This is a subject, that is to a certain degree. a little bit misunderstood
In the Bible, 7 denotes completeness, or perfection.
It is found throughout the Bible:
7 days of creation; 7 holy days;
And especially in the ultimate book of the Bible (Revelation)
7 churches of revelation; 7 Seals 7 Trumpets 7 Plagues
7×7 perfect perfection /complete perfection
When we are born again of the Holy Spirit, when we become completely spirit, we will truly achieve this.
But perhaps perfect does not mean exactly what we think it means.
Leviticus 23:16 Count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall offer a new grain offering to the LORD.
What is Perfection?
Matthew 5:48 Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.
A correct translation of this verse reveals three significant implications:
- Unlike God, we are not already perfect.
- We are to become perfect. Perfection is a process.
- God–His character, His way of life–is the standard of perfection we are to work towards.
Correctly translated, this verse answers the most fundamental human question: “What is the purpose of life?”
It explains that its purpose is to become like God. As the verse says, to become “just” as He is.
To summarize, Matthew 5:48 reminds us of our mission and purpose. It acknowledges that God has not commanded us to be instantly perfect, but to work on it to become perfect. It reminds us that God instructs us to use Him as our personal standard. And it also reminds us of our ultimate destiny–to become a God Being in His very Family.
teleios
1. brought to its end, finished
2. wanting nothing necessary to completeness
3. perfect
4) that which is perfect
4a) consummate human integrity and virtue
4b) of men
4b1) full grown, adult, of full age, mature
From G5056; complete (in various applications of labor, growth, mental and moral character, etc.); neuter (as noun, with G3588) completeness: – of full age, man, perfect.
“without spot or blemish,” “complete,” “full,” “sound,” “undefiled,”
Colossians 4:12 Epaphras, who is one of you, a bondservant of Christ, greets you, always laboring fervently for you in prayers, that you may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God
James 1:2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials,
James 1:3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.
James 1:4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
1 Corinthians 14:20 Brethren, do not be children in understanding; however, in malice be babes, but in understanding be mature [teleios].
In what way are we to become perfect? What is the perfection or completeness that we are to achieve?
It comes with the help of the Ministry
Ephesians 4:12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,
Ephesians 4:13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;
Colosians 1:28 Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.
Colosians 1:29 To this end I also labor, striving according to His working which works in me mightily.
How to be Perfect?
Put God First
Matthew 19:21 Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.
To do this he had to keep the commandments and go beyond that:
Matthew 19:17 And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.
Matthew 19:18 He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness,
Matthew 19:19 Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Matthew 19:20 The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?
Matthew 19:21 Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.
Matthew 19:22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.
The young rich man is putting materialism in front of God
Matthew 19:23 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 19:24 And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
Matthew 19:25 When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved?
Matthew 19:26 But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.
Matthew 19:27 Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?
Peter and the others had given up what they were supposed to
Matthew 19:28 And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
Matthew 19:29 And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.
These are some more of the things that we may have to give up in order to put God first!
Not only do we have to forsake those things but we must also continue to move forward
Luke 8:7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it.
Luke 8:8 But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded a crop a hundredfold.” When He had said these things He cried, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”
Luke 8:9 Then His disciples asked Him, saying, “What does this parable mean?”
The interpretation:
Luke 8:14 Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity.[form of the word teleios].
Luke 8:15 But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.
Luke 8:16 “No one, when he has lit a lamp, covers it with a vessel or puts it under a bed, but sets it on a lampstand, that those who enter may see the light.
Fruit to Maturity: “whole,” “mature” and “ripe.” You want your fruit to be perfect and without spot or blemish, completely mature and ripe. Christ wants us to become the same way.
Spiritual Maturity [Perfection]
Hebrews 5:8 though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.
Hebrews 5:9 And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him,
Christ set the example for us!
Hebrews 2:9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone.
Hebrews 2:10 For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.
Hebrews 2:11 For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren
There is a perfection that comes with patience through suffering:
1 Peter 5:10 But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.
Back to:
Hebrews 5:10 called by God as High Priest “ACCORDING TO THE ORDER OF MELCHIZEDEK,”
Hebrews 5:11 of whom we have much to say, and hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing.
Spiritual Immaturity
Hebrews 5:12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food.
Hebrews 5:13 For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe.
Hebrews 5:14 But solid food belongs to those who are of full age [teleios perfect; Is solid food only for the perfect [in the sense that we normally view perfect], strong meat is for the mature], that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
The Peril of Not Progressing
Hebrews 6:1 Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection [teleiotēs], not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God,
Hebrews 6:2 of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.
Hebrews 6:3 And this we will do if God permits.
Hebrews 6:4 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit,
Hebrews 6:5 and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come,
Hebrews 6:6 if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.
Hebrew 6:7 For the earth which drinks in the rain that often comes upon it, and bears herbs useful for those by whom it is cultivated, receives blessing from God;
Hebrews 6:8 but if it bears thorns and briers, it is rejected and near to being cursed, whose end is to be burned.
Hebrews 6:9 But, beloved, we are confident of better things concerning you [that you can move towards perfection], yes, things that accompany salvation, though we speak in this manner.
Hebrews 6:10 For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints [love towards the brethren], and do minister.
Hebrews 6:11 And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end,
Hebrews 6:12 that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
He says these things in the context of going towards perfection.
It shouldn’t surprise you then that another way that we are to be perfect is by:
Put Others Before Ourselves
Not only do we put God before our own interests but others as well like we were just talking about in Hebrews 6; to become perfect not only do we need to work on our relationship with God, but we need to do it with man as well.
Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. [Duty]
Romans 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect [teleios] will of God.
Integrated, big picture, all fits perfectly together, are we beginning to see?
THEREFORE:
Matthew 5:43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR and hate your enemy.’
Matthew 5:44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,
Matthew 5:45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.
Matthew 5:46 For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?
Matthew 5:47 And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so?
Matthew 5:48 Therefore [because of all that was said before] you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.
We have been talking about this quite a bit lately. Having just gone through the Passover season and talking about the Christs sacrifice and the sacrifices that we are to make in laying down our lives (1 John 3:16 By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.) how it differentiates those that will go through the Great Tribulation from that who go to the Place of Safety. A significant difference to say the least.
John 17:20 “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word;
John 17:21 that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.
John 17:22 And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one:
John 17:23 I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.
Unity of the Brethren (that we have been talking about.)
1 John 4:15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.
1 John 4:16 And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.
1 John 4:17 Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.
Agape love is extended to others no matter how they are. If we have God in us, then this is the way that we will be.
Does perfection ultimately mean we are completely without fault?
We know that we sin, and God has given us the Passover to wash away the sins that we do pick up walking through this world. Nonetheless, we exit the Passover season, putting out sin, replacing it with righteousness and growing and becoming perfect and perfecting that perfection seven times over up to the day of Pentecost.
Matthew 5:48 Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.
This is what we are to become…
This type of perfection refers to us maturing and becoming more completely spiritual.
We are not going to match the sacrifice of Christ nor the His ability to walk blamelessly on this Earth, but we are to continue to endure all the way until the end until we actually become like God!
Until then we can have hope.
Conclusion
Philippians 3:12 Not that I have already attained [made it], or am already perfected [same root word teleios; but Paul knew that it is a process]; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.
Philippians 3:13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind [the sins, faults and shortcomings that have been forgiven] and reaching forward to those things which are ahead,
Philippians 3:14 I press toward the goal [I go on to perfection] for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. [the Kingdom of God and the reward that we have waiting]
Philippians 3:15 Therefore [because of all that was said before] let us, as many as are mature [teleios; perfect], have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you.
Philippians 2:5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus