Be Thou Perfect

||Rhema for the Week||

“You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭5‬:‭48‬ ‭(ESV)‬‬

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus provided deep insight into the ideal life of the Kingdom. He began with the Beatitudes, described Kingdom citizens as the salt and light of the world, clarified His purpose in fulfilling the law, and ultimately revealed what it truly means to live in righteousness.

Scripture presents only two ways in which the law is fulfilled: through Jesus and through Love . During His sermon on the Mount, Jesus made a bold statement, declaring that He came to fulfill the law and the prophets. He then emphasized, “Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven”. That is a profound challenge! Was He implying that there is a higher righteousness beyond the strict legal obedience of the religious leaders? Not only that, but He also commanded us to be perfect as God is perfect.

But how can a person be perfect? Can we truly obey all the commandments, even beyond the efforts of the scribes and Pharisees? Jesus hinted at the answer. From the very start of His sermon, He unveiled a new standard of righteousness, one rooted in love. This love, as Jesus describes, is not of the flesh but of the heart. It contradicts everything the flesh stands for..judgment, selfishness, retaliation, and pride because it is beyond the flesh.

How can we love and pray for our enemies? Why should we refuse to retaliate? Why should we be generous to those who openly oppose us? It seems impossible! Yet, Jesus teaches that God’s perfection is revealed through His love and mercy. It was through this love and mercy that He gave His only Son to die for us, even when we did not deserve it.
“But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us”.

This kind of love is easier spoken of than practiced because it is not merely a mental or emotional effort but the life of the Spirit. This love is the fruit of the Spirit, which means the seed must be the Spirit before the harvest can be this kind of divine love.

True righteousness is not found in rigid legalism but in the love that flows from the Spirit of God. To be perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect is to walk in this divine love.

Further reading: Matthew 5:1-48, Romans 5:8, Galatians 5:13-26, James 2:8-14