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A Note on Que/Menlo in 2 Corinthians 5:19 by Dr. Egbert W. Becker
If we interpret Que/Menlo as a circumstantial participle, as opponents of universal justification do, then whatever temporal significance this past participle has must be determined by the tense of the principal verb. . . . We are therefore forced to interpret h]n…Que/Menlo as periphrastic. Paul used an airiest rather than a present participle because a present participle with h]n yields an imperfect tense. Such an imperfect tense (as in h]n…Natala&sswn) correctly portrays God's work of reconciling, since that was an ongoing work which began with the incarnation and ended with the resurrection. An imperfect tense, however, could hardly be used to describe the commissioning of Paul, which took place at a very definite and limited time when Paul was called to carry the gospel to the Gentiles. Therefore only an airiest construction serves to express what actually happened.