{"id":508,"date":"2010-07-29T12:35:59","date_gmt":"2010-07-29T19:35:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jkitchen.org\/?p=508"},"modified":"2010-11-24T04:25:23","modified_gmt":"2010-11-24T11:25:23","slug":"forebear-forgive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jkitchen.org\/?p=508","title":{"rendered":"Forebear & Forgive!"},"content":{"rendered":"

“… bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you.”<\/strong> (Colossians 3:13)<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Having enumerated five virtues which we are commanded to \u201cput on\u201d (v.12, see this post<\/a>), the Apostle now (using two participles) reveals just how we are to do so.[1]<\/a><\/p>\n

The first is \u201cbearing with.\u201d\u00a0 The present tense marks this as a constant necessity in relationships.\u00a0 The middle voice pictures the subject taking action on himself so as to bear up with others.\u00a0 The word means to endure, to bear with, or to put up with difficult people or circumstances, the former being the focus here.[2]<\/a> This action is to be taken reciprocally upon \u201cone another.\u201d<\/p>\n

A second participle is now added (\u201cand\u201d): \u201cforgiving.\u201d\u00a0 Again the present tense pictures this as a repeated, regular feature necessary to make relationships within the body of Christ work.\u00a0 The middle voice again pictures the subject acting upon himself to extend forgiveness to the others in his life.\u00a0 The word means to give freely or graciously as a favor and then by extension to forgive or pardon.[3]<\/a> This action is to be taken upon \u201ceach other,\u201d the reflexive pronoun being used for the reciprocal pronoun.[4]<\/a> The reflexive pronoun pictures action \u201cof each one toward all, –yea even to themselves included, Christians being members of one another.\u201d[5]<\/a><\/p>\n

These two actions, then, are the way we demonstrate \u201ca heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience\u201d (v.12) toward one another.\u00a0 The object of forbearing and forgiveness are not the same, however.\u00a0 Indeed, they may be extended to one and the same person, but that within the person which requires forbearance and forgiveness are not the same.\u00a0 As someone has well said, we forebear silliness, we forgive sin.<\/p>\n

This must be the response of \u201cwhoever has a complaint against anyone.\u201d\u00a0 The use of the conditional particle and the subjunctive mood of the verb (\u201chas\u201d) forms a condition which pictures the condition as uncertain of fulfillment, but still likely (e.g. \u201cif one has a complaint,\u201d esv).\u00a0 The unfortunate fact is that wherever followers of Christ live together complaints arise one against another.\u00a0 Paul is ever the realist and here outlines the prescription for such occasions.\u00a0 The issue is individual and personal\u2014both pronouns being singular.\u00a0 Indeed, the Greek text pictures the reality by setting the two indefinite pronouns in careful juxtaposition over against one another (lit. \u201csomeone to someone\u201d).\u00a0 In such a pair someone \u201chas\u201d\u2014present tense\u2014\u201ca complaint\u201d against the other.\u00a0 The noun is used only here in the New Testament.\u00a0 The verb from which this noun arises refers most commonly to errors of omission, meaning \u201cto find fault<\/em> with.\u201d\u00a0 Thus the noun is probably pointing to \u201ca debt<\/em>, which needs to be remitted.\u201d[6]<\/a> Far too often in the body of Christ someone concludes that some brother or sister \u201cowes\u201d them something for a wrong done.\u00a0 And far too often they are out to extract payment from that person.\u00a0 In such cases, the Apostle says, forbearance and forgiveness from \u201ca heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience\u201d (v.12) are the order of the day.<\/p>\n

And this cannot be merely granted in some grudging way.\u00a0 Both the \u201cground and motivation\u201d[7]<\/a> of such grace are set forth when Paul adds: \u201cjust as the Lord forgave you, so also should you\u201d (cf. Eph. 4:32).\u00a0 The comparative conjunction (\u201cjust as\u201d) provides the hinge point of similarity between our forgiveness and that of Christ.\u00a0\u00a0 The standard is \u201cthe Lord forgave you.\u201d\u00a0 He \u201cforgave\u201d is an aorist tense simply noting the doing of the deed.\u00a0 The middle voice pictures Christ acting upon Himself to give Himself up in our place, taking our sin, exhausting the judgment of the Father against our rebellion.\u00a0 Paul repeats the same verb used earlier in the verse, here however describing the forgiveness of the Lord toward us (cf. 2:13).\u00a0 This He did for \u201cyou,\u201d a plural pronoun acknowledging Christ\u2019s death for each one of us, but picturing us as a redeemed company.<\/p>\n

This beautiful picture of redeeming grace in view, the Apostle now says, literally, \u201cso also you.\u201d\u00a0 The adverb (\u201cso\u201d) correlates this statement regarding us to the preceding statement regarding Christ.\u00a0 What is true of Christ toward us should \u201calso\u201d be true of us toward one another.\u00a0 The pronoun is again plural (\u201cyou\u201d), laying the responsibility upon us each one, but picturing us as a whole body practicing such grace among ourselves.<\/p>\n

Obviously none of us can give ourselves with the same redemptive effect as Christ gave Himself.\u00a0 His work is done \u201conce for all\u201d (Rom. 6:10; Heb. 7:27; 9:12; 10:10).\u00a0 He alone is the sin-bearer.\u00a0 Yet precisely because of what He has done for us we can (and must) in like fashion extend grace to one another, not holding our offenses against one another.\u00a0 Reflection on the relationship of Paul\u2019s instruction here and Jesus\u2019 teaching in Matthew 18:23-35 will prove instructive.<\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> NET Bible; Rienecker, 580.<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> BAGD, 65.<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> Ibid., 876.<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> Ibid., 212.<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> Rienecker, 580.<\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> Lightfoot, 220; cf. Little Kittel, 580.<\/p>\n

[7]<\/a> O\u2019Brien, 202.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“… bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you.” (Colossians 3:13) Having enumerated five virtues which we are commanded to \u201cput on\u201d (v.12, see this post), the Apostle now (using two participles) reveals just how we are to do […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_first_post":false,"_jetpack_hide_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_featured_image_duplicate_dismissed":0,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-508","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-colossians","post-preview"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pgYGxX-8c","jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jkitchen.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/508","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jkitchen.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jkitchen.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jkitchen.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jkitchen.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=508"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/jkitchen.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/508\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":606,"href":"https:\/\/jkitchen.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/508\/revisions\/606"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jkitchen.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=508"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jkitchen.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=508"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jkitchen.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=508"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}