Greek word · Strong's G5046

τέλειος

téleios · adjective · “mature, complete, perfect”

In a sentence

Teleios means complete, mature, or whole — not flawlessness, but a full, finished kind of life. It is the goal Jesus and the apostles set before the believer.

Greek perfection (teleios) is less about moral spotlessness than about reaching the end (telos) something was made for — fully grown, complete, finished. A teleios person is a mature, whole person.

When Jesus says “you therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect,” he calls his disciples into a love as complete and undivided as his Father’s — not into anxious self-improvement. James and Paul use the same word for spiritual maturity.

Strong's reference

Definition: complete (in various applications of labor, growth, mental and moral character, etc.); neuter (as noun, with G3588 (ὁ)) completeness

KJV usage: of full age, man, perfect

Reference gloss from Strong's Concordance (1890, public domain).

Key verses BSB · Public Domain (CC0)

Matthew 5:48 “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Philippians 3:12 “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.” James 1:4 “Allow perseverance to finish its work, so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

Original BibleDawn word study. Original-language data and the public-domain Strong's (1890) gloss are referenced; see sources.