GOD IS PERFECT
WE ARE TO BE PERFECT
WHAT WE CAN DO TO BE PERFECT
SUMMARY
Only God is holy or perfect:
“…For you alone are holy…” Revelation 15:4
Everything He does is perfect:
“He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he.” Deuteronomy 32:4
“Do you know how the clouds hang poised, those wonders of him who is perfect in knowledge?” Job 37:16
“Every good and perfect gift is from above…” James 1:17
God’s Word is perfect:
“As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him.” 2 Samuel 22:31 Psalm 18:30
“The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes. The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever. The ordinances of the LORD are sure and altogether righteous. They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb.” Psalm 19:7-10
Jesus is the Word and is perfect:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us…” John 1:1
Jesus is God. He tells us and shows us how to be perfect:
“…God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” 1 John 4:8-11
Even though God alone is perfect, God’s chosen people—the Jewish people and later Christians–are told to be perfect or “holy”:
“I am the LORD who brought you up out of Egypt to be your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy.” Leviticus 11:45 (See Leviticus 19:2 20:7 20:26 1 Peter 1:16)
Jesus tells us to be perfect:
“Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Matthew 5:48
The Apostle Paul tells us that God’s plan for us is “to be holy and blameless in his sight”:
“For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight…” Ephesians 1:4
“…to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.” Ephesians 5:27
Paul’s prayer is for us to “be pure and blameless”:
“And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.” Philippians 1:9-11
He prays for us to be “blameless and holy” when Jesus comes:
“May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.” 1 Thessalonians 3:13
Paul explains striving for perfection well. None of us is perfect, but it should be our goal:
“Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:12-14
Paul strived to follow the example of Jesus and was able to tell us to follow his example:
“Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.” 1 Corinthians 11:1
Paul showed that it is possible to be perfect when he and his compassions showed the Thessalonians by example how to be “righteous and blameless”:
“You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed.” 1 Thessalonians 2:10
Nothing we do by ourselves can make us perfect:
“…all our righteous acts are like filthy rags…” Isaiah 64:6
“There is no one righteous, not even one…there is no one who does good…” Romans 3:10-12
Someone who thinks he has not sinned is deceiving himself. Most likely, he is far from God and doesn’t understand His ways:
“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.” 1 John 1:8
“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” Romans 3:23
God knows we will sin while we are on this earth. After the Israelites fell into sin over and over, David wrote:
“He remembered that they were but flesh, a passing breeze that does not return.” Psalm 78:39
Jesus told His disciples when He was praying in the garden just before His crucifixion:
“Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.” Matthew 26:41 Mark 14:38
However, we don’t have to sin. We are given the same resources Jesus had. We just have to find the “way out” that God provides:
“No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” 1 Corinthians 10:13
Jesus was tempted in every way we are, but was without sin:
“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin.” Hebrews 4:15
Jesus who was perfectly righteous, without sin, was in constant contact with His Father:
“Jesus gave them this answer: ‘I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.” John 5:19
“For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me.” John 6:38
“Jesus answered, “My teaching is not my own. It comes from him who sent me.” John 7:16
If Jesus “being in very nature God”, stayed in constant contact with His Father, how much more should we stay in constant contact with God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit:
“Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing…” Philippians 2:6-7
“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— the Spirit of truth…But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name…” John 14”16-17, 26
Jesus and the Father have the same nature:
“…Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me…” John 14:9-11
Jesus tells us to “remain in my love” just as He remains in His Father’s love:
“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command.” 1 John 15:9-14
We become perfect or righteous “through faith in Jesus Christ”:
“But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference…” Romans 3:21-22
God delights when we have faith. Faith implies obedience. Although they sinned, the great men through history were commended for their faith. Following are a few examples:
Noah sinned:
“Noah, a man of the soil, proceeded to plant a vineyard. When he drank some of its wine, he became drunk and lay uncovered inside his tent.” Genesis 9:20-21
But because of his faith and subsequent obedience Noah was “righteous”:
“The LORD then said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and your whole family, because I have found you righteous in this generation.” Genesis 7:1
“By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.” Hebrews 11:4
Abraham lied (Genesis 12, 20-21) having Sarah say she was his sister instead of his wife to escape being killed, but putting her honor in jeopardy. But Abraham was commended for his faith more than any other person in Hebrews 11.
“By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the Promised Land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
By faith Abraham, even though he was past age—and Sarah herself was barren—was enabled to become a father because he[a] considered him faithful who had made the promise. And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore…
By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death.” Hebrews 11:8-12, 17-19
David who sinned terribly (2 Samuel 11) was called a man after God’s heart:
“Solomon answered, “You have shown great kindness to your servant, my father David, because he was faithful to you and righteous and upright in heart…” 1 Kings 3:4
“… you have not been like my servant David, who kept my commands and followed me with all his heart, doing only what was right in my eyes.” 1 Kings 14:8
“…the LORD has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him leader of his people, because you have not kept the LORD’s command.” 1 Samuel 13:14
“After removing Saul, he made David their king. He testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.’” Acts 13:22
They were righteous because of their faith. We are righteous because of our faith:
“— but the righteous will live by his faith —“ Habakkuk 2:4
“For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.” Romans 1:17
“… “The righteous will live by faith.” Galatians 3:11
John, in the book of 1 John, tells us not to sin, but then tells us when we do sin to ask forgiveness. He does this over and over.
When we sin we need to ask forgiveness from God (and others) and ask God to “purify us from all unrighteousness”:
“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.” 1 John 1:8-10
God doesn’t condemn us so we should not condemn ourselves:
“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.” Romans 8:1-2
At the same time, it is very important not to resign ourselves to sin. God can deliver us:
“With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Matthew 24:24
“…“Everything is possible for him who believes.” Mark 9:23
“… “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.” Mark 10:27
“…“What is impossible with men is possible with God.” Luke 18:27
We have to do our part. King David’s repentance should be an example for us all:
“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” Psalm 51:17
All of Psalm 51 is worth studying and memorizing. The many aspects of repentance are included in one Psalm.
Paul explains the balance between God’s part and our part. We are to obey and God works in us to help us want to obey and do His will:
“Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.” Philippians 2:12-13
Perfect means perfectly obedient to God. First we have to hear from God. This might mean we have to “confess our sins”. Then we pray and seek His face. Sometimes, following God may be just one step at a time. For each person the directions will be different, and sometimes difficult. For instance, when the rich young ruler asked what he could do to attain eternal life and after telling Jesus he obeyed the commands:
“Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”” Matthew 19:21
We don’t all have to “sell your possessions and give to the poor”, but Jesus knew the rich young ruler did because his possessions were his god. We do all need to “follow” Jesus.
We must choose to obey Him:
“You have laid down precepts that are to be fully obeyed.” Psalm 119:4
Sometimes even well-meaning friends do not know what God expects of us, but usually they will recognize when we are obeying God:
“But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.” John 3:21
He had given us all we need to obey Him:
“His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.” 2 Peter 1:3-5
He had told us specifically what we should and can do because He has cleansed us:
“For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.” 2 Peter 1:5-9
Our goal is to please Him:
“And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming.” 1 John 2:28
“Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. “ 2 Peter 1:10-11
As long as we are in this body, we have to deal with the sinful nature, but we can control the sinful nature with moment by moment trusting in Jesus which is living “in the Spirit”, which means listening to God and doing what He says:
“…live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want.” Galatians 5:16-17
God is perfect and someday we will be like Him:
“when he appears, we shall be like him.” 1 John 3:2
Right now we should strive to be perfect, and like Paul pray and act to help others to be perfect:
“We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me.” Colossians 1:28-29
God has given us all we need to be perfect. We should forget the past and strive to be perfect in the future. Being perfect is pleasing God. We should have the same attitude as Paul:
“But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead…
Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you.” Philippians 3:7-11,17
We should, like Paul, be able to say: “Join with others in following my example”.