On Unto Perfection...

[Guest]

"On Unto Perfection"

Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ. Eph_4:13.

It is a great, a solemn work to obtain a moral fitness for the society of the pure and the blest. . . . Only by conforming to the Word of God can we hope to come to "the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ." But we must do this, or we shall never enter heaven. Without purity and holiness of heart, we cannot win the crown of immortal glory.

The life of the soul cannot be sustained, except by the right exercise of the affections heavenward, Christward, Godward. Repentance and faith in Christ for the forgiveness of sins are essential, but not all that is required. . . . The Christian's life is now but just begun. He must, as exhorted by the apostle, "go on unto perfection." He must bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. If we believe in Jesus, we will love to think of Him, love to talk of Him, love to pray to Him. He is supreme in our affections. We love that which Christ loves, and hate that which Christ hates. . . .

The Christian life is never at a standstill. It is, it must be, progressive. Our love for Christ should become stronger and stronger. . . .

My brother, my sister, is your soul in the love of God? Many of you have a twilight perception of Christ's excellence, and your soul thrills with joy. You long for a fuller, deeper sense of the Saviour's love. You long to entwine your affections about Him more closely. You are unsatisfied. But do not despair. Give to Jesus the heart's best and holiest affections. Treasure every ray of light. Cherish every desire of the soul after God. Give yourselves the culture of spiritual thoughts and holy communings.... Make haste to ripen for Heaven....

It will cost us something to obtain a Christian experience, and to develop a true and noble character. . . . But the white-robed throng of the redeemed ones, are those who have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

Our High Calling- EGW

[Gerr]

By "perfection", do you mean perfectly perfect?

[Gail]

Here's a verse that gave me food for thought on the weekend:

Quote:

For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.- Hebrews 10:14

What? Perfection and sanctification are not the same thing?

Thoughts?

[skyblue888]

Apparently they are! :)

[Twilight]

Here's a verse that gave me food for thought on the weekend:

Quote:

For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.- Hebrews 10:14

What? Perfection and sanctification are not the same thing?

Thoughts?

What is sanctification?

It is the process of God imparting His Character to us.

What is perfection?

Gods loving character formed within us.

So sanctification is the reciept of the gift that ever deepens and grows.

We so often approach sanctification as the removal of sin.

But is that what it really is?

Or is it more the receipt of Christ's Character?

Mark :-)

[skyblue888]

Imperfection of character is sin. Therefore to have Christ's character impressed upon us by the Holy Spirit removes sin. That is sanctification, isn't it?

sky

[Twilight]

But there is also the need to confess sin so that Christ's character can be imparted in its place...

What do you think?

[John317]

The Bible speaks of sanctification in two ways: (1) the sanctification that believers have at the same time that they are justified, or set in right relationship with God; and (2) the sanctification that is a process and continues over a whole lifetime.

The first one is all of God, as He sets us apart for His own possession in order to be of service to Him. In this sense we are "holy" or "saints" from the very beginning of our Christian walk.

The second one is applying those principles of separation to the actual life of the believers as he separates sin from himself through the power of God at work in his life.

So believers are declared justified and sanctified, and then as they experience the Holy Spirit's work in their lives, they work out this salvation in their actual, daily lives in cooperation with God.

[Gerr]

Here's a verse that gave me food for thought on the weekend:

Quote:

For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.- Hebrews 10:14

What? Perfection and sanctification are not the same thing?

Thoughts?

G: Same thing? IMHO, no. Here is how the ESV renders it: "For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified."

NIV: "because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy."

NLT: "For by that one offering he forever made perfect those who are being made holy."

"Perfected for all time" is in the perfect tense in the Greek, and "those who are being sanctified" or "those who are being made holy" is in the present tense. So what it is saying to me is that Christ's perfect offering (His righteousness/character/life) is credited to my account and from thenceforth I am accounted perfect (there's nothing more I could add to make it better), PROVIDED that I maintain a relationship with Him IN THE PRESENT. I don't believe ANYONE can claim to have His robe of righteousness while willfully breaking one of His commandments. The former is justification, and the latter is sanctification. There is nothing I could add to the former; there will ALWAYS be room for improvement in the latter. In justification, the believer is just as perfect at the BEGINNING as he is at the END. In Sanctification, there no place where one can say, "I have arrived."