II Peter 3:17,18 – “Progress in Perfection”

My very literal translation of this passage would be as follows:

“Therefore, you, beloved, knowing [these things] beforehand, beware that you do not fall of your own stability, being led away by the error of the lawless, but keep on growing in [the] grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him [be] the glory both now and into [the] eternal day. Amen.”

While studying this passage I made what is to me a most profound discovery. It doesn’t necessarily derive exegetically from the passage itself but I would like to record my thoughts nonetheless and then come back to the passage in another post.

What particularly caught my eye was the second imperative of the passage: “… keep on growing …” Growing. An interesting concept. Progressive sanctification or more commonly “christian growth” is, to me, an undeniable reality. A person is born again at some point, then spends their earthly existence “growing” in grace, looking forward to that final time when Christ returns and “when we see Him, we will be like Him.” Again, I think it undeniable that “perfection” cannot be attained in this life. I cannot ever stop being a sinner as long as I live in this Adamic body. Only when I am freed of this flesh and given a new body will I be able to live without sin.

All of this seems to me undeniably Biblical and tidy. However, there is within it all something quite untidy and which has perplexed me for years. My quandary particularly focuses on a passage, Hebrews 2:10, that says, “For it was fitting for Him, for Whom are all things and by Whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the Captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings”.

Jesus “made perfect?” How could He be “made perfect” when He already was? He was born perfect. He’s God. He can’t be anything else. Even apart from the passage itself, I’ve puzzled over the fact that Jesus had to “learn.” He had to. He was born a little baby, became a toddler, grew into a boy, then a man. The very process itself involves learning. But how can you “learn” if you’re already perfect? Doesn’t “learning” imply progress? And if I learn something today, doesn’t that mean that I somehow was lacking yesterday? I find all of this quite perplexing. A few years ago, while asserting my resolved conclusion that we cannot be “perfect” in this life, yet, based on Heb 2:10, I offered the wild extrapolation that perhaps there is some sense in which it is actually possible to make progress in perfection.

“Progress in perfection”? The words seem almost oxymoronic. But what do we do with Jesus? What do we do with Heb 2:10? And beyond that, the question grows even larger. What about us? We will be “made perfect” to enjoy Heaven forever. But we are not infinite like God. We are finite. The very fact of our creation, that we had a beginning, makes us inextricably finite. And if we’re finite and God is infinite, then no matter how much we know of Him, there will always be more to know. Even if “perfect,” finite beings by definition must “progress” in their knowledge of that which is infinite – a process that is itself infinite, since finiteness will go on infinitely and never reach infinity(!). Is not “knowing God” inextricably a process – a process of continual learning – even in a perfect Heaven? Does it not seem logically necessary to conclude that, in fact, there is some sense in which it must be possible to make progress in perfection?

It suddenly struck me that the answer to this question is yes. There is a sense in which one may progress in perfection(!).

Here is another place where I think our hopelessly obligate linear logic binds us to the ground like lead weights. Since we see everything linearly, this then this then this, we see perfection as a destination to be reached, like moving from left to right on a number line or climbing to some point on an x-y graph. We see it as something one progresses toward until it is finally achieved: the perfect apple pie, the perfect piano concerto, the perfect “10.” I suggest herein is the root of our problem: Perfection is not a destination but rather a pattern. The logic is fractal, not linear. The logic of perfection is not linear; it is not a destination to be reached; it is a pattern – a pattern that can grow forever and still be the same pattern.

Consider a tree. At some point you look and see a tree. Is it a perfect tree? Basically yes. Obviously in this cursed world, we must allow for the reality of deformations, malnutrition, insect infestations, etc.; but given that is true, is not a tree basically a perfect tree? It has a trunk, it branches and grows leaves. A tree is a tree. But if you come back in two years what will be true? It has grown. It stands taller. It has limbs and branches it didn’t have two years ago. So is it “more” perfect? Of course not. It just is perfect. It’s still a tree, with a trunk and branches and leaves. But it has progressed. It’s progress doesn’t mean it was somehow “less” perfect two years ago. And the fact of its progress doesn’t make it “more perfect” now. It’s just still perfect.  How can this be? Because it is the pattern that’s perfect. And the tree can progress within its pattern, be more than it was, and yet not be “better” – just “perfect” because it perfectly fits its “pattern.”  It very naturally progresses in perfection!!

The very immediate and salient application of this truth is our own spiritual “growth.” Here is a place where I think we must distinguish between our created being and the curse of sin. Sin mars the image of God in us, yet that image remains. That image itself is perfect. And that image very specifically is the image of Christ. What is an “image”? It is a pattern. Here I propose that the image of Christ is patently not a destination but rather a pattern.

Here again, I will offer a wild proposition: our charge to “grow in the image of Christ” is inherent in our createdness. Even without sin, Adam and his race would have enjoyed the wonderful prospect and charge to progress, to actually know God better and better, to learn more and more how to be like Him, to grow in the likeness (the pattern) of Christ. Even without sin, and so it will be in Heaven, we will forever be learning, be progressing, as us finite creatures endlessly plumb the depths of our wonderful God’s being, and we, like the tree, add “branches” as it were to the pattern of the likeness of Christ. We will be constantly “taller” and constantly adding “branches” to that pattern, that perfect pattern – thus we’ll progress in perfection(!). It is part of our very createdness to progress.

Sin’s presence and effects mar the pattern. But, as is true throughout God’s perfect creation, it can only mar the pattern. It is not part of the pattern itself. It is “in addition to.” Sin is, in a sense, an overlay. The pattern itself is still perfect. Human beings should be progressing in the likeness of Christ with or without sin. As in every way, sin adds a complication to this process. It’s like the insect infestation for the tree. It mars the pattern. Part of a tree “growing” as a perfect tree is the challenge to prevent or to resolve insect infestations. In this world, part of me “growing” in the likeness of Christ is my need to be constantly “putting off” the sinful habits I’ve learned, the recurring and frequent sinful choices I might make, and I must constantly battle the very presence and existence of my own sinfulness.

But all that said, the image of Christ is still the image of Christ. I think this explains why even a new believer, still deeply marred by their sinful lifestyle, yet can glow with the likeness of Christ. We see that glow and, granted it’s maybe clouded here, short-changed there, yet it is still there. Any true believer knows what I mean. The likeness of Christ – that very beautiful sweet something – is very real whether you get to see it like a new believer's diamond in the rough or perhaps like the polished gold in an aged, godly person. It is the likeness of Christ either way and it is beautiful. That likeness itself is perfect.

In this world, the presence of sin’s marring confuses our understanding of our pursuit. In order to grow in Christ’s likeness, we must, at the same time, put off sin and grow in grace. The putting off of sin may perhaps be a linear pursuit. One by one we must recognize our sinful habits and conquer them. And ever victory certainly makes the likeness of Christ in us more apparent. But is the likeness of Christ not a perfection in itself? And rather than being linear it is absolutely fractal, a pattern to be expanded and enlarged. Now I’ll stick out my neck and call that, in itself, a progress in perfection. It is something that will go on in Heaven even without the sin problem.

So what is the bottom line of all of this? I suspect that we have done a poor job of distinguishing between God’s perfect creation and sin’s marring. I propose that there is some godly value in being able to look at people (along with the rest of creation) and see the perfection of their creation while at the same time owning a very healthy respect (and disdain) for the sinfulness that overlays and mars that perfection. Somehow we need to recognize God’s perfection and encourage people to grow in it while at the same time also recognizing the presence and effects of sin, calling it what it is, and dealing appropriately with it.

I suspect the ramifications of all of this go far beyond these initial observations and conclusions I’ve offered. But I am persuaded the basic idea of “progress in perfection” is legitimate. I think that, to see the world this way is to see it more clearly through God’s eyes.

And isn’t that really what we’re looking for?