God’s Word for You
Philippians 3:15 Perfection
by Pastor Timothy Smith on Sunday, April 12, 2026
15 Let those of us who are perfect think this way, and if you think otherwise in anything, God will reveal that to you as well.
This verse says two important things, and we should address both of them. First, we must examine what Paul means by “perfect” in the first clause. Many modern translations prefer “mature” for this word, which is teleios (τέλειος), a noun related to Jesus’ words, “It is finished” on the cross (John 19:30). Let’s examine as many possibilities as we can:
1, Teleios as “sincere.” This is taken to be those Christians who “sincerely and earnestly desire to serve God” (Osiander).
2, Teleios as “true and sincere contrition and faith in Christ, the recognition of benefits and the firm intention to seriously and arduously run in the stadium of true piety” (Flacius).
These do not match what Paul has just said, that he has not yet reached perfection (verse 12).
3, Teleios as a perfection of those who “have advanced in the knowledge of Christ and in piety above others and to know what to think of Levitical ceremonies in the New Testament” (Weimar Bibel).
This definition is better, but focuses attention on the Christian life in perfection, which is not possible (simul iustus et peccator, at the same time saint and sinner).
4, Teleios as “mature,” advanced in Christian experience (as Euripides says, “For toils beget manhood”); to have achieved Christian manhood as opposed to being mere children in Christianity (who still need to be fed on the milk of God’s word, 1 Corinthians 3:2). “Mature… but not totally perfect” (Jerusalem Bible).
This is a relative perfection. Wenzel states: “In our estimation they had done better to distinguish between the perfection of the Law and that of the Gospel. In Matthew 5:48 and 19:21, the word is used of legal perfection.
5, Teleios as perfection as a result of the preaching of Christ.
This definition seems best to me by far. Paul says: “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. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming” (Ephesians 4:13-14). The perfect Christian is one who by the preaching of the Gospel has come to a knowledge of Christ and is no longer tossed back and forth with every wind of false doctrine. Paul has already said that he has abandoned (“considered rubbish”) all the apparent righteousness of the law, as opposed to the excellency of knowing Christ Jesus his Lord. No one can rob the perfect, perfected Christian of this doctrine in the perfect Gospel.
Yet this does not mean that the individual Christian’s personal faith in Christ is perfect. The Christian will always acknowledge his imperfection in this respect. So the Gospel also demands that we continue to strive for perfection. “He should never lose sight of the eternal goal that the Lord has set before him” (Kuschel, Philippians p. 79).
In brief, Scripture’s way of speaking is that believers are “perfect,” “whole,” “spotless,” and so on, to signify one who has a good conscience; one who is free of damning crimes and who does not neglect to cleanse his sins with daily prayer. The regenerate Christian is called “perfect” because his remaining imperfection and impurity is covered by the petition, “Forgive us our trespasses.”
The second thing that needs to be addressed is Paul’s statement that “if you think otherwise in anything, God will reveal that to you as well.” Sometimes, a reader might think that this verse could be lifted away from the context, like the Proverbs often can be (which have less of an immediate context) and simply applied to anyone who “thinks otherwise” about anything, such as any doctrine or any practice, and that the right teaching “will be revealed to you as well” with the implication that the one who quotes the passage is therefore automatically right and everyone else is wrong. But in the context of the verse, Paul is saying that if anyone doesn’t think of themselves as being perfect on account of Christ’s righteousness, that their sins are forgiven, and that therefore they are some sort of second-class “immature” Christian. Not so! Paul urges us all to keep reading the Scriptures, and in this way, “God will reveal this—that you are truly pure and spotless in Jesus—as well.”
We look after one another by reassuring each other that we are forgiven in Christ. This also prompts us to treat one another well, since we are all God’s children; all forgiven by the same Lord Jesus on the same cross of Calvary. What did Christ do for this person? He gave himself for her; for him. Let us treat them as sisters and brothers, even if they do not do the same for us. Even in the animal kingdom there is patience, as when a silly fawn will bite its mommy for no reason. Does the doe kick it away? No; she is patient. In her way, she loves. So we should love one another all the more, and always.
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith
Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in New Ulm, Minnesota. To receive God’s Word for You via e-mail, please visit the St. Paul’s Lutheran Church website.