Christian Perfection: Conclusion

by David Cox

Study on the word "Perfect" in Scriptures

"perfect" occurs 99x in KJV, perfected 8x, perfecting 2x, perfection 11x, perfectly 7x

I. Perfection in God and people

A. Perfection In God.

1. Deu 32:2 Work of the Lord, "He is the Rock, his work is perfect [8549 tamiym] ... a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he" [8549 tamiym]
2. 2Sam 22:31 "way (manner) of the Lord is perfect [8549 tamiym] ... is tried (refined and proven)... is a buckler (shield, defense)"
3. Jesus is claimed to be perfected in Hebrews (2:10; 5:9, ). This would seem to throw out the idea of sinless perfection, because in what sense was Jesus not sinlessly perfect before his advent to earth? The use of "perfect" here for Jesus is completion in some sense not sinless perfection. Jesus has always been sinlessly perfect.

B. Perfection in People ("Perfect People")

1. Noah Gen 6:9 "just man and perfect [8549 tamiym] in his generations (age, period of time), and Noah walked with God".
2. David 2Sam 22:31 "God is my strength and power; and he maketh my way perfect" [8549 tamiym]
3. Israel 1Chr 29:9 "they offered willingly, because with perfect heart [8003 shalem] they offered willingly to the Lord"
4. Job 1:1 Job "man was perfect [8535 tam] and upright[3477yashar], and one that feared God and eschewed evil"
   [8535 tam] perfect, complete, one who lacks nothing in physical strength, beauty, etc. Sound, wholesome. An ordinary, quiet sort of person. Morally innocent, having integrity, one who is morally and ethically pure (Strongs).
5. Job 1:8 Job "a perfect [8535 tam] and an upright man".
6. Job 2:3 God speaking of Job "there is none like him in the earth, a perfect [8535 tam] and an upright[3477yashar] man, one that feareth God and escheweth evil"

II. Commands regarding "perfection"

A. Perfection Commanded By God

[8549 tamiym]

1. Gen 17:1 God to Abraham - "walk before me and be thou perfect" [8549 tamiym]
2. Deu 18:13 Requirement for the Levites "thou shalt be perfect [8549 tamiym] with the Lord thy God".
3. 1Chr 28:9 Commanded of Solomon "serve him with a perfect [8003 shalem] heart and a willing mind: for the Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts"

[8003 shalem]

1. 1Kings 8:60 Solomon to Israel "let your heart therefore be perfect [8003 shalem] with the LORD our God, to walk in his statutes, and to keep his commandments".
2. 1Kings 11:4 David "his (Solomon's) wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not perfect [8003 shalem] with the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father."
3. 1Kings 15:14 Asa "the high places were not removed: nevertheless Asa's heart [8003 shalem] was perfect with the Lord all his days".
4. 2 Kings 20:3 Hezekiah "O Lord, remember now how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect [8003 shalem] heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight"
5. 1Chron 12:38 men of war "men of war... came with a perfect [8003 shalem] heart to make David king over all Israel... were of one heart to make David king".
6. 1Chron 29:18 David praying for Solomon "give unto Solomon my son a perfect [8003 shalem] heart, to keep thy commandments... and do all these things."
7. 2Chron 19:6 Jehoshaphat to Levites "thus shall ye do in the fear of the Lord, faithfully, and with a perfect [8003 shalem] heart"

B. Failure of Perfection Marked

1. 1Kings 11:4 Solomon "his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not perfect [8003 shalem] with the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father."
2. 1Kings 15:14 Jeroboam "he walked in all the sins of his father, which he had done before him: and his heart was not perfect [8003 shalem] with the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father"
3. 1Kings 15:3 David "Jeroboam walked in all the sins of his father, which he had done before him: and his heart was not perfect [8003 shalem] with the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father"
4. 2Chr 16:9 Hanani to King Asa "For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart [8003 shalem] is perfect toward him."
5. 2Chron 25:1 Amaziah "he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, but not with a perfect heart [8003 shalem] "
6. Job 9:20 Job "If I justify myself, mine own mouth shall condemn me; if I say I am perfect [8535 tam] , it shall also prove me perverse."

OBSERVATIONS:

2Chron 25:1 is a very difficult verse. Here we have to separate "perfect" from "right" as not being the same. "Right" [3477 yashar] means straight, upright, correct, pleasing, righteous.

III. Other observations about perfection

A. Lev 22:21 sacrifice had to be perfect to be accepted [8549 tamiym] "there shall be no blemish therein"
[3971 m'uwm] blemish, spot, defect (physical or moral).

B. 1Sam 14:41 "a perfect [8549 tamiym] lot" used of choosing who was at fault, and Saul and Jonathan were taken.
Here the idea is accurate, to be what it is supposed to be in truth.

C. Job 8:20 "God will not cast away a perfect [8535 tam] man, neither will he help the evil doers"
Here it would seem that God makes a moral commitment with a "perfect" man.

D. Job 9:22 God "destroyeth the perfect [8535 tam] and the wicked".

IV. Other words with a similar concept to or translated "perfect"

A. Deu 25:15 "thou shalt have a perfect [8003 shalem complete, whole] and just weight [8003 shalem complete, whole], a perfect and just measure" (not short or long, but just what it should be. According to the standard.)

B. Ezra 7:12 "the law of the God of Heaven, perfect peace" [1585 gemar] to complete, perfect.

C.

TAM

Difference between Maturity and Purity

John Wood in "Purity and Maturity" makes the observation that maturity and purity are not the same thing. "No child of God is cleansed into Christian maturity. No babe in Christ jumps into a maturity involving twenty years of growth, discipline and development." (Chapter 10 Christian Maturity). He goes on to quote...

"Rev. L. R. Dunn says,- "'Holiness is not maturity. There may be moral wholeness where there is much that is immature and imperfect. A child may be healthy and perfect as a child, but it is not therefore a man. Maturity is the result of growth, discipline, development." -- Holiness to the Lord, p. 56."

"The difference between an infant and a man is one of growth and development, as a child is a perfect human being, possessing all the constituent parts of a full-grown man -- a man in miniature. This, very properly, illustrates religious growth and maturity, -- but never purification. No child becomes a full-grown man instantaneously. The Christian is not made LARGE by instantaneous cleansing, but PURE. And, he may be pure and yet immature."

"No one is BORN INTO MATURITY, and no one GROWS INTO PURITY. The Bible nowhere promises maturity by faith, instantaneously; purity, it does."