Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Hebrews 13:20-21 KJV
…may he equip you with all you need for doing his will. May he produce in you,1 through the power of Jesus Christ, every good thing that is pleasing to him. All glory to him forever and ever! Amen.
Hebrews 13:21 NLT (NIV, ESV also)
…make you complete in everything good so that you may do his will, working among usthat which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Hebrews 13:21 NRS
Imagine that you and your family are about to go on an extended vacation by car. What do you do? You take the car to an auto repair shop and tell the mechanic whom you trust to check it out. He perhaps tells you that you need new tires, an engine tune-up, and a new fan belt. When the work is finished and you have paid him a sizeable amount of money, you ask, “It’s ok now?” He replies, “It’s in perfect working order!”
That is what the verb in this passage (“make you perfect,” “equip you,” “make you complete”) is talking about. This is what James and John were doing to their nets as reported in Mark 1:19. So what is the writer to the Hebrews praying for for his readers? He is asking God to put us in a state of complete repair, perfect working order, so that we can do those good things that God wills for us. He can do that through the power that raised Jesus from the dead and on the basis of the covenant he sealed with us in his blood.
I don’t know about you, but when I think of all that, I get goosebumps. How far is that from “Christians aren’t perfect, they’re just forgiven”?!! Perfect performers? No! Flawless skywire walkers? No! But persons who are all they can be, in a state of complete repair (given less than perfect genes, and less than perfect environments), for the service of God. Yes! I’m believing God to do that for me. I hope you are too.
Called To Be Transformed 