Matthew 5:45 Be perfect, merciful, good, just as your heavenly Father is perfect… as Jesus is perfect and
good, we are to grow into that same goodness, or virtue – being perfect as
our good, wise, and loving Father – who is merciful and gracious.
OK, so we have touched on this idea of being perfect, being perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect. What does this mean? How do we do this? What does it look like? How do I reach this perfection?
Grace, and only by grace.
It is grace, that makes us what God wants us to be, and stretches us out to become the full form of what we are meant to be - that is telescopic - being stretched out to perfection, full potency, the unfolding of Christ’s character and stature.
The process begins by grace, God’s saving grace, and then continues by God’s grace working on, in, and then through me – with me.
John 1:16 “Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given.”
In essence, there are many acts of grace
The grace of life and breath - John 1:1-4
The grace of God’s perfect The Law - John 1:17a
The grace that is and is from Jesus - John 1:9-14, 17b
This is grace: God, seeing our condition, our sin and rebellion, our inability to reach up and be righteous, and acceptable, God looks down with compassion, and so loves us, He sends His Son, as grace upon grace upon grace. (John 3)
And to those who will receive Him, He gives the right to become children of God and does this, not when we were right with Him, but while we are still enemies of Him.
This is grace. (John 1:12; Romans 5:1-11)
We then, by grace, are perpetual works in progress, and we are always works in process - that progressive work is:
God’s working in and on us, and then through us (Phil 2-3)
Our working with Him on us and through us, with Him, in the lives of others (Phil 2-3; 2Pe 1)
First and foremost, our being been made perfect and then realizing and growing (into) perfection enables us to see God, no longer from the worldly point of you but growing in an increasingly right view and understanding of God, His character, that what He does is loving and good, what He does is always best, and seeing and experiencing these truths, to be able to receive from Him what He has done, is doing, and will do, starting with our making, and working through us as we respond to His goodness with grateful, appreciative, and loving obedience.
Our hearts have been changed, drawn to God, and enabled to see God for the good and loving Father that He is, and he works in and with us to desire Him and His will and purposes - because they are as good as He is good. He changes not only our hearts but our heart’s view of Him and His work. This is grace.
Then there is the working grace - the daily grace of our equipping to live lives of consequence
2Corinthians 5:13-21 - God’s love, His love for us, compels us - our perfection comes out of us in a compelling love - that we would be instruments of righteousness, vessels of noble (princely) purposes, reconciliation between God and man.
As we grow in God, in our perfection, we learn, by grace, and growing in that grace, or, perfection - that it is true that “all good gifts come from the Father of heavenly lights”
