Truth, Freedom, and the Holy Spirit

The Prophet Isaiah poses a rhetorical question when he asks, "Who has measured the Spirit of the LORD, or what man shows him His counsel?" (Isaiah 40:13). The Apostle Paul provides a tautological answer when he states, "no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God" (1 Corinthians 2:11).

He goes on to affirm that without the Spirit, we are blind to spiritual Truth, but with the Spirit, the secrets of God are revealed to us (1 Corinthians 2:6-16). The Spirit thus removes the veil between us and God, allowing us to enter His presence and behold His glory. In the process, as we receive the mind of Christ, we become transformed into the image of Christ (2 Corinthians 3:12-16).

A dramatic shift in  behaviour naturally follows from this transformation, for we become motivated and enabled to live, walk, and worship in obedience - to do what only Christ could do (Romans 8:1-12; Galatians 5:16-25; John 4:24). Indeed, when the Holy Spirit becomes one with our human spirit, It allows us to take captive our own thoughts - the elusive 'holy grail' of philosophy (1 Corinthians 6:17; 2 Corinthians 10:5; Proverbs 20:27). 

It is in this way that the Truth of the Spirit (or, equivalently, the Spirit of Truth) gives us freedom - freedom from sin, death, and condemnation (2 Corinthians 3:17, Romans 8:13; John 8:31-36). I find it significant in this respect that one of the articles of the Armour of God is the Belt of Truth, with which we are to gird our loins (Ephesians 6:14) - according to Paul, we require Truth if we are to walk or run unfettered by our own outward vestments.

The world seeks freedom without Truth, but what it finds is merely enslavement to sin (John 8:34, 14:6; Romans 6:16; 2 Peter 2:19). It is only through His Spirit that we can know the Truth that sets us free; it only then that we can be "free indeed".

Biblical Perfectionism

I have learned the hard way that perfectionism is a dangerous personality trait. As imperfect people in an imperfect world, any aspirations we may have towards achieving perfection are bound to be frustrated; as the Psalmist says, "I have seen the limit of all perfection" (Psalm 119:96).  When that happens, we perfectionists are prone to obsession, building an ersatz edifice of control around a particular aspect of our lives in which we deem that perfection may, just may, be attainable, if only we exert enough of our willpower. Those pursuits become our gods, our idols, our objects of worship; and like all false gods, they always fail us, leaving a trail of collateral damage in their wake.


With all of that said, I believe that my desire for perfection is implanted by God. After all, God Himself demands perfection. The Law requires that we be holy - i.e. perfect - in order to withstand His holy presence (e.g. Leviticus 20:26), and only a perfect lamb is acceptable for the sacrifice that compensates for our imperfections (e.g. Exodus 12:5). Although Jesus - the Lamb of God and the only perfect man - acted as the once-and-for-all sacrifice (Isaiah 53:7; John 1:29; Hebrews 10), He Himself bids us to "be perfect, as your Heavenly Father is perfect" (Matthew 5:48; see also 1 Peter 1:14-19).


How to resolve this paradox? How, in other words, to be perfect? I believe that there are two ways by which we can seek perfection. The first way, the way of the world, is to strive to be "like God" (Genesis 3:4), to build monuments to our own our selfish ambitions based on foundations of fallenness (Genesis 11:1-8). Like the Tower of Babel, such endeavours are fated to failure, death, and destruction (James 3:14-16).


The second way, the Way that is Christ, is to cease striving and simply obey (Matthew 26:39-44; Mark 14:36; Luke 22:42) - to submit to His good and perfect will (Romans 12:2). This Way requires us to abandon our quest for self-perfection, which is anyway a satanic deception, and to instead acknowledge that every good and perfect gift comes from God (James 1:17), whose power is perfected in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:7-10). With Christ as the perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:1-2; see also 5:9; 7:11,28; 10), we "become" His righteousness (1 Corinthians 5:21) - we become not "like God", a mere counterfeit of holiness, but rather "perfectly one with God" (John 17:23).


The point of all this is that perfectionism is part of God's perfect creation, but, like the rest of that creation, can nevertheless be corrupted. He has placed eternity in our hearts, and only the perfect will endure for eternity, so it is a good sign that we desire perfection (1 Corinthians 13:10). It is also a good sign that we find this desire frustrating, since it can never be fully satisfied in this world (Ecclesiastes 3:11); it is only when the perfect comes that we shall we fully satisfied.