Christian perfection
Within many denominations of Christianity, Christian perfection is the theological concept of the process or the event of achieving spiritual maturity or perfection. The ultimate goal of this process is union with God characterized by pure love of God and other people as well as personal holiness or sanctification. Other terms used for this or similar concepts include entire sanctification, holiness, perfect love, the baptism with the Holy Spirit, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, baptism by fire, the second blessing, and the second work of grace.
Understandings of the doctrine of Christian Perfection vary widely between Christian traditions, though these denominational interpretations find basis in Jesus' words recorded in Matthew 5:48: "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect".
The Catholic Church teaches that Christian perfection is to be sought after by all of the just. Eastern Orthodoxy situates Christian perfection as a goal for all Christians. Traditional Quakerism uses the term perfection and teaches that it is the calling of a believer.
Perfection is a prominent doctrine within the Methodist tradition, in which it is referred to as Christian perfection, entire sanctification, holiness, baptism of the Holy Spirit, and the second work of grace. Holiness Pentecostalism inherited the same terminology from Methodism, with exception of the fact that Holiness Pentecostals take the term Baptism with the Holy Spirit to mean a separate third work of grace of empowerment evidenced by speaking in tongues, whereas Methodists use the term Baptism of the Holy Spirit to refer to the second work of grace, entire sanctification.
Other denominations, such as the Lutheran Churches and Reformed Churches, reject the possibility of Christian perfection in this life as contrary to the doctrine of salvation by faith alone, holding that deliverance from sin is begun at conversion but is only completed in glorification. Contrasting to all, Christian Science teaches that as man is made in God's image and likeness, "The great spiritual fact must be brought out that man is, not shall be, perfect and immortal".
Terminology
The terms "perfect" and "perfection" are drawn from the Greek teleios and teleiōsis, respectively. The root word, telos, means an "end" or "goal". In recent translations, teleios and teleiōsis are often rendered as "mature" and "maturity", respectively, so as not to imply an absolute perfection of no defects. But the words "mature" and "maturity" do not capture the full meaning of "end" or "goal". In the Christian tradition, teleiōsis has also referred to personal wholeness or health, an unswerving commitment to the goal.Church Fathers and Medieval Theologians
The roots of the doctrine of Christian perfection lie in the writings of some early theologians considered Church Fathers: Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria, Origen and later Macarius of Egypt and Gregory of Nyssa.Irenaeus wrote about the spiritual transformation that occurred in the believer as the Holy Spirit is to "fit us for God." In antiquity, baptism was commonly referred to as the perfecting of the Christian. This view was expressed by Clement of Alexandria in his work Paedagogus: "Being baptized, we are illuminated; illuminated we become children ; being made children, we are made perfect; being made perfect, we are immortal." In another work, the Stromata, Clement discussed three stages in Christian life that led to a more mature perfection. The first stage was marked by the change from heathenism to faith and initiation into the Christian religion. The second stage was marked by a deeper knowledge of God that resulted in continuing repentance from sin and mastery over the passions. The third stage led to contemplation and agape love. Origen also proposed his own stages of spiritual ascent beginning with conversion and ending with perfect union with God in love.
Gregory of Nyssa defined human perfection as "constant growth in the good". For Gregory, this was brought about by the work of the Holy Spirit and the self-discipline of the Christian. Macarius of Egypt taught that all sin could be washed away and that a person could be made perfect in the "span of an hour" while stressing the fact that entire sanctification had a two-fold nature, as "an act and a process". Pseudo-Macarius taught that inner sin was rooted out of the pure in heart, but he also warned against the hidden potential for sin in everyone so that no one should ever say, "Because I am in grace, I am thoroughly freed from sin."
By the 4th century, the pursuit of the life of perfection was identified with asceticism, especially monasticism and withdrawal from the world. In the 12th century, Bernard of Clairvaux developed the idea of the ladder of love in his treatise, On the Love of God. This ladder had four rungs or degrees. The first and lowest degree was love of self for self. The second degree was love of God for what he gives. The third degree was love of God for his own sake; it would not be difficult, according to Bernard, for those who truly loved God to keep his commandments. The fourth degree was love of self only for God's sake; it was believed that this degree of perfection in love was only rarely achieved before death.
Thomas Aquinas wrote of three possible levels of perfection. The first, absolute perfection, is where God is loved as much as he can be loved; only God himself can be this perfect. The second level, where love for God fills a person constantly, is possible after death but not in life. The lowest level of perfection was thought to be possible to achieve while living. Theologian Thomas Noble described Aquinas' view of this level of perfection as follows:
According to the standard formulation of the process of Christian perfection, as formulated by Dionysius the Pseudo-Areopagite, there are three stages:
- Katharsis or purification;
- Theoria or illumination, also called "natural" or "acquired contemplation;"
- Union or Theosis; also called "infused" or "higher contemplation"; indwelling in God; vision of God; deification; union with God
Catholic teaching
According to the teaching of the Catholic Church, something is perfect when nothing is lacking in its nature or purpose. The ultimate purpose of Man is union with God, also called divinization. This is accomplished on earth by grace and in heaven by the beatific vision. Perfect union with God while on earth is impossible; therefore, absolute perfection is reserved for heaven.The Catholic Church teaches that Christian perfection is a spiritual union with God that is attainable in this life. It is not absolute perfection as it exists alongside human misery, rebellious passions, and venial sin. Christian perfection consists of charity or love, since it is this virtue that unites the soul to God. It is not just the possession and preservation of sanctifying grace, since perfection is determined by one's action—the actual practicing of charity or the service of God.
The more charity a person possesses, the greater the perfection of the soul. A person who is perfect in so far as being free from mortal sin obtains salvation and can be called just, holy, and perfect. A person who is perfect insofar as also being free from venial sin and all affections which separate a person from God is in a state of active service and love of God. This is the perfect fulfillment of the law—loving God and loving other people.
The Catholic Church teaches that Christian perfection is something all should pursue in light of Jesus' injunction in Matthew 5:48. There is also, however, what is called "religious perfection", which is pursued by those committed to living religious life, such as members of religious orders. All Catholics are obliged to attain perfection by observing the commandments, but religious life imposes a more exacting obligation, requiring the religious to also observe the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity, and obedience. The evangelical counsels are believed to promote perfection in two ways. They remove the obstacles to perfection—lust of the eyes, lust of the flesh, and the pride of life. They also increase a person's love of God by freeing the affections from earthly ties.
El Camino de Perfección is a method for making progress in the contemplative life written by Saint Teresa of Ávila for the sisters of her reformed convent of the Discalced Carmelites. St. Teresa was a major figure of the Counter-Reformation in 16th century Spain. Christian Perfection is also the title of a book written by theologian Réginald Garrigou-Lagrange. Perfectae Caritatis, the Decree on the Adaptation and Renewal of Religious Life, is one of the shorter documents issued by the Second Vatican Council. Approved by vote of 2,321 to 4 of the bishops assembled at the council, the decree was promulgated by Pope Paul VI on October 28, 1965. As is customary for Church documents, the title is taken from the Latin incipit of the decree: "Of Perfect Charity".
Eastern Orthodox teaching
The Orthodox Church teaches that "perfection is possible for us as human beings as long as we understand it in its proper, dynamic sense" and that humans are "made for Theosis, for the deification of the totality of our being, body, mind, heart, and soul". This is in accordance with the writings of Saint Paul that encourage Christians to seek after the righteousness of Jesus to be transformed from "one degree of glory to another".Byzantine Orthodox hagiographer and hymnodist St Symeon the Metaphrast declared:
Anabaptist teaching
s believe that "because they have voluntarily chosen to follow Christ as their only authority", they can be successful in their pursuit of Christian perfection. Professor of Religious Studies Ira Chernus explicates Anabaptist doctrine:In particular, the Apostolic Christian Church is "distinguished by its emphasis on entire sanctification".