PERFECTION, Christian. The word "perfect," in the moral sense, is usually the translation of the Heb. CO and the Greek riXttoc, which both essential- Ij' mean compl te. The term perfection, says "Witsius, is not always used in the same sense in the Scriptures. 1. Thei'e is a perfection of sincerity, whereby a man serves God without hyp-crisj' (Job i, 1 ; Isa. xxxviii, 3). 2. There is a perfection of parts, subjective with respect to the whole man (1 Thess. v, 23), and objective with respect to the whole law, when all the duties pre- scribed Ijv God are observed (Psa. cxix, 128 ; Luke i, 6). 3. There is a comparative perfecJ;ion ascribed to those who are advanced in knowledge, faith, and sanc- tification, in comparison of those who are still infants and untaught (1 John ii, 13 ; 1 Cor. ii, C ; Phil, iii, 15). 4. There is an evangelical perfection. The righteous- ness of Christ being imputed to the believer, he is com- plete in him, and accepted of God as perfect tiirough Christ (Col. ii, 10 ; Eph. v, 27 ; 2 Cor. v, 21). 5. There is also a perfection of degrees, by whicli a person per- forms all the commands of God, with the full exertion of all his powers, without the least defect. This is what the law of God requires, but what the saints can- not attain to in this life, though we willing!}' allow them all the other kinds above mentioned (Kom. vii, 24; Phil, iii, 12; 1 John i, 8) (Witsius, O^conomit, Fced(rum Dei, lib. iii, cap. 12, § 124). The ancient worthies, in the simplicity of their faith, were "perfect in their generation" (Gen. vi, 9 ; Job i, 1) ; " they fol- lowed tl\e Lord fully" (Numb, xiv, 24). As the term " perfect" is frequently applied to different individuals in the Scriptures, and the possession of tlie character so frequentlj' enjoined, there can be no doubt, among those w ho know the Scriptures and the power of God, that perfection, in the scriptural sense of the term, ought to be an object of more anxious solicitude among Christians than it usually is (Gen. xvii, 1 ; Luke vi, 40 ; Heb. vi, 1). We are exhorted to acquire the perfection of Christianity both in theory and prac- tice. We are to be thoroughly instructed and expe- rienced in divine principles ; to be adults and not chil- dren in Christian knowledge (1 Cor. ii, 6; xiv, 20; 2 Cor. xiii, 9; Eph. iv, 13; Phil, iii, 15; Heb. v, 14). We are to press onward to tlie attainment of tlie per- fection of Christian life l)y submission to the reign of the Holy Spirit, which brings the entire man into com- plete subjection to the divine will (Rom. viii, 12). In this sense the faithful may be said to "stand perfect and complete in all the will of God" (Col. ii, 10 ; iv,
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12). The Saviour says to his disciples, " Be j-e therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect" (Matt, v, 48). Not that we can ever attain to an equalit// ; but talking him as the onli/ pattern of perfection, we can advance towards a con- similarity. Just as it is said in the parallel passage, " Be ve therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful" (Luke vi, 40), so we are to be holy in the same manner, thougli in the same degree it is utterly impossible, as we ai-e but tinite creatures, wliile he is the Infinite and Eternal. As creatures, we cannot reach an}' state that precludes the possibility of further improvement ; inasmuch as we may love God supreme- 1}', j'et that love may become stronger, and that delight increase forever. The perfection of a Christian, con- sidered in relation to that of his heavenly Father, may be likened to one of those mathematical lines that niaj' draw nearer and nearer to another for all eternity, still remaining as infinite in their mutual distance as they are endless in their mutual approach, and everlasting in their asymptotic relation to one another. Our con- tinual advancement towards him may be illustrated by the recurring decimal fraction. Though we add figure after figure, in a continuing and never-ending series, and every additional figure brings it nearer to a certain value, yet there is no possiljility of its ever reaching that value. So the happy and the holy may continue to grow more like God, without the most dis- tant possibility of attaining his glorious perfections. Nay, he may grow more like God throughout eternity, and throughout eternity remain at an infinite distance from the absolutely perfect object which he thus in- creasingh' resembles (Phil, iii, 12 -IG). See Bates, Works, p. 557, etc. ; Burgh, Dignity of Human Nature ; Doddridge, Lectures, lect. 181; Channing, Works; Ir- ving, Orations and Arguments ; Engl. Rev. ii, 20 ; Presh. TJieol. Rev. Oct. 1868 ; Christ. Examiner (1874), p. 183 ; Brit, and For. Ev. Rev. July, 187G ; Meth. Quar. Rev. Oct. 1874. See Sanctification.
That such perfection is attainable in this life is held by the Franciscans, Jesuits, and Molinists in the Church of Home, but is denied by the Dominicans and Jansenists. In advocating the doctrine, its Koman Catholic supporters generally rest much on the distinc- tion between mortal and venial sins. See Sin.