“Until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ.” Ephesians 4:13-15
The task of Christian leaders is to equip the saints for the work of ministry (Eph. 4:11-12) with this goal in mind: “mature manhood.” Paul says it this way in Colossians:
“It is he whom we proclaim, admonishing and instructing everyone in all wisdom so that we may present everyone to Christ in a state of perfection.” Colossians 1:28, NCB
Imagine being mature, complete, PERFECT in Christ. This is God’s promise to us, His children.
“He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” 1 Corinthians 1:8-9, NIV
Here Paul says it as a prayer and a promise:
“Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.” 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24
A big part of the joy of eternity with the Lord will be our own perfection in Him – no more sin, no more selfishness, no more conflict and tension within ourselves. We will be whole, at peace, completely united with Jesus.
“Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.” 1 John 3:2-3
Just to see Jesus will be to be like Him. Once we see Him face to face the last remnants of our selfish, sinful nature will be purged away and we will enter our final and eternal GLORIFIED state.
“For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.” Romans 8:29-30
So what? Does this mean we should be passive and just coast along until Jesus returns and finishes His work in us? Of course not! “Everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.” The promise of our future glory should motivate us to present purity.
As we study each of the 13 perfections of Jesus, let’s commit to the work of sanctification – growing in character and calling. Let’s “spur one another on to love and good deeds” (Heb. 10:24). Don’t apply the Law to yourself, taking on the burden of making yourself like Jesus. Rather, we are learning to apply the Gospel in a four step process:
- Look up to see the perfection of Jesus
- Look down to recognize how far you fall short of His glory
- Experience His grace that meets you in your weakness and sin
- Move forward to grow up in Christ and share His grace with others.
There is a real danger of applying the Law to ourselves and others – skipping from step one directly to step 4. But step 2 (confession and repentance) must be combined with step 3 (believing and experiencing the gospel) in order to propel us to step 4 (personal and lasting change).
One day you will be perfect. One day we will all be glorified in the Lord Jesus. As we look forward to that day let’s press on each day trusting in our gracious Savior to finish the work He has started in us!