Before you say what kind of title is that? Don’t get too tense about it. I’m not talking about getting anxious or fretful. What I would like to share with you is that tenses matter when it comes to reading the Bible, the Word of God. What has God done for us already in the past, what will He do in the future and what is He doing presently? Understanding this will greatly help in your journey of faith. Many times we are looking for God to do something in the future when He has already provided it in the past. Tenses can derail and whip us if not applied correctly. This is not meant to be overly technical. By that, I mean I’m not getting deeply into the Greek text. I am not a Greek Scholar but I’m learning more. For some, this might be basic, for others you may have not given it much consideration.
However, this has greatly helped me in my walk of faith in understanding the use of tenses, nouns, and verbs. There were times when I was looking for God to do something in my life, somewhere down the road. We say prayers like God, “Give me more love, give me more peace, more joy.” “God will you save me, will you heal me.” We are looking at some point in the future. Can you hear God talking to Jesus, “Didn’t you tell them that I have already done it for them?” What is the difference? There is a big difference in how we approach God in faith and how we thank Him for what He has already done for us through Christ. We say prayers like, “God please save Aunt Mary.” Does that mean Jesus has to die again on the cross for Aunt Mary to be saved? No, He already died on the cross-past tense. What Aunt Mary needs is for her eyes to be open in the present to what Jesus has already done in the past. This will change her eternal future. I pray for her to see this presently, and to receive Christ into her heart at some point in the future.
As you read through the Bible you will find many promises from God’s Word ( 2 Cor 1:20). You need to ask yourself, is this something that God has already done for me past tense? Is it something that God is doing presently or will do in the future? The Bible tells us we are to walk by faith. 2 Corinthians 5:7 (NKJV)-7 For we walk by faith, not by sight. The word walk means to tread all around. To go and be preoccupied. With what? Faith in God as you tread all around. You’re not skipping, or jumping but walking. It is a continual one foot in front of the other. You are occupied, conscious of the goodness of God one step at a time. To the point that you trust and take Him at His Word. I like the last part of Isaiah 40:31“They shall walk and not faint! They shall not be weary or tired. Romans 1:17 (KJV)-17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith. Faith in God should never cause us to be weary or to faint (Psalm 27:13).
We live by faith. We don’t go on vacation from faith. As Christians, it is a part of who we are in Christ, and how we live our lives daily. God has dealt to every man the measure of faith ( Rom 12:3). Let’s look at the tenses in Hebrews 11:1. We will see different tenses in this scripture that are very important. Hebrews 11:1 (KJV)-1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. In Greek it reads Is now faith …The tense is present tense. When is Faith? It is now. Faith is happening now. It is a continual action. Not tomorrow, not yesterday but now. Faith is not future but present tense. Hope gives faith something to attach to and brings it into reality. I like the Amplified translation of Hebrews 11:1:Hebrews 11:1 (AMP)1 NOW FAITH is the assurance (the confirmation, the title deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses]. Hope is not the same as faith. Hope is a Present Tense” We have hope. It is an expectation but not a reality yet. It is something we desire and would like to have. Hope can be a positive imagination. Faith needs hope! God’s promises fill us with hope ( Rom 15:13). Things that are not seen yet. Faith makes it mine. We take possession of. It becomes a reality in our hearts and then in our lives. Romans 8:24 (NKJV)24 For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees?
Let’s look at another verse: Ephesians 1:3- (NKJV)3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, In the Greek it reads”having blessed” The tense is Aorist Tense” An action happening in the past. God has already blessed us with everything we need in Christ in the unseen realm ( Eph 1:3). He has already blessed us with salvation. We look back to the cross! It becomes a reality when we accept it by faith.(Rom 10:9-10). Love, joy, and peace have already been provided! Forgiveness of sin has already been provided. Faith reaches out and takes it. It is not something God is going to do in the future. Here is another: In(Eph 5:18) for example, Paul uses a present imperative when he tells believers to “be filled with the Spirit.” The present tense makes it clear that this is a continuing experience, which they should maintain constantly. It is not just a one-time event. We can continually be filled with the Holy Spirit. Praise God!
If God provided forgiveness of sin, He has also provided healing for our bodies. 1 Peter 2:24 (NKJV)-24 who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness–by whose stripes you were healed. “Were” is the Aorist tense meaning something that has happened in the past. The imperfect tense is the ideal way to describe an action that was in the process of happening at some time in the past. To say, “Someday I’ll be healed” is to put that action into the future somewhere. The sweet by and by. In Apostle Peters’s mind, he was seeing healing as already happened, past tense. As far as God is concerned He sees healing as already accomplished through His Son Jesus. To appropriate this promise we must see it as an accomplished fact. [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses-Heb 11:1]. This is a true statement, “I was healed two thousand years ago when Jesus died on the cross.” When this is real in my heart it becomes a reality in my life. Mark 11:24 (NKJV)24 Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.
Look at 2 Peter 1:2-3 (NKJV)-2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord,3 as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue. “Has given” is “Perfect Tense.” The perfect tense in Greek is used to describe a completed action that produced results that are still in effect up to the present. God has given us in Christ all things that pertain to life and godliness. That is here and now. Healing is life! If it is not a reality in our life doesn’t make it less true. God has provided salvation for everyone who believes. Jesus died for everyone but not everyone benefits from it. Unless they appropriate that promise and receive Christ into their lives. Ephesians 2:8-9 (NKJV)-8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. Healing happened in the past and is still available today. Hebrews 13:8 (NKJV)
8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
Thank God for the Word of God. It is quick and powerful. It is Spirit and it is life to us when received by faith( John 6:63). We put our trust and confidence in the character of God. He is good, faithful, and can be trusted. He never lies! Sometimes we read over a scripture not realizing that it is something God has already done for us! Many times we are in hope, which is good but we need to bring it into “Now faith is.” What do we believe and what do we confess? Is it future, past, or present? For example: The Rapture, the catching up of the Saints before the Tribulation is our blessed hope (Titus 2:13). It is in the future at some point. In Romans 5:1 (NKJV)-1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. We have been, past tense -justified-(Aorist tense ). We have been declared righteous before God. If I am saved I am already justified and righteous before God. That is how He sees us. We don’t say, “I hope someday I’m justified and made righteous.” But I don’t feel righteous. Whether you feel like it or not doesn’t change the truth of what God’s Word says you are. Romans 10:8-9 (NKJV)-8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach):9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. “You will be saved” is “Future Tense“. That can only happen because Salvation has already been provided in “Past Tense“. It is contingent on “If they confess with their mouth the Lord Jesus” at some point in time.
I hope this didn’t get you all tensed up. Just a little kidding there. Let’s thank God that He has already provided everything for us through and in Christ. We need to give thanks for all the things that God has already done. 1 John 5:11 (KJV)-11 And this is the record, that God hath given (past Tense)to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. It pleases God when we thank Him for what He has already done through His Son. Faith is what pleases God! (Heb. 11:6). Thank God we don’t need to beg God! He is a good, good Father.
- James 1:17 (KJV)-17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
- Hebrews 13:8 (KJV)-8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.
In Christs’Love;
Brent and Linda Bushen
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- Extra Notes for those who want more information -if you’re not confused already. Just kidding!
