The concept of perfection can seem daunting, even impossible, especially when we consider God’s standard. Matthew 5:48 clearly states, “Therefore you shall be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” This declaration, coming after Jesus’ exposition of the Law, highlighted humanity’s inability to achieve God’s righteousness on their own. To be “perfect” in this context means to be complete, brought to full measure, and blameless—without fault. God, in His infinite wisdom, knew we could not meet this high standard, and so He provided the perfect solution: Jesus Christ.
Jesus: God’s Provision for Perfection
Jesus came not to abolish the Law, but to fulfill it (Matthew 5:17). He didn’t annul its requirements but satisfied them completely. His purpose was to “fulfill all righteousness” (Matthew 3:15), a righteousness that humanity desperately needed but could not attain.
Consider these profound ways in which Jesus is God’s provision for perfection:
The Originator and Perfecter of Our Faith
Hebrews 12:2 calls us to look “only at Jesus, the originator and perfecter of the faith.” The Greek word archegos, translated as “originator,” also means author, prince, pioneer, or champion. Acts 3:15 refers to Jesus as the “Prince of life.” He is the very source of life, the author of our salvation (Hebrews 2:10), and the one who initiates true faith.
The Greek word teleiotes, translated as “perfecter” or “finisher,” signifies that Jesus not only began our faith but also brings it to completion. He is the one who “completes” what He has started in us.
Fulfilling What the Old Testament Could Not Provide
The Old Testament system, with its laws, rituals, and priesthood, offered a glimpse of God’s intentions, but it could not bring about true perfection or lasting rest.
- The Promise of Rest: The nation of Israel, despite entering the promised land of Canaan, never truly found the rest God intended. Hebrews 4:4-8 points to a deeper, spiritual rest that remained unfulfilled, even after Joshua led them into the land. Prophecies like Psalm 95:7-11 hinted at a future day of rest. Jesus came to provide this promised rest, a rest entered by faith (Hebrews 4:1-3), not a physical rest, but a profound rest for the soul (Matthew 11:28-30). “Come to Me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
- The Inadequacy of the Levitical Priesthood: Hebrews 7:11 explains that perfection could not come through the Levitical priesthood. If it could, there would have been no need for a new priest to arise “according to the order of Melchizedek.” Psalm 110:4 prophetically pointed to this new, eternal high priest. Jesus became this High Priest, perfectly suited to meet the needs of our souls. He was “perfected” through His sufferings (Hebrews 5:7-10) so that He could become the “source of eternal salvation” and our perfect High Priest forever (Hebrews 7:26-28). Unlike human high priests who needed to offer sacrifices daily for their own sins and the sins of the people, Jesus “did this once for all time when He offered up Himself.”
- The Limitations of the Law and Sacrifices: The Law, being a “shadow of the good things to come” (Hebrews 10:1), could never make those who approached perfect. The continual sacrifices of blameless animals could not truly cleanse the worshiper or remove the consciousness of sins (Hebrews 10:1-2). The cycle of sin and sacrifice was unending. Jesus, however, became the perfect sacrifice, and “by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified” (Hebrews 10:14).
Perfecting the Faith of the Saints
The Old Testament saints, though approved through their faith, “did not receive what was promised” (Hebrews 11:39-40). They lived in hopeful expectation of a future fulfillment. Hebrews 11:1 defines faith as “the certainty of things hoped for, a proof of things not seen.”
Faith is perfected as it moves from demonstration through obedience, to expectant hope in God’s promises, and finally to the fulfillment of those promises. Jesus is the embodiment of all the hopes of the Old Testament people of God. He was the reality that Abraham, Sarah, Joseph, and Moses believed in. The “something better” God provided for us is the ability to receive the promise right now!
A Time of Perfection
We live in a time of perfection, a time when the Son of God, the Perfecter of our Faith, has come. Our time is not one of types and shadows, or of “hope against hope.”
Because of Jesus:
- Our faith can be perfected now, granting us direct access to glory upon death, rather than waiting in Hades.
- We experience spiritual rest, not merely physical rest.
- All our needs are met because Christ serves as our High Priest in heaven.
Therefore, “let’s hold firmly to our confession” (Hebrews 4:14). We have a great High Priest who sympathizes with our weaknesses, one who was tempted in all things yet was without sin. Let us “approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace for help at the time of our need” (Hebrews 4:16). With sincere hearts and full assurance of faith, knowing that He who promised is faithful, let us “hold firmly to the confession of our hope without wavering” (Hebrews 10:23).
