Paul wrote to the Colossians,

But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection (Colossians 3:14 NKJV).

Have you ever struggled with concerns about perfection? Has the command to be perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect encouraged or discouraged you?

Does putting on love as the bond of perfection mean that we won’t ever again forget something our spouse has asked us to do? That if we love our spouse, we will never make a mistake (stumble and accidentally knock their cell phone on the floor, cracking the screen)—and we will perform every task perfectly?

John wrote:

Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin. Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him. Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God (1 John 3:4–9 NKJV, emphasis mine).

Does this bring encouragement, excitement, relief, and joy—or worry, concern, anxiety, and doubt?

Isn’t John saying here that if we accept Jesus, we will stop sinning?

What does all this really mean? Does it mean we never make another mistake, that we perform every task and duty flawlessly with perfect precision; we never make a math error in our checkbook; we never hit a wrong note while playing the piano; we never misunderstand a question and, therefore, never give a wrong or false answer thinking it was the right answer? Is this what John is saying?

Is the lawlessness that John states is sin regarding a law that functions like human law, such that lawlessness is misdeeds, bad behavior, or poor task performance? Or do we understand God’s law to be design law, the law of love, truth, and trust upon which reality is built and, therefore, lawlessness would be focused upon the motives of the heart and not primarily about how well we perform tasks?  

Consider Jesus’ call to perfection, noting particularly the context of what He is describing:

You have heard that it was said, “Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.” But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect (Matthew 5:43–48 NIV84, emphasis mine).

Paul calls us to love, which is the bond of perfection, and Jesus calls us to be perfect as His Father is perfect in the context of love! And love cannot be obtained through imposed law and law enforcement. Love cannot be measured by how well someone performs a task. The widow who gave her two mites is praised not because of the monetary value of the gift, but because of the love value of the gift. She gave all she had, self-sacrificial giving (Matthew 12:42–44).

Humans look at the outward appearance—the deeds, the tasks, the performance—but God looks upon the heart, the motive. Is it love and trust, or is it fear and selfishness? (1 Samuel 16:7).

Jesus calls us to the perfection of love, which is exactly what Paul and John are describing above. So, what is the connection between sin, lawlessness, love, and perfection?

Sin is lawlessness, but what law?

“Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law” (Romans 13:10 NIV84).

“The entire law is summed up in a single command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’” (Galatians 5:14 NIV84).

“If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself,’ you are doing right” (James 2:8 NIV84).

Jesus said, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments” (Matthew 22:37–40 NIV84).

God is truth and love, and when God created reality, He built it to operate upon His design laws, which are all an expression of His character of truth and love. And love only exists and operates in freedom. Love cannot be forced, compelled, or programmed like a computer. Love requires freedom!

This is why Paul wrote in Romans 14:23:

“Everything that does not come from faith is sin” (NIV84).

Faith is the same as trust, and when we break trust (faith) with God, we are deviating from love, acting in selfishness, and transgressing the very protocols upon which life, health, and happiness are built. Deviations from truth, love, and trust introduce fear, guilt, shame, discord, conflict, decay, and suffering. 

God wants us all to be fully restored, healed, and perfected back into His design for life—thus, the call to love and trust Him!

But is it possible to achieve this level of perfection here and now? Yes! Consider Enoch, Elijah, and Job. What do their lives reveal?

Job did not understand everything correctly. All of His questions were not based on an accurate understanding of what was actually happening to him. Indeed, he had to acknowledge he was wrong about some of the things he was thinking. Meaning, he wasn’t right in all the things he was thinking.

Then how could Job possibly be described by God as being perfect and righteous?

Because godly perfection is not about perfect cognitive understanding of things; it is perfect, mature love and trust in God that cannot be shaken no matter what. And Job had that! No matter what happened to him, his faith (trust) in God was not shaken. He didn’t understand why things were happening the way they were, but to whom did he go for a solution? He went to God, and his heart and mind remained teachable, open to be corrected; he was willing to give up misconceptions when truth was revealed. And while he had many complaints and concerns, his heart attitude was that he trusted God so much that he said, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him” (Job 13:15 NKJV).

That is the perfection God is looking for—a mature, perfect love and trust that knows God is so good that no matter what happens in this world, it will not cause us to doubt Him.

As we mature in Christ, we grow in our experience with Him, come to know Him personally, and eventually are sealed, which is being so settled into the truth both intellectually (mind) and spiritually (heart motive of selfless love) that we cannot be moved into distrust and rebellion against God. We will be perfected in love and trust, just like Daniel, who would rather be thrown to lions than betray His Lord; like the three worthies, who would rather be thrown into a fiery furnace than betray their Lord.

The perfected of God throughout history are not noted for perfect task performance, but for perfect loyalty to their Creator, no matter what happens. They have come to such a point in their trust in God that nothing could shake them from it. And the Bible describes the saved at the time of the Second Coming in just this way:

They overcame him [the devil] by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death (Revelation 12:11 NIV84).

The blood is symbolic of the life (Leviticus 17:11), symbolizing that these faithful have internalized the life of Christ (John 6:53; Galatians 2:20; 2 Peter 1:4) and are reborn with a new animating spirit of love and trust, and because of that, the word of their testimony is the truth about God. Their lives reveal God’s character of love as evidenced by the fact that “they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.” The spirit of fear and selfishness, the survival-of-the-fittest drive, motive, spirit is purged, and they live the life of Christ in perfect trust and surrender to Him:

“Your life must be controlled by love, just as Christ loved us and gave his life for us” (Ephesians 5:2 GNT).

“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers” (1 John 3:16 NIV84).

“My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:12, 13 NIV84).

Bible perfection is all about the heart, spirit, attitude of love, and trust, not about how well we can perform tasks. And the saved mature and experience this sealing, perfecting, settling in their trust relationship with God.

So when you read about perfection, don’t let the false standards of the world, which focuses on behavior and task performance, cause you anxiety. Instead, focus upon Jesus, walk with Him daily, and choose to trust Him in all things, and in that trust, surrender the old spirit/life of fear with its survival drives and choose to embrace, identify with, and live out your love and trust in Jesus. Pray for your enemies, forgive those who have wronged you, bless those who curse you—in other words, in trust, love like God loves; be perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect.