Monday, February 10, 2014

Indicatives and Imperatives in Colossians

In the letter to the Colossians, Paul delivers perhaps the clearest separation of indicatives and imperatives. Though these lists are not exhaustive, I compiled 28 indicative statements from chapter 1 to match the 28 imperative statements in the rest of the letter that Douglas Moo lists in his Pillar New Testament Commentary.

Indicatives
1. God is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ (1:3)
2. Jesus is Lord and Christ (1:3)
3. We have hope laid up for in heaven (1:5)
4. The gospel is the grace of God in truth (1:5-7)
5. God is gloriously mighty (1:11)
6. The Father has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light (1:12)
7. The Father has delivered us from the domain of darkness (1:13)
8. The Father has transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son (1:13)
9. We have redemption in the Son(1:14)
10. We have forgiveness of sins (1:14)
11. The Son is the image of the invisible God (1:15)
12. The Son is the firstborn of all creation (1:15)
13. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth (1:16)
14. All things were created through the Son (1:16)
15. All things were created for the Son (1:16)
16. The Son is before all things (1:17)
17. In the Son all things hold together (1:17)
18. The Son is the head of the body, the church (1:18)
19. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead (1:18)
20. The Son will be preeminent in all things (1:18)
21. In the Son all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell (1:19)
22. All things will be reconciled to the Son through his blood (1:20)
23. You were once alienated and hostile towards God (1:21)
24. The Son has now reconciled you in his body of flesh by his death (1:22)
25. The Son reconciled you to present you holy and blameless and above (1:22)
26. The Son reconciled you to present you  before the Father (1:22)
27. The Son is the mystery hidden for ages but is now revealed to his saints (1:26-27)
28. God chose to make known to you how great are the riches of the glory of Christ (1:27)

Imperatives
1. See to it (2:8)
2. Do not let anyone judge you (2:16)
3. Do not let anyone . . . disqualify you (2:18)
4. Set your hearts on things above (3:1)
5. Set your minds on things above” (3:2)
6. Put to death (3:5)
7. You must . . . rid yourselves (3:8)
8. Do not lie to each other (319)
9. Clothe yourselves (3:12)
10. Bear with each other (3:13)
11. Forgive one another (3:13)
12. Forgive (3:13)
13. Put on love (3:14)
14. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts (3:15)
15. Be thankful (3:15)
16. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly (3:16)
17. Do it all (3:17)
18. Wives, submit yourselves to your own husband (3:18)
19. Husbands, love your wives (3:19)
20. Children, obey your parents (3:20)
21. Fathers, do not embitter your children (3:21)
22. Slaves, obey your earthly masters (3:22)
23. Work at it with all your heart (3:23)
24. Masters, provide your slaves with what is right and fair (4:1)
25. Devote yourselves to prayer (4:2)
26. Pray for us, too (4:3)
27. Be wise (4:5)
28. Let your conversation be always full of grace (4:6)

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