October 28, 2019

tetelestai τετέλεσται



tetelestai τετέλεσται literally translated means, “It is finished.” The word occurs in John 19:28 and John 19:30. The word tetelestai was written on business documents or receipts in New Testament times to indicate that a bill had been paid in full. Receipts in those times were often introduced by the phrase tetelestai. The connection between receipts and what Christ accomplished would have been quite clear to Greek-speaking readers and listeners; it would be unmistakable that Jesus Christ had died to pay for their sins.

It is a word of completion not survival. It signifies a successful end to a particular course of action. It's the word you would use when you climb to the peak of Everest. It's the word you would use when you make the final payment on your car. The word means I did exactly what I set out to do. 


Furthermore, Tetelestai is in the perfect tense here. The perfect tense is an action which has been completed in the past with results continuing into the present. It's different from the past tense which looks back to an event and says, "This happened." The perfect tense adds the idea that "This happened and it is still in effect today." When Jesus cries out "It is finished!!," he meant "It was finished in the past, it is still finished in now, and it will remain finished in the future." Christ paid for all sins even unto today. He successfully completed the work He came to do." Salvation. Paying the debt on the account of men’s/women’s souls.

Once He stated this, there was no unfinished business. No need of works. Only repentance and a changed heart that had turned (metanoia/μετάνοια) from sin (hamartia/ἁμαρτία) towards God and accepted Him. God being God had a plan to save man. So, logic dictates it was a perfect plan and needed no embellishments. He completed it and it has everlasting effects. Anything men would add would only screw it up.

Christ + nothing = Everything 


#finishingmove #sin #tapout#salvation 

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