A More Perfect You
The Pursuit of Perfection in Christ
Paul's Teaching on Perfection
Teaching Strategy
The focus of this lesson is on Paul’s teachings on perfection. Of special note is how Paul’s teachings from Galatians 5 show that the power of the Holy Spirit helps Christians achieve actual perfection.
Student Learning Outcomes
- Know: Understand Paul’s teachings on perfection.
- Feel: Seek to grow towards actual perfection by cultivating the fruit of the Holy Spirit.
- Do: Apply the freedoms we have in Christ to live according to God’s will.
Body of the Lesson
Discussion Questions
Below are suggested questions to use during the guided discussion portion of the lesson. There are also suggested responses to questions to help students grasp the various concepts. These are provided to assist the discussion and are not considered as “right or wrong” responses.
1. Complete the following statements: (note: desired response is in parenthesis)
- "Conditional perfection is the state of being righteous or justified before God and received through (faith) in Jesus Christ."
- "Actual perfection is the ideal of Christ seen (pursued) in everyday life through the help of the (Holy Spirit).
- When we describe Christ, we are describing what God sees in us when He looks at us in (judgment).
2. What is Paul describing in Galatians 5:13-25?
A state of actual perfection we seek while in our natural bodies.
3. Why did Paul write the letter to the Galatians?
Certain individuals were teaching the Galatians that they were not truly saved without adherence to certain teachings (Judaism) that included the practice of circumcision. They were also attacking Paul personally accusing him of not being a true apostle. This resulted in the weakening of the faith of some.
4. Discuss the seven points Paul establishes in his letter to the Galatians:
(See text for discussion points)
They will be condemned.
He received what he was teaching from Jesus, not from men.
The gospel was so important to Paul (and us), that he was ready to defend the gospel to anyone. Conditional perfection is given when we obey the gospel through our faith expressed in repentance and baptism.
Paul states, "you have clothed yourselves with Christ". Look for statements that demonstrate that we have taken on the identity or characteristics of Christ when we are baptized into Him. For example, when a person belongs to a profession or organization, they frequently take on that entities' identity seen by wearing a uniform or dressing and acting in a certain way (e.g. military uniform, nursing uniform, police uniform, etc.). We seek become "Christlike in our attitudes and actions. These serve not only to identify us, but also to differentiate us from the world.
No matter what we "do", we cannot keep the law perfectly. We don't do these things to earn salvation, but to receive it.
These are things given by God as a way to respond or express our faith in Him.
These things are effective. Law keeping (a legalistic view) lead to pride, discouragement and division, among other attitudes and actions that weaken or destroy our faith.
The gospel has the power to free us from slavery to uninspired ideas, our sinfulness and condemnation caused by imperfection.
If the Christians continued to submit to the practices of Judaism (old law), then Jesus was of no value to them. The New Law is a law of grace. Today, even though we are not required to keep the old law, however, we do tend to focus on rule keeping rather than God's grace. Rules are important, but we're not saved by rule keeping, rather by our relationship with God through Jesus.
Use the text as a resource to encourage discussion (easier, appeals to pride, offers power over others).
The inherent danger in focusing on rule keeping is that of developing a feeling God owes us salvation since we've kept the rules. This is antithetical to grace. Consider referring to the event from Mark 10:17-27 (Rich Young Ruler) as the young man who sought what he needed to do to be saved since he'd kept the rules from his youth. Note that he needed to focus on following Christ (faith)rather than trusting in His wealth and rule keeping.
We've been freed from our sins and given the opportunity to freely serve God by serving others in love. By doing so, we walk by the Spirit and not the flesh.
Walking in the Spirit encourages growth in the fruit of the Spirit that Paul will outline in the continuing narrative. Included in this is the most critical element of love (I Corinthians 13:13).
5. How can you use this lesson to grow spiritually and help others come into a relationship with Jesus?
Achieving perfection is impossible by ourselves. We do have a role to play but both conditional and actual perfection is given only through our obedient faith and faithfulness to Christ. As Christians, we continue to face challenges as we grow in our faith. We must remember our confession of faith in Jesus and our desire to follow His teachings. This is in keeping with walking in the Spirit as we continue to grow to Christlikeness.