One of the most difficult passages of scripture to live with is Matthew 5:48. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus Himself says: "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect." It's that word PERFECT that throws us. We have been so thoroughly schooled in the idea that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Ro. 3:23) that we suffer "cognitive dissonance" when we read this passage from Matthew about being perfect. We immediately began back pedaling.

John Wesley, the founder of Methodism in 18th century England, read this passage with a great deal of interest. He noted several things about the verse: 1) Jesus, our Lord Himself, gives the teaching, not Paul or some later, and perhaps "lesser" teacher; 2) It is given as command, not ideal or advice; 3) God would not command something, thought Wesley, that is not possible to attain. Only a very unfair god could command us to do something impossible to attain. That would be like demanding a child to get a cookie out of the cookie jar that was intentionally placed above his or her reach.

OK, so being perfect is attainable. Or is it?

Mennonite Robert Friesen notes, "Believers through the centuries have debated about what Jesus meant by this command for perfection. Devoted Christians have always recognized the need to be obedient to their Lord’s commands. But there has been much disagreement on how to interpret these words. Some believers claim to have reached this required state of perfection while other, equally devout, Christians have declared that it is impossible. Throughout the history of the Church there has been a great variety of opinion on the subject of Christian perfection. Ignatius wrote to Ephesus: 'No man truly making a profession of faith sinneth; nor does he that possesses love hate anyone.'1 Irenaeus2 and the Shepherd of Hermas3 also believed that perfection was possible while Tertullian did not expect perfection until after death.4"

As we begin to wind our way through this tangle, we need to note that the NT word translated "perfect" is the Greek word teleios, which does not speak of moral perfection, but rather, of something reaching the end or purpose for which it was created. The word "mature" probably misses the meaning of teleios on the low side, "perfection" misses it on the high side. Paul often used the word teleios but it is usually translated "maturity." See, for example, 1 Cor. 2:6, Eph. 4:13, Phil. 3:12 and 3:15, Col. 1:28 and 4:12. The word also appears 8x in Hebrews and in James 1:4 and 3:2.

Our Disciple study this week takes us into the books of 1, 2, and 3 John. In 1 John, we meet teleios again, but this time with an interesting -- and perhaps clarifying -- twist. In 1 John 2:12, we find: "If anyone obeys His word, God's love is made perfect ('made complete' NIV) in him." In 1 John 4:12, "No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and His love is made perfect ('complete' NIV) in us." Same sense in vv. 17-18.

So whatever perfection is, it has to do with love, particularly God's love, being made complete in us. John Wesley understood perfection to be perfect love, i.e., loving as Christ loves. This is Christian maturity, to love God and others as we have been loved. This is consistent with what Jesus Himself meant in Matthew 5:48. The teleioi are those who love God and love neighbor. When Jesus uses the word in Matthew 5:48, He begins with "Therefore, be perfect..." He is referring to what He said earlier in verses 5:43-47 where Jesus was talking about love. To quote Friesen again, "The teleioi are those who love their enemies and pray for those who persecute them. The Father in heaven is their example. He is even-handed in his love toward all ('He causes the sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends his rain on the righteous and the unrighteous'). Jesus is saying that we should exercise the kind of love which God shows to all men. The epitome of this kind of love—the love which shows us to be teleioi—is love for one’s enemies."

Jesus points out that THIS kind of love does not come naturally. It's relatively easy to love those who love us: "If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that?" (Matt. 5:46) It's relatively easy to love those we know closely: "And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?" (Matt. 5:47) To love our enemies, to love those who persecure us is to love as Christ loved, it is to reach the end or purpose for which we were created. To love this way is perfection.

Going on toward the perfection of Christ's love is the goal of our salvation.