Acts 13:48 - Appointing Oneself to Eternal Life?

[Dikaioumenoi]

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.

 

[Dikaioumenoi]

I'll anticipate one possible objection.

In verse 16, these individuals are addressed as 'you who fear God' (οἷ φοβούμενοι θεόν), and in verse 43 they are described as 'devout converts to Judaism' (σεβομένων προσηλύτων), or proselytes. Some argue that 'appointed themselves' is an appropriate rendering of the verb in verse 48b because it pertains to Jewish converts who were already worshippers of God, albeit not yet believers in Christ as the Messiah. The argument is that as God worshippers, they did not so much reject Christ as they were simply unaware of who he was, and it was simply a matter of filling in the missing pieces for them to become full-fledged believers. Hence, by virtue of their prior, incomplete faith, they 'appointed themselves' to a future, full-fledged belief.

There's a couple problems with this. First, 'appointed themselves' is a reflexive use of the middle. The reflexive middle had fallen out of use by the Koine period; examples are exceedingly rare. Realistically, there might be one in the New Testament (Matt. 27:5), but even that's debatable. Second, as noted in the OP, τεταγμένοι is a perfect, in a periphrastic construction. Perfect middle periphrastics are exceedingly rare in their own right. By my count, there's only one example in the NT, in John 13:5 (διεζωσμένος, 'wrapped around him'). This is out of about 200 periphrastic constructions in total, and it's not a reflexive use of the middle. Thus, interpreting 'appointed themselves' in Acts 13:48 posits a truly unique grammatical construction. The contextual reference to proselytes is woefully insufficient to support this interpretation.

Periphrastic constructions are frequent in Luke and Acts. About half of all NT examples occur in these two books. They are usually present active. When Luke does use the perfect, he consistently does so with either the passive or active voice. Clear instances of middle periphrastics in Luke are limited, with the only two being present tense (Luke 3:23; 14:1). All other arguable candidates are also present tense (Luke 1:10; 5:17, 29; 9:18, 53; 11:1; 22:69; 23:51, 53; 24:13; Acts 2:2; 8:28; 10:30; 11:5; 12:5, 12; 21:3), and they often involve 'deponent' or stative verbs that naturally carry a subject-focused nuance (e.g. ἦσαν καθήμενοι, 'they were sitting', Acts 2:2), and are therefore not reflexive in meaning.

Considering the two-fold rarity of the construction (both the reflexive use of the middle and the middle itself being used in a perfect periphrastic), and the added fact that the passive always predominates in middle/passive forms unless there is a clear argument for the middle, the mere contextual reference to 'proselytes' is insufficient to support this interpretation.

Moreover, none of this answers the dilemma posed by the periphrastic construction. A periphrastic construction is a situation where a word takes on an inflection beyond its actual morphological form. In this case, τεταγμένοι is a perfect, so in the periphrastic construction it takes on a pluperfect force, situating the action as past completed with reference to the time frame of the entire narrative. Since the hearing of the gospel is something which takes place in the narrative (48a), even if these proselytes had been proselytes well prior to the events depicted here, to interpret verse 48 as 'having appointed themselves to eternal life' would require the view that this appointment is something grounded outside the context of hearing the gospel, with the apparent implication being that the gospel is not essential to salvation.

One might be tempted to understand 'appointed' as taking on more of a 'positioning oneself for a likely outcome' (i.e. disposing oneself openly to hearing, and, perhaps, believing a message). But this hardly fits the range of meaning of τάσσω, which is determinative. If taken as a middle, the sense would be that something about these individuals, or something they did in the past, prior to their exposure to the gospel, determined that they should later believe that gospel. What could possibly explain such determination, in the free will actions of individuals? This really only makes sense as a passive, 'having been appointed by God' to a certain end.

 

[Vambram]

"And as many as were ordained" - ὅσοι ἦσαν τεταγμένοι hosoi ēsan tetagmenoi.
Syriac, “Who were destined,” or constituted.
Vulgate, “As many as were foreordained (quotquot erant praeordinati) to eternal life believed.”

There has been much difference of opinion in regard to this expression. One class of commentators has supposed that it refers to the doctrine of election - to God’s ordaining people to eternal life, and another class to their being disposed themselves to embrace the gospel - to those among them who did not reject and despise the gospel, but who were disposed and inclined to embrace it. The main inquiry is, what is the meaning of the word rendered “ordained”?
The word is used only eight times in the New Testament: Matthew 28:16, “Into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them”; that is, previously appointed - before his death;
Luke 7:8, “For I also am a man set under authority”; appointed, or designated as a soldier, to be under the authority of another;
Acts 15:2, “They determined that Paul and Barnabas, etc., should go to Jerusalem”;
Acts 22:10, “It shall be told thee of all things which are appointed for thee to do”;
Acts 23:23, “And when they appointed him a day,” etc.:
Romans 13:1, “the powers that be are ordained of God;
1 Corinthians 16:15, They have addicted themselves to the ministry of saints.”

The word τάσσω tassō, properly means “to place” - that is, to place in a certain rank or order. Its meaning is derived from arranging or disposing a body of soldiers in regular military order. In the places which have been mentioned above, the word is used to denote the following things:
(1) To command, or to designate, Matthew 28:16 Acts 22:10 Acts 28:23
(2) To institute, constitute, or appoint, Romans 13:1
(3) To determine, to take counsel, to resolve, Acts 15:2
(4) To subject to the authority of another, Luke 7:8
(5) To addict to; to devote to, 1 Corinthians 16:15

The meaning may be thus expressed:
(1) The word is never used to denote an internal disposition or inclination arising from one’s own self. It does not mean that they disposed themselves to embrace eternal life.

(2) It has uniformly the notion of an ordering, disposing, or arranging from without; that is, from some other source than the individual himself; as of a soldier, who is arranged or classified according to the will of the proper officer. In relation to these persons it means, therefore, that they were disposed or inclined to this from some other source than themselves.
(3) It does not properly refer to an eternal decree, or directly to the doctrine of election - though that may be inferred from it; but it refers to their being then in fact disposed to embrace eternal life. They were then inclined by an influence from without themselves, or so disposed as to embrace eternal life. That this was done by the influence of the Holy Spirit is clear from all parts of the New Testament. It was not a disposition or arrangement originating with themselves, but with God.
(4) This implies the doctrine of election. It was, in fact, that doctrine expressed in an act. It was nothing but God’s disposing them to embrace eternal life. And that He does this according to a plan in His own mind a plan which is unchangeable as He Himself is unchangeable is clear from the Scriptures.

 

[keepitsimple144]

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, ...

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?

You have to keep things in perspective, God will judge rightly through the One He appointed to give life to the dead.
He has given proof of this to everyone by raising Him from the dead. Acts 17:31
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. Rom 8

 

[Dikaioumenoi]

You have to keep things in perspective, God will judge rightly through the One He appointed to give life to the dead.
He has given proof of this to everyone by raising Him from the dead. Acts 17:31
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. Rom 8

Thanks for your comment. I certainly don't disagree with this, but I'm having trouble seeing how it relates to the OP. Can you elaborate any?

 

[keepitsimple144]

Thanks for your comment. I certainly don't disagree with this, but I'm having trouble seeing how it relates to the OP. Can you elaborate any?

It has to do with the fact that it is God who establishes you in Christ. 1 Cor 1:21
For it is not the one appoints himself who is approved; 2 Cor 10:18

 

[keepitsimple144]

Thanks for your comment. I certainly don't disagree with this, but I'm having trouble seeing how it relates to the OP. Can you elaborate any?

It has to do with the fact that it is God who establishes you in Christ. 1 Cor 1:21
For it is not the one who appoints himself who is approved; 2 Cor 10:18

Outside of Christ all you have is trouble on your left and trouble on your right. {Trouble Cage The Elephant}