“You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48)
John Wesley observed, “There is scarce any expression in Holy Writ which has given more offense than this. The word ‘perfect’ is what many cannot bear. The very sound of it is an abomination to them.”((“Christian Perfection,” Sermon #40, § 1.)) Yet Christ commands us to be perfect.
Since as far back as the Greek philosophers, there have been two definitions of perfection. While Plato had concluded that only God was perfect, Aristotle defined perfection as that which accomplishes the purpose for which it was created. Thus, Plato viewed perfection in the absolute sense while Aristotle’s concept was applied by Methodist theologians to mean that Christian perfection was to love God with our whole being and our neighbor as ourselves.
We continue to use this word in both senses. The Latin word perfectus means unimprovable. This was a static concept. But the Greek word teleios means completeness or fulfillment, total commitment without reservation. This is a dynamic concept. Jesus does not command us to be as perfect as God. Wesley explained that our perfect is in kind though not in degree.((“Upon our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount, Discourse the Third,” Sermon #23, 3.13.)) Our perfection is a relative perfection. When we are filled with the love of God, God imputes perfection to us.
Adam Clarke explained that God himself is the grand law, sole giver, and only pattern of perfection which he recommends to his children. We are to be filled with the Spirit of that God whose nature is love. He calls himself love to teach us that in this consists that perfection, the attainment of which he has made both our duty and privilege. “Can we be fully saved from sin in this world?” This text gives a satisfactory answer. As in his infinite nature there is no sin, nothing but goodness and love, in our finite nature there shall dwell no sin. However inveterate the disease of sin may be, the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ can fully cure it. He who laid down his life for our souls will use his power completely to effect that salvation which he has died to procure.((Commentary, 5:79.))
To be perfect like your Father is to have that perfect love, that single-minded devotion to God and love of neighbor that is the summation and fulfilment of God’s great commands to us. Is it realizable now? Yes, it is, according to the Matthean Jesus. This is a present reality for the new people of God because disciples are called to a totally God-centered and neighbor-centered mindset.((Kent Brower, Holiness in the Gospels, 125.))
In his inductive study of the Sermon on the Mount, E. Stanley Jones listed twenty-seven marks of the perfect life.((The Christ of the Mount, 36, 194.)) While dispensational theology relegates the teaching of this sermon to a future millennium, Wesleyans believe that this sermon defines how Christians should live now. Thus, twenty-five percent of Wesley’s standard sermons are devoted to this sermon.
Sermon Topic Suggestions
- The absolute perfection of God.
- The restoration of the image of God in mankind.
- The relative perfection commanded for us to realize through perfect love.