does not involve being either the source of or the goal/purpose for
our existence. Rather, Christ’s status and function as the “one Lord” (i.e.,
the one Lord who is under the one God) involves being the agent through whom we
continue in existence and, ultimately, reach the goal (and achieve the purpose)
for which we were created by God.
Now, according
to the most commonly-held view among Christians, the expression “through Whom
all is” refers to a past event that
coincided with the event that resulted in all being “out of” God. That is, it’s
commonly believed that everything came “out of” God and “through Christ” simultaneously (such that the expression
“through [Christ]” tells us how, or
by what means, everything came “out of” God). However, the expression “through
Whom all is, and we through Him” does not require the view that Paul had in
mind the past event that occurred when God created the heavens and the earth.
Instead, what Paul wrote concerning Christ in 1 Cor. 8:6 is perfectly consistent with the view that Paul was
referring to a present state of affairs that began after Christ was made Lord
of all and received his universal authority.
Just as the expression “and we for/into [God]” does
not refer to an event that occurred in the past (it points to the future), so
the expression “and we through [Christ]” need not be understood
as referring to an event that coincided with the event that resulted in all
being “out of” God. Since the expression “out of” points us backward to the past and the expression “for/into”
points us forward to the future, the
word “through” should best be understood as referring to the present.
A verse that I believe can shed light on what Paul had in mind
here is Romans 11:36. In this verse we read that “out of [God] and through
Him and for Him is all.” The nearly identical wording Paul used here makes this verse the
closest parallel to what Paul wrote in 1 Cor. 8:6 that we find in Scripture.
And in this verse, it’s evident that the expression “through Him...is all” doesn’t refer
to a past event that happened simultaneously with the original creation event
described in Genesis 1. Rather, it refers to the present state of affairs. All has been “through” God since the beginning, and will always be so. However,
according to what we read in 1 Cor. 8:6, all is also through the “one Lord, Jesus Christ.” But what, exactly, does
this ongoing activity that’s being performed by Christ involve?
Answer: In Hebrews 1:3 (CLNT) we read that Christ is “carrying
on all by His powerful declaration.”
Here’s how the above expression reads in other translations:
“…bearing up also
the all things by the saying of his might” (YLT).
“…upholding all things
by the word of his power” (ASV).
“…sustaining all things
by His powerful word” (HCSB).
The idea being expressed here is that creation (i.e., all that
is “out of God”) remains in existence by Christ’s authority. It is in this
sense that all is “through” Christ.[ii]
It is also, I believe, this same basic idea that Paul was expressing (using
different terminology) in Colossians 1:16. In this verse we read the following:
“…for in
Him is all created, that in the heavens and that on the earth, the visible
and the invisible, whether thrones, or lordships, or sovereignties, or
authorities, all is created through Him
and for Him.”
Although this is another verse commonly appealed to in support
of the idea that Christ was the one who directly
created everything in the beginning (and that the Father only created
everything indirectly), this interpretation is not consistent with the fact
that the one in whom we’re told all “is created” – i.e., “the Son of [God’s]
love” (Col. 1:13) – didn’t begin to exist as God’s Son until he
was generated/begotten by his God and Father (which, again, took place when
Jesus’ mother became pregnant with him). And even apart from this
consideration, the commonly-held understanding of v. 16 is simply not required
by what Paul actually wrote. In the first part of v. 16 (where we read
that “in Him [Christ] is all created”), the verb translated “is…created” is
in the aorist tense. This tense leaves the exact nature of the action
undetermined and undefined, and simply describes the action as a bare fact.[iii] However,
in the expression with which v. 16 concludes (“all is created through Him and for Him”), Paul used
the perfect passive indicative of
the verb for “created.” The use of the perfect tense focuses on the
continuance of a present state of affairs that began at some point in the past.[iv]
The same tense is used in v. 17, where we read that “all has its
cohesion in Him.” When did all begin to have its
cohesion in Christ? Answer: when Christ was roused from among the dead and
given all authority in heaven and on earth. It was not until after Christ was given all authority in
heaven and on earth (and thus became Lord of all) that he has possessed the
authority to preserve everything in heaven and on earth in existence (such that
it can be said that “all is created” – i.e., all remains created – in, through
and for Christ).
We thus have good reason to believe that, when Paul wrote that
there is, for us, ”one Lord, Jesus Christ, through Whom all is, and we through Him,” Paul was
referring to an ongoing state of affairs (i.e., that which is described in Heb.
1:3 as “carrying on all by His powerful declaration”) that
began after Christ was roused from among the dead and received all authority in
heaven and on earth.
What further supports this understanding of 1 Cor. 8:6 is that it
is as
the “one Lord” (i.e., it is as the one who has this exalted position of
authority) that Christ is the one “through Whom all is, and we
through Him.” That is, just as the expression “out of Whom all is, and we for/into Him” refers
to a state of affairs that is based on (and inseparable from) the fact that the
Father (and no one else) is the “one God,” so the
expression “through Whom all is,
and we though him” refers to a state of affairs that is based on (and inseparable
from) the fact that Jesus Christ (and no one else) is the “one Lord” of
whom Paul wrote. Or, to put it yet another way, the state of affairs that the
expression “through Whom all is, and we though him” refers to is one that is
inseparably connected with Christ’s preeminent status/exalted position as the
“one Lord,” and is a function of this
status/position.
Since Christ did not become the “one Lord” (which, again, refers
to his status and position of universal authority) until after his death and
resurrection, it follows that all did not begin to be “through” Christ until
after his death and resurrection. In the words of Hebrews 1:3-4, it was not
until after Christ became “so much
better than the messengers as He enjoys the allotment of a more excellent name
than they” (i.e., after Christ was highly exalted by God) that he became
the one who is “carrying on all by His powerful declaration.”
But how can all be through God and through Christ? Answer: Having been given all authority in
heaven and on earth as a reward for his obedience unto death, Christ has the
authority to do what God has been doing all along – i.e., “carrying
on all by His powerful declaration.” Thus, although God is
absolutely responsible for this state of affairs (so that all can be said to be
“through Him”), he has given his Son the authority to perform this function (so
that all can be said to be through Christ, as well). But what must be
emphasized is that Christ’s authority to do that which God is absolutely
responsible for (and to thus be the one “through whom all is”) was given to him
when he was roused from among the dead and given all authority in heaven and on
earth. That is, Christ’s authority to be the one through whom all is (and thus
to be “carrying on all by His powerful declaration”) is inseparable from his
exalted status/position as Lord of all. And Christ didn’t become “Lord of all”
until he was roused from among the dead (for this highly exalted position is a
reward for his obedience unto death).
[i] In defense of the commonly-held Christian view that Jesus is just as much the one God as his God and Father, it’s commonly asserted that Jesus’ possession of a human nature is what results in him being subordinate to, and dependent upon, the Father (and what results in the Father being his God). According to this view, if Jesus didn’t have a human nature, the Father wouldn’t be his God. However, appealing to Jesus’ human nature does not solve the problem of how Jesus can be the one God while also having a God over him. For if being a human (i.e., having a human nature) necessarily and essentially involves being subordinate to and dependent upon a being greater than oneself, then it would simply follow that the one God can’t also have a human nature.
But let’s assume, for the
sake of argument, that it’s possible for the one true God to have a human
nature added to his divine nature (resulting in him being both “fully divine
and fully human”). Even if such a state of affairs were possible, it would only
mean that whatever is essential to being the one God wouldn’t be negated by the
addition of a human nature to the divine nature. But to be the one God necessarily
means that one doesn’t have a God, and that one isn’t subordinate
to, and dependent upon, anyone who is greater than oneself. These are
logically contradictory conditions, and cannot both be true of one and
the same being.
Thus, if Jesus is both a
man and the one God, then it would mean that Jesus
is the only man who isn't subordinate to, and dependent upon,
a being who is greater than himself. And since the one God can't have
a God over him, it would mean Jesus is the only man who
doesn't have a God. But of course, Jesus isn’t the
only man who doesn't have a God. Jesus has a God (i.e., the God who is his
Father), and Jesus is subordinate to and dependent upon his God. Moreover,
Jesus' God is the same God as our God (for he is the one God and Father of
all). Thus, Jesus is not, and cannot be, the one God.
[ii] It may be objected that, in the previous verse (Heb. 1:2), we’re told that it is “through [Christ]” that God “also makes the eons.” However, as I’ve argued elsewhere (see, for example, the following article: https://www.biblestudentsnotebook.com/bsn717.pdf), the eons in view in this verse are the eons during which Christ will be reigning after the kingdom of God has been established on the earth. These final eons are elsewhere referred to in Scripture as simply “the eons” (Matthew 6:13; Luke 1:33; Romans 1:25; 9:5; 11:36; 16:27; 2 Corinthians 11:31; Hebrews 13:8; Jude 25) and as “the eons of the eons” (Galatians 1:5; Philippians 4:20; 1 Timothy 1:17; 2 Timothy 4:18; Hebrews 13:21; 1 Peter 4:11; 5:11; Revelation 1:6, 18; 4:9,10; 5:13,14; 7:12; 10:6; 11:15; 14:11; 15:7; 19:3; 20:10; 22:5).
Thus, the eons that God “makes” (aorist indicative active tense)
through his Son are the future eons that will transpire during the Son’s reign,
and will be made by means of the authority that Christ was given when, as a
reward for his obedience unto death, he became “enjoyer of the allotment of all” (Heb. 1:2) and “so much
better than the messengers as He enjoys the allotment of a more excellent name
than they” (v. 4).
[iii]
[iv] According to Greek scholar A.T. Robertson, Paul’s use of this particular tense in v. 16 expresses the idea that everything “stands created” or “remains created” through and for Christ.
According to A.E. Knoch,
this verb form (which he refers to as the “state” or “complete” form) gives
“the state resulting from an action.”
Curtis Vaughan and Virtus
E. Gideon explain the perfect tense as follows:
“The perfect
tense…represents a completed state or condition from the standpoint of present
time.” (Curtis Vaughan and Virtus E. Gideon, “A Greek Grammar of the New
Testament”, Broadman Press, Nashville, Tennessee, 1979, page 149)
Similarly, according to M. Zerwick, the perfect tense indicates “not the past action as such but the present ‘state of affairs’ resulting from the past action” (M. Zerwick, “Biblical Greek Illustrated by Examples”, Pontificii Instituti Biblici, 1963, page 96).
