40 Bible Verses about Perfection, Human
Most Relevant Verses
We praise the Lord and Father with it, and [also] curse men who are created in God's likeness with it.
for everyone has sinned and falls short of God's glory [i.e., His approval, or His perfect character].
Now they knew who God was, but they did not honor Him as God or thank Him [for their blessings]. Instead they engaged in their useless speculations and their foolish minds were filled with [spiritual] darkness.
(since the law did not make anything [i.e., anyone] perfect), but on the other hand, there is the introduction of a better hope [which did bring perfection through Christ], by which we draw near to God.
So, if perfection [i.e., a right relationship with God] could have been attained through the Levitical priesthood, (for under it people had received the law of Moses), what further need would there have been for another priest to arise, according to the order of Melchizedek, who was not considered "according to the order of Aaron"?
For the law of Moses was [only] a foreshadow of the good things that [were] to come [i.e., in the Messianic age], not the exact image of those things. It can never, by the same sacrifices, continually offered year after year, make [morally] perfect those who draw near [to God in worship].
yet now God has reconciled [you] to Himself through the death of Christ's physical body in order to present you holy, without fault and free from just blame before Him [on judgment day].
[This is] so He could present the church to Himself in all her splendor, without any kind of stain or wrinkle, but that she should be holy and without [moral] flaw.
For by one offering [i.e., the sacrifice of Himself], Christ has made perfect forever those people who are being set apart for God.
because God had planned to give us something better [than they got], so that they would not be complete without us. [Note: The idea here is that these faithful people of Old Testament times did not receive the fullest of blessings until Christ came to make them available to both them and us together].
and to the church of the firstborn ones [i.e., those who have received an inheritance from their Father], whose names are recorded in heaven. [See Luke 10:20]. [You have come] to God, who is the Judge of all people, and to the spirits of righteous people who have become [morally] perfect [i.e., that great company of God's people who have gone on to their heavenly reward],
And you [should] allow your perseverance to complete its work, so that you will be perfect and complete, [and] not lacking in anything.
We proclaim Him, warning and teaching every person with all wisdom, so that we may present every person [to God] complete in [their fellowship with] Christ.
For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy, because I promised you in marriage to one husband, that I might present you to Christ as a pure virgin.
[It is] not that I have already arrived at the goal [of spiritual maturity], or have already been made perfectly [righteous], but I am pushing onward in order to take hold of what Christ Jesus took hold of me for [i.e., to receive all that Christ intended for me].
For we are glad when we are weak and you are powerful. And we are also praying for your complete restoration [i.e., to spiritual maturity]. This is the reason I am writing these things while away from you, so that I will not have to deal severely with you when I am there. For the Lord gave me authority to build people up [spiritually] and not to tear them down. Finally, brothers, good-bye [or, "be glad"]. Be fully restored [spiritually]. Be comforted [or, "exhort one another"]. Think alike on things. Be at peace among yourselves. And the God of love and peace will be with you.
[This is to be done] until we all [eventually] arrive at unity of the faith and full knowledge of the Son of God; at complete [spiritual] maturity; at the [full] height of Christ's [spiritual] stature.
So, we should leave the basic principles of Christ's teaching and go on to maturity. [We should] not lay again a foundation of repentance [i.e., turning away] from deeds of death [i.e., acts that lead to spiritual death or that spring from a spiritually dead person], and of faith in God;
Therefore, you must [attempt to] be complete, just as your heavenly Father is [already] complete.
No person has gazed upon God [at any time]; [but] if we love one another, God [continually] lives in our hearts, and His love is made complete within us.
[So], since we have these promises [See 6:16-18], dear ones, we should purify ourselves from everything that pollutes [our] body and spirit while living lives completely separated [from sin], out of reverence for God.
Then you will be able to approve of [only] what is best and be sincere and without just blame on the day of Christ's [return],
so that you will be without just blame and innocent [of wrongdoing], children of God without fault in the middle of a crooked and perverted generation of people. You must shine among them like stars lighting up the sky,
Religion that is pure and uncorrupted in the eyes of [our] God and Father involves taking care of orphans and widows in their distress and keeping oneself unstained by the world.
So, my dearly loved ones, while you are waiting for these things [to happen], do your best to be found at peace with God, pure and blameless in His sight.
to obey this command without [moral] blemish or blame. [Note: This "command" probably refers to Timothy's responsibility to fulfill his ministry. See verses 11-12; II Tim. 4:1-2]. [Do this] until our Lord Jesus Christ returns,
But the person who obeys what His teaching requires, truly in this person love for God has been made complete. This is [another way] to be sure that we are in [fellowship with] Him:
For we all make mistakes in many areas [of life]. If anyone does not make a mistake in what he says, he is a perfect person, capable of keeping a tight rein on his whole life also.
I in them, and you in me, so that they may be completely one. [This is] so the world will know that you sent me and that you love them just as you love me.
Now I urge you, brothers, through the name [i.e., by the authority] of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you should all agree in what you say, so that no divisions [continue] among you. Be restored [to unity] by having common thoughts and convictions [i.e., in spiritual matters].
And beyond all these things, clothe yourselves with love, which binds these things together in complete [unity].
I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in your hearts, and that your joy may be complete.
The one who has the bride is the groom; but the best man, who stands up with him and listens to him [take his vows], is very happy when he hears him speak. So, [now] my joy is complete [i.e. over hearing about Jesus' ministry].
Up until now you have not asked for anything in my name. [So now] ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be complete.
We are writing to you about these things, so that [together] our joy may be [completely] full.
And [when you do], the peace from God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and thoughts [from anxiety] in [fellowship with] Christ Jesus.
For [now] we have partial knowledge and partial prophetic messages, but when that which is complete comes [i.e., the full revelation of God's will, contained in the New Testament Scriptures], then the partial will be abolished [i.e., the supernatural gifts, which provided only part of the revealed will of God, will cease to be exercised]. When I was a child I spoke, thought and reasoned like a child. But now that I have become a man, I have put away childish things. [Note: Paul uses an analogy to illustrate that the church made use of the supernatural gifts in its infancy, but that these would no longer be needed when it matured].read more.
For now [i.e., during the church's infant state] we see in a mirror [Note: God's word is elsewhere likened to a mirror. See James 1:22-25] indistinctly [i.e., because of having only partial knowledge and prophecy], but then [i.e., when the church matures and has the completed Scriptures], we will see face to face [i.e., clearly]. Now I have [only] partial knowledge, but then I will have full knowledge, just as [God has] full knowledge of me.
And I, myself, am convinced about you, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, and have been filled with all kinds of knowledge and are capable of counseling one another.
[I do this] so that their hearts will be encouraged [while] being united in [mutual] love, [and] so that they will have the wealth of a fully assured understanding, in order to fully know about God's hidden secret, [which is] Christ.
As far as enthusiasm is concerned, I persecuted the church; as far as being righteous according to the law of Moses is concerned, I was without just blame.
Bible Theasaurus
- Human (514 instances)