Be the Perfect Man
God saved and redeemed us through His Son Jesus Christ, so that we
could become His children. His divine intent is that we should emulate the way
of His Son and be holy and perfect like Him. ¡§Be holy, because I am holy.¡¨ (1
Peter 1:16) ¡§Be perfect, therefore, as your Heavenly father is perfect.¡¨
(Matthew 5:48)
With regard to becoming the perfect man
(blameless), Noah (Genesis 6:9), Abraham (Genesis 17:1) and David (2 Samuel
22:24) all left us their splendid testimonies. Although not totally free from
wrongdoing, they still resolved before God to act with a righteous and perfect
heart. Their testimonies all share the following commonalities:
1.
Their
relationships with God were that of good friends, with a deep, binding
camaraderie. They and the Lord could mutually communicate, and God revealed to
them His purpose and plan. Noah walked with God (Genesis 6:9), and the Lord
told him that humankind would be extinguished by a great flood and instructed
him to build an ark in order to preserve his life. When God was about to
destroy the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, He said, ¡§Shall I hide from Abraham
what I am about to do?¡¨ (Genesis 18:17) David was a man after God¡¦s own heart.
The Lord chose him to be King of Israel, and divulged to him the details of the
plan to build the Holy Temple. (1 Chronicle 28:19)
2.
They
all have their own spiritual life¡¦s goals. Noah feared God, and preached
righteousness through faith (2 Peter 2:5), admonishing people to repent and
return to God. He spent 120 years to prepare the ark, thereby saving his own
life. God promise to bestow land to Abraham, yet he lived all his life in tents
as a sojourner. Through faith, he looked forward to the city with foundations,
whose architect and builder is God (Hebrews 11:10). That heavenly inheritance
became his ultimate goal. After he was crowned king, David ardently sought a
dwelling for the Lord, and amassed much provision for the Holy Temple.
3.
They
all willingly submitted to the will of God, and lived their lives according to
His word. God commanded Noah to construct an ark whose size was without
precedent, and he obeyed. ¡§Noah did everything just as God commanded him.¡¨
(Genesis 6:22) God commanded Abraham to offer his son Isaac as a burnt
offering. So early in the morning Abraham got up and saddled his
donkey. When he had cut enough wood, he set out with his son for the place God
had told him about (Genesis 22:3). In his old age, David composed a psalm
declaring that he had become a perfect man before God, keeping himself far from
sin (2 Samuel 22:24).
4.
Because they were willing to become perfect men before God,
maintained a close relationship with Him as friends, followed the Lord¡¦s will
all their lives, and trusted and obeyed Him, God made everlasting covenants
with them, bestowing great blessings upon them, and revealing to them the
intent of His salvation so that others would be blessed on their account. God
used the rainbow as a sign, establishing an everlasting covenant of
preservation with Noah and all living creatures (Genesis 9:12-17). He also
blessed Noah and his descendants so that they would be fruitful and multiple on
the earth. God employed circumcision as a symbol of everlasting covenant on the
flesh of Abraham and his descendants (Genesis 17:13). He gave a promissory
undertaking to Abraham to be their God Himself and take them to be His people.
God made an everlasting covenant with David to establish his kingdom (2 Samuel
23:5), promising to be with him, eliminate all his enemies, make his name well
known, establish his household, and secure his throne forever (2 Samuel
7:11-13).
I hope
that our brothers and sisters will also share the aspirations of these three
spiritually great men, learn to be perfect men before God so that the grace and
glory of God will be manifested, cause others to be blessed.
By: Daniel To