W2 | Perfection: Imitating Christ

FUSE Jakarta

3 months ago

REFERENCE BIBLE VERSES

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

1 Corinthians 11:1 (ESV) | Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ

OBJECTIVE

To know what perfection in Christ means, and that in life to pursue excellence we have a perfect example in Jesus.

CONTENT

PERFECTION IN HIS EYES

In our pursuit of excellence and perfection, we may confuse it with perfectionism. Yet, what we call perfectionism is not the same as the pursuit of excellence. When we pursue excellence, we’re determined to do something as well as possible within a given set of talent, resources, and time limits.
But perfectionism is a pride- or fear-based compulsion that either fuels our obsessive fixation on doing something perfectly or paralyzes us from acting at all — both of which often result in the harmful neglect of other necessary or good things.
There is a difference between the perfection that God calls from us and perfectionism in our human ideals.
In Matthew 5:48, God’s children are called to be perfect. Yet, this does not mean that humans can obtain the same holy perfection as God, for He alone is set apart in holiness. Jesus is the only One who has lived a perfect life, and it is through Him that we meet God’s standard. Rather than earning righteousness, we are declared righteous because of Christ.
The call to be perfect is what the apostle Paul meant when he said, “Be imitators of God, as beloved children” (Ephesians 5:1). As children tend to imitate their parents, God’s children ought to imitate and reflect His perfection in the way they live.

IMITATING CHRIST

Imitation involves not only copying external behaviour but also internal motivation. When we imitate Christ, we not only do what He did such as praying, but also do it for the same reason. Jesus prayed because He loved His Father and those He prayed for (John 17). We can make the mistake of trying to mimic Christ’s actions, but without His motives and character.
To imitate Him, we are to have an intimate relationship with Him – marked clearly by our obedience, submission, and love for the Lord. Without love, all our actions will amount to nothing; they will simply be mimicry. The motivations behind our actions will determine whether we imitate or simply mimicking Jesus.
Imitating the example of Jesus involves dying to self, as Christ Himself demonstrated (Philippians 2:5–8). Paul’s teaching in 1 Corinthians 10:23—11:1 gives us some insight on this. We can recognize that Jesus never settled just for what was permissible or allowed; instead, He always sought what was beneficial and constructive (verse 23). He wasn’t focused on His own good but on the good of others. He was constantly considerate of His actions and how they might affect the conscience of another. Jesus did everything to reflect God’s glory.
In ancient times, students were expected to imitate their teachers as part of their training. In the Christian faith, believers get to know Christ’s character through fellowship with godly mentors and friends. The author of Hebrews wrote, “We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised (Hebrews 6:12)”
As Christ’s disciples, we imitate His character and, in doing so, provide life models worthy of imitation. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we find the strength to love our enemies, uphold our relationships, overcome lust and hatred, and follow the other commands in Scripture.
And, as we imitate Christ and become more like Him in all we do, we are genuinely free (Romans 12:1–2; Ephesians 4: 22–24). The burden is no longer on us for the call to be perfect, we can pursue excellence with a joyful heart knowing Jesus had done it for us first. The apostle John affirmed, “And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world” (1 John 4:17, NLT).

REFLECTION/DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

REFERENCES