PASTOR JOHN COWLES
BRIDGE CHURCH
JESUS SAID WHAT?
Be Perfect…. Week 1
Matthew 5:38-48
Matthew 5:38-48 ESV - “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ 39 But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40 And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic,[h] let him have your cloak as well. 41 And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. 42 Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you. 43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers,[i] what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48 You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Matthew 5:48 ESV – You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Meaning that a person is teleios (mature) if he/she fulfills the purpose for which they were created.
Romans 5:8 ESV – But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
1 John 4:19 ESV – We love because he first loved us.
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Matthew 5:38-39 ESV
Jesus demonstrated that in the Kingdom of God, vulnerability is the pathway to influence.
2 Corinthians 12:9 ESV – But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
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Matthew 5:40-42 ESV
“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”
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Matthew 5:43-45 ESV
John 13:34-35 ESV – A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another.
Matthew 5:44 ESV - …Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.
Matthew 5:46-48
Therefore you must be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.