Note: We’ve been pre-releasing excerpts from the upcoming book “Made Perfect” by Dylan DeMarsico. The following is from the fourth chapter. The full explosive bundle of joy is due out Christmas 2020…
“For by one sacrifice He has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.”
Hebrews 10:14 (NIV)
In the beginning God made Adam and Eve perfect. To be perfect is to be whole, complete, and without flaw. God designed humanity perfectly and they lived in total innocence. The amazing news of the gospel is that through the work of Jesus Christ, this perfection has been completely restored to us.
Few verses capture this good news so clearly as Hebrews 10:14: “For by one sacrifice He has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.” In other words, through what Christ did on the cross, we have been made whole, complete, and flawless. This is a past tense reality that God has already provided for us.
Now you might wonder why the author of Hebrews says that we are “being made holy.” This might seem like a contradiction, because as soon as he says that we are made perfect (past tense), he then says that we are being made holy—as if that hasn’t been accomplished yet.
But this tension goes away when you read other translations that render the verse more accurately. For instance, the New American Standard Bible says, “For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.” So, this part is also a past tense reality. We are already sanctified.
The word “sanctified” or “made holy” simply means “to be set apart.” Jesus already did this at the cross. There, Jesus took our sins upon Himself and separated us from them—forever. In other words, Jesus set us apart from our sin. We are sanctified—and perfect. We must no longer identify with anything less than perfection.
What should really settle the matter is reading what is written four verses earlier. Look at Hebrews 10:10:
“And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (NIV).
Jesus Christ has made us holy and perfect once and for all! There is nothing more we can attain to outside of this gift provided for us at the cross.
True Perfection
Knowing that Jesus already made us perfect frees us from a life of constant introspection and self-critique. It allows us to live joyfully and powerfully, overflowing with gratitude for what Christ did for us. The battle for our identity is over.
But here’s something else that’s important—and maybe this will address some of the questions or issues rising in your mind as you hear this amazing news—the reality of our current perfection in Christ doesn’t mean we still don’t have to grow.
Jesus was perfect, and still He grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man (Luke 2:52). There is always a process of growth, but it should come from a place of knowing you are already perfect, complete, and whole in Jesus Christ. We don’t fight for victory, we fight from victory.
When Jesus began His ministry, He started off by telling everyone, “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). While this seems impossible, Jesus reminded us that all things are possible with God. Don’t let your heart be stopped from embracing this message because it feels impossible. As you were instructed in the introduction to this book—keep feasting. Keep believing. This message is true, and it’s for you.
Part of the reason it seems offensive to call ourselves perfect in Christ is that our minds struggle with the concept of perfection. We think scientifically, as if being perfect is some math equation where every single decision we ever make adds up to the perfect solution. But Jesus showed us that being perfect, being complete and whole, is a journey. Jesus wept. He had to trust the Father. There were things He didn’t know (Matthew 24:36). And of course, in the end, He died. Jesus had to deal with difficult relationships with Peter, and the Pharisees, and the Sadducees. That doesn’t seem like a perfect life, but we know that Jesus’s perfect identity never wavered.
Perfect is more of an identity in God, through relationship with Him, than it is a life with no struggle. Jesus told us to be perfect, but then later in His ministry He told His disciples, “Apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). Jesus never commanded us to be anything that He wouldn’t become for us. He is our perfection. He sustains our perfection every day.
See, Jesus told us to be perfect and then went ahead and poured out His own perfect life into us. “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (Galatians 2:20). Remember what Paul asked the Corinthians: “What do you have that you did not receive?” (1 Corinthians 4:7) Through His once and for all sacrifice, Jesus has made us perfect forever (Hebrews 10:14). If Christ is perfect, and He lives in us, what does that make us?
You might be aware of a verse where Paul told the Philippian church that he hadn’t yet reached perfection (Philippians 3:12). But if you read the context, Paul was talking about the physical resurrection of the dead. We are all still waiting for that final glorious resurrection when Jesus appears. But nonetheless, we can experience the perfect One, Jesus Christ, living in us in the here and now.
It was Paul’s passion for everyone around the world to understand the full implications of the cross and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. He understood that in Christ, the full, complete, and perfect blessing of God had come. He wrote, “It has become my inspiration and passion in ministry to labor with a tireless intensity, with His power flowing through me, to present to every believer the revelation of being His perfect one in Jesus Christ” (Colossians 1:29 TPT).
Lessons from the Garden
This revelation of your perfection in Christ is so important in combating the lies of the enemy. As we saw in the beginning, the original lie of the devil made Adam and Eve question whether God really gave them everything they needed or not. They questioned their own identity in God. They wondered if God was holding out on them.
The enemy does the same to us today. He wants us to feel like God is holding out on us. But the New Testament is clear that God gave us everything. He gave us His total, perfect, and complete blessing. And that is our identity … perfect, complete, and blessed in Him.
Now let’s think about something else here. Adam and Eve were made perfect by God, and yet they still made a horrible mistake. In the same way, being “perfect” doesn’t mean we still don’t have the capacity to make mistakes. The problem comes down to listening to the lies of the enemy, which in turn affects our behavior.
In fact, forgetting that we are completely whole and perfectly loved is what causes mistakes in the first place!