Reference: Perfection
Easton
See Sanctification.
Hastings
The various Biblical terms connoting 'perfection' differ in shade of meaning between wholeness, the attaining of an end or ideal, complete adjustment, full equipment in fitness for an appointed task. They are sparingly applied to God; In OT His way, work, knowledge, law are 'perfect' (Ps 18:30; De 32:4; Job 37:16; Ps 19:7); in NT the same term is used of His will, His gifts, His law (Ro 12:2; Jas 1:17,25), while Christ describes the Father in heaven as 'perfect,' and therefore as the source and pattern of moral ideals (Mt 5:48). The sense in which perfection is attributed to or urged upon men must naturally vary according to the moral conceptions of the time.
1. In OT.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
These are the generations of Noah. Noah was an upright man and without sin in his generation: he went in the ways of God.
When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord came to him, and said, I am God, Ruler of all; go in my ways and be upright in all things,
For I am the Lord your God: for this reason, make and keep yourselves holy, for I am holy; you are not to make yourselves unclean with any sort of thing which goes about flat on the earth.
Say to all the people of Israel, You are to be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy.
He is the Rock, complete is his work; for all his ways are righteousness: a God without evil who keeps faith, true and upright is he.
Then let your hearts be without sin before the Lord our God, walking in his laws and keeping his orders as at this day.
For it came about that when Solomon was old, his heart was turned away to other gods by his wives; and his heart was no longer true to the Lord his God as the heart of his father David had been.
And he did the same sins which his father had done before him: his heart was not completely true to the Lord his God, like the heart of David his father.
Because David did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, and never in all his life went against his orders, but only in the question of Uriah the Hittite.
He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, but his heart was not completely true to the Lord.
There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job. He was without sin and upright, fearing God and keeping himself far from evil.
And the Lord said to the Satan, Have you taken note of my servant Job, for there is no one like him on the earth, a man without sin and upright, fearing God and keeping himself far from evil?
And he took a broken bit of a pot, and, seated in the dust, was rubbing himself with the sharp edge of it.
Have you knowledge of the balancings of the clouds, the wonders of him who has all wisdom?
On him who has mercy you will have mercy; to the upright you will be upright;
As for God, his way is completely good; the word of the Lord is tested; he is a breastplate for all those who put their faith in him.
The law of the Lord is good, giving new life to the soul: the witness of the Lord is certain, giving wisdom to the foolish.
Keep your servant back from sins of pride; let them not have rule over me: then will I be upright and free from great sin.
The days of the upright are numbered by the Lord, and their heritage will be for ever.
For the upright will be living in the land, and the good will have it for their heritage.
The righteousness of the good man will make his way straight, but the sin of the evil-doer will be the cause of his fall.
Let there be no thought that I have come to put an end to the law or the prophets. I have not come for destruction, but to make complete. Truly I say to you, Till heaven and earth come to an end, not the smallest letter or part of a letter will in any way be taken from the law, till all things are done. read more. Whoever then goes against the smallest of these laws, teaching men to do the same, will be named least in the kingdom of heaven; but he who keeps the laws, teaching others to keep them, will be named great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say to you, If your righteousness is not greater than the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never go into the kingdom of heaven. You have knowledge that it was said in old times, You may not put to death; and, Whoever puts to death will be in danger of being judged: But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be in danger of being judged; and he who says to his brother, Raca, will be in danger from the Sanhedrin; and whoever says, You foolish one, will be in danger of the hell of fire. If then you are making an offering at the altar and there it comes to your mind that your brother has something against you, While your offering is still before the altar, first go and make peace with your brother, then come and make your offering. Come to an agreement quickly with him who has a cause against you at law, while you are with him on the way, for fear that he may give you up to the judge and the judge may give you to the police and you may be put into prison. Truly I say to you, You will not come out from there till you have made payment of the very last farthing. You have knowledge that it was said, You may not have connection with another man's wife: But I say to you that everyone whose eyes are turned on a woman with desire has had connection with her in his heart. And if your right eye is a cause of trouble to you, take it out and put it away from you; because it is better to undergo the loss of one part, than for all your body to go into hell. And if your right hand is a cause of trouble to you, let it be cut off and put it away from you; because it is better to undergo the loss of one part, than for all your body to go into hell. Again, it was said, Whoever puts away his wife has to give her a statement in writing for this purpose: But I say to you that everyone who puts away his wife for any other cause but the loss of her virtue, makes her false to her husband; and whoever takes her as his wife after she is put away, is no true husband to her. Again, you have knowledge that it was said in old times, Do not take false oaths, but give effect to your oaths to the Lord: But I say to you, Take no oaths at all: not by the heaven, because it is the seat of God; Or by the earth, because it is the resting-place for his foot; or by Jerusalem, because it is the town of the great King. You may not take an oath by your head, because you are not able to make one hair white or black. But let your words be simply, Yes or No: and whatever is more than these is of the Evil One. You have knowledge that it was said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: But I say to you, Do not make use of force against an evil man; but to him who gives you a blow on the right side of your face let the left be turned. And if any man goes to law with you and takes away your coat, do not keep back your robe from him. And whoever makes you go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who comes with a request, and keep not your property from him who would for a time make use of it. You have knowledge that it was said, Have love for your neighbour, and hate for him who is against you: But I say to you, Have love for those who are against you, and make prayer for those who are cruel to you; So that you may be the sons of your Father in heaven; for his sun gives light to the evil and to the good, and he sends rain on the upright man and on the sinner. For if you have love for those who have love for you, what credit is it to you? do not the tax-farmers the same? And if you say, Good day, to your brothers only, what do you do more than others? do not even the Gentiles the same? Be then complete in righteousness, even as your Father in heaven is complete.
Be then complete in righteousness, even as your Father in heaven is complete.
Be then complete in righteousness, even as your Father in heaven is complete.
Be then complete in righteousness, even as your Father in heaven is complete.
Be then complete in righteousness, even as your Father in heaven is complete.
All those things, then, which you would have men do to you, even so do you to them: because this is the law and the prophets.
Then Peter came and said to him, Lord, what number of times may my brother do wrong against me, and I give him forgiveness? till seven times? Jesus says to him, I say not to you, Till seven times; but, Till seventy times seven.
Jesus said to him, If you have a desire to be complete, go, get money for your property, and give it to the poor, and you will have wealth in heaven: and come after me.
And while he was going out into the way, a man came running to him, and went down on his knees, saying, Good Master, what have I to do so that I may have eternal life? And Jesus said to him, Why do you say I am good? no one is good but one, and that is God. read more. You have knowledge of what is said in the law, Do not put any one to death, Do not be untrue in married life, Do not take what is not yours, Do not give false witness, Do not get money by deceit, Give honour to your father and mother. And he said to him, Master, all these laws I have kept from the time when I was young. And Jesus, looking on him and loving him, said, There is one thing needed: go, get money for your goods, and give it to the poor, and you will have wealth in heaven: and come with me. But his face became sad at the saying, and he went away sorrowing: for he was one who had much property. And Jesus, looking round about, said to his disciples, How hard it is for those who have wealth to come into the kingdom of God! And the disciples were full of wonder at his words. But Jesus said to them again, Children, how hard it is for those who put faith in wealth to come into the kingdom of God! It is simpler for a camel to go through a needle's eye, than for a man of wealth to come into the kingdom of God. And they were greatly surprised, saying to him, Who then may have salvation? Jesus, looking on them, said, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for all things are possible with God. Peter said to him, See, we have given up everything, and come after you. Jesus said, Truly I say to you, There is no man who has given up house, or brothers, or sisters, or mother, or father, or children, or land, because of me and the good news, Who will not get a hundred times as much now in this time, houses, and brothers, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and land--though with great troubles; and, in the world to come, eternal life. But a great number who are first will be last: and those who are last will be first.
And a certain ruler put a question to him, saying, Good Master, what have I to do so that I may have eternal life? And Jesus said to him, Why do you say that I am good? No one is good, but only God. read more. You have knowledge of what the law says: Do not be untrue to your wife, Do not put anyone to death, Do not take what is not yours, Do not give false witness, Give honour to your father and mother. And he said, All these things I have done from the time when I was a boy. And Jesus, hearing it, said to him, One thing you still have need of; get money for your goods, and give it away to the poor, and you will have wealth in heaven; and come after me. But at these words he became very sad, for he had great wealth. And Jesus, looking at him, said, How hard it is for those who have wealth to get into the kingdom of God! It is simpler for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a man who has much money to come into the kingdom of God. And those who were present said, Then who may have salvation? But he said, Things which are not possible with man are possible with God. And Peter said, See, we have given up what is ours to come after you. And he said to them, Truly I say to you, There is no man who has given up house or wife or brothers or father or mother or children, because of the kingdom of God, Who will not get much more in this time, and in the world to come, eternal life.
For this reason, as through one man sin came into the world, and death because of sin, and so death came to all men, because all have done evil: Because, till the law came, sin was in existence, but sin is not put to the account of anyone when there is no law to be broken. read more. But still death had power from Adam till Moses, even over those who had not done wrong like Adam, who is a picture of him who was to come. But the free giving of God is not like the wrongdoing of man. For if, by the wrongdoing of one man death came to numbers of men, much more did the grace of God, and the free giving by the grace of one man, Jesus Christ, come to men. And the free giving has not the same effect as the sin of one: for the effect of one man's sin was punishment by the decision of God, but the free giving had power to give righteousness to wrongdoers in great number. For, if by the wrongdoing of one, death was ruling through the one, much more will those to whom has come the wealth of grace and the giving of righteousness, be ruling in life through the one, even Jesus Christ. So then, as the effect of one act of wrongdoing was that punishment came on all men, even so the effect of one act of righteousness was righteousness of life for all men. Because, as numbers of men became sinners through the wrongdoing of one man, even so will great numbers get righteousness through the keeping of the word of God by one man. And the law came in addition, to make wrongdoing worse; but where there was much sin, there was much more grace: That, as sin had power in death, so grace might have power through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
What may we say, then? are we to go on in sin so that there may be more grace? In no way. How may we, who are dead to sin, be living in it any longer? read more. Or are you without the knowledge that all we who had baptism into Christ Jesus, had baptism into his death? We have been placed with him among the dead through baptism into death: so that as Christ came again from the dead by the glory of the Father, we, in the same way, might be living in new life. For, if we have been made like him in his death, we will, in the same way, be like him in his coming to life again; Being conscious that our old man was put to death on the cross with him, so that the body of sin might be put away, and we might no longer be servants to sin. Because he who is dead is free from sin. But if we are dead with Christ, we have faith that we will be living with him; Having knowledge that because Christ has come back from the dead, he will never again go down to the dead; death has no more power over him. For his death was a death to sin, but his life now is a life which he is living to God. Even so see yourselves as dead to sin, but living to God in Christ Jesus.
How unhappy am I! who will make me free from the body of this death? I give praise to God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So with my mind I am a servant to the law of God, but with my flesh to the law of sin.
You are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if the Spirit of God is in you. But if any man has not the Spirit of Christ he is not one of his.
And let not your behaviour be like that of this world, but be changed and made new in mind, so that by experience you may have knowledge of the good and pleasing and complete purpose of God.
Let love be without deceit. Be haters of what is evil; keep your minds fixed on what is good.
Be in debt for nothing, but to have love for one another: for he who has love for his neighbour has kept all the law. And this, Do not be untrue in married life, Do not put to death, Do not take what is another's, Do not have desire for what is another's, and if there is any other order, it is covered by this word, Have love for your neighbour as for yourself. read more. Love does no wrong to his neighbour, so love makes the law complete. See then that the time has come for you to be awake from sleep: for now is your salvation nearer than when you first had faith. The night is far gone, and the day is near: so let us put off the works of the dark, arming ourselves with light, With right behaviour as in the day; not in pleasure-making and drinking, not in bad company and unclean behaviour, not in fighting and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not give thought to the flesh to do its desires.
Now I make request to you, my brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you will all say the same thing, and that there may be no divisions among you, so that you may be in complete agreement, in the same mind and in the same opinion.
But still we have wisdom for those who are complete in knowledge, though not the wisdom of this world, and not of the rulers of this world, who are coming to nothing:
And the teaching I gave you, my brothers, was such as I was able to give, not to those who have the Spirit, but to those who are still in the flesh, even to children in Christ.
My brothers, do not be children in mind: in evil be as little children, but in mind be of full growth.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, a quiet mind, kind acts, well-doing, faith,
And those who are Christ's have put to death on the cross the flesh with its passions and its evil desires. If we are living by the Spirit, by the Spirit let us be guided.
For this cause I go down on my knees before the Father, From whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, read more. That in the wealth of his glory he would make you strong with power through his Spirit in your hearts; So that Christ may have his place in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and based in love, May have strength to see with all the saints how wide and long and high and deep it is, And to have knowledge of the love of Christ which is outside all knowledge, so that you may be made complete as God himself is complete. Now to him who is able to do in full measure more than all our desires or thoughts, through the power which is working in us,
Now to him who is able to do in full measure more than all our desires or thoughts, through the power which is working in us,
Taking care to keep the harmony of the Spirit in the yoke of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, even as you have been marked out by God in the one hope of his purpose for you; read more. One Lord, one faith, one baptism,
Whose thoughts are dark, to whom the life of God is strange because they are without knowledge, and their hearts have been made hard;
Let it then be your desire to be like God, as well-loved children;
For I am certain of this very thing, that he by whom the good work was started in you will make it complete till the day of Jesus Christ:
For it is God who is the cause of your desires and of your acts, for his good pleasure.
Not as if I had even now got the reward or been made complete: but I go on in the hope that I may come to the knowledge of that for which I was made the servant of Christ Jesus.
Then let us all, who have come to full growth, be of this mind: and if in anything you are of a different mind, even this will God make clear to you:
Be glad in the Lord at all times: again I say, Be glad. Let your gentle behaviour be clear to all men. The Lord is near. read more. Have no cares; but in everything with prayer and praise put your requests before God. And the peace of God, which is deeper than all knowledge, will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. For the rest, my brothers, whatever things are true, whatever things have honour, whatever things are upright, whatever things are holy, whatever things are beautiful, whatever things are of value, if there is any virtue and if there is any praise, give thought to these things. The things which came to you by my teaching and preaching, and which you saw in me, these things do, and the God of peace will be with you.
I am able to do all things through him who gives me strength.
And who, himself, made clear to us your love in the Spirit. For this reason, we, from the day when we had word of it, keep on in prayer for you, that you may be full of the knowledge of his purpose, with all wisdom and experience of the Spirit,
For this reason, we, from the day when we had word of it, keep on in prayer for you, that you may be full of the knowledge of his purpose, with all wisdom and experience of the Spirit, Living uprightly in the approval of the Lord, giving fruit in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; read more. Full of strength in the measure of the great power of his glory, so that you may undergo all troubles with joy; Giving praise to the Father who has given us a part in the heritage of the saints in light; Who has made us free from the power of evil and given us a place in the kingdom of the Son of his love; In whom we have our salvation, the forgiveness of sins: Who is the image of the unseen God and existed before all living things; For by him all things were made, in heaven and on earth, things seen and things unseen, authorities, lords, rulers, and powers; all things were made by him and for him; He is before all things, and in him all things have being. And he is the head of the body, the church: the starting point of all things, the first to come again from the dead; so that in all things he might have the chief place. For God in full measure was pleased to be in him; Through him uniting all things with himself, having made peace through the blood of his cross; through him, I say, uniting all things which are on earth or in heaven. And you, who in the past were cut off and at war with God in your minds through evil works, he has now made one In the body of his flesh through death, so that you might be holy and without sin and free from all evil before him: If you keep yourselves safely based in the faith, not moved from the hope of the good news which came to you, and which was given to every living being under heaven; of which I, Paul, was made a servant.
Whom we are preaching; guiding and teaching every man in all wisdom, so that every man may be complete in Christ;
And more than all, have love; the only way in which you may be completely joined together.
Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, sends you his love, ever taking thought for you in his prayers, that you may be complete and fully certain of all the purpose of God.
Because it was right for him, for whom and through whom all things have being, in guiding his sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation complete through pain.
And when he had been made complete, he became the giver of eternal salvation to all those who are under his orders;
Of whom we have much to say which it is hard to make clear, because you are slow of hearing.
For this reason let us go on from the first things about Christ to full growth; not building again that on which it is based, that is, the turning of the heart from dead works, and faith in God,
Now if it was possible for things to be made complete through the priests of the house of Levi (for the law was given to the people in connection with them), what need was there for another priest who was of the order of Melchizedek and not of the order of Aaron? Because if the priests are changed, it is necessary to make a change in the law. read more. For he of whom these things are said comes of another tribe, of which no man has ever made offerings at the altar. Because it is clear that our Lord comes out of Judah, and Moses said nothing about priests from that tribe. And this is even more clear if a second priest has come up who is like Melchizedek, That is to say, not made by a law based on the flesh, but by the power of a life without end: For it has been witnessed of him, You are a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek. So the law which went before is put on one side, because it was feeble and without profit. (Because the law made nothing complete), and in its place there is a better hope, through which we come near to God.
The law makes high priests of men who are feeble; but the word of the oath, which was made after the law, gives that position to a Son, in whom all good is for ever complete.
And this is an image of the present time; when the offerings which are given are not able to make the heart of the worshipper completely clean,
Because by one offering he has made complete for ever those who are made holy.
Because God had kept some better thing for us, so that it was not possible for them to become complete without us.
To the great meeting and church of the first of those who are named in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of good men made complete,
Make you full of every good work and ready to do all his desires, working in us whatever is pleasing in his eyes through Jesus Christ; and may the glory be given to him for ever and ever. So be it.
But let this power have its full effect, so that you may be made complete, needing nothing.
Every good and true thing is given to us from heaven, coming from the Father of lights, with whom there is no change or any shade made by turning.
But he who goes on looking into the true law which makes him free, being not a hearer without memory but a doer putting it into effect, this man will have a blessing on his acts.
For we all go wrong in a number of things. If a man never makes a slip in his talk, then he is a complete man and able to keep all his body in control.
To whom your love is given, though you have not seen him; and the faith which you have in him, though you do not see him now, gives you joy greater than words and full of glory: