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that which is partial (1 Cor. 13:10), or imperfect (James 1:4), or provisional (James 1:25), or incomplete (Rom. 12:2; James 1:17; 1 John 4:18), and specially of Christians who have reached full growth in contrast with those who are immature or undeveloped (Eph. 4:13; Col. 1:28; 4:12), either generally (Matt. 5:48; 19:21; 1 Cor. 2:6; Phil. 3:15; James 3:2), or in some particular aspect (1 Cor. 14:20).

The noun teleiovth" is found in Col. 3:14, where love is said to be suvndesmo" th'" teleiovthto" , a bond by which the many elements contributing to Christian perfectness are held together in harmonious unity.

The verb teleiou'n is not unfrequent in the Gospel and first Epistle of St John. It is used in the discourses of the Lord of the work (works) which had been given to Him to do (Heb. 4:34; 5:36; 17:4), and of the consummation of believers in one fellowship (17:23 teteleiwmevnoi eij" e{n ).

The Evangelist himself uses it of the last ‘accomplishment’ of Scripture (19:28); and in his Epistle of love in (with) the believer (2:5; 4:12, 17 meqj hJmw'n ), and of the believer in love (4:18). Elsewhere it is used of an appointed space of time (Luke 2:43), of the course of life (Acts 20:24), of faith crowned by works (James 2:22), of the consummation of the Christian (Phil. 3:12). Once it is used by the Lord of Himself: Luke 13:32 Behold I cast out devils and perform ( ajpotelw' ) cures to-day and tomorrow, and the third day I am perfected ( teleiou'mai ).

The verbal teleivwsi" is once used (Luke 1:45) of the accomplishment of the message brought to the Mother of the Lord.

3. In ecclesiastical writers the baptized believer, admitted to the full privileges of the Christian life, was spoken of as tevleio" (comp. Clem. Al. Strom. vi. § 60). Hence teleiou'n (and perficere ) was used of the administration of Baptism (Athan. c. Ar. 1.34 ou{tw ga;r teleiouvmenoi kai; hJmei'" ...) and teleivwsi" of the Baptism itself (Athan. c. Ar. 2.42 eij ga;r eij" to; o[noma patro;" kai; uiJou' divdotai hJ teleivwsi" , c. 41 ejn th'/ teleiwvsei tou' baptivsmato" . Comp. Caesar. Dial. 1.12 ejn th'/ sfragi'di th'" mustikh'" teleiovthto" ). So too the person who administered the Sacrament was called teleiwthv" (Greg. Naz. Orat. xl. In bapt. § 44 ajnastw'men ejpi; to; bavptisma : sfuvzei to; pneu'ma, provqumo" oJ teleiwthv" : to; dw'ron e{toimon , comp. § 18). This usage is very well illustrated by a passage in writing falsely attributed to Athanasius: eij mhv eijsi tevleioi cristianoi; oiJ kathcouvmenoi pri;n h] baptisqw'si, baptisqevnte" de; teleiou'ntai, to; bavptisma a[ra mei'zovn ejsti th'" proskunhvsew" o} th;n teleiovthta parevcei (Ps.-Ath. Dial. i. c. Maced. 6). Comp. Clem. Al. Paed. 1.6.

In a more general sense teleiou'sqai and teleivwsi" were used of the death of the Christian, and specially of the death by martyrdom, in which the effort of life was completed (Euseb. H. E. 3.35; 7:15 ajpacqei;" th;n ejpi; qanavtw/ teleiou'tai , and Heinichen's note).

The word tevleio" came naturally to be used of themselves by those who claimed to possess the highest knowledge of the truth, as initiated into its mysteries (Iren. 1.6 teleivou" eJautou;" ajnagoreuvousi , comp. c. 3 oiJ teleiovtatoi . Valent. ap. Epiph. Haer. xxxi., § 5); and at the same time the associations of telei'sqai (‘to be initiated’) were transferred to tevleio" and teleiou'sqai (comp. Dion. Ar. de cael. hier. vi. § 3; Method. de Sim. et Anna 5 [ oJ qeo;" ] oJ tw'n teloumevnwn teleiwthv" ; and 2 Cor. 12:9 v. l. ).


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