Monday, January 1, 2018

Note on John 10:27


My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. (John 10:27, NASB)

τὰ πρόβατα τὰ ἐμὰ τῆς φωνῆς μου ἀκούουσιν, κἀγὼ γινώσκω αὐτὰ καὶ ἀκολουθοῦσίν μοι

The terms translated by the NASB as "hear" and "follow" are ἀκούουσιν and ἀκολουθοῦσίν, respectively. They are both in the third person present indicative active of the verbs ἀκούω and ἀκολουθέω. This is important for the following reasons:

(1) The use of the active voice shows that these are actions that the "sheep" engage in themselves. This is problematic for many false conceptions of anthropology (theology of man) and soteriology (theology of salvation).

(2) The use of the present indicative shows that these are actions that, to remain to be a member of Jesus' "sheep" is predicated upon continually hearing and following Jesus--this refutes many theologies of eternal security.

(3) This leads into the following verses (vv.28-29) that are often wrested from their context in support for all the various formulations of eternal security, ignoring [i] its immediate context and [ii] the rest of the Johannine literature that explicitly teaches one can lose their salvation.

On this point, see, for instance: