You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. The summary of the Sermon's demand: you must be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect. The Greek teleios means complete, whole, mature — having reached the intended goal. Leviticus 19:2 says be holy as I am holy; Jesus restates the holiness command as the perfection command. The standard is the character of the Father himself — not a higher tier of Christianity but the whole orientation of the disciple. The perfection is not achieved independently but by being sons and daughters of the Father (verse 45) who participate in his character. 2 Corinthians 7:1 speaks of bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God — the perfection is a direction and a goal, not a current achievement.

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