I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. (John 15:5)
And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Thessalonians 5:23)
A further comment on perfection. Perhaps a clarification, perhaps an exploration. Perfection means "wholeness", a seed can be a perfect seed, a shoot can be a perfect shoot, a tree can be a perfect tree but it has never "arrived" and it only stops growing when it is dead. Perfection is to be a present reality, the full surrender of the heart to Jesus, the realisation that without him I am nothing.
To be entirely sanctified, to be blameless, to be without spot or stain, to be like Jesus in character, to hate sin: this is not a present reality for the saved, but rather a goal, a hope, a mission. God wants us to be entirely sanctified, and preserved blameless before the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and he takes responsibility to do that work if we let him. We will not be aware of our purified state until Jesus comes in the clouds and we are called to meet him in the air, then we will know.
Perfection in the sense of present submission for continual growth is and will always be ours to have. Perfection in the sense of unlimited glory is and will never be ours, it is for God alone. The tree can be perfect in its flawlessness, but can always grow, can always be better. God is who he is. God does not change, God alone does not need to grow, he is perfect in his eternal immutability (unchangeableness). We can find perfection in him, only as we allow ourselves to grow continually.
I hope that makes sense.
No comments:
Post a Comment