Be Perfect?
“Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect” (Matthew 5:48)
“What is the great commandment of the law?...You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind…you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:37)
The Greek word translated "commandment" is "entole" which focuses on the end result. See below from Strong's concordance...
1785 entolḗ (a feminine noun derived from 1722 /en, "in," which intensifies 5056 /télos, "reach the end, consummation") – properly, "in the end," focusing on the end-result (objective) of a command.
So to me, Jesus is telling us that one day, when God is finished with us, we “shall be perfect”, and “shall love” God and our neighbors.
The doctrines of religious men reign in this present evil world. And these doctrines insist that God has made certain commandments with eternal consequences when we disobey. God, however, says no such thing. God simply tells us what sinners are and what they WILL BE when He is finished with us - loving and perfect like He and Jesus.
So when will that be?
Not while we remain in this present evil age. Here we sinners sin from time to time and are destined to die for our sin. But after we have died for that sin (some once and others twice), in due time we are to be resurrected into a "new creation". THEN we will be perfect and will Love God and our neighbor. God CHANGES us in that final resurrection to be like Jesus, all of us completed in the "spiritual" image of God.
"The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body...The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual...And just as we have borne the image of the earthly man, so shall we bear the image of the heavenly man." (1 Corinthians 15:42-49)
Jesus died, was buried, and was resurrected as the first "spiritual" and "heavenly" man. He was the FIRST, but all mankind are destined to follow. THAT IS THE GOSPEL we are to share.
“Now I am making known to you, brethren, the GOSPEL which I preached to you….that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures…” (1 Corinthians 15:1-4)
Jesus died. He paid the penalty for sin just like we sinners do when we die. In doing so he identified himself completely with us, "he became sin on our behalf". He was not our substitute, but joined the team to die with mankind in order to show us that God is at peace with us and plans to resurrect us to eternal life.
“…God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself not counting their sins against them…He made him who knew no sin became sin on our behalf, so that we might become (when we are resurrected) the righteousness of God...” (2 Corinthians 5:19-21)
It is a done deal, we cannot screw up the Gospel of God because it is not up to us!
And to the Galatians who had been turned away from the Gospel of God back to these "commandments of men" Paul said...
"You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified? This is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith (believing the Gospel of God)? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?" Galatians 3:1-3)
“What is the great commandment of the law?...You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind…you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:37)
The Greek word translated "commandment" is "entole" which focuses on the end result. See below from Strong's concordance...
1785 entolḗ (a feminine noun derived from 1722 /en, "in," which intensifies 5056 /télos, "reach the end, consummation") – properly, "in the end," focusing on the end-result (objective) of a command.
So to me, Jesus is telling us that one day, when God is finished with us, we “shall be perfect”, and “shall love” God and our neighbors.
The doctrines of religious men reign in this present evil world. And these doctrines insist that God has made certain commandments with eternal consequences when we disobey. God, however, says no such thing. God simply tells us what sinners are and what they WILL BE when He is finished with us - loving and perfect like He and Jesus.
So when will that be?
Not while we remain in this present evil age. Here we sinners sin from time to time and are destined to die for our sin. But after we have died for that sin (some once and others twice), in due time we are to be resurrected into a "new creation". THEN we will be perfect and will Love God and our neighbor. God CHANGES us in that final resurrection to be like Jesus, all of us completed in the "spiritual" image of God.
"The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body...The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual...And just as we have borne the image of the earthly man, so shall we bear the image of the heavenly man." (1 Corinthians 15:42-49)
Jesus died, was buried, and was resurrected as the first "spiritual" and "heavenly" man. He was the FIRST, but all mankind are destined to follow. THAT IS THE GOSPEL we are to share.
“Now I am making known to you, brethren, the GOSPEL which I preached to you….that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures…” (1 Corinthians 15:1-4)
Jesus died. He paid the penalty for sin just like we sinners do when we die. In doing so he identified himself completely with us, "he became sin on our behalf". He was not our substitute, but joined the team to die with mankind in order to show us that God is at peace with us and plans to resurrect us to eternal life.
“…God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself not counting their sins against them…He made him who knew no sin became sin on our behalf, so that we might become (when we are resurrected) the righteousness of God...” (2 Corinthians 5:19-21)
It is a done deal, we cannot screw up the Gospel of God because it is not up to us!
And so I hope you can see the problem with any religion which is works oriented. All are based to some degree on works to get to heaven and find favor with God. No matter how much one talks about God, Jesus, love, grace and mercy - if mankind's eternal destiny is based on people DOING something by their own free will rather than relying on what GOD HAS FREELY DONE AND WILL FREELY DO do for sinners, it is not the Gospel of God.
“For the wages of sin is death, but the FREE gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)
For many years I have been saying this over and over, in different ways, but quite frankly I do not think anyone gives a hoot about the Gospel of God. They prefer the teaching and traditions of men handed down to them which condemns them, puts them in bondage, and sends most of them to hell to be tormented forever. This is nothing new for Jesus encountered these hard headed and hearted traditions 2000 years ago which denied the Gospel of God…remember the Greek word for "gospel" means GOOD NEWS...
“Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the Gospel of God…Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the way where I am going (his death) " (Mark 1:14; John 14:1-4)
But the Jewish religion leaders would not believe him, preferring their own traditional teaching. So he said they needed to repent because of their vanity…
“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel...in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men...making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down…” (Mark 1:15; 7:7, 13)
After Jesus was resurrected and ascended into heaven, he appeared to the Apostle Paul and sent him to both Jews and Gentiles to proclaim the "Gospel of God"…
“Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the Gospel of God…” (Romans 1:1)
He abandoned traditions of men but lamented to his friend Titus that those who continued to teach them among the body of Christ…
“...must be silenced, since they are upsetting whole families by teaching for shameful gain what they ought not to teach…devoting themselves to Jewish myths and the commands of people who turn away from the truth…they profess to know God, but they deny Him by their works…“ (Titus 1:11, 14, 16)
“For the wages of sin is death, but the FREE gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)
For many years I have been saying this over and over, in different ways, but quite frankly I do not think anyone gives a hoot about the Gospel of God. They prefer the teaching and traditions of men handed down to them which condemns them, puts them in bondage, and sends most of them to hell to be tormented forever. This is nothing new for Jesus encountered these hard headed and hearted traditions 2000 years ago which denied the Gospel of God…remember the Greek word for "gospel" means GOOD NEWS...
“Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the Gospel of God…Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the way where I am going (his death) " (Mark 1:14; John 14:1-4)
But the Jewish religion leaders would not believe him, preferring their own traditional teaching. So he said they needed to repent because of their vanity…
“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel...in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men...making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down…” (Mark 1:15; 7:7, 13)
After Jesus was resurrected and ascended into heaven, he appeared to the Apostle Paul and sent him to both Jews and Gentiles to proclaim the "Gospel of God"…
“Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the Gospel of God…” (Romans 1:1)
He abandoned traditions of men but lamented to his friend Titus that those who continued to teach them among the body of Christ…
“...must be silenced, since they are upsetting whole families by teaching for shameful gain what they ought not to teach…devoting themselves to Jewish myths and the commands of people who turn away from the truth…they profess to know God, but they deny Him by their works…“ (Titus 1:11, 14, 16)
And to the Galatians who had been turned away from the Gospel of God back to these "commandments of men" Paul said...
"You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified? This is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith (believing the Gospel of God)? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?" Galatians 3:1-3)