Weekly Playlist | June 17-23
Sermon on the Mount - Oaths, Retaliation, and Enemy Love
Be Whole
Listen to the reading of Scripture below and then learn more from related resources. As you meditate on this passage, think about this question: To Jesus, what does it mean to be perfect, complete, or whole?
Matthew 5:48
Be Whole
We'll be adding more translations here in the future, but in the meantime, you can find more translations now on the BibleProject app.
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Teleios refers to something fulfilling its purpose or achieving the goal for which it was made. God himself is teleios because he is the goal of all things. But everything else is on a journey of becoming teleios—healthy, whole, and mature.
Chapter from Sermon on the Mount E16
The Meaning of “Teleios”
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Teleios means “whole” or “complete.” It can also describe moral character, like when Jesus talks about the “pure in heart.” Picture a human living as the image of God, singularly devoted to the love of God and neighbor.
Be Whole
The biblical Greek word teleios is often translated as “perfect,” but it more generally refers to when something fulfills its purpose or achieves the goal for which it was made. God is the source and the purpose of everything. So God is teleios because he is the goal of all things. But everything else is on a journey of becoming teleios—”whole” or “complete.” For Jesus, this word is connected to being “pure in heart” and having a “righteousness that surpasses the scribes and Pharisees.” Teleios is a high calling. It’s an image of a human living as the image of God, singularly devoted to the love of God and neighbor.
