About Perfection

‘Thou shalt be perfect with the Lord thy God’ Deuteronomy 18:13.

‘Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect’ Matthew 5:48.

Perfection is what the Lord has required from His people in all times. Only God is perfect and here we are told that we should be perfect like our Father in heaven. Is that possible? The Bible itself tells us, ‘There is none righteous, no, not one.’ Romans 3:10.

‘Nobody is perfect’ is a common saying; we are all sinners. We find no example of absolute perfection in the Holy Scriptures except for Jesus Christ- God Himself in human flesh. ‘None of the prophets or apostles made proud boasts of holiness. The nearer they came to perfection of character, the less worthy and righteous they viewed themselves.’ {FW 54.1}.

Nonetheless, we can read about some men who were perfect in God’s eyes. ‘Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.’ Genesis 6:9.

In 1 Kings 15:14 we read about Asa, ‘Asa’s heart was perfect with the Lord all his days’ and about Job it is written, ‘There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name [was] Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.’ Job 1:1.

When we study the lives of these men, we find that they were not infallible. In what sense were they perfect? They were perfect in obedience to the principles of heaven, in faithfulness to God, in faith and trust in the Lord. If that had not been the case with Noah, he would not have followed God’s instructions to build an ark when not even a drop of water had ever fallen from the sky to the earth. Job was perfect in his interest and care of the poor and needy and his mediation for others, in his generosity. Asa was perfect in the fact that he destroyed all the idols in his country and lifted the eyes of the people to the only living God. All these men expressed their faith and trust in works that pleased the Lord because ‘without faith it is impossible to please him.’ Hebrews 11:6.

The Lord tries our faith and patience, our faithfulness and perseverance so that we may be perfect in His eyes. ‘My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; knowing [this], that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have [her] perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.’ James 1:2-4.

Once a rich man came to Jesus. He was faithful and kept the commandments: he paid the tithe, went to the synagogue every Sabbath, led a clean moral life, gave no false testimonies, but in spite of it all he was not sure whether he was on the way to heaven, whether he could obtain eternal life. Jesus said to him, ‘Sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.’ Luke 18:22. He could not fulfil the requirement; he was not perfect in faith and could not obey and comply with the command.

As we see the fulfilment of the prophecies and can almost hear the steps of the Lord coming, some people are getting rid of their possessions, investing in God?s cause and living in a more modest and simple way because their greatest wish and longing is to be translated to their eternal dwelling place. Are they perfect? Do they never have to ask the Lord or a fellowman for forgiveness? They are in no way better than anyone else, but in the Lord?s eyes they are perfect in faith and trust in the Lord. None of our righteous or generous deeds can be perfect unless we do them in faith. ‘Perfection through our own good works we can never attain. The soul who sees Jesus by faith, repudiates his own righteousness. He sees himself as incomplete, his repentance insufficient, his strongest faith but feebleness, his most costly sacrifice as meagre, and he sinks in humility at the foot of the cross. But a voice speaks to him from the oracles of God’s Word. In amazement he hears the message, ?Ye are complete in Him.’? {FW 107.4}

‘Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.’ Matthew 5:48.

Here it is spoken of perfection of character since God does not need any faith, and our character is the only thing we shall take to heaven. In the Testimonies we read, ‘We need to understand that imperfection of character is sin.’ {COL 330.1}

More concretely, this verse is related to our love toward our enemies, which is the utmost degree of perfection. God sent His only begotten Son to a planet in rebellion and Jesus lived and worked among men who hated His purity and perfection of character. ‘But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more [than others]? do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.’ Matthew 5:44-48.

John speaks very clearly about this kind of perfection: ‘If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.’ 1 John 4:12. Previously, the same apostle said, ‘But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected.’ 1 John 2:5. A perfect character is a synonym of perfect love which is the result of God and His Word living in us.

But our holy Father, rich in grace and wisdom, does not ask the impossible. ‘He would not call upon them to be perfect if He had not at His command every perfection of grace to bestow on the ones upon whom He would confer so high and holy a privilege.'{AG 230.4}

Here we have a clue. God Himself can give us perfection through His grace.

We can see that there are three concepts that are very closely related to one another: faith, perfection and love. It seems that as we grow in faith, we grow in perfection by performing acts of love and all this by the grace of God. In Romans we read that faith comes by hearing the word of God and the Testimonies tell us ‘No man, woman, or youth can attain to Christian perfection and neglect the study of the word of God.’ {CSW 17.1} How important it is that we eagerly search the Scriptures and attentively listen to the message that is preached!

‘Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.’ Colossians 1:28

‘God designs that every one of us shall be perfect in Him, so that we may represent to the world the perfection of His character. He wants us to be set free from sin, that we may not disappoint Heaven, that we may not grieve our divine Redeemer. He does not desire us to profess Christianity, and yet not avail ourselves of that grace which is able to make us perfect, that we may be found wanting in nothing.’ {ML 15.3}

‘Moral and spiritual perfection, through the grace and power of Christ, is promised to all. Jesus is the source of power, the fountain of life. He brings us to His word, and from the tree of life presents to us leaves for the healing of sin-sick souls. He leads us to the throne of God, and puts into our mouth a prayer through which we are brought into close contact with Himself. In our behalf He sets in operation the all-powerful agencies of heaven. At every step we touch His living power.’ {AA 478.2}

‘A noble, all-round character is not inherited. It does not come to us by accident. A noble character is earned by individual effort through the merits and grace of Christ. God gives the talents, the powers of the mind; we form the character. It is formed by hard, stern battles with self.’ Self always wants to have the upper hand. If we are converted, self is crucified, but not yet dead. Therefore, Paul says, ‘I die daily.’ This daily death is a voluntary act; it is surrendering our will to God’s will, living according to the principles that make of our body a temple of the Spirit; it is allowing Jesus Christ to occupy the throne of our heart so ?that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love may be able to comprehend with all saints what [is] the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.’ Ephesians 3:17-19. Where Jesus rules and lives there is perfection.

But, in order to die, we need to have been born and there is where the problem is. If we have not been born again; if we have not had the experience (and not just the knowledge) of the forgiveness of our sins, if we have not seen Jesus agonizing for us on the cross of Calvary and felt great distress, if we are not aware that we are justified only by faith and do not know what it means to be covered by Jesus’ righteousness, we cannot die to the desires of the flesh or make any step toward perfection because we have not yet entered the stage of sanctification; we have not taken His yoke upon us. ‘True sanctification means perfect love, perfect obedience, perfect conformity to the will of God.’ {AA 565.1} ‘In Christ we shall find perfection. Beholding Him, we shall become transformed.’ {DA 816.3} Not in vain Paul advises us, ?Let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith.’ Hebrews 12:1, 2.

Previously in the same book Paul writes, ‘But strong meat belongs to them that are perfect, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.’ (I am using the Greek version). So here we find another definition of perfection: it is the capacity to discern between good and evil and that comes through practice, making use of our reasoning. ‘Perfection of character is attained through exercise of the faculties of the mind, in times of supreme test, by obedience to every requirement of God’s law.’ {MM 168.5}

The Holy Scriptures teach us that the Holy Spirit is the one that gives us discernment as He activates our conscience and gives us spiritual insight. ?Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth.’ John 16:13. Spiritual insight and discernment come from God. That was Solomon’s plea to the Lord as he was chosen to rule over His people, ‘Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people? ‘ 1 Kings 3:9. ?Man is to make earnest efforts to overcome that which hinders him from attaining to perfection. But he is wholly dependent upon God for success. Human effort of itself is not sufficient. Without the aid of divine power it avails nothing. God works and man works. Resistance of temptation must come from man, who must draw his power from God. On the one side there is infinite wisdom, compassion, and power; on the other, weakness, sinfulness, absolute helplessness.'{AA 482.2}

‘The growth of the soul in grace, in purity, in comeliness, is little by little — a progressive work; but it must go forward unceasingly. The fruit is ever approaching perfection; the Christian is constantly assimilating the ways and will of Christ.’ {CSW 17.1}

‘Every faculty with which the Creator has endowed us should be cultivated to the highest degree of perfection, that we may be able to do the greatest amount of good of which we are capable. In order to purify and refine our characters, we need the grace given us of Christ that will enable us to see and correct our deficiencies and improve that which is excellent in our characters.’ {CG 164.2}

As we see and correct our deficiencies, our character is perfected and by so doing our influence upon others is greater. But Jesus tells us, ‘for without me ye can do nothing,’ and Paul writes to the Philippians, ‘I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me.’ (Phil. 4:13) So now, instead of trying to be perfect on our own or trying to help others to reach perfection of character, we look for the guidance of the Spirit, we implore the Lord that He may send us the Comforter in great measure so that we may spot our shortcomings and receive the power to overcome. Now instead of telling others that they should be perfect, we do what Epaphras, a servant of Christ, did, ?Epaphras, who is [one] of you, a servant of Christ, saluteth you, always labouring fervently for you in prayers, that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.’ Colossians 4:12. We bring to the Lord in prayer all our beloved ones and plead that they may fulfil God’s will out of faith.

As a conclusion we may say, ‘Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform [it] until the day of Jesus Christ.’ Philippians 1:6. And the Lord answers us, full of joy for our confidence and trust in Him, ‘My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.’ 2 Corinthians 12:9.

Teresa Corti