According to the bible can we become perfect?

Question

1st John ch. 3 verse 4 through 6

Answer 1

You already are perfect. Beware belief systems that make simply being human evil. They degrade the divine.

Answer 2

The more a man allows Christ to live his life without sin through him, the more the man moves from sin.

Yet, as long as we are in this flesh, we will never be perfected, but we must continue to fight the good fight of faith.

So the more we put our faith in Jesus, the more we move from sin. And the more we let Christ live through us by faith, the more we mortify that body of sin.

As for your verses quoted, remember that sin comes by way of flesh. We must walk in the spirit, we must talk in the spirit. We must put on the full armor of God.

Our spirit which is in Christ wars against the desires of the flesh that lead men to sin. So can a man be perfect? I believe we strive for that perfection always in our spirit that has been reborn apart from sin.

And can it not be said that when a man is born again, when his sins have all been removed, that his spirit has been perfected through Christ the Lord. Yet, it is not the man that perfects, but he who lives in the man. It is the blood of the lamb that removed our sins and purified us, making us Holy.

Answer 3

Christ is the only one who is perfect.The Christian life is a process of becoming more and more like Christ. see romans 8:29 This process will not be complete until we see Christ.1Cor 13:12,Philip3:21 but knowing that is our ultimate destiny should motivate us.To purify means to keep morally straight, free from the coruption of sin. God also purifies us, but there is action we must take to remain morally fit see TIm5:22; and James 4:8;and 1Pet 1:22.

Answer 4

The following is part of Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible as it relates to part of v. 6:

"Sinneth not - There has been much difference of opinion in regard to this expression, and the similar declaration in 1Jo_3:9. Not a few have maintained that it teaches the “doctrine of perfection,” or that Christians may live entirely without sin; and some have held that the apostle meant to teach that this is always the characteristic of the true Christian. Against the interpretation, however, which supposes that it teaches that the Christian is absolutely perfect, and lives wholly without sin, there are three insuperable objections:
(1) If it teaches that doctrine at all, it teaches that all Christians are perfect; “whosoever abideth in him,” “whosoever is born of God,” “he cannot sin,” 1Jo_3:9.
(2) this is not true, and cannot be held to be true by those who have any just views of what the children of God have been and are. Who can maintain that Abraham, or Isaac, or Jacob; that Moses, David, or Job; that Peter, John, or Paul, were absolutely perfect, and were never, after their regeneration, guilty of an act of sin? Certainly they never affirmed it of themselves, nor does the sacred record attribute to them any such perfection. And who can affirm this of all who give evidence of true piety in the world? Who can of themselves? Are we to come to the painful conclusion that all who are not absolutely perfect in thought, word, and deed, are destitute of any religion, and are to be set down as hypocrites or self-deceivers? And yet, unless this passage proves that “all” who have been born again are absolutely perfect, it will not prove it of anyone, for the affirmation is not made of a part, or of what any favored individual may be, but of what everyone is in fact who is born of God.
(3) this interpretation is not necessary to a fair exposition of the passage. The language used is such as would be employed by any writer if he designed to say of one that he is not characteristically a sinner; that he is a good man; that he does not commit habitual and willful transgression. Such language is common throughout the Bible, when it is said of one man that he is a saint, and of another that he is a sinner; of one that he is righteous, and of another that he is wicked; of one that he obeys the law of God, and of another that he does not. John expresses it strongly, but he affirms no more in fact than is affirmed elsewhere. The passage teaches, indeed, most important truths in regard to the true Christian; and the fair and proper meaning may be summed up in the following particulars:
(a) He who is born again does not sin habitually, or is not habitually a sinner. If he does wrong, it is when he is overtaken by temptation, and the act is against the habitual inclination and purpose of his soul. If a man sins habitually, it proves that he has never been renewed.
(b) That he who is born again does not do wrong deliberately and by design. He means to do right. He is not willfully and deliberately a sinner. If a man deliberately and intentionally does wrong, he shows that he is not actuated by the spirit of religion. It is true that when one does wrong, or commits sin, there is a momentary assent of the will; but it is under the influence of passion, or excitement, or temptation, or provocation, and not as the result of a deliberate plan or purpose of the soul. A man who deliberately and intentionally does a wrong thing, shows that he is not a true Christian; and if this were all that is understood by “perfection,” then there would be many who are perfect, for there are many, very many Christians, who cannot recollect an instance for many years in which they have intentionally and deliberately done a wrong thing. Yet these very Christians see much corruption in their own hearts over which to mourn, and against which they earnestly strive; in comparing themselves with the perfect law of God, and with the perfect example of the Saviour, they see much in which they come short.
(c) He who is born again will not sin finally, or will not fall away. “His seed remaineth in him,” 1Jo_3:9. See the notes at that verse. There is a principle of grace by which he will ultimately be restrained and recovered. This, it seems to me, is fairly implied in the language used by John; for if a person might be a Christian, and yet wholly fall away and perish, how could it be said with any truth that such a man “sinneth not;” how that “he doth not commit sin;” how that “his seed remaineth in him, and he cannot sin?” Just the contrary would be true if this were so."


I hope this helps.

Answer 5

That should have been translated “mature”, not “perfect”. Christ is the only one in the flesh who was perfect ... without spot.