Heb. 5:5-14, Perfection: Becoming What God Intends (1)

In the study of Hebrews, and in all the NT, there is a word family we must master to understand God’s will for believers.  It is often translated “perfect” or “perfection” which can cause difficulty for the typical English reader.  Better terms might be “complete” or “mature,” but even then we might not get the essence of the NT teaching.  Let’s begin with Hebrews, and then we will go to the rest of the NT.  There are 6 Greek words in this family so we will list them accordingly.  Keep this list in mind as we will not repeat it on the following pages.

1.    teleios (adj): perfect, mature; having attained the end

2.    teleiotés (fem noun): perfection, completion

3.    teleioō (verb): to complete, perfect (see P136)

4.    teleiōs (adv): completely, perfectly

5.    teleiōsis (fem noun): perfection, completion

6.    teleiōtés (masculine noun): perfector

Hebrews

3.2:10; 5:9: Christ was made perfect through suffering.  (Immediately we see the problem with “sinlessness.”  Christ was sinless; He was not made sinless.  And when we are the subject, having sinned we can never become “sinless.”  So what does this mean but that Christ came to the conclusion the Father had in mind for Him.  He became “mature” or “complete.”  And it was His earthly life that brought Him to that conclusion.)

1. 5:14: strong meat is for the mature.  This passage is crucial in seeing the “maturity” idea.  We grow as Christians from infancy to adulthood.

2. 6:1: perfection here is a state beyond the basic doctrines of Christianity

5. 7:11: seems to refer to perfection of 6:1. Writer talking about how to gain perfection; it doesn't come thru the Levitical system.

3. 7:19: Law made nothing perfect (10:1)

3. 7:28: the Son was made perfect forever.

3. 9:9: gifts, sacrifices of OT can't make one perfect in conscience

1. 9:11: Christ entered greater, more perfect tabernacle

3. 10:14: Christ in one offering perfected for all time the sanctified ones

3. 11:40: the OT saints can't be made perfect apart fr. us bec. God provided a better way (the completed work of Christ which the OT saints looked forward to).

6. 12:2: Christ the author and finisher/perfector of our faith.

3. 12:23: speaks of "righteous men made perfect" in heaven now

Note: in Hebrews there is a process towards perfection (5:14; 6:1; 2:10; 7:19). And “perfection” is the culmination of the process (5:9; 10:14; 12:23; 11:40). The idea of completion is also evident, notably in 2:10; 5:9; and the idea of maturity in 6:1ff.  The witnesses of Heb. 12:1-2 had completed the process (finished the race), and Christ to whom we look was the first to complete the process (Heb. 6:20).