The Perfect Tense-Form in Application: 1 Corinthians 7:14 as a Test-Case in Light of Verbal Aspect

Abstract

Paul’s advice regarding marriage in his first letter to the Corinthians has been well discussed, but his statements are not without interpretive difficulties. One of these difficulties is his advice for a married believing spouse to remain with an unbelieving spouse, giving the reason that “the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife” (NIV 2011) and the wife through the husband. Some interpreters take this to refer to the continued influence of the believing spouse upon the unbelieving spouse. Others take this to refer to a future hope of the unbelieving spouse to convert through the influence of the believing spouse. However there should be greater focus on the discussion about the impact of the meaning of the perfect tense-form (ἡγίασται). The verbal aspect framework is crucial for interpreting this statement; in particular, how one views the semantics of the perfect tense-form. This essay begins with a brief survey of the three major views on the perfect (Porter, Fanning, and Campbell), with brief, critical evaluations. Porter represents the stative aspect view, that the perfect tense-form grammaticalizes a (complex) state of affairs, without regard to tense or kind of action. Fanning represents the perfective aspect view, that the perfect tense-form grammaticalizes the perfective aspect (external viewpoint) but also encodes Aktionsart and tense. Campbell represents the imperfective aspect view that the perfect tense-form grammaticalizes ongoing action with heightened proximity in relation to the present tense-form. In the final section of this essay, I apply the reading of ἡγίασται according to each viewpoint to see which view best explains the meaning of ἡγίασται in this verse. I conclude that the stative aspect reading makes the best sense of this verse, where Paul instructs believing spouses to remain with their unbelieving spouses since they are in a (complex) state of sanctification by being with their spouse. This interpretation is preferable to the other two; the perfective aspect reading would mean that the sanctification process of the unbelieving spouse is depicted as complete by Paul, which raises many more questions than what it answers, and the imperfective reading would mean that the sanctification process of the unbelieving spouse is depicted as ongoing by Paul, which seems to contradict the experiences of many individuals in this situation. Thus, the semantics of the stative aspect view makes the best sense in this passage.