Philippians 3:15 Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.

Are you perfect? I am not, at least according to the standards I have set for myself. I know I can do better. I have in the past made jokes about perfection. Example; a rotten apple can be perfectly rotten. The standard of perfection has to have an example.

Paul’s example here in Philippians isn’t comparing Christians to Christ but rather Christians to fellow Christians. He is comparing apples to apples. He is not comparing apples to heavenly fruit. So why use the term perfect, as if in this life there is perfection? Look to the preceding scriptures to find clues as to the standard of perfection being referenced.

Verse 7, putting everything that I have achieved aside to know Christ.

Verse 9, to lose myself in Christ, to be found in Him.

Verse 10, His death, His resurrection, His suffering, His power, nothing in me but knowing Him.

Verse 12, He has a hold on me, not me on Him.

Verse 13, I am not there yet and 14, I keep moving in the right direction.

So what is perfection? From these leading verses I might say perfection might be in having the right attitude, mind-set, or belief system. If that is true, then how can I reflect on what I am in Christ?

Philippians 3:21 Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.

How can I know that He has achieved this and not me, myself?

Isaiah 26:3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.

When your world is falling apart, you won’t.