Be Ye Perfect

[Sam]

This is from pages 14 and 15 of The Way of Victory, A Booklet For New Converts by David F. Gray, printed by Revival Tabernacle Press. no copyright date

Aim At Perfection

Jesus said, “Be ye therefore perfect even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” Matt. 5:48. Perfection, therefore, ought to be the goal to which all Christians seek to come. Be not discouraged if you do not arrive at perfection all at once. To be come perfect in the sense of coming “into the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ” (Eph. 4:13) requires time, testing, temptation and trust. your heart may be perfect from the moment you are saved in that you love God supremely and wish to live only for Him. It is development in perfection that requires years and years of yielding and learning from the Lord. This includes many lessons, trials and experiences, during which you must learn always to say “not my will but thine be done.” When you are first filled with the Spirit you are but an infant in the family of God. 1 Peter 2:2. From this, you grow into childhood, then youth, and finally into ripened experience. 1 John 2:12-14

Paul sought perfection
Phil 3:12
Perfection of heart is perfection of love
Col 3:14

Perfect Christlikeness is perfection of development
Eph 4:12, 13

Patience leads to perfection
James 1:4

[Esaias]

Originally Posted by Antipas

And this is the universal moral law of all spiritual paths.

Absolute nonsense.

As I posted before somewhere (in this thread perhaps?, can't remember) Buddhism doesn't recognize a 'universal moral law of love' in fact it would say this whole discussion is pointless because it is illusory and detracts from the 8-fold path.

Other 'spiritual paths' reject this 'love' concept altogether. You are projecting your own personal path and definitions and 'realities' onto everything else.

[soopy]

Very nice, Jim, M the D. While I might take a different view at "preaching" and "witnessing," which I think should be more active and less verbal.

Originally Posted by Antipas

Michael, can you define "sin"? Is not "sin" anything alien to God's own essence and nature, which is love?

good point-a strange corollary is that a sin for you might not be for me? But we are to look "in" for sin, not out, yes?

[Michael The Disciple]

Originally Posted by Sam

This is from pages 14 and 15 of The Way of Victory, A Booklet For New Converts by David F. Gray, printed by Revival Tabernacle Press. no copyright date

Aim At Perfection

Jesus said, “Be ye therefore perfect even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” Matt. 5:48. Perfection, therefore, ought to be the goal to which all Christians seek to come. Be not discouraged if you do not arrive at perfection all at once. To be come perfect in the sense of coming “into the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ” (Eph. 4:13) requires time, testing, temptation and trust. your heart may be perfect from the moment you are saved in that you love God supremely and wish to live only for Him. It is development in perfection that requires years and years of yielding and learning from the Lord. This includes many lessons, trials and experiences, during which you must learn always to say “not my will but thine be done.” When you are first filled with the Spirit you are but an infant in the family of God. 1 Peter 2:2. From this, you grow into childhood, then youth, and finally into ripened experience. 1 John 2:12-14

Paul sought perfection
Phil 3:12
Perfection of heart is perfection of love
Col 3:14

Perfect Christlikeness is perfection of development
Eph 4:12, 13

Patience leads to perfection
James 1:4

Yes this is good. It brings us to more understanding. To come to the fullness of Christ is far more than just to cease from sin.

This explains where Paul said he was not perfect in Phil 3:12.

There was still MORE of Gods power. There was still MORE of the fellowship of his sufferings. There was a resurrection still waiting.

In that Paul was not perfect in the sense of complete. He could as anyone could still be growing into the fullness of Christ. Where we do the works he did. Where whatever we ask we receive. Where the works of God flow through us. When we are full of his compassion.

However this by no means is to say Paul was not overcoming sin. There are two levels of perfection.

The easiest:

1. To be walking free from sin. To be blameless and faultless.

The one we pursue after we cease from sin.

2. To be COMPLETE in the various aspects of Jesus Christ.

There are probably many walking in holiness and purity of heart that can grow in their faith. That could perhaps be more bold of a witness. That could do more outreach.

All of the growth we have toward full stature only begins to happen AFTER we get sin out of our life. Until then we are still considered BABES.

2:1 Putting away therefore all wickedness, all deceit, hypocrisies, envies, and all evil speaking, 2:2 as newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the Word, that you may grow thereby, 2:3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious: 1 Peter 2:1-3

So both levels of perfection are Biblical.

[LUKE2447]

Originally Posted by Michael The Disciple

Yes this is good. It brings us to more understanding. To come to the fullness of Christ is far more than just to cease from sin.

This explains where Paul said he was not perfect in Phil 3:12.

There was still MORE of Gods power. There was still MORE of the fellowship of his sufferings. There was a resurrection still waiting.

In that Paul was not perfect in the sense of complete. He could as anyone could still be growing into the fullness of Christ. Where we do the works he did. Where whatever we ask we receive. Where the works of God flow through us. When we are full of his compassion.

However this by no means is to say Paul was not overcoming sin. There are two levels of perfection.

The easiest:

1. To be walking free from sin. To be blameless and faultless.

The one we pursue after we cease from sin.

2. To be COMPLETE in the various aspects of Jesus Christ.

There are probably many walking in holiness and purity of heart that can grow in their faith. That could perhaps be more bold of a witness. That could do more outreach.

All of the growth we have toward full stature only begins to happen AFTER we get sin out of our life. Until then we are still considered BABES.

2:1 Putting away therefore all wickedness, all deceit, hypocrisies, envies, and all evil speaking, 2:2 as newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the Word, that you may grow thereby, 2:3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious: 1 Peter 2:1-3

So both levels of perfection are Biblical.

[soopy]

Originally Posted by Antipas

And this is the universal moral law of all spiritual paths.

Amen. Christ's message of love your God, and your neighbor, 9/10ths of the law, could not be better described.

[soopy]

Originally Posted by Esaias

...As I posted before somewhere (in this thread perhaps?, can't remember) Buddhism doesn't recognize a 'universal moral law of love' in fact it would say this whole discussion is pointless because it is illusory and detracts from the 8-fold path.

Other 'spiritual paths' reject this 'love' concept altogether. You are projecting your own personal path and definitions and 'realities' onto everything else.

None of this is true. Buddhism begins with this tenet; it overlays the 8-fold path. No other spiritual systems recognized by man deny it, that I am aware of--name one.