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Now here we have a passage of Scripture, which for the sake of a sermon we have entitled Perfecting the Saints.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus made a rather shocking statement.
He said,
“Be ye therefore perfect even as your Father who is in heaven is perfect.”
Now that really puts the standard up there.
Our Lord asked of the Jews perfection.
Now that statement really in one simple phrase gives the will of God for men.
God wills that we be perfect.
God’s desire since man’s fall was to call out a redeemed people to be perfect.
The perfection of the saints then, is the redemptive plan of God from eternity past.
What are we talking about when we talk about perfecting the saints.
Let me make some clear doctrinal distinctions to begin with.
There are three kinds of perfection that the Bible talks about.
The first one is what we call positional perfection.
Positional Perfection.
That is we are perfect in Christ before God.
In 1 Corinthians 2:6,
1 Corinthians 2:6 (KJV 1900)
6 Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought:
We saw in our study of I Corinthians Paul says, “We speak wisdom among them that are perfect.”
And there he makes reference to believers.
When you believed in Christ, when you received Him, positionally before God through salvation, you became, in God’s eyes, perfected in Christ.
Colossians 2:10 (KJV 1900)
10 And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:
The Scripture says, “and ye are” what?
“Complete in Him.”
Hebrews 10:14 (KJV 1900)
14 For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.
The writer says, “For by one offering He has perfected forever them that are His.”
So from the positional standpoint that is our standing before God.
We are made perfect when we believed in Jesus Christ.
When sin is paid for and removed, as a barrier between us and God, in Christ we are made perfect.
Second kind of perfection is
Ultimate Perfection.
This is something that we haven’t yet experienced, but we will experience it in the future.
In
Hebrews 12:23 (KJV 1900)
23 To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,
it refers to “the church of the firstborn who are written in heaven to God the judge of all and the spirits of just men made perfect.
The spirits of just men made perfect.”
What it means is saints who have been taken to heaven.
Now when Paul in Philippians 3 talks about his death and resurrection he says,
Philippians 3:12 (KJV 1900)
12 Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.
“Not as though I already attained,” Philippians 3:12, “Either were already perfect.”
He’s looking toward his ultimate perfection when he’s like Christ.
So there’s a positional perfection, which is ours now, we don’t need to worry about that, done.
There is an ultimate perfection, which is ours in the future, which we can’t do anything about ‘til we get out of this world.
There’s a third area of perfection.
That’s what we call
Experiential Perfection.
And here is the practical day-to-day life of the believer.
And this is the emphasis that the apostle Paul wants to make in Ephesians 4.
Positional perfection, that’s taken care of, ultimate perfection, that will be taken care of, what we need to work on is experiential perfection.
This is the point of our Christian life to become perfect in practice.
Now notice verse 12,
The reason that there are evangelists and teaching pastors, as there were apostles and prophets, is for the perfecting of the saints.
Ephesians 4:12 (KJV 1900)
12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
Now mark it.
Those men couldn’t make you position ally perfect, only Christ could do that.
Those men can’t make you ultimately perfect, only God can do that.
But we are called to bring the saints to a practical kind of perfection.
Now that’s what this passage is all about.
Now the word perfecting deserves our attention.
It’s the word in the Greek contarkiso is the root word.
It means fully equipped, full-grown, mature, complete, total.
“strengthening, developing, furnishing completely, or equipping.”
God is not demanding out of us sinless perfection.
If He was demanding that we wouldn’t be able to deliver and we’d be in a lot of trouble.
God is not asking for sinless perfection, but He is asking for fully equipped, full grown, mature, complete Christian, as Christ-like as possible in this world.
God is asking that we mature to Christ-likeness and beloved nothing less than that satisfies God.
God’s standards must be absolute and they must be high, and He settles for nothing less.
That’s why 2 Corinthians 7:1 says, “We ought to perfect holiness.”
2 Corinthians 7:1 (KJV 1900)
1 Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
This speaks of
Our Completion
Ephesians 4:12 (KJV 1900)
12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
The word “perfecting” has the idea of “strengthening, developing, furnishing completely, or equipping.”
It simply means that God has placed the various members in the body to help the body achieve its fullest potential for His glory.
He has given the church, through the work of the Holy Spirit in gifting the various members of the body, all that we need to be strong, whole, and complete for His glory.
When I fill my place and you fill yours, the Lord is glorified and the church becomes what the Lord established it to be.
We become His body, carrying His light to a world trapped in darkness.
Our Commitment
Ephesians 4:12 (KJV 1900)
12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
When Paul refers to “the work of the ministry,” he is talking about “the business of serving.”
Effective ministry is the work of the entire church.
No matter how talented a Pastor or a group of leaders may be, there is no way that one person, or even a few people, can effectively do everything that needs to be done in the local church.
No one is that gifted, and no one has that much time.
God has designed the church so that each member brings a different piece of the collective puzzle to the table.
When the “evangelists” and the “Pastor/teachers” are faithful in prayer and the ministry of the Word, the church is equipped to serve the needs of the body of Christ.
It is not enough for us to simply to show up at the church.
We must go beyond merely attending and become actively involved in the work of the Lord in the world.
We do this by yielding to Him and exercising the gifts we have been given.
In other words, we serve the Lord and His church by doing just what He saved you and equipped you to do.
Nothing more, and nothing less!
Our Confirmation
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