Aspect, Aktionsart and 1 John 3:9

There are a number of fine works that examine aspect and Aktionsart from different perspectives. However, I
would initially like to mention Rolf Furuli's approach to tense and aspect.

Rolf, like Bernard Comrie, evidently defines tense as "the grammaticalization of location in time" (Furuli, The Role of Theology, 75). He then writes:

"Given Comrie's definition of 'tense,' neither Hebrew nor Greek have tenses, save possibly Greek future, which is viewed by most researchers as a tense" (ibid).

Alhough I have read the studies produced by Porter, Furuli, Fanning and McKay, I have been very hesitant to concur with the non-temporal view of Greek tenses ex toto. In my personal estimation, there does not seem to be good reason for totally removing the notion of tempus from Greek tenses, even when the future "tense" is not under consideration. But I do believe that aspect is more prominent than the concept of tempus when it comes to Greek tenses. Furthermore, Wallace and Fanning seem to have a point when they contend that a number of factors (i.e., affected vs. non-affected meaning) provide temporal data in Greek.

Firstly, as Richard Young points out, "Although the thesis that time is not grammaticalized in Greek may sound extreme, it seems to be the logical conclusion one draws from the study of the nuances of Greek 'tenses'" (Young, Intermediate NT Greek, 105). However, Young qualifies this remark:

"Nevertheless, there is still merit in the traditional view that temporal distinctions are grammaticalized in the indicative mood, even though it results in a greater number of anomalies. This does not necessarily indicate a flaw in the analysis, since all languages have forms which overlap into the semantic domain of other forms" (ibid., 107).

S. M. Baugh (A First John Reader, 52) argues that "the function and force of tense forms varies with the different moods." Therefore, "An author chooses the tense form of a participle and the tense form of a complementary infinitive for different reasons" (ibid.). He then illustrates this argument with the example of 1 Jn. 3:9.

Baugh believes that three factors buttress his interpretation of 1 Jn. 3:9.

(1) The immediate context.

(2) The lexical significance of hAMARTANEIN.

(3) The influence of DUNAMAI upon the tense form of its complementary infinitive.

He contends that since the infinitive form of hAMARTANW does not appear elsewhere in the NT, John must have used the infinitive at 3:9 to signal an ongoing activity, not a state. He concludes: "the phrase OU DUNATAI hAMARTANEIN in 1 John 3:9 expresses the fact that the Christian is prevented by the new birth and the abiding presence of God from falling into persistent sin" (52).

In ftn. 16 on page 52 of his A First John Reader, Baugh also addresses views posited by Smalley and Wallace regarding this verse. He demonstrates that 1 John 5:16 with its use of hAMARTANONTA does not eradicate the iterative force of 1 Jn. 3:9--hAMARTANONTA is an adverbial present participle utilized to express action contemporaneous with the main verb. John's discussion of sin differs in this regard.

Baugh thus insists that time may be grammaticalized in certain moods. I encourage you to read his entire Excursus in A First John Reader as well as Baugh's comments regarding aspect in the Primer that he produced. You might also want to review D. B. Wallace's assessment of the temporal and non-temporal views of Greek "tense." See Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics, 504-510. Compare Stanley Porter's research with Buist Fanning's Verbal Aspect in New Testament Greek.