Wasn't Jesus Always Perfect?

Hebrews 2:10 tells us God made Jesus "perfect through suffering."

But wasn't Jesus always perfect? Why did God need to perfect him?

Daniel Sandvik

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We can answer this question fairly easily when we recognize we might be thinking of the word "perfect" in a different way than the author of Hebrews presents it here.

When I hear or read perfect I understand it as flawless or without fault. As one definition reads:

Being entirely without fault or defect; corresponding to an ideal standard or abstract concept. [2]

From a Christian perspective we might speak of moral perfection, of being sinless.

In all of these regards, yes, Jesus was perfect. He never sinned. He was never at fault. And, being the incarnation of God, he corresponded in every way to the ideal standard.

In New Testament Greek, the word which most closely equates to this concept is probably amomos. The word is a compound one beginning with a which means not or without, and mómos meaning blame or blemish.

So this combination yields blameless or spotless.

Such is a great descriptor of Jesus, and, in fact, Peter uses the word to compare Jesus's death with that of a spotless lamb. Just as Mosaic Law dictated the sacrifice of an unblemished lamb, Jesus lived a perfect (amomos) life and therefore could serve as the final sacrifice for sins.[3]

Nevertheless Hebrews 2:10 does not use amomos when discussing how God made Jesus perfect. Instead, the passage uses a different word.

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No, Moses Wasn't Jewish: One Thing All Christians Should Know about God's Plan for Humanity

The mountain, Ararat, on which Noah's Ark came to rest after the flood. Photo by Mariam Grigoryan.

At the risk of seeming prideful and petty (mostly because I am both of these things, and I fear you'll learn the truth about me), I will tell the following story.

At the office some time ago my boss told a tale of a near-unbelievable construction feat, namely a crew building an entire house from slab to gable in mere hours. Being myself quite ignorant of the construction process (as such is not my specialty) I asked a question.

"How long does it take for the foundation to dry once it's poured?"

Why Didn't God Create a Sinless Reality from the Beginning?

Simon Matzinger

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This month we discussed a deep philosophical question I'm probably unqualified to answer. Nevertheless, I took a stab at it and even included an awkward middle school story. What could be better?

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If, as I asserted last month, we humans will be sinless yet have free will intact when we go to heaven, why didn't God simply create such a reality from the beginning?

The short answer is this: It's not possible. 

Whoa, are you saying something is not possible for God? 

To achieve the end result God desires, yes, it's not possible. Hear me out. 

The first fact we have to establish is that created beings cannot be perfect. I know what you're thinking, Didn't we establish last month that we will become perfect? Yes, but here I mean perfect in the way God is perfect. That is, omniscient, omnipotent, and so on. 

To put it another way: any created being must be a non god. 

Why? Because by definition, God is not created. 

Why is it important to establish this fact?

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Cursed Are the Spoiled Brats: What Jesus Meant When He Said the First Will Be Last

freestocks

Can I confess something to you? I've always felt for the older brother in the parable of the Prodigal Son.

Yes, he is a selfish, spoiled brat, but I guess I resonate with his complaint a little.

Perhaps it is because I've never been super rebellious. Yes, there have been seasons of my life when I've been far from God. I've been in some dark places, but I never disbelieved. I never ran away from home. I never dropped out of school and got a tattoo.

But this older brother was loyal to his father. He was steadfast. And when the no-good brother comes home he gets a party? How is that fair?

And what about the poor saps who worked all day in the parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard?

If you remember the parable, a master hired workers early in the morning, at midday, and late in the afternoon and yet paid all hired hands the same wage. As a result, those hired first ended up earning the lowest per-hour wage. How is that fair?

Is Sin Possible in Heaven? No, Not If You're Perfect

If you're new around here, you might be interested to know I write a monthly article just for my email subscribers.

This month we wondered about the possibility for free will and sinlessness to coexist in the context of heaven. Or, worded in a less obtuse manner, we asked, Is Sin Possible in Heaven?

Johannes Plenio

But rather than just tell you about it, here's a short excerpt from the piece:

To answer the question we turn back to Revelation. In the twenty-first chapter, right after the defeat of Satan and the final judgment, Scripture tells us that "[God] will wipe away every tear from [his people's] eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away" (Rev. 21:4).

This verse provides a definitive answer to our question: sin is an impossibility in heaven. Were sin possible, mourning and crying and pain would surely still take place. 

Therefore, we must ask, How? 

How is it possible for created, limited beings to have both free will and never sin? 

This answer is a bit murkier, but scripture does provide us with several clues and explanations. 

But before we dive in too deep though, I must confess something.

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