What does it mean to be perfect?
score:3
In Koine Greek, Matthew 5:48 reads as follows:
ἔσεσθε οὖν ὑμεῖς τέλειοι ὡς ὁ πατὴρ ὑμῶν ὁ οὐράνιος τέλειός ἐστιν.
The key word here is telos, which is often translated as 'perfect' but can equally well be translated "goal, end, or purpose." The telos of a thing is that point to which a thing yearns to be, the purpose for which a thing was built.
It does not imply that perfection has been attained, but it is the trajectory towards which the essence of a thing strives.
In the case of "Be ye perfect," it is completely legitimate to translate telos in the sense of "Be that which God has designed you to be." As Jude 24 implies, we are being made fit to stand in the presence of God - it is the end for which we are made. Jesus is exhorting us here to be that which God would have eventually be, but he is not necessarily demanding we are already there.
These are the places in which telos is used. The ESV likes to use the word 'mature' to capture this sense.
1 Cor 14:20 NA27 w/GRAMCORD μὴ παιδία γίνεσθε ταῖς φρεσὶν ἀλλὰ τῇ κακίᾳ νηπιάζετε, ταῖς δὲ φρεσὶν τέλειοι γίνεσθε. 20 Brothers, do not be children in your thinking. Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature.
Here, the tie with our behavior is explicit, contrasting the maturity of our walk with the innocence of our understanding in regards to evil.
Phil 3:15 NA27 w/GRAMCORD Ὅσοι οὖν τέλειοι, τοῦτο φρονῶμεν· καὶ εἴ τι ἑτέρως φρονεῖτε, καὶ τοῦτο ὁ θεὸς ὑμῖν ἀποκαλύψει· Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, sGod will reveal that also to you
Here, maturity conveys the sense of growth - the way in which we will grow.
Col 4:12 NA27 w/GRAMCORD Ἰησοῦ], πάντοτε ἀγωνιζόμενος ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν ἐν ταῖς προσευχαῖς, ἵνα σταθῆτε τέλειοι καὶ πεπληροφορημένοι ἐν παντὶ θελήματι τοῦ θεοῦ. ...that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God
Again, like Jude, the sense of maturity, steadfastness, and being what God designed you to be.
James 1:4 NA27 w/GRAMCORD ἡ δὲ ὑπομονὴ ἔργον τέλειον ἐχέτω, ἵνα ἦτε τέλειοι καὶ ὁλόκληροι ἐν μηδενὶ λειπόμενοι. 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.
Here, the fullness of the text probably does the best job of conveying that perfection is a process, begun by suffering, strengthened into steadfastness, and made complete in the perfection - the end state towards which all of this is pointing.
Upvote:0
The world's definition of being perfect means that you don't make any mistakes or that you think that you are better than others. GOD'S definition of perfect according to the bible means that you are mature in the word of GOD, that you are mature in love, and are able to bridle(keep your mouth from guile) your tongue, in the book of James says than you are a perfect person! Also being attentive to the widows and the orphans in their tines of distress is pure, true and perfect undefiled religion in the sight of GOD!
Upvote:3
This question might be more suitable for Hermeneutics. But, at the same time it has some important theological value.
There is a wiki page for this verse alone.
I am not expert in hermeneutics but I believe that this verse is equivalent to this verse.
1 Peter 1:16 (NIV) for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”
One of the most important mission of Jesus while He was on earth was to make us realize that we cannot meet the standard of God in our pursuit of holiness and perfection. Jesus pointed out that violating even one law means to violate the whole commandments. Even the sinful things we contemplate in our hearts without actually doing it is equivalent to committing it in real.
Jesus wanted to make us understand that we cannot meet the standard of God and that we need Jesus himself to set things right by pouring out His blood as a perpetual sacrifice to God. We do not need to achieve perfection but we need forgiveness.
Therefore, we need Jesus Christ in order to be counted as perfect in the eyes of God.
Hebrews 5:8-9 (NIV) Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him
Hebrews 10:10 (NIV) And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
More post
- 📝 What prophesies are people alluding to when they say "look at the Middle East"?
- 📝 Isn't "Jehovah-Jireh" (and other such names) just the name of a place?
- 📝 To which prophets does Peter refer in 1 Peter 1:10-11?
- 📝 If God is good and knows the future, why does he knowingly create people who go to hell?
- 📝 Proverbs 1:14 compared to John 13:29
- 📝 Is there any significance to the aside in Luke 23:12, regarding Pilate and Herod?
- 📝 What are the implications of Jesus Christ being the only way to obtain eternal life?
- 📝 How central is the claim the pope is the antichrist to Protestant theology?
- 📝 Why was Jesus asleep during the storm?
- 📝 What's the goal of Catholic/Protestant ecumenism?
- 📝 When God said to man that if he sinned he would die, was he speaking of death of the human body or death of the Soul, or the Spirit?
- 📝 How do Christian denominations interpret scriptures where Jesus said John is Elijah as anything other than indicating reincarnation?
- 📝 How do those who believe the Son is not Almighty God interpret Revelation 2:23?
- 📝 How can we tell when Scripture is talking about one of the persons of the Trinity and when it's talking about all three?
- 📝 Did Satan really not understand God's salvation plan?
- 📝 Is the Gloria primarily a song of repentance, contrition and forgiveness or of praise?
- 📝 What are the signs of a true apostle according to Latter-day Saints?
- 📝 According to Trinitarians, what is the Biblical basis that some doctrine is a mystery?
- 📝 Are there formally recognized categories of apologetics?
- 📝 What is the background of the verse Heb 10:25
- 📝 Early Christian responses to suicide (source/text identification)?
- 📝 Why did God use humans to write the Bible?
- 📝 Does John 6:44 imply that there is no free will when it comes to salvation?
- 📝 According to Reformed Calvinists, are all of a person's volitional states causally determined by prior causes in time?
- 📝 Why was the revelation that God has the Only Begotten Son not given in the Old Testament?
- 📝 Identifying General and Universal Magisterium
- 📝 When did Mary and Joseph marry?
- 📝 Does Papias’ vine statement impact on his reliability?
- 📝 What was written on the two stone tablets of Moses?
- 📝 Is there a biblical basis for God calling one to place one's career above their other duties?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 According to Catholicism what does it mean for every relationship in heaven to be perfect and fulfilling?
- 📝 What does it mean that Satan is "god of this world"?
- 📝 What does it mean that Jesus fulfilled the law but did not abolish it?
- 📝 What does Jesus mean by saying, "Why do you call me good?"
- 📝 What exactly does it mean that Jesus Christ is the son of God?
- 📝 What does "scripture" mean in NT writing?
- 📝 What does it mean that Jesus was the "second Adam"?
- 📝 What does it mean to "Bless the LORD"?
- 📝 What does CS Lewis mean by True Myth?
- 📝 What does it mean to interpret the Bible literally?
- 📝 In Catholicism, what does it mean for a priest to bless an object or person?
- 📝 What does it mean to "be saved"
- 📝 What does Jesus mean by "this generation" and "all these things" in Mark 13:30
- 📝 What does Paul mean by "Love believes all things?"
- 📝 What does "gates of hell" mean in Matthew 16:18?
- 📝 What does it mean to comment on scripture with scripture?
- 📝 What does it mean to be "weak in faith"?
- 📝 What does being lukewarm mean in contrast with being hot or cold for the church of Laodicea?
- 📝 What does it mean to "worship God" to Christians in general?
- 📝 What does the abbreviation "RNIO" mean in a painting of the Virgin and Child?
- 📝 What does it mean that someone managed to live beyond 120 years?
- 📝 What does it mean to say "Jesus died for our sins"?
- 📝 What does it mean to be an heir of God and a joint-heir with Christ?
- 📝 What does 'first estate' mean in Jude 1:6 (KJV)?
- 📝 What does it mean that all scripture is God-Breathed?
- 📝 What does the Catholic Church mean when it calls humans co-creators with God?
- 📝 What does St. Augustine mean by predestination?
- 📝 What does it mean that "the two natures of Christ cannot be separated"?
- 📝 What does it mean to be "poor in spirit"?
- 📝 What does it mean that Jesus, Father, and Holy Spirit are of the same nature but different personas?