Treasure in Earthen Vessels

I. What is the doctrine of perfection?

The writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews states in chapter six that the purpose of the doctrine of Christ is to walk through it in perfection. In other words, the life of Christ is the life of perfection.

In the Old Testament, the term in the Hebrew language that is translated into English by perfect is: תָם (tam), תָמִים (tamim, plural), which literally means to be or to be complete, to be finished, to be finished.

However, in many texts this word is translated not as perfect but as “completeness”; for example, in Genesis 17:1 God requires Abraham to be “perfect”; while in Genesis 20:6 it is recognized that Pharaoh’s behavior was in “completeness.

In both cases the same word is used in the original language. Thus, perfection is also translated as integrity in the Bible. This double translation of the same word is due to the idea that man attains perfection when he ascends to the eternal abode, a religious concept that originated in Greece. The Bible says that the person who lives according to the faith of Jesus walks in perfection.