Deepthi 2022

Zo]vXn 2022
The term
‘Perfection’
in the Light
of Holy
Scripture
Dn. Jijo Jose
Fourth Year
46 Hm¿Ø-tUmIvkv Xntbm-tfm-Pn-°¬ skan-\m-cn, tIm´bw
The scripture presents tensions regarding
notions of moral and religious perfection. On
the one hand, many texts emphasises the inability
of humans to live free from sin. (1 King
8:46) states “There is no one who does not sin’’
(Ecc 7:20; Lam 3:29). The NT picks up on this
theme in (Rom 3:23) ‘’All have sinned and fall
short of the glory of God”, and in (Jn 1:8) “if
we say that we have to sin, we deceive
overselves, and the truth is not in us.” These
verses suggest that sinless perfection may be
impossible for humans.
On the other hand, several texts command
the limitation of God, implying that humans
should at least attempt some level of God - like
perfection. In (Lev 19:2) God decrees, “You
shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy’’.
Likewise in (Mtt 5:48) Jesus tells the crowds,
“Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father
is perfect.’’ Through out the ages, scholars have
wrestled with whether and how individuals
might be able to obey such commandments
in the light of human sinfulness.
Biblical notions of perfection differ in some
respects from modern conceptions. Both the
Hebrew words related to root ‘tmm’ and the
Greek words related to ‘telos’ have areas of semantic
overlap with the English word ‘Perfection’,
but their basic meaning is ‘completion’.
Thus the OT uses words form ‘tmm’ in reference
to the completion of different types of
actions and to the type of sacrifice that God
expects - one without defect (Ex 12:5). When