Unity and Perfection

Christ commanded that we be perfect (Matt. 5: 48) "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." Many other scriptures connect the idea of being perfect with that of being one. John 17:22 reads:

A "That they all may be one;
B as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee,
C that they also may be one in us:
D that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.
D* And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them;
C* that they may be one, even as we are one:
B* I in them, and thou in me,
A* that they may be made perfect in one;"

Here Christ teaches using chiasmus that we become perfect by being "one" in purpose with God and each other. Through faith in Christ we are promised the same glory that God gave Jesus Christ. By unifying our wills with God we become perfected through a personal relationship with Him.

Genesis teaches how the relationship with our spouse is designed to perfect us, "And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. . . Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh." (Gen. 2: 18, 24)

The word help used in the verse in hebrew is "ezer" which is the root for the transliterated latin word Ebenezer which is a name of Christ meaning "Divine Enabler" or "Perfecter" The only other person or place "ezer," translated help, is used in the Bible is with reference to Christ. I think that speaks volumes about our wives' special role in our lives. Because of this critical relationship 1Cor 11:11 reads, "Nevertheless neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord."

To help us in our quest for perfection in Christ, God has given us His church. Eph 4:11 reads, "And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:"

This suggests that although Christ is the only path to salvation, that Christ has given us our wives, families, and his church to help in the process of sanctification. Our relationships, organizations, and institutions become tools in which Christ has given us to both unify us and help us become perfected in Christ. However, that which has power to unite us is used by the advisary to divide us.

Additional scriptures reveal how scripture and priesthood authority were also given to both unify and perfect us. (see 2Cor. 13: 9, 11, Philip. 3: 12, 15, Heb. 7: 11, 19, 1Cor. 1: 10, Col. 3: 14, 2Tim. 3: 17)