“‘Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect’” ( Matthew 5:48 48 Ye therefore shall be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. ).

These words embody all the truths Jesus teaches in the Sermon on the Mount—in fact, they are the apex of all He teaches in the gospels. The ultimate goal of our redemption and the sincere, strong yearning of God’s heart is for all who would trust in His Son to be like Him.

The word translated “perfect” essentially means arriving at an intended end or realizing a completion of something. The word elsewhere in the New Testament is often rendered “mature” (cf. 1 Cor. 2:6; 14:20; Eph. 4:13, etc.). But here Jesus clearly intended to convey the meaning of perfection, because He is presenting God as the ultimate, holy standard for being and doing. It is the criterion of absolute perfection.

In our own power, such supreme and divine perfection is completely impossible to attain. And if we wonder how our Savior can demand the impossible, we simply have to remember His later instruction, “With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” (Matt. 19:26). God always provides the means and the power to accomplish what He commands.

Simply because God’s righteousness is perfect, it is impossible in human strength to attain it. However, the impossible becomes possible for those of us who trust the Lord Jesus, because God gives to us the very righteousness of Christ.

Ask Yourself

Are you willing to believe God for the impossible—that you can actually be “wise in what is good and innocent in what is evil” (Rom. 16:19)? How could you cooperate with Him today in drawing closer to this noble goal?

From Daily Readings from the Life of Christ, Vol. 1, John MacArthur. Copyright © 2008. Used by permission of Moody Publishers, Chicago, IL 60610, www.moodypublishers.com.

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