Friday, September 16, 2016

Thoughts On Being Perfect While Being Perfected


For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.Hebrews 10:14 ESV

The more I read the scriptures, the more I am amazed at its depth. Growing in maturity causes us to learn to let God be God and let His word speak for itself, even when it proposes two seeming contradictions in passages such as Hebrews 10:14. Think about it. God has already perfected us because of Christ, yet God is also perfecting us who are perfected because of Christ. This is not easy to understand, much less savor and glory in at first glance. It might be easier for some of us to quickly pass over a passage such as this because of its seeming difficulty.

But oh, the loss of great blessings and encouragement! The apostle Paul gives us a great exhortation in 2 Timothy 2:7.  "Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything." He says think, reflect, muse, ponder, meditate and the Lord by His Spirit will enable us to understand. In short, we are to think and God will help us through the means of thought to apprehend spiritual truths.

With this in mind, Hebrews 10:14 is well worth pondering. The first blessing here is that Christ has already perfected His people."For by a single offering He has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified." Now consider this wonderful truth. This is in the perfect tense, meaning Jesus Christ has perfected His people. It is complete and finished forever.

What is hard to grasp here is that if this is true, then why am I so imperfect? How can He say I am perfected when I have sinned already several times this morning? Because of what He says in the next clause
"For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified."Who has been perfected? Those who are being sanctified or those who are being perfected! This is in the indicative tense meaning continuous action. So those who are "being sanctified" are not yet fully sanctified in the sense of perfection in this life and ceasing from committing sin. Otherwise they would not need to be ongoing sanctified. 

So here we have the both shocking and awesome combination. The very people who are perfect are the very ones who are being perfected! By the work of the cross "for by a single offering"there is total, complete forgiveness (read Hebrews 10:15-18). When He looks at us, He does not impute any of our sins to us-past, present, or future. He does not count our sins against us. In eternity Christ sees you as already perfect, and thus we stand before Him perfected. We can stand before Him with the assurance that you are perfected and complete in the eyes of God.

But in this present time those who are perfect are being perfected. The very reality of our imperfection gives us assurance that we are in this life time are progressing towards our perfection purchased and guaranteed by the blood of Jesus Christ.

God is making us into what He already sees us as being and our experience testifies to it as we trust in this reality by faith and move away from our imperfections and move closer and closer in this lifetime to perfection. Oh what encouragement in our imperfection and what motivation for holiness. Hebrews 10:14 says that you can be assured that you stand perfect in the eyes of God not because you are perfect now, but because in your present imperfection you are being perfected.

Oh reader, consider these promises and let them encourage you today and reinforces Hebrews 10:14 to you. Take heart and fix your eyes on the one who perfected you once for all time and is perfecting you day by day.

Philippians 1:6, "I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ." 

Philippians 2:12-13, "work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure." 

2 Corinthians 3:18, "And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit." 

Amazed and full of joy,
Pastor Bill