Teleios

 

“Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matt. 5:48, NIV).

“Be perfect.” That’s a pretty tall order, isn’t it? At first glance, it might seem that way. However, if we dig a little deeper by taking a look at the original Greek, it will make a whole lot more sense.

First of all, the above verse is a direct quote of Jesus. Out of His mouth also came these words: “No one is good—except God alone” (Mark 10:18, NIV). Jesus knew perfectly well that we humans are not “good” …much less “perfect.”

So what did He mean, then, summoning us to perfection? The original Greek word there translated “perfect” in Matthew 5:48 is teleios. Strong’s gives us this understanding about this word: “full grown, of full age; complete.”

Jesus was not commanding us to achieve the unachievable. He was not unrealistically asking us to arrive at flawlessness this side of heaven. Instead, He was inviting us on a growth journey.

To understand this better, let’s take a look at the context of this “be perfect” passage. A few verses earlier, Jesus teaches us, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (v. 44). I’ll tell you, there’s no quicker way to grow spiritually than to allow Holy Spirit to work love for our enemies into the core of our being.

Every time we are mistreated, it’s an opportunity to move forward in the growth journey Jesus beckoned us into. When we run to God with our difficult emotions, He runs towards us too. When we invite Holy Spirit to wash away bitterness and replace it with supernatural love, that accelerates our growth. When we intentionally lift up in prayer that hard-to-love individual, it changes us.

I heard a well-known minister say that Continue reading Be Perfect?!