📖 “Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, have this attitude; and if in anything you have a different attitude, God will reveal that also to you. However, let us keep living by that same standard to which we have attained.”
— Philippians 3:15–16
Have you ever read Philippians 3 and done a double take?
In verse 12, Paul says:
“Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect…”
But just three verses later, in verse 15, he says:
“Let us therefore, as many as are perfect…”
Wait, what? Paul — are you perfect or not?
It seems like a contradiction, but it’s actually a powerful truth about spiritual growth that we need to hold onto.
Two Uses of the Word “Perfect”
The key is in the Greek word teleios, which Paul uses in verse 15. This word doesn’t mean “sinless” or “flawless.” It means complete, mature, grown toward a goal.
It comes from the root telos, meaning “end,” “goal,” or “purpose.”
So when Paul says in verse 12, “Not that I’ve already become perfect,” he means:
“I haven’t arrived. I still have room to grow. I’m not without fault.”
But in verse 15, when he says, “As many as are perfect,” he means:
“As many of us as are mature, as many as are growing and focused on the goal, let’s keep pressing on.”
So What Is the Goal?
Back up a few verses and you’ll see Paul’s heart:
“That I may be found in Him… That I may know Him… That I may experience the power of His resurrection…” (Phil. 3:9–10)
That’s the prize.
To know Jesus deeply.
To live in resurrection power.
To suffer with Him and be shaped into His image.
To live out from among the dead — spiritually alive in a world full of spiritual death.
Pressing On: The Mark of Maturity
Paul was mature because He was in Christ— and yet, there are things that He needed to press forward again and again- to have the attitude to letting things go, and moving on towards the goal.
“I’m not done yet. I’m pressing forward. I want to know Christ more.”
That’s spiritual walk.
Stay the Course
Then he ends this thought by saying:
“Let us keep living by that same standard to which we have attained.”
Don’t go backward. Don’t let your maturity breed complacency. Keep going. Keep pressing.
Final Thought
So when we say things like, “Well, I’m not perfect” — that’s true.
But let’s not use it as an excuse for staying stuck. Let’s press forward.
We’re not called to be perfect in the worldly sense.
We’re called to be mature in Christ — always growing, always reaching, always becoming more like Him.
Because the goal isn’t perfection — it’s a person.
And His name is Jesus.
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