Terry set out a
challenge for us to take into our considerations over the next week. It
was a good challenge; the kind that is already bearing fruit as we read of
God's splendor in people's lives. I will be taking his challenge with me
this week.
I read this
discussion between jt and js (see below, waaay below), and my heart
becomes heavy. Rather than saying why that is at this time, I would like
to put forth another challenge for the week ahead. In our quiet
time, when we're just reading the Bible because we love God's
word, why don't we pay attention to the relationship between the
indicatives of grace and how they stand in comparison to the
imperatives of obedience? There's much to be learned here and
appreciated if we will but try to do it.
If you are unfamiliar
with my terms, please allow me to explain them a little further.
Indicatives are verbs that indicate the status of relationship between the
subject and the object of a sentence. Indicatives do not expect or request
things of the object; they simply indicate and declare; e.g., in Jesus'
prayer of John 17, look at the nature of the subject-object relationships
in verse 19 -- "For their sakes I sanctify myself that they also
might be sanctified through truth." Jesus is the subject
throughout this statement. The verb "sanctify" is indicative. Jesus
sanctifies himself that the objects of his act, the their and theys, might also be sanctified through truth.
The verb indicates his heart for them; it indicates his desire for them;
it indicates his intention for them; it indicates his willingness to
suffer on their behalf, it indicates how he loves them, all very
relational stuff. The "indicatives of grace" are those verbs that
indicate the status of our relationship with the Father, through the Son,
in the Holy Spirit. What is the status of that relationship? That is
the question.
Imperatives, on the
other hand, are verbs which do make requests and carry expectations. Often
times in statements where the verb is an imperative, the speaker, the one
making the request, is not explicitly identified in the statement itself.
We have to look for the speaker elsewhere in the context of the passage to
determine his identity. By nature then imperatives are less relational
than indicatives in terms of closeness between the subject and objects
involved. This is not to say that imperatives are non-relational verbs --
quite the opposite. It simply means that the subject-object
relationship of imperatives is dependent upon the closeness
supplied by the indicatives of their relationship. In other words,
relational proximity is established by indicatives and not imperatives.
Let me say this differently.
Let's look at Matthew
28.18-20; there's all kind of indicatives and imperatives in this passage.
Let's look at how they relate. When Jesus says, "... Go therefore and make
disciples of all the nations, ..." the words "go" and "make" are imperatives. They are commands. The
subject of this statement itself is "you." You go and you make disciples.
Now, the question is, is Jesus heaping the whole weight of disciple making
upon the backs of his disciples? This statement, by itself (and without
support from a greater context!), sounds as though he is. It doesn't
sound like he is close to them; it sounds like he's abandoning
them! Is that the case? No! Of course not But we can only know
that if we go looking for the proximity of the speaker, the
first subject of the statement, in relationship to the recipients of
his command (This is so important, because sometimes the indicatives
of the Speaker-recipient relationship are several verses removed from
the imperatives of his request, sometimes they even show up after the
imperatives have been stated. BECAUSE sometimes the commandments will
make us feel very isolated and over weighted, AND SO we need know how
to find something to indicate the nature of our relationship to the
speaker).
Where is Jesus going
to be while his disciples are making disciples? What is his role in all of
this? Where is he speaking from? To answer those questions we have to look
for something which indicates the status of Jesus' relationship to
his disciples. In this instance we do not have to look very far: "And
Jesus came and spoke unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in
heaven and in earth. ... and lo, I am with you always, even to the
end of the age." The verbs "came" and "spoke" are indicatives. The verb
"is given" is indicative. The verb "am," in I am with you always,
is indicative. What is the relational status between Jesus and
his disciples in the commandment to "go" and "make"? It is very close
and tight, Jesus empowering his disciples. We know this because
of the indicatives supplied by the greater context. Disciples go and make
new disciples through his authority and power, baptizing them in his
name (the name of our God) and teaching them to obey, and we do
this knowing that he is close and that he is with us always. Oh
those wonderful indicatives of Grace!
The challenge for
us is to search out those indicatives of grace every time we come
across an imperative of obedience. Where is the speaker? Who is the
speaker, really? What do His indicatives indicate about the
status of our relationship with Him? What does being obedient to what
he commands indicate about our relationship to
Him?
I think if we will
take this challenge and place it alongside Terry's, we'll find that we
have all kinds of things to be thankful for, and we won't be bored or
running out of things to do -- everything to the glory of this
wonderful Savior.
Thanks,
Bill
Taylor
