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Acts 13:48: "...and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed."
It is the suggestion of some that "appointed" here should be understood as an appointing of oneself, because the verb can be taken as either a middle or a passive.
The verb (τεταγμένοι), however, is a perfect participle within a periphrastic construction. The significance of the perfect periphrastic is that it gives a pluperfect force to the verb, suggesting that the appointing is an action that was completed in the past with regard to the Gentiles' exposure to the gospel. Thus, the act of appointing and the subsequent act of believing are distinct actions separated by a period of time. The appointing precedes the Gentiles' hearing and acceptance of the gospel.
If interpreted as middle voice, then, the notion of "appointing oneself" to eternal life implies a self-designation to a future state of belief, distinct from the act of belief itself. This appointing of oneself, in other words, would not involve a conscious decision to embrace Christ in faith.
What does that mean? For those who take the view that this verb should be interpreted as a middle, what does it mean to say that one, as an unbeliever, appoints oneself to a future state of belief, without in that very act of appointment embracing Christ in faith?
The severe improbability of such an interpretation is why translators render this verb as a passive, and the verse does therefore go quite a ways in supporting a doctrine of unconditional election.
It is the suggestion of some that "appointed" here should be understood as an appointing of oneself, because the verb can be taken as either a middle or a passive.
The verb (τεταγμένοι), however, is a perfect participle within a periphrastic construction. The significance of the perfect periphrastic is that it gives a pluperfect force to the verb, suggesting that the appointing is an action that was completed in the past with regard to the Gentiles' exposure to the gospel. Thus, the act of appointing and the subsequent act of believing are distinct actions separated by a period of time. The appointing precedes the Gentiles' hearing and acceptance of the gospel.
If interpreted as middle voice, then, the notion of "appointing oneself" to eternal life implies a self-designation to a future state of belief, distinct from the act of belief itself. This appointing of oneself, in other words, would not involve a conscious decision to embrace Christ in faith.
What does that mean? For those who take the view that this verb should be interpreted as a middle, what does it mean to say that one, as an unbeliever, appoints oneself to a future state of belief, without in that very act of appointment embracing Christ in faith?
The severe improbability of such an interpretation is why translators render this verb as a passive, and the verse does therefore go quite a ways in supporting a doctrine of unconditional election.