Romans 12:1-2
1 I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

(all Scripture quotes from NASB)

What does it mean for us, that His will is 'perfect?'

Perfect (teleios [5046]): full-grown, of full age, having attained the intended goal, spotless, having no deficiencies, something done as it ought to be, preeminent, completely blameless; brought to its end, finished, wanting nothing in its completeness, complete human integrity and virtue, mature; complete

God's will, we are told here, is good. It is beneficial to us. God's will for us is useful not only to Him, but to us as well. God's will is acceptable. It is worthy of being willingly accepted, it is welcome and pleasing to us as living sacrifices. Finally, this verse tells us that God's will is perfect. It is full-grown, has no deficiencies, and lacks nothing in its completeness. God's will is brought to its end. It achieves its goals. There is no question of this. This is what it means when we are told that His word does not return to Him void. When He declares His will, it will be done!

So what is our purpose?

Romans 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

Don't conform to this world! The world is united in its opposition to the will of God. We are not to be part of that. The world, with minds untransformed, cannot even lay hold of the will of God. We, in our state of transformation, have laid hold of a well reasoned faith in the Truth of God. The world, in its blindness, has chosen a blind rebellion against Him. Not even knowing what the will of God is, yet they actively oppose that will!

We are called to prove His will, to discern it, understand it, and recognize its worth. How are we to recognize that? By the very nature of His will. It is good - beneficial. It is acceptable - pleasing to us. It is perfect - it lacks nothing, and will achieve its end! This is our purpose, to find in God's will that which is not only good for us, but best for us. Perfection cannot be improved upon. If His will for our lives lacks nothing, we cannot find a better plan.

The Perfections of God

It is the very perfection of God in all His ways that makes our faith so very reasonable. All that He is, He is in perfection. Let's consider just a few of His perfections.

Perfect in Knowledge

Job 37:16 "Do you know about the layers of the thick clouds, The wonders of one perfect in knowledge,

All creation shows forth the perfection of God's knowledge. Man still struggles to comprehend the smallest portion of how things came to be, how things continue to be. Creation, in spite of all the theories and opinions, remains a mystery to the untransformed man. Paul tells us that the invisible attributes of God, His perfections, are made known through His creation. We cannot look out on the universe He made and fail to see the wonders of His perfect knowledge. How can one look upon the marvelous order of the universe, and attribute it to random acts of chaos? It defies reason! It takes the foolish wisdom of this world to think that chaos leads to order!

God's knowledge is perfect. There is nothing lacking. There is nothing He is not quite aware of, that He hasn't been aware of since before the beginning. There is nothing in your life or mine that can take Him by surprise. He already knows. Don't bother trying to shock Him. Don't think that He has perhaps forgotten some detail or another. There is nothing missing from His knowledge. Nothing.

Perfect in Work

Dt 32:4 "The Rock! His work is perfect, For all His ways are just; A God of faithfulness and without injustice, Righteous and upright is He.

Not only is His knowledge perfect, but the work He does based on that knowledge is equally perfect. In His perfect wisdom, He has long since determined the best possible plan for accomplishing His work. He has long since determined the best tools for the job. God doesn't have accidents. Chance and accident are not words in His vocabulary. With perfect knowledge of all that is, He has arrived at the perfect plan to achieve His purposes, and He has put those perfect plans in motion.

He has chosen the perfect tools to do His work. Do you understand what this means? You are a chosen tool. His choice of you to perform the task He has assigned to you is not a mistake! In God's perfect estimation, you are the perfect tool for the job. If you have trouble accepting that, understand once more that His work is perfect! You, as part of His perfect work, lack nothing, for His work lacks nothing. You, as part of His work, are not insufficient to the task, for He has chosen the perfect tool in His perfect plan!