Indicative/Imperative
30 Days in 1st Peter - day two
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ…” That is how Peter begins — not with a command, but with praise for a living hope and an imperishable inheritance.
In the Greek language of the New Testament there are different “moods” of verbs. For our purposes here, we only need two — indicative and imperative. The indicative is the mood of certainty. It tells us what is actual or real. In the context of 1 Peter it is the mood used to describe what God has done, is doing, or is going to do.
The imperative is the mood used to describe what we are supposed to do. These are the commands. When you read a verse in 1 Peter where you are instructed to do something, that would be the imperative mood.
What I want you to notice is that Peter does not begin with commands. He begins with what God has done. He is telling us all the things God has done for us through Jesus Christ. Peter doesn’t tell us to do anything until he gets to the 13th verse of chapter one. Even then it isn’t as though he makes a complete shift and goes fully into imperatives. He keeps going back to indicatives- reminding us what God has done for us in Christ.
So, as we make our way through 1 Peter, pay attention to these distinctions. And what I want you to grasp and delight in is that the Apostles don’t come at us first with commands and instructions. They don’t lay heavy burdens of all the things we must do please the Lord.
Certainly, there are commands and exhortations and instructions throughout the New Testament. But they are built on a foundation of indicatives. It is never “do this so that God will accept you.” It is always, “do this because you are accepted by God.”
J. Gresham Machen said that the difference between false and real Christianity is that false Christianity is altogether in the imperative mood, while true Christianity always begins with triumphant indicatives. False Christianity appeals to the human will and what people can do for God. True Christianity always first announces the gracious act of God.
There is deep wisdom in beginning each day by reminding yourself what God has done for you before you ever think about what you will do for Him.
Start with grace.
Start with the gospel.
Let obedience rise from gratitude, not anxiety.
