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How καταργοῦμεν Works in Romans 3:31
A focused form insight on Verb First Person Plural Present Active Indicative in Romans 3:31.
Romans 3:31 - BSB
Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Certainly not! Instead, we uphold the law.
The Question
How does καταργοῦμεν function in Romans 3:31?
Short Answer
καταργοῦμεν is a Verb First Person Plural Present Active Indicative in Romans 3:31. The form sharpens the rhetorical force of the question and makes the reply more pointed: faith is not presented as canceling law, but as leaving room for its affirmation.
What the Form Is Doing
καταργοῦμεν appears in Romans 3:31 as a Verb First Person Plural Present Active Indicative. It functions as the main verbal idea in the rhetorical question, asking whether law is being made ineffective or set aside.
The present active indicative first plural fits a current, rhetorical question about whether the gospel by faith has the effect of nullifying law. The immediate reply, 'μὴ γένοιτο,' denies that reading and turns the sentence toward upholding law.
Why It Matters for Interpretation
The form sharpens the rhetorical force of the question and makes the reply more pointed: faith is not presented as canceling law, but as leaving room for its affirmation.
The verb frames Paul's question about whether faith nullifies law.
Translation Effect
The present first-person plural directly supports English wording such as "do we nullify."
The form guide should support the public Bible reading, not replace it with a private rendering.
What It Does Not Prove
Do not derive from the verb form alone that the law is abolished in a total or final sense, or that the grammar itself settles the theological argument apart from the reply in the verse.
Grammatical form should serve context, not override it.
Verb voice, mood, and person describe the speaker's framing, but the verse's answer controls the interpretation.
Evidence from the Form Guide
The witness reads καταργοῦμεν in Romans 3:31, with the question, 'νόμον οὖν καταργοῦμεν διὰ τῆς πίστεως?'.
For readers and teachers, the form can be described as a present plural question about whether law is being nullified through faith, followed by an emphatic rejection of that idea.
What It Does Not Prove
- Do not derive from the verb form alone that the law is abolished in a total or final sense, or that the grammar itself settles the theological argument apart from the reply in the verse.
- Grammatical form should serve context, not override it.
- Verb voice, mood, and person describe the speaker's framing, but the verse's answer controls the interpretation.
- Do not turn plural grammar or lexical range into a doctrinal conclusion without the surrounding sentence.