May the peace of the Lord be with you and your household! Blessed be the Eternal God, the Almighty, the Creator of heaven and earth, whose Holy Name we invoke in this time that He, in His infinite Grace, grants us to expose ourselves before His powerful Word and to be transformed by the Power of His Holy Spirit. Glory be to the Perfect God, to the Holy God, to the God who calls us to live in His Truth and in His Fullness!
The theme of perfection, brethren, is a central theme, a doctrinal theme that resonates in the Holy Scriptures, both in the Old and New Testaments. It is not a mere suggestion, it is not an option, but a divine demand, a clear mandate from the Living God. Listen to the Word of the Lord in the Gospel according to Matthew, in the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus the Christ, our Savior, declares with authority: “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). What a powerful declaration! What a sublime calling! The Lord invites us to reflect the Perfection of our Heavenly Father, to live in His Holiness, to walk in His Truth.
And if we go back to the book of Genesis, we see that the Lord, in His Sovereignty, appears to Abraham at 99 years old and tells him clearly: “Walk before me faithfully and be blameless” (Genesis 17:1). This mandate is not exclusive to the Old Testament, for in the New Testament it is reiterated. Perfection is not an optional virtue, it is not something that man or woman can choose at will. It is a divine demand, a purpose established by the Eternal God so that, while we are on this earth, we reflect His Perfect Nature, His Holiness, His Justice. What would be the point of proclaiming a Perfect God if we, who invoke His Name, do not walk in perfection? The Lord, speaking to His people Israel and by extension to each one of us, exhorts us: “Be holy because I am holy” (Leviticus 19:2). Perfection is a calling, a demand, an eternal purpose of God for His children!
Today, brethren, we immerse ourselves in the teaching of the apostle Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, in Ephesians, chapter 4, verse 13, which tells us: “Until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” This text reveals to us that perfection is a process, a path of spiritual growth, a continuous development in which every man and woman of faith must advance. It is not something instantaneous, it is not something achieved overnight, but a process that requires faith, obedience and commitment. The life of faith, brethren, is a life of perfection. We cannot separate faith from perfection, as if it were something optional or an accessory. No! Faith and perfection are intrinsically united, because each one of us, who have recognized Jesus the Christ as our Lord and Savior, are called to walk under His lordship, to do His will and to live in perfection.
In Ephesians 4:12-13, the apostle Paul gives us the context: “To equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith.” Here perfection is presented to us as a process that involves three fundamental dimensions, three areas in which our faith must grow in a balanced way. These are not isolated areas, they are not optional, but must be developed together so that we reach unity in faith. What are these three areas? Listen carefully, because the Spirit of God is speaking to us.
First area: Faith in daily life.
Faith in daily life is the faith that accompanies us day by day, in the everyday, in the ordinary: in the supermarket, at work, at school, at university, on public transportation, on the streets we walk. It is the faith that guards us, protects us, guides us in the midst of a world full of spiritual traps. The apostle Paul, in 1 Thessalonians 1:9, tells us: “For they themselves report what kind of reception you gave us. They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God.” How powerful this is! Faith in daily life leads us to convert from idols, to turn away from everything that rises against the knowledge of God, to serve the Living and True God.
Today, brethren, we live in a world saturated with idolatry. Do not think that idols are only statues or figures in ancient temples. No, today’s idols are everywhere: in commercial products, in the values that the world promotes, in practices that many consider normal. In Revelation 18:23, the Word warns us: “Your merchants were the world’s important people. By your magic spell all the nations were led astray.” The merchants of the world, in their desire for profit, have consecrated their products to demonic forces, to practices of witchcraft and sorcery. Have you seen how in some places they wash the sidewalks with water treated with herbs like rue, not to clean, but to attract customers through witchcraft? Have you noticed the garlic hanging on door lintels, not as decorations, but as witchcraft practices? These things are not innocent, they are not harmless traditions. They are traps of the enemy to spiritually ensnare the unwary.
Faith in daily life calls us to be alert, not to participate in the works of darkness, as Ephesians 5:11 says: “Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.” It is not enough to not worship idols; we must rebuke idolatry, denounce the practices that the enemy has established in our environments. We live in a world where witchcraft and sorcery are present in the products we consume, in the places we visit, even in rulers who consult shamans to stay in power. Therefore, faith in daily life is an active faith, a faith that discerns, that rebukes, that does not become contaminated. As 2 Corinthians 6:14-17 says: “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? […] Therefore, ‘Come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.’” Faith in daily life guards us from alliances with what does not please God!
Second area: Faith in doctrinal knowledge.
Faith in doctrinal knowledge is essential, because it anchors us in God’s Truth in the face of life’s crises. Many men and women attend church, but lack solid knowledge of the doctrine of the Kingdom of Heaven. They don’t know what baptism means, they don’t understand the resurrection of the dead, they don’t comprehend the reality of heaven or eternal life. They have not grown in doctrinal faith, and therefore, when they face trials like the loss of a loved one, they fall into faith crises. Doctrinal faith gives us conviction, gives us certainty. As Matthew 24:13 says: “But the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.” To persevere implies remaining firm in what we have been taught, in the doctrine of Christ.
Doctrinal faith is not just listening to words of encouragement; it is being equipped in the mysteries of the Kingdom, understanding who Jesus the Christ is, how the Holy Spirit manifests, what spiritual warfare means. Without this knowledge, we become vulnerable. As Luke 1:4 says, the evangelist writes to Theophilus “so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.” Doctrinal faith strengthens us to face what is beyond our control: death, illness, unforeseen circumstances. It is an anchor that sustains us.
Third area: Faith in persecution or trial.
Finally, faith in persecution or trial is crucial, because persecution is part of the life of faith. In 1 Thessalonians 1:6-8, we read: “You became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you welcomed the message in the midst of severe suffering with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia.” Persecution is not something we should fear, but something we must be prepared for. In Acts 14:22, we are told: “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.” Trial, tribulation, crisis are part of the path of faith, and our faith must be strong, stable, firm so as not to faint.
Many believers are not prepared for persecution because they have not developed their faith in this area. They believe that everything will be easy, that the life of faith is only blessing and prosperity. But Jesus the Christ warned us in Matthew 24:21: “For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again.” We live in prophetic times, end times, where persecution is not only religious, but encompasses all areas of life. Therefore, we must grow in the faith that sustains us in trial, that keeps us firm in the evil day, as Ephesians 6:13 says: “So that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.”
Brethren, unity of faith, as Ephesians 4:13 teaches us, implies growing in a balanced way in these three areas: faith in daily life, faith in doctrinal knowledge and faith in persecution. We cannot grow only in one and neglect the others, because then our faith will be unbalanced, incomplete. Faith is not only for asking for miracles, it is not only for solving problems, it is not only for moments in church. Faith is for everything, for every aspect of our life, for every challenge, for every environment. As Matthew 28:20 says, Jesus the Christ promised: “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” He is with us always, in every moment, in every place!
Therefore, brethren, the call is clear: let us grow in faith, let us develop faith in daily life so as not to be contaminated by the idolatry and witchcraft of the world; let us grow in doctrinal faith to be anchored in Truth; let us grow in faith in persecution to remain firm in trial. That as we expose ourselves to this Word, we make the decision to strengthen the areas where we have been weak, so that, as the apostle Paul says, we may reach “the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” May the peace of the Lord be with you, and may His Spirit guide you to walk in perfection! Amen.
