>>11050125 lb

All of the spirits of the righteous in Christ are made perfect - that is the Great Cloud of Witnesses written of by the writer of Hebrews. The cosmic Church is one, encompassing those on earth and those that are now “with Christ.” The dead are not dead, in spirit, because Christ has conquered death. The dead are not dead, because they are participants in the first resurrection (Rev 20:5).

Hebrews 12:22–24 (ESV): But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and tothe spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

And as to perfection, Jesus said:

Matthew 5:48 (ESV): You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

This is the goal of all those who are Christ’s: to be changed from glory to glory:

2 Corinthians 3:18 (ESV): And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

1 John 3:1–3 (ESV): See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.

Perfection is our only goal. We do not worship a book; we worship God, whose purpose in all creation is to fashion us into likenesses of Himself, so that what is written should become true, fully and finally:

Genesis 1:26 (ESV): Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.