Daily Thoughts from Philippians (2): Not Perfect – Philippians 1:3-6

We had a new guy and his family attending our church and he was an author of some really cool Christian fantasy novels.  He was smart and effective at communicating and we were thinking about whether he could be a teacher in our congregation.  But he had a concern about what we believed about Christian perfection.  He believed that Christians could attain and should attain perfection in this life and our church did not believe that.  He decided that he couldn’t be a member of our congregation because of our differences in this matter.

Paul speaks to this issue in his letter to the Philippians, in opening comments in his greeting that will be further expanded upon in the body of his letter.

I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.  And 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 1:3–6, ESV)

With few exceptions, Paul always includes in his letters a report of praying for the congregation he is addressing and often a specific prayer request he has for them.  Here we see the very warm relationship Paul had with this church at Philippi.  Whenever he prayed, he said, he did so with joy.  And that joy sprang from their mutual commitment to the gospel and its progress, manifested at Philippi by their financial partnership with Paul.  This signaled that they took the commission of Jesus to his church seriously.  And we will see that they did not only finance missions but were actively sharing their faith in their own community.

This consistency of partnership or fellowship in the gospel was evidence to Paul that God had begun a good work in Philippi, that these church people were genuine believers, and because they were, what God had begun He would also complete.  The good work God began in them was the work of transforming them into the image of Jesus (Romans 8:29).  The terminus point or date of completion of this good work would be the day of Jesus Christ.

The coming of the Day of Yahweh is a consistent theme in the Old Testament.  With the revelation of Jesus as God, the day becomes known also as the Day of the Lord Jesus Christ.  It is the day of his return to rule on earth as her rightful king and involves both the judgment of all unbelievers and the rewarding of believers.  And, as Paul indicates, it is the time of the completion of our salvation from sin.  It is the time when we will be given our resurrection bodies and be made perfect in our spirits as well.

If the Day of Jesus Christ is the termination point of the good work God is doing in us it stands to reason that before that time we will not be perfect in our representation of the character of Christ.  Later in this letter Paul will confess that he is not yet perfect but awaits the resurrection for that perfection to arrive.  In the meantime he presses on to  perfection even though he will not attain it.  It is like a runner in a race.  He doesn’t quit going all out for victory until he crosses the finish line.  We must pursue perfection.  After all, if perfection is measured in loving like God, how can we want less than to love God and others with our whole heart?

Some branches of the Christian faith have taught a form of present perfection and we lump these views under the term ‘perfectionism.’  In reality, the “perfection” they often describe is not absolutely perfect, but involves concepts like freedom from conscious or known sin, or outward and complete obedience.  However, we know that the greatest battle is not the one that takes place in our outward behavior but in our inward attitude.  That is why the 10th commandment is really the hardest commandment, thou shalt not covet.  It requires more than a change of behavior but a purity of desire.

We will never achieve perfection by God’s standards but it must always be our pursuit and should teach us to depend on God for our growth in goodness and not in our own ability to keep God’s law.

Discussion Questions for Small Groups

1. What thoughts do you associate with the word perfection?
2. Have you ever known someone whom you thought was perfect or nearly so?  What made you think so?
3. How do you see Paul indicating in these verses that perfection is not attainable in this life, or do you have another explanation for what he is saying?
4. How would you measure your own pursuit of perfection right now?
5. In what way do you need to depend on God for your growth in goodness rather than your own ability and how will you implement that this week?