Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well-pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.”
Hebrews 13:20-21
Have you ever struggled with believing that you don’t have the ability to live well enough to make God happy with you, especially after reading Hebrews 11:6, which says, “And without faith, it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.”
Usually what we struggle with is the level, or amount of our faith, which usually translates to saying something like: “I’m too weak to live a good and holy life,” or, “I’m only human.”
I believe this begins with a lack of understanding of what the Lord does in us when we make a decision to believe the message of the gospel and receive Him into our hearts. We assume that the word “perfect” in Hebrews 13 above means “without fault.”
The word used here – ‘katartizō’ – means to make fully ready; to put in full order; to make complete. The meaning here is, that Paul prayed that God would fully endow them with whatever grace was necessary to do his will and to keep his commandments; it is an appropriate prayer to be offered at all times, and by all who love the church, that God would make all his people perfectly qualified to do all his will.
Also, the words: “Working in you” literally means “Doing.” The hope is that they would do the will of God, that he would, by his own power, cause them to do what was well-pleasing in his sight; it is not from any expectation that man would do it himself.
“Through Jesus Christ” – The idea is, that God does not directly, and immediately, convert and sanctify the heart, thereby taking away our will; but it is through the gospel of Christ, which begins the work in us to change and shape us into holy vessels by which His Spirit flows through us that we may be pleasing to Him.
What he has immediately done is give us the power to become His children. In other words, we become born again, and then we are to grow through the working of His Spirit unto maturity.
John 1:12, “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.”
Philippians 1:6, “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”