Matthew 5:43–48 ESV. “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is 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. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
People who don’t read the Word and just rely on a leader’s teachings do not really understand the message of Jesus here. When confronted with this text, one reaction is to say that Jesus paid for all my sins, so that means I’m perfect in the eyes of God. Another is to defend oneself by saying everyone is sinful so there’s no way anyone can be perfect. A third option is to simply ignore the words of Jesus. Another one of those “Don’t confuse me with facts my mind is made up” moments.
The truth from Jesus is we must be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect. This is a big pair of pants to fill and seems completely out of our reach at first. That is, until you come to understand the meaning of the word “perfect.”
To be perfect is to need nothing in the spiritual realm or maybe even the physical. It does not mean a person never makes a mistake or sins. It means that we are fully equipped as well as forgiven. Our heavenly Father lacks nothing; nothing can be added to Him that He needs, and nothing He has can be taken away. We have forgiveness in Christ, the Word of God and the Holy Spirit, so we have everything we need to behave as Jesus does and accomplish whatever tasks the Father assigns to us. If we falter, we confess and repent, pick ourselves up and keep going.
John 14:30–31 ESV. I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no claim on me, but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us go from here.
Jesus tells us that the deceiver has no claim on Him. The deceiver couldn’t find even the tiniest sin so he could accuse Him before the Father. There was no lever he could grab to make Jesus obey him. The King James Version says it a little differently in that the deceiver “hath nothing in me.” No part of Jesus belongs to the deceiver, and he couldn’t use any weakness against Him. Jesus lacked nothing.
We do actually lack something though. We are still in these bodies of flesh, and we are prone to drifting away from the Word on occasion. We can lose sight of the goal and falter in our walk, which is why the text includes the thought of “be perfect.” In my understanding, this includes the idea of a process. We have the tools; we just need to learn how to use them and keep using them.
Paul reinforces the thought of progression, when he tells us that he isn’t perfect (though blameless according to the Law), but will “press on to make it my own.”
Philippians 3:12–15 ESV. Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you.
David in Psalm 143 says that “no one living is righteous before you,” which gives us another consideration to throw in the mix. Here he acknowledges that we cannot claim anything from God on the basis of our own perfection or righteousness, but we need God’s mercy and faithfulness. That mercy is provided in the sacrifice of His only begotten Son. The specter of death no longer weighs on us, so we are free (in Christ) to “be perfect” or to take our perfect gifts and pursue perfection.
God’s Law is the perfect guide for us to follow to perfection. Like the banks of a river, His loving and compassionate Word keeps us on track to our goal. If you’ll accept the illustration, we are also on the river of His living water, and at the same time, we are both at the goal and on our way to the goal. We are perfect but also on the way to perfection, that is, our new bodies and eternal life with God.
Deuteronomy 11:26–28 ESV. “See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse: the blessing, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, and the curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside from the way that I am commanding you today, to go after other gods that you have not known.
James puts it another way. He equates trials with a testing of faith producing steadfastness, which if allowed to have its full effect will result in being perfect, lacking in nothing.
James 1:2–4 ESV. Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
Another type of perfect is described by Paul, though he doesn’t use the specific word, is in loving one another, living quietly minding your own affairs and working with your hands. This is so you will be “dependent on no one” (1 Thessalonians 4:9-12). Perhaps this only applies to making a living, but it gives us another thought to include with perfection. God desires that we strive to be complete or perfect, lacking in nothing spiritual or even physical, while we follow His Words in every area of our lives. Shalom.