The dictionary tells us that the English word “perfect” comes from the Latin prefix per, meaning “throughout,” “thoroughly,” or “completely,” plus the verb facere, meaning “to do or make.”

So, something that is “perfect” is something that is ‘completely made or finished, not lacking in essential parts, not defective.’ It is also something that ‘meets all requirements and measures up to the standards of excellence set.’

What does this have to do with the Bible or with living on earth in perfection? Very much. For though these points seem simple, keeping them in mind can help us to understand many things in God’s Word, including the questions asked at the beginning of this discussion. This is so because the Hebrew and Greek words that the Bible writers used to express perfection have a meaning very similar to the basic meaning of the English word “perfect.” They convey the thought of something that is “complete,” “finished,” “fully developed,” “having attained the appointed purpose or goal.” Let us see, then, how all this helps us to understand the Scriptures and their promise of life in perfection.

THE FINAL ARBITER OF PERFECTION

All creation owes its existence to God. That means that He is the final Judge as to whether a thing is perfect or not. If it meets his standards to his satisfaction, serves his purpose in the way he wishes, then it is perfect. That is why we can properly say that the perfection of any part of God’s creation is relative, not absolute. That is, it all relates to God’s purpose for it, and only when we know his purpose can we know whether a thing is perfect in his sight or not.

For example, God prepared the planet Earth for man’s habitation, filling it with vegetation, birds, animals and fish, and finally brought man forth upon it. Surveying his work, God pronounced the completed results “very good.” (Gen. 1:31) It measured up to his perfect standards. But note that God still instructed the human pair to ‘subdue the earth,’ evidently meaning that they should cultivate it and make the whole planet, and not just Eden, a garden of God. (Gen. 1:28; 2:8) We might compare this with a builder who contracts to build a fine house for a family but then to turn it over to them to do the painting, decorating and furnishing. When he turns the house over to the family, the builder’s work is complete, finished, of excellent quality. Is it “imperfect” because other things remain to be done? No, for this was the arrangement decided upon beforehand.

Then, too, God gave command to the Israelites to construct a tabernacle or tent of worship in the wilderness, giving them the specifications for making it. The work was of superb quality and done “just as Jehovah had commanded.” (Ex. 36:1, 2; 39:32, 42, 43) Could we say it was perfect? Definitely, for, when completed, God approved of it and made his presence evident there. (Ex. 40:16, 33-38) Yet in due time God caused that portable tent to be replaced by a fixed temple at Jerusalem and later caused even the temple to be destroyed. Why? Because these structures were only to serve as types or a small-scale prophetic representation of a “greater and more perfect tent,” Jehovah’s heavenly arrangement in which the resurrected Christ Jesus acts as High Priest. (Heb. 9:11-14, 23, 24) The earthly tent was perfect because it satisfied all God’s requirements. And it served its appointed end. On the other hand, the perfection of that which it represented, God’s heavenly arrangement, was of a far higher type, and would accomplish God’s ultimate purpose to remove sin completely. So, in this sense, what the earthly tent represented was “greater and more perfect.”