ser e estar

One of the new concepts I have embraced in the Portuguese language has been a blessing to me as I meditated on Ephesians 1:4 this morning: "Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love."
This short little phrase, just a portion of a paragraph and obviously only a part of a larger point and argument is packed full with steak like truths that need to be savored and enjoyed and chewed on regularly. Think for a moment about the ramifications of 'chose us,' 'before the foundation of the world,' 'that we should be holy and without blame before Him,' and 'that we should be . . . before Him in love.' Rather than taking the time or space to distill these phrases for you- I will leave that to your own time- I would like to point out something that comes through very clearly in Portuguese but could be overlooked in English.
The "be" verb in English is a useful and important part of our communication. We use it to express all kinds of things. When I say, "I am a man" I am expressing an important unchanging truth about myself. When I say "I am tired" I have used the same verb to signify something about myself that is totally subjective. In the first sentence, "I am a man" the be verb carries with it some weight and significance that is missing in its usage in the sentence "I am tired" simply because the adjectives that follow it are not equally important according to my character.
Portuguese doesn't use the same verb to signify truths that are both temporary and permanent. There are two primary state of being verbs in Portuguese. "Ser" can only be used to signify qualities that are permanent and unchanging while the other verb, "estar" is used to denote qualities that are temporary. Here are a couple of examples: "Eu sou (conjugation of ser) americano" means "I am American," a permanent quality. On the other hand, "Eu estou (conjugation of estar) com fome" means "I am hungry," a temporary quality. An American is what I will always be by birth, hungry is only what I'll be until I eat next. Another example: "Sou baixo" means I am short, "Estou com sono" means I am tired. It is straight forward .
Now, since you are brave of heart and are still reading this, we are through with the language lesson and can enjoy God's Word for a moment. In English when we read that we are chosen "to be holy and without blame" it doesn't carry the weight as in the Portuguese when we read "para sermos santos e irrepreensiveis" (for we are permanantly holy and unblameable). On account of what Christ has accomplished for us in taking our sin debt and giving His life on the cross, on account of the fact that we (believers) are chosen before the foundation of the world, we are made, permanantly, holy and without blame. Not only for the first five years, not only for as long as we can keep the brass polished, but it is done, complete and secure. Praise God!

When I read that this morning it sent chills down my spine, mostly because it is such a special truth but also because I could read it and undertand it too.