What Is Spiritual Perfection? — Stephen Kaung

The Call to Spiritual Perfection

Will you please turn to Matthew chapter 5 verse 48. Matthew chapter 5 verse 48. Be therefore perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect. Be therefore perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect. Let's have a word of prayer.

Dear Lord how we praise and thank Thee in Thy great love towards us. Thou has gathered us together this morning. Lord our hearts bow before Thee. What has Thou to say to us? Speak Lord. Thy servants hear it.

Dear Lord we acknowledge that in ourselves there is neither understanding nor power. But we know that Thou art our wisdom and our power. So we look to Thee that Thou wilt breathe upon Thy written word and make it living, working in our lives.

That Thou mayest be glorified. Take away any preconceived ideas and show us Thy truth and lead us into Thy truth. We want Thee to be glorified in the midst of Thy redeemed. We ask in Thy precious name.

Amen. I believe brothers and sisters when you read the Bible you cannot help but see that in the word of God there are so many places where the word perfect is being used. And when you read that word do you sometimes wonder what can that word mean?

What does God mean by this word perfect? So this time as we gather together before the Lord we look to Him to show us what He really means when He said, be ye perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect.

Perfection in the Old Testament

As you go through the word of God you find this word perfect is being used not only in the New Testament, it is also used in the Old Testament. The first mentioning of this word perfect is found in Genesis chapter 6 verse 9.

God said, Noah was just and perfect among his generation. Now what does it mean? Is Noah seamless, perfect? If you read the preceding verse you will find Noah found favor before God. In other words it is by the grace of God that he was considered as perfect.

And it is a perfection among his generation. Then again in Genesis chapter 17 verse 1 God said to Abraham, I am the Almighty God, the all-sufficient God, walk before me and be perfect. Again we want to ask the question, what does He mean when God said, walk before me and be perfect?

Evidently we know that Abraham by faith, he came out of Caldia, he followed the Lord, not knowing where he was going, but knowing that God was leading him. But afterwards you will find in his sojourn in Canaan, he was weakened in his faith.

Instead of waiting for the Lord to fulfill his promise to him, he accepted human ways, trying to help the Lord. And it was after this that God appeared to him and said, I am the all-sufficient God, you walk before me and be perfect.

So in other words, he failed, he was imperfect in his faith. And God said, be perfect in your faith, trust in me wholly and completely. Then again we find in the case of Job. In Job chapter 1 verse 1 it says, Job was upright and perfect, fear God and abstain from evil.

Now, was Job seamless, perfect? If you read Job chapter 9, he asks a question, can anyone be justified before God? And then in the following verses, he said, if I justify myself, my own mouth will condemn me.

Were I perfect, God will show me I'm not. If I insist to say that I'm perfect, I'm deceiving myself. So brothers and sisters, what is meant by this word perfect? Also in Deuteronomy chapter 18, God said to the children of Israel, be perfect before Jehovah, your God.

All the commandments of God were supposed to be kept. And if they kept them, they would be considered as perfect before God. Now in the case of David, if you read 2 Samuel chapter 22 verse 24, in his song, he said, I was upright.

And the word upright means perfect. David perfect, we all know. He was not seamless perfect. But thank God, he has a heart for God. He is a man after God's own heart. And he shall do all God's will. So there we find, in 2 Chronicles, it says, the eyes of the Lord goes to and through to find if there were those who were perfect in heart towards him.

And he will show himself strong towards them. So David, evidently, is a person who is considered as perfect in heart. But anyway, brothers and sisters, as you go through the Old Testament, you find these people are not seamless perfect.

God is absolutely perfect. Perfect in every way. But man, no matter how perfect he may be considered by God, cannot be compared with the absolute perfection of God. In Old Testament time, it was by the grace of God, and the working of God in their life, to bring them to a place where they began to manifest some character like God.

Christ's Absolute Perfection in the New Testament

It is the working of God in their lives. And when God sees these things, God considers it as perfect. Now you go to the New Testament. In the New Testament, you discover one thing. Not only perfect is the teaching of the New Testament, but God has demonstrated his perfection on earth.

Through his beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. When our Lord came into this world, he declares to us his Father. He shows us what kind of a God we have. Our God is a perfect. He is perfect in love. He is perfect in holiness.

He is perfect in righteousness. He is perfect in purity. He is perfect in wisdom, in power, in everything. Our God is absolutely perfect. And this is demonstrated in the life of our Lord Jesus. There is a difference between the Old Testament and the New Testament.

In the Old Testament time, we find God did work. He did give grace, favor to man. And out of his working and his favor, some people were considered as perfect. But in the New Testament, we come to a very different scene.

Why? First of all, we find that God came into this world to demonstrate to us what perfection is. That perfection is absolute, without measure. And this we find in the life of our Lord Jesus. He brought heaven upon this earth.

He shows us what kind of God do we have. Some people try to imitate Christ. Now if you do not try to imitate him, you may think that you are quite like him. But the more you try, really, sincerely, honestly, to imitate Christ, to be like him, I believe your conscience will tell you, you are far, far away from him.

The life of our Lord Jesus, if he lives on this earth for thirty-three and some years, showing us what perfection is, and then he returns to heaven, his perfect life is our condemnation. You remember, he said, when the Holy Spirit comes, he shall convict you of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment.

Of righteousness, because I go to the Father. In other words, no one can go to the Father, except those who are as perfect as the Father. And he is sinless perfect. He does not know what sin is. He has never sinned.

Not only that, but he never knows what sin is, because he is always obedient to the Father, pleasing the Father. And if he should come, without going to the cross, and go back to heaven, he will forever be our condemnation.

Because aside from him, no one can go to the Father. If anyone will try, he will be smitten to death. But thank God, our Lord Jesus not only came to demonstrate the perfection of God, and live a perfect life, showing us what a perfect life is, he also went to the cross.

Christ's Cross and the Gift of Eternal Life

And there on the cross, he bore our sins. He shed his blood for the remission of our sins. That we may be justified before God. But not only that, he poured out his life for us, and to us. So anyone who believes in the Lord Jesus, not only has his sins all forgiven, though our sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.

Thank God for that. But salvation is more than that. There is something very positive in salvation. Because by his death, he released his life, and gave his life to anyone, to everyone who believes in him.

So brothers and sisters, thank God, we who believe in the Lord Jesus, we have eternal life. Eternal life is not something just for the future. Eternal life begins today. What is eternal life? Eternal life is nothing but the life of our Lord Jesus.

So dear brothers and sisters, the most precious thing is that we have his life. He has given his very life to us. And what kind of a life is that? Eternal life. And it has been demonstrated on earth as a person.

So dear brothers and sisters, first of all, we need to remember that we who believe in the Lord Jesus, in us, there is a perfect, as perfect as God is perfect. You cannot be more perfect than that. And that life is a complete life.

That life has lived on this earth before. It has demonstrated his quality. And this very matured life, experiential life, a life of perfection, is now in you and in me. Can you believe it? Sometimes you feel it is just too good.

But it is true. The life that you receive is not an imperfect life. Because it is the very life of our Lord Jesus. And that is the reason why you find our Lord Jesus, he teaches us that we need to be perfect as the Heavenly Father is perfect.

But does it mean that because of this, here on earth, we can be seamless perfect? Our Lord Jesus, while he was on earth, he was seamless perfect. We have his life in us. And we are called to be perfect.

Why Believers Are Not Sinlessly Perfect

Now why is it that we are not seamless perfect? When I was saved, I was saved among the holiness people. And you know the holiness people, they believe in so-called second blessing. The first blessing is you repent, you believe in the Lord Jesus, and you are saved.

But you need a second blessing. And the second blessing is the eradication, the uprooting of sin. You need another blessing, experience. And through that blessing, the sin nature, the root of sin in you is uprooted.

So after that, you will sin no more. You will be seamless perfect. Now I was saved among these people. I think it will be very good if it is true. I think we are all bartered, even after we are saved.

Thank God we know that our sins, our past sins, we are all forgiven. But unfortunately, we find even though we are saved, we are still not only prone to sin, but we do sin. It would be untrue to say that we are perfect, seamless perfect.

So our problem is, how can we be seamless perfect? You know in our natural mind, sin is the biggest problem. Even though in the heart of God, that is not the biggest problem. But to us, it is the biggest problem.

So when we think of perfection, immediately we think of seamless perfect. Anything less than that is not perfection. But dear brothers and sisters, I have to tell you, during that conference where I was saved, the founder of that mission lost her temper in public.

But there is an explanation. The explanation is, it is not sin, it is weakness. Now I cannot see the difference between sin and weakness. Somebody do. The Bible never teaches seamless perfect. There is only one person on earth who is seamless perfect.

And that is our Lord Jesus. Why are we not seamless perfect? Having such a perfect life, demonstrated, lived in this world before. And this very life is in us. And God expects us to be perfect. Why is it we are not seamless perfect?

One day I read Bishop H. C. D. Moe's commentary on Philippians. Now I cannot quote him because he used such big words. It is beyond me. But I can only tell you, in the third chapter of Philippians, he raised this question.

He said, some people believe in idealistic perfectionism. Some people believe that they can be seamless perfect. He said, so far as our spiritual position is concerned, we are in Christ. And in Him, we are completed.

We are perfect. And that is our boat in Christ Jesus. But when you come to your spiritual condition, not position, but condition. Even with all the fullness of grace, you cannot but see your own imperfection.

You have such a vision of the glory of the Lord. Of the absolute holiness of God. And that vision keeps you from falling. It gives you hope. But also, it tells you, you are still imperfect. On one hand, we rejoice in the Lord.

On the other hand, we humble ourselves before Him. Pressing on towards the goal. That was the gist of what he said. Brothers and sisters, you remember that verse. Walk in the light, as He is in the light.

And we have fellowship one with another. And the blood of Jesus, God's Son, cleanses us from all our sins. 1 John 1 .7. If we walk in the light, the light there is not the Word of God. True, the Word of God is light.

It's a lamp, shining before our feet. And by the guidance of that light, we may walk upright. But in 1 John, it says God is light. Not only His Word is light, God Himself is light. And that points to the life of God.

The life of God is light, if we walk in the light. Because we have the life of God. We have the life of Christ in us. And this life of Christ in us will shine within us. And if we walk in the light, as God dwells in the light.

Growing Through the Light of God

Now there is a difference here. Sometimes we try to illustrate it. It is like God is a hundred candle light. Full, absolute, unlimited, without measure. That's God. His light is so bright, there is no darkness, no shadow, no turning.

And no one can see God who dwells in that inapproachable light. But if we walk in the light, the light there is one candle light. We are just saved. We just received the life of Christ in us. Even though that life is a matured life.

And yet so far as our experience of that life is concerned, it is just in the beginning. So we say we only have one candle light. That's all we know about Him, about His life. But if we walk in that one candle light, as God dwells in the hundred candle light.

We can have fellowship, one with another. There is such a difference in degree, in measure. But there is the same quality there. And because of the same quality, God condescends Himself to our level and fellowship.

And the wonderful thing is, if we walk in the light we already have. Invariably, that light will show us how imperfect. That light will show us where our sin is, where our shortcoming is, where our failure is.

And when light exposes our darkness, then God, the blood of God's Son Jesus Christ, cleanses us from all our sins. So we can fellowship with God. But brothers and sisters, we cannot remain in that one candle light.

We have to grow. And as we grow in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus, as we begin to know His life, perfect life in us more. Say, it becomes two candle lights. And what happens? In that two candle lights, you discover more shortcomings, more failures.

Some hidden parts, unknown parts begin to be revealed. God does not reveal everything to us at the same time. If He does, we will die. But gradually, He will purify us. Gradually, He will shed His light upon us.

So that we may repent, return, and the blood of the Lord Jesus cleanses us from all our sins. And by that, we have fellowship. And then, you grow again. Dear brothers and sisters, this is Christian life.

So we never can come to a place, as long as we are in this flesh, in this body. Saying that, we are now sinless spirit. If we do, we deceive ourselves. Brothers and sisters, thank God, when our Lord Jesus went to the cross, He bore our sins, all the sins that we have committed upon His own body.

And there, He was crucified, shed His blood for the remission of our sins. But what about the sinful nature that we inherited from our forefather Adam? All the awkward acts of sins have been forgiven.

As if we have never sinned. But unfortunately, the sinful nature is still in us. As long as we are in this body, the sinful nature is there. We will not be delivered until we are delivered from this mortal body.

But thank God, there is a way. It is not by eradication. Because if it does, we will become careless, as in now, I am perfect. I am sinless perfect. We will be proud of ourselves. We will deceive ourselves.

That will be the end of our spiritual life. But thank God. God allowed this sinful nature in us, in order to prove us. That we may be humbled. We may look up to Him. Knowing that without Him. But thank God.

This leads us into holiness. Into sanctification. So brothers and sisters. I think first of all we need to settle this question. When the scripture speaks of perfection to man. It doesn't mean sinless.

The Biblical Meanings of Perfection

Now what does it mean then? I go to Vine's word dictionary of the New Testament. And there he gave the meaning of the word perfect. He said the word perfect in Greek means having reached the end. Having reached the end.

Therefore it means finished, complete, perfect. When this word is applied to man. It means either of two things. One it means matured. Grown up. Full grown. Into manhood. This you will find in a number of scriptures.

For instance. First Corinthians chapter 2 verse 6. The apostle Paul said to the Corinthians. I know nothing about among you. Save Jesus Christ and Him crucified. He talked nothing among them. But Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

But among the perfect. The Corinthian believers were bathed in Christ. So he had to speak to them exclusively of the foundational truth. But he said among the perfect. Among the grown up. We do speak of wisdom.

Not of this world. But the wisdom of the mystery of God. And again you will find in First Corinthians chapter 14. I think it is verse 20. It says. Brethren. Be not children. Faith in your mind. In malice.

Be babes. But in your mind. Be grown up. Be perfect. And then of course you can go on and on. For instance. Ephesians 3 verse 15. That we may all arrive at the unity of the faith. And of the knowledge of the Son of God.

That we may be full grown. To the measure of the fullness. Of the statue of Christ. So there you have the word full grown. Perfect. And of course Colossians chapter 1 verse 28. Paul. He desires. To present.

The saints. Perfect. In Christ Jesus. Full grown. In Christ Jesus. That is one meaning. Perfect. Growing up. Matured. Full grown. And then. It has another meaning. It means goodness. Not necessarily matured.

But goodness. In other words. It tells of some character. Of God. Some character of Christ. Being shown. In the life. And Matthew 5 verse 48. Is in that category. Be ye perfect. As the Heavenly Father.

Is perfect. Now if you read that section. Of Matthew 5. What is he talking about? He is talking about the love. Of God. God everyone. If we only love the one. That are dear to us. And hate. Our enemies.

It is not like God. Because God. Loves everyone. He gives reign. To the evil. As well as to the good. So. Be ye perfect. As your Heavenly Father. Is perfect. In other words. He is all of our love. And here.

That we may bear. Some. Measure. Of the same character. Of love. That is. And you remember in Matthew 19. A young man. Came to the Lord. And said Lord what shall I do. That I may inherit eternal life.

And the Lord talked to him about. The commandments. Honor your father and mother. And so on. And he said I have kept all these from my youth. And the Lord looked at him. And loved him. And the Lord said.

If you want to be perfect. Sell all that you have. Give to the poor. And then come. And follow me. The Lord knows that his wealth. Hinder him. From following the Lord. And following the Lord. All the way.

Is the way to perfection. So here. He also refers to goodness. Character. And of course you can go on. Say to the book of James. If anyone. Can control his time. He is a perfect man. It speaks of character.

So anyway brothers and sisters. We find that. What the Bible teaches. About perfection. A man. Is not. Seamless perfect. But. It is growing up. In the life of Christ. In you. So that in your life. It bears.

God's Purpose: Conformity to Christ

The character. Of the Lord Jesus. That is the teaching. Of the word of God. Now why is it. That we need to be perfect. You know brothers and sisters. Sometimes. We naturally have a kind of. Mentality.

If only we can be saved. Not go to hell. But to go to heaven. Just like one person said. If my two legs. Will be within the door of heaven. I am satisfied. That is our mentality. But brothers and sisters.

This is the mentality. Of a baby. God wants us. To be grown up. Why is it that we need to be perfect. Let us sit back. And enjoy ourselves. After all. We will go to heaven. But brothers and sisters. This is not.

The will of God. What is the will of God. Concerning. Is God satisfied. With us. Just getting saved. Remain a babe in Christ. Should be a babe of course. It is very comfortable. No responsibility. Everyone has to take care of you.

You feel. The purpose of God. In your life. What is God's will. In Romans 8 .29 We are told. Whom he has foreknown. He has called. He has predestinated. To be conformed. To the image. Of his beloved son.

That his son may be the first born. Among many brothers. In other words. What God has predestined. Us. Is not just to be justified. Saved. And that's it. What God has predestined us. Chosen us. Electing us.

Is that. We may be. Conformed. To the image. Of his beloved son. We may have his likeness. We may be like him. And he may be the first born. Among many brothers. Because many. Are like him. Taking up his character.

Not only his life. But the character. That is. The will of God. So dear brothers and sisters. If among us. There are some. Who still have that. Babyish mentality. Remember. How you. Hurt. We must grow.

From babies. To young people. From young people to the elders. Because this is. The will of God. Furthermore. Not only to be perfect. Is God's will. Remember. It is God's will to be perfect. Therefore.

As your heavenly father. Is perfect. It is. Now if you love the Lord. The Lord says. Keep my commandments. Often times we hear brothers and sisters. In their prayers. Lord how I love you. Thank God. For that expression.

But sometimes. It will be good. For us to sit down. And meditate. Do I really love him. As I said. How do I know. If I love him. If I just obey him. If I go my own way. If I do not keep his word. His commandment.

Do I love him. If you love me. Keep my commandment. You know I cannot help but remember. The story of C .G. Stutt. You remember C .G. Stutt. He is one of the. Seven Cambridge. Graduates. Who went out of China.

Together. As missionaries. That stirred the student world. At that time. And C .G. Stutt. Once he visited. Edinburgh. F .B. Meyer. Another brilliant young man. And he was pastor there. And he was in November.

Loving God by Keeping His Commandments

In Edinburgh, Scotland. Very chilly. Very cold. C .G. Stutt got up at four o 'clock in the morning. That is habit. He got up at four o 'clock. Light a candle. And read the word of God. Have communion with God.

F .B. Meyer being the host. He saw light. In C .G. Stutt's room. He was worried. Whether his guest. Had some problem. But it was so early. He dare not knock the door. He waited and waited. Until he couldn't wait anymore.

He knocked the door. And said come in. He went in. He saw C .G. Stutt. Wrapped him up with a rug. Because it was cold. And F .B. Meyer said. You got up early. Oh he said. I love the Lord. I am searching the scripture.

For his commandments. And I. Brothers and sisters. That touches F .B. Meyer. Very deeply. Does it touch you? We search the scriptures. For promises. Sometimes we are even too lazy. And get a promise box.

And just pick one up. But this man. He loved the Lord. And he proved his love. By searching the scripture. For God's commandments. That he. May keep them. Remember. To be perfect is God's command. We should not.

If you love him. And thank God. To be perfect. Is the very work. Of the indwelling Holy Spirit. We have. The Holy Spirit. He is the spirit. Of Christ. His work in us. He is in us not as a guest. He is in us.

As our teacher. As our resident. Boss. What is he doing in us? This is his work. Day and night. Without ceasing. Even small things and great things. He is teaching us. He is transforming us. From glory to glory.

That we may be. That's the work of the Holy Spirit. Brothers and sisters. To be perfect. Is. Something beyond us. In other words. No one is able. To improve himself. To be perfect. No matter. How strong your will power is.

You will fail. But thank God. It is the work. Of the Holy Spirit. And he is. In each one of us. Doing this. One work. Glorify. What do you mean by glorifying Christ? Glorifying Christ simply means. That Christ.

May be formed. In you. That's glorifying Christ. And that's the work. Of the Holy Spirit. We need to trust him. And how often. We will not listen. To his voice. How often we grieve him. But that is the very work.

He is doing it. And then. You will find in Colossians. This is the very work. Of the Apostle Paul. In other words. When you think of ministry. What is. Spiritual ministry. Spiritual ministry. To bring people.

To be perfect. In Christ Jesus. That is spiritual. Ministry. So any ministry. That is less. Than this. Does not fulfill. Spiritual ministry. Now with all these. Brothers and sisters. Are you now convinced.

That it is God's will. For you to be perfect. Can you say it's alright. For me not to be perfect. Is there any excuse? I hope not. So finally. We would like to ask the question. How do we know. You are on the way.

Three Signs of Growth Toward Perfection

To perfection. Are there any signs. Telling us. You are on the right way. I think we need. We want to know that. Now number one. Let's look at 1 Corinthians. Chapter 13. 1 Corinthians. Chapter 13. Verse 8.

Love never fails. But whether prophecies. They shall be done away. Or tongues they shall cease. Or knowledge. It shall be done away. For we know in part. And we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect.

Has come. That which is in part. Shall be done away. When I was a child. I spoke as a child. I fell as a child. I reasoned as a child. When I become a man. I have done with what belong. To the child. Now I want to borrow.

These verses. And just try to see. The principle. Behind it. Now the principle. The principle behind these verses is. The sign of. Being perfect. Is love. You know we often think. That to be grown up.

Is knowledge. If I know. Or maybe even prophecy. If I am able to. Utter it. To explain it. That shows. I am matured. But brothers and sisters. That is wrong. Knowledge pops up. Love builds up. He who thinks he knows.

He doesn't know. But he who loves. Is known of God. So the sign. Of growing up. Is love. How much of the love of Christ. Is in your life. And demonstrate. How much do you really love the Lord. With all your heart.

With all your understanding. With all. Your strength. How much do you love. Your brothers. How much love. Of God. You know. And you experience. And you express. Now that is the first sign. Of growing up.

The second sign. In Philippians. Chapter 3. Verse 15. Philippians. Chapter 3. Verse 15. Many therefore as are perfect. Let us be thus minded. And if ye are any. Otherwise minded. That also. God will reveal to you.

In other words. The second sign. Of. Growing up. In the Lord. Is a renewed mind. A mind. That is. Like the mind of Christ. A mind as demonstrated. In the life of Paul. How he considered everything. As draws.

For the excellency. Of that living experience. Knowledge of our Lord Jesus. And number 3. First Corinthians. Chapter 2. First Corinthians. Chapter 2. And he said but we speak. Wisdom. Among the perfect.

Wisdom not of this world. Wisdom. Unto the mystery. Of God. And when you read on. You find it is concerned. With the eternal. Purpose of God. So brothers and sisters. People. Who show. That they really.

Enter into. That wisdom. Is a sign. So may the Lord help us. We just laid a foundation. This morning. And hopefully. We'll build on it. Shall we pray. Dear Lord. Our prayer is. That thou will make it.

Unmistakably clear. To each one of us. What does thou. Demand of us. O Lord. When thou say be thou perfect. Show us what it really means. And Lord. We desire it. We will cooperate. With thy Holy Spirit.

Who alone. Can do this work. Bless thy people. We ask in thy precious name.