The lecture of His Holiness Pope Shenouda III addresses the subject of perfection in the Holy Bible, clarifying that it is a multi-faceted concept: absolute perfection belonging to God, relative perfection that a human can strive for by the grace of God, and also perfection in the sense of completion of work.

Absolute Perfection and Relative Perfection:
His Holiness explains that God’s absolute perfection is not measured by human ability, while relative perfection is the perfection according to what a person can do and according to how much of God’s grace supports him. The Gospel commands: “Be perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect” — here the two examples are mentioned together to show the difference between God’s absoluteness and human relativity.

Biblical Examples of Relative Perfection:
The Pope cites Noah (Genesis 6:9) and Job and the honoring of Abraham as a “perfect and upright” man in the context of his fear of God and avoidance of evil, to show that Scripture applies the attribute of perfection to persons according to the integrity of their life and obedience.

Perfection as Completion of Work:
He explains that the word “perfection” can be used to indicate the completion of an act or work, as Christ said on the cross “It is finished” and “I have finished the work which You gave Me to do”; meaning the work reached its completion.

The Role of Works in Completing Faith:
His Holiness points to James about Abraham: “By works faith was completed” — works complete faith and reveal it, and they are a sign of relative perfection realized in practical behavior.

Spiritual Dimension:
The spiritual message of the lecture is that the believer is called to strive for a relative perfection that matches his ability and God’s grace: not the absolute divine perfection but spiritual growth and completion of work according to what God grants, and by deeds that complete faith.

Brief Conclusion:
Perfection in the Holy Bible is not a single-meaning term, but dynamic: it describes God as absolute perfection, and humans as relative perfection and task-completion, which calls the believer to repentance, striving, and reliance on God’s grace to accomplish what is required of him.

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