Hebrews 10:14 Commentary

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CONSIDER JESUS OUR GREAT HIGH PRIEST
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Charts from Jensen's Survey of the NT - used by permission
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The Epistle to the Hebrews
INSTRUCTION Hebrews 1-10:18				EXHORTATION Hebrews 10:19-13:25
Superior Person of Christ Hebrews 1:1-4:13	Superior Priest in Christ Hebrews 4:14-10:18			Superior Life In Christ Hebrews 10:19-13:25
BETTER THAN PERSON Hebrews 1:1-4:13	BETTER PRIESTHOOD Heb 4:14-7:28	BETTER COVENANT Heb 8:1-13	BETTER SACRIFICE Heb 9:1-10:18	BETTER LIFE
MAJESTY OF CHRIST	MINISTRY OF CHRIST			MINISTERS FOR CHRIST
DOCTRINE				DUTY
DATE WRITTEN: ca. 64-68AD

See ESV Study Bible "Introduction to Hebrews" 
(See also MacArthur's Introduction to Hebrews)

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Hebrews 10:14 For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. (NASB: Lockman)

Greek: mia gar prosphora teteleioken (3SRAI) eis to dienekes tous agiazomenous. (PPPMPA)

Amplified: For by a single offering He has forever completely cleansed and perfected those who are consecrated and made holy. (Amplified Bible - Lockman)

Barclay: For by one offering and for all time he perfectly gave us that cleansing we need to enter into the presence of God. (Westminster Press)

NLT: For by that one offering he perfected forever all those whom he is making holy. (NLT - Tyndale House)

KJV  For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.

NKJ   For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.

NET  For by one offering he has perfected for all time those who are made holy.

BGT  μιᾷ γὰρ προσφορᾷ τετελείωκεν εἰς τὸ διηνεκὲς τοὺς ἁγιαζομένους.

CSB  For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are sanctified.

ESV   For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.

NIV   because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.

Phillips: For by virtue of that one offering he has perfected for all time every one whom he makes holy. (Phillips: Touchstone)

Wuest: for by one offering He has brought to completion forever those who are set apart for God and His service. 

Young's Literal: for by one offering he hath perfected to the end those sanctified;

• He has perfected - He 10:1; Heb 7:19,25; Heb 9:10,14
• Hebrews 10 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries
• Click for 5W/H Study Questions — ideal for leading a group or personal study of Hebrews

Related Passages: 

Hebrews 7:19+ (for the Law made nothing perfect), and on the other hand there is a bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God.

Hebrews 10:1+ For the Law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the very form of things, can never, by the same sacrifices which they offer continually year by year, make perfect those who draw near.

POSITIONAL PERFECTION
PERPETUALLY!

The writer now crowns his argument with a glorious summary of Christ’s finished work. Whereas the priests of the old covenant could never perfect those who drew near, Jesus’ single sacrifice accomplished in one moment what endless offerings never could. By His one offering, He not only secured eternal redemption but also brought His people into a state of perfected acceptance before God. This verse holds the tension between positional perfection—already complete in Christ—and progressive sanctification—still being worked out in life. The once-for-all work of Calvary stands as the unshakable foundation upon which God continues His sanctifying work in believers until glory.

For (1063) (gar) is "a marker of cause or reason between events, though in some context this association may be remote or tenuous" (Louw-Nida). Stated another way for is a term of explanation which should always cause one to pause and ponder (interrogate) the passage. You will be amazed how much truth a humble, prayerful, Spirit dependent attitude will allow to discern as you simply observe the text! In the present context, "for" explains or amplifies why Jesus is waiting (Heb 10:13+) and not daily offering sacrifices like the earthly priests (Heb 10:11, 12+). The explanation is that His one sacrifice sufficed for all time!

By one offering (phosphora - a bringing near) He (Jesus) has perfected (teleioo - brought to completion, accomplished the intended goal) for all time (dienekes) those who are sanctified (hagiazo) - The very first word in Greek is one (mia) which draws attention to the glorious truth that Christ’s sacrifice was one time in contrast to the repetitive offerings of the Levitical priests. While the Levitical priests brought lambs, our Great High Priest brought Himself, the Lamb of God (Jn 1:29+, cf Eph 5:2+; Heb 10:10+), both priest and sacrifice.  One offering emphasizes the singularity and sufficiency of His act, this one sacrifice never needing repetition like the in the Old Covenant.

Has perfected (teleioo) accomplished that the Law could never do, bring believers in perfect standing before God (because we now stand in Christ's perfect righteousness). The believer is completely cleansed, justified, and accepted before God because of Christ’s finished work. is in the perfect tense meaning a past completed act (which took place in our lives at the moment of our salvation) with continuing results, the effects of His Cross continuing forever. In effect has perfected describes our past tense salvation (justification). Believers are forever "perfect" in Christ (our position). As an aside, the permanence of the perfect tense undergirds the NT teaching that the believer once saved is eternally secure (but of course one must be absolutely certain that their salvation is genuine, an important issue addressed by Peter in 2Pe 1:10,11+).

For all time (dienekes) means continuously or without interruption and was used previously to describe the continual sacrifices under the Law (Heb 10:1+). In striking contrast, in the present passage dienekes describes the continual efficacy of Christ’s single sacrifice. While the Old Testament sacrifices had to be continually repeated because they were never enough, Christ’s solitary offering is continually effective because it was enough to satisfy (propitiate) the wrath of His Father. For all time (dienekes) emphasizes duration and permanence of Christ's offering on the Cross. 

Kenneth Wuest on perfected - The word “perfected” is the translation of teleioo which means “to bring to a state of completion.” Here, the completeness of the state of salvation of the believer is in view. Everything essential to the salvation of the individual is included in the gift of salvation which the sinner receives by faith in Messiah’s sacrifice. The words “for ever” here are to be construed with “perfected.” It is a permanent state of completeness in salvation to which reference is made. The words “them that are sanctified” are descriptive of the believer. He is one set apart for God. (Hebrews Commentary)

Robert Gromacki - Through the cross Christ “perfected” every believer. The verb (teteleiōken) focuses on the event of regeneration and the permanent standing of spiritual completeness which resulted from conversion.9 Each believer has positional perfection in Christ, although he must advance toward maturity in his daily practice. Before God the believer is as perfect today as he will be in eternity future. God supplied in the death of Christ all that men need to have a perfect position before Him. (Stand Bold in Grace: An Exposition of Hebrews)

C H Spurgeon on perfected - Those for whom Christ has died were perfected by His death. It does not mean that He made them perfect in character, so that they are no longer sinners, but that He made those for whom He died perfectly free from the guilt of sin. When Christ took their sins upon Himself, sin remained no longer upon them, for it could not be in two places at one and the same time. If it was on Christ, it was not upon them. They were acquitted at the bar of God when Christ was, on their behalf, “counted with the transgressors” (Isa 53:12). When Jesus suffered the penalty due to His people’s sins to the last jot and tittle, then their sins ceased to be, and the covenant was fulfilled: “I will forgive their iniquity and their sin I will no longer remember” (Jer 31:34). There was a clean sweep made of sin. He has “put an end to the transgression and sealed up sin” (Dan 9:24), and that for all His people. They need no other washing, no further purging, as far as pardon of sin and acceptance with God in the matter of justification are concerned, for they are all perfected by His sacrifice. (Full sermon - The Only Atoning Priest)

R C H Lenski writes that… A simple explanatory clause is added: “For by means of a single sacrifice he has brought to completion in perpetuity those being sanctified.” This (for) connects with all that has been said regarding the teleiosis (completion, reaching of the goal) which the whole Jewish system lacked and could never achieve, but which Christ’s single sacrifice did achieve at one stroke. To see to what extent the writer uses the idea of completeness, of reaching the telos or goal, follow this verb (teleioo) as it runs through this epistle in Hebrews 2:10; 5:9; 7:19, 28; 10:14; 11:40; 12:23; then the three nouns in Hebrews 6:1 ("maturity" = teleiotes); Hebrews 7:11 ("perfection" = teleiosis); Hebrews 12:2 ("Perfecter" = teleiosis), and the comparative adjective in Hebrews 9:11 ("perfect" = teleios). It is God Who sets the goal; this goal is our complete restoration. All that is contained in the law-testament (covenant of law) that was given through Moses is preliminary to (and preparation for) that goal, (and) could (never) be any more. Christ brings completely to the goal yet is Himself made complete by suffering in order to do this ("made perfect" = teleioo in Hebrews 5:9). His complete sacrifice attains the goal. By His sacrifice we become complete, are at the goal which God set for us. This is one of the golden threads that is woven into the wonderful pattern of this Epistle. It combines with all the others. (BORROW The Interpretation of the Epistle to the Hebrews and of the Epistle of James) (Bolding added - All comments in parentheses added)

C H Spurgeon -  The glory of the text is that we are perfected forever—not for tomorrow and then allowed to fall from grace; not for the next twenty years and then turned out of the covenant. The blood of Christ has been sprinkled on us; and, therefore, our standing before God is the standing of perfection. And we are always perfect, always fit to come to the throne of God, whatever our doubts, whatever our sins. I do not say this of our character. We come before God in our station (position in Christ) not in our character; and, therefore, we may come as perfect people at all times. (Amen!) (Full sermon - The Only Atoning Priest)

C H Spurgeon -  In the sanctuary there were persons who did nothing else but wait upon the Lord. These were consecrated to their offices, for God chose the tribe of Levi, and out of the tribe of Levi he chose the house of Aaron. These persons were chosen, and then they were prepared. They underwent certain ceremonies, and washings, and so they were made ceremonially holy. These priests were therefore sanctified persons, because they were set apart, dedicated, and reserved to the special service of the Lord God.  Now that is just what you and I are, and what we ought to be. We are sanctified persons; that is to say, we are chosen by God to be the peculiar vessels that He will use in pouring out His mercy, and to be the special priests whom He shall employ in His divine worship in this world. (Sermon Perfecton in Faith)

In sum the fundamental idea of perfection the bringing of a person or thing to the goal fixed by God. John MacArthur reiterates the practical implications writing that

The new sacrifice (Ed: Referring to Christ's sacrifice on the Cross) was effective because it gives believers eternal perfection. Again, it must be emphasized that perfection is eternal salvation. To make perfected here mean “spiritually matured” would not be consistent with the context. The death of Jesus Christ removes sin forever for those who belong to Him. We are totally secure in our Savior. We need cleansing when we fall into sin, but we need never fear God’s judgment on us because of our sin. As far as Christ’s sacrifice is concerned, we have already been sanctified and perfected—which is why He had to sacrifice Himself only once (SEE Hebrews Commentary - Page 256)

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Steven Cole summarizes Hebrews 10:11-14 - The totality of our forgiveness is illustrated by the contrast between the unfinished, repetitive ministry of the Old Testament priests and the finished, sufficient sacrifice of Christ (Hebrews 10:11-14).

Hebrews 10:11 portrays the priest, who stood daily “offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.” You can feel a sense of futility in these words! But Hebrews 10:12 contrasts the “one sacrifice for sins for all time” that Jesus offered, after which He “sat down at the right hand of God.” The standing of the priests indicates unfinished work that is never done (there were no chairs in the sanctuary). The sitting of Jesus indicates that His work of sacrifice is finished, and that He has been exalted to the place of supreme honor.

The author could have ended the quote (from Ps 110:1) after the reference to Jesus’ sitting at God’s right hand, but he adds (Hebrews 10:13), “waiting from that time onward until His enemies be made a footstool for His feet.” He may have done this for two reasons.

First, he didn’t want his readers to grow discouraged because of the Cross, as if it represented a defeat for God. Perhaps their unbelieving Jewish friends were taunting them for their belief in a crucified Messiah. If Jesus is really Lord, then why do His people suffer persecution and martyrdom? The author says, “Just wait! The day is coming when Jesus’ enemies will all become His footstool, just as Psalm 110 predicts.”

Second, the author may be giving a subtle warning to his readers. If they abandoned the faith and went back to Judaism, they would be placing themselves on the losing side in history. They would be making themselves enemies of Jesus, and that’s not where you want to be, because Jesus’ enemies are headed for certain defeat and judgment.

In Hebrews 10:14, the author again repeats the effect of Jesus’ one offering: “He has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified” (literal translation). This verse brings together two vital truths.

First, the position of believers before God is that they are perfect. God has forgiven all of their sins through Christ’s sacrifice, and He has imputed Christ’s perfect righteousness to them. These great facts are the basis of our standing before God.

Second, the practice of believers is that they are being sanctified. They are growing in holiness in thought, word, and deed. The position is granted instantly at the moment of saving faith. The practice is worked out over a lifetime of growth in obedience. If there is no growth in holiness, there is reason to question whether the person has been perfected in his position through faith in Christ. (Hebrews 10:1-18 Total Forgiveness)

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Perfected (5048) (teleioo related to teleios from telos = an end, a purpose, an aim, a goal, consummate soundness, idea of being whole) means to accomplish or bring to an end or to the intended goal (telos). It means to be complete, mature, fully developed, full grown, brought to its end, finished, wanting nothing necessary to completeness or in good working order. It does not mean simply to terminate something but to carry it out to the full finish which is picked up in the translation "perfected". Teleioo signifies the attainment of consummate soundness and includes the idea of being made whole. Interestingly the Gnostics used teleios of one fully initiated into their mysteries and that may have been why Paul used teleios in this epistle.

It is interesting and doubtless no mere coincidence that in the Septuagint (LXX) teleioo is translated numerous times as consecrated or consecration, especially speaking of consecration of the priests (compare Jesus our "great High Priest") (Ex 29:9, 29, 33, 35 Lev 4:5; 8:33; 16:32; 21:10; Nu 3:3). The LXX translators gave the verb teleioo a special sense of consecration to priestly service and this official concept stands behind the writer's use in this passage in Hebrews 5:9+. It signifies that Jesus has been fully equipped to come before God in priestly action.

In Hebrews 12:2+ Jesus is designated as "the Author and Perfecter of faith" where Perfecter is the related word teleiotes, the Completer, the Accomplisher, the One Who has reached the goal so as to win the prize so to speak. Jesus is the one Who has brought faith to its perfect conclusion. TDNT adds that teleiotes signifies that "Jesus gives faith its perfect basis by His high-priestly work and thus completes it. At the same time, he exercises complete faith as demonstrated by his passion."

Kenneth Wuest has this note on the NT word group (telos, teleioo, teleios, teleiosis, teleiotes) - Teleios the adjective, and teleioo the verb. The adjective is used in the papyri, of heirs being of age, of women who have attained maturity, of full-grown cocks, of acacia trees in good condition, of a complete lampstand, of something in good working order or condition. To summarize; the meaning of the adjective includes the ideas of full-growth, maturity, workability, soundness, and completeness. The verb refers to the act of bringing the person or thing to any one of the aforementioned conditions. When applied to a Christian, the word refers to one that is spiritually mature, complete, well-rounded in his Christian character. (Hebrews Commentary)

Larry Richards commenting on the word group (telos, teleioo, teleios, teleiosis, teleiotes) writes that "These words emphasize wholeness and completeness. In the biological sense they mean "mature," or "full grown": the person, animal, or plant achieved the potential inherent in its nature. The perfect is the thing or person that is complete, in which nothing that belongs to its essence has been left out. It is perfect because every potential it possesses has been realized."  (BORROW Expository Dictionary of Bible Words)

Teleioo is used 9 times of 24 total NT uses in Hebrews, often in the sense of to make perfect or fully cleanse from sin in contrast to ceremonial (Levitical) cleansing. The writer is emphasizing the importance of perfection… (which should cause any Jew who is contemplating the worth of Christ and the New Covenant to realize his utter hopelessness to every attain perfection under the Old Covenant).

Hebrews 2:10+ For it was fitting for Him, for Whom are all things, and through Whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to perfect the author of their salvation through sufferings (What sufferings? Certainly one would consider His temptation by Satan in the barren wilderness [see Mt 4:1-11, Lk 4:1, 2, 3ff, Mk 1:12, 13] and Gethsemane [Mt 26:36,44, Lk 22:39,44][in agony He was praying very fervently]).

Comment: This does not imply any moral imperfection in the Lord Jesus, but speaks of the consummation of the human experience of suffering the death of the Cross, through which He must pass if He is to become the Author or Captain of our salvation.

Hebrews 5:9+ And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation,

Hebrews 7:19+ (for the Law made nothing perfect), and on the other hand there is a bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God.

Comment: This means to carry through completely, to make complete, to finish, bring to an end. The old covenant could bring nothing to conclusion. The Mosaic economy could reveal sin but it could never remove sin, and so it had to be removed. It gave no security. It gave no peace. A man never had a clean conscience.

Hebrews 7:28+ For the Law appoints men as high priests who are weak, but the word of the oath, which came after the Law, appoints a Son, made perfect forever.

Hebrews 9:9+ which is a symbol for the present time. Accordingly both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make the worshiper perfect in conscience,

Hebrews 10:1+ For the Law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the very form of things, can never by the same sacrifices year by year, which they offer continually, make perfect those who draw near. (Contrast with Jesus in Hebrews 5:9 above. The idea in Hebrews 10:1 is that the ceremonial law could not actually save the believer. Its work was always short of completeness.)

Hebrews 10:14+ For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.

Wuest "Here, the completeness of the state of salvation of the believer is in view. Everything essential to the salvation of the individual is included in the gift of salvation which the sinner receives by faith in Messiah’s sacrifice. The words “for ever” here are to be construed with “perfected.” It is a permanent state of completeness in salvation to which reference is made. The words “them that are sanctified” are descriptive of the believer. He is one set apart for God) (Hebrews Commentary)

Hebrews 11:40+ because God had provided something better for us, so that apart from us they should not be made perfect.

Hebrews 12:23+ (But you have come… ) 23 to the general assembly and church of the first-born who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of righteous men made perfect,

For all time (1336) (dienekes) means uninterruptedly, perpetually, continuously. It is used in the Greek idiomatic phrase "eis to dienekes" which means unlimited duration of time with particular focus upon the future, and therefore means always, forever, forever and ever, eternally, continually. 

DIENEKES - 4V - Heb. 7:3; Heb. 10:1; Heb. 10:12; Heb. 10:14

The writer used this same phrase earlier in his description of the priesthood of Melchizedek writing…

Hebrews 7:3 Without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, he abides a priest perpetually. (Comment: No mere earthly king was ever "made like unto the Son of God," nor was there ever one who "abides a priest perpetually" or "forever". These descriptions strongly suggest that the Lord Jesus Christ came to encourage Abraham in a unique, pre-incarnate experience, assuming a human form "made like" that which He would assume forever when He became the incarnate Son of God.)

This phrase eis to dienekes is used 3 times in Hebrews 10…

Hebrews 10:1 For the Law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the very form of things, can never, by the same sacrifices which they offer continually year by year, make perfect those who draw near.

Hebrews 10:12 but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, SAT DOWN AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD,

Hebrews 10:14 For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.

 

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Devotional on Hebrews 10:14 - In Progress or Completed?

For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy. Hebrews 10:14

It’s satisfying to finish a job. Each month, for instance, one of my job responsibilities gets moved from one category to another, from “In Progress” to “Completed.” I love clicking that “Completed” button. But last month when I clicked it, I thought, If only I could overcome rough spots in my faith so easily! It can seem like the Christian life is always in progress, never completed.

Then I remembered Hebrews 10:14. It describes how Christ’s sacrifice redeems us totally. So in one important sense, that “completed button” has been pressed for us. Jesus’s death did for us what we couldn’t do for ourselves: He made us acceptable in God’s eyes when we place our faith in Him. It is finished, as Jesus Himself said (John 19:30). Paradoxically, even though His sacrifice is complete and total, we spend the rest of our lives living into that spiritual reality—“being made holy,” as Hebrews’ author writes.

The fact that Jesus has finished something that’s still being worked out in our lives is hard to understand. When I’m struggling spiritually, it’s encouraging to remember that Jesus’s sacrifice for me—and for you—is complete . . . even if our living it out in this life is still a work in progress. Nothing can stop His intended end from being achieved eventually: being transformed into His likeness (see 2 Corinthians 3:18, compare Phil 1:6, 1 Thes 5:24).  By Adam Holz

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Max Lucado on Heb 10:14 - Underline the word perfect. Note that the word is not better. Not improving. Not on the upswing. God doesn’t improve; he perfects. He doesn’t enhance; he completes.… When he sees each of us, he sees one who has been made perfect through the One who is perfect—Jesus Christ.

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Perfect in His Sight Bill Bright  My Heart--Christ's Home Through the Year - Page 103

He has made perfect forever those who are being made holy. HEBREWS 10:14

All our sins—past, present and future—are forgiven the moment we receive Christ. You may ask, “Why do I need to confess my sins?” Confession is an act of obedience and an expression of faith, making real in our experience what is true from God’s point of view. Through Christ’s sacrifice, God sees us as righteous and perfect, but daily we are becoming in our experience what we already are in his sight.
This maturing process is accelerated through studying God’s Word, prayer, witnessing and “spiritual breathing.” When you retake control of your life, you need to breathe spiritually. First, exhale by confession. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). Next, inhale by appropriating the fullness of God’s Spirit by faith.

PRAY: Today practice confession and the refreshment of breathing out sin and breathing in the fullness of the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18).

FULL ASSURANCE OF FAITH - HARRY IRONSIDE

By one offering he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified. HEBREWS 10:14

THE FEEBLEST FAITH IN CHRIST is saving faith. The strongest faith in self, or any thing else but Christ, is but a delusion and a snare, and will leave the soul at last unsaved and forever forlorn.
And so when we are bidden to draw near to God with true hearts in full assurance of faith, the meaning is that we are to rest implicitly on what God has revealed concerning His Son and His glorious work for our redemption. This is set forth admirably in Hebrews 10. There we have set out in vivid contrast the difference between many sacrifices offered under the legal dispensation and the one perfect, all-sufficient oblation of our Lord Jesus Christ. Note some of the outstanding differences:

1. They were many and often repeated. His is but one, and no other will ever be required.
2. They did not have the necessary value to settle the sin question. His is of such infinite value, it has settled that problem for evermore.
3. They could not purge the consciences of those who brought them. His purges all who believe, giving a perfect conscience because all sin has been put away from under the eye of God.
4. They could not open the way into the Holiest. His has rent the veil and inaugurated the new and living way into the very presence of God.
5. They could not perfect the one who offered them. His one sacrifice has perfected forever those who are sanctified.
6. In them there was a remembrance again of sins from year to year. His has enabled God to say, "Their sins and iniquities will I remember no more."
7. It was not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should put away sin. But Christ has accomplished that very thing by the sacrifice of Himself.

Here then is where faith rests, on the finished work of Christ. It will help us greatly to understand this if we glance at what is revealed concerning the sin offering of the old dispensation.

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Daily Light on the Daily Path - Eternal comfort.

“I will remember my covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish for you an everlasting covenant.”

By a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.— Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.—I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me.—The gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.—Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?—“For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”—So we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words.—This is no place to rest.—For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come.

2 Thess. 2:16; Ezek. 16:60; Heb. 10:14; Heb. 7:25; 2 Tim. 1:12; Rom. 11:29; Rom. 8:35; Rev. 7:17; 1 Thess. 4:17–18; Mic. 2:10; Heb. 13:14

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Spurgeon - Heb 10:14 “For by one offering he has perfected forever those who are sanctified.” The glory of the text is that we are perfected forever—not for tomorrow and then allowed to fall from grace; not for the next twenty years and then turned out of the covenant. The blood of Christ has been sprinkled on us; and, therefore, our standing before God is the standing of perfection. And we are always perfect, always fit to come to the throne of God, whatever our doubts, whatever our sins. I do not say this of our character. We come before God in our station not in our character; and, therefore, we may come as perfect people at all times.

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Christian’s Riches: A To Z - Paul Tan - Encyclopedia of 15000 illustrations: Sign of the times

The Believer’s Riches in Christ from A to Z are—
    A-ccepted in the beloved—Ephes. 1:6
    B-orn of God—1 John 5:1
    C-crucified with Christ—Galatians 2:20
    D-elivered from the power of darkness—Col. 1:13
    E-nriched in everything in Him—1 Cor. 1:5
    F-orgiven for Christ’s sake—Ephes. 4:32
    G-rounded in love—Ephes. 3:17
    H-id with Christ in God—Col. 3:3
    I-nstructed in the way of the Lord—Acts 18:25
    J-ustified by His grace—Titus 3:7
    K-ept by the power of God—1 Peter 1:5
    L-ed by the Spirit of God—Romans 8:14
    M-ade nigh by the blood of Christ—Ephes. 2:13
    N-ourished in the Words of faith—1 Tim. 4:6
    O-rdained to eternal life—Acts 13:48
    P-erfected forever—Hebrews 10:14
    Q-uickened together with Christ—Ephes. 2:5
    R-edeemed from the curse of the law—Galatians 3:13
    S-ealed with the Holy Spirit of promise—Ephes. 1:13
    T-ranslated into the kingdom of His Son—Col. 1:13
    U-nreprovable in His sight—Col. 1:22
    V-ictorious through our Lord Jesus Christ—1 Cor. 15:57
    W-ashed from our sins in His own blood—Rev. 1:5
    X-alted from among the people—1 Kings 14:7
    Y-earned over by the Holy Spirit—James 4:5
    Z-ealous of good works—Titus 2:14
—Selected

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C H Spurgeon - God’s Continued Work

By one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy HEBREWS 10:14 NIV

If God has made a new creature of man, which is the greatest work of grace, will He not do the lesser work of grace—namely, make the new creature grow up unto perfection? If the Lord has turned you to Himself, never be afraid that He will leave you to perish. If He had meant to destroy you, He would not have done this for you. God does not make creatures for annihilation.

Chemists tell us that though many things are resolved into their primary gases by fire, yet there is not a particle less matter on the earth today than there was when it was created. No spiritual life that comes from God is ever annihilated.

If you have obtained it, it never shall be taken from you—it shall be in you a well of water springing up unto everlasting life. If, when you were an enemy, God looked upon you in grace and changed you and made you what you now are, will He not now that you are reconciled continue to preserve and nurture you until He presents you faultless before His presence with exceeding great joy?

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Jerry Bridges - CHRIST OUR HOLINESS Holiness Day by Day: Transformational Thoughts

He has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. (HEBREWS 10:14)

Paul wrote, “And because of [God] you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption” (1 Corinthians 1:30). God Himself chose us to be in Christ—who has become our righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.

That Christ is our righteousness is an accepted and well-understood truth and the basis for our justification. But Christ is also our sanctification, or holiness. This fact is not as well understood. All Christians look to Christ alone for their justification, but not nearly as many also look to Him for their perfect holiness before God. The blessed truth, though, is that all believers are sanctified in Christ, even as we are justified in Christ.

Hebrews 10:10, 14 help us see this objective aspect of sanctification—the holiness we have in Christ alone. Verse 10 says that by the will of God “we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” Note that “we have been sanctified” speaks of a completed work. The emphasis here is on the holiness we have in Christ through His once-for-all sacrifice.

Verse 14, on the other hand, says, “by a single offering [Christ] has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.” This verse mentions “being sanctified”—the continuing work of the Holy Spirit in progressive sanctification. This verse also refers to our completed, objective sanctification in Christ when it speaks of those He has “perfected for all time.” So, in one aspect of sanctification you’re already holy because Christ’s holiness is imputed to you; you’ve been made perfect forever. In another aspect, you’re being made holy day by day through the work of the Holy Spirit imparting Christ’s life to you.

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Adrian Rogers -  Hebrews 10:14

Notice this little phrase in Hebrews 10:14—"perfected forever." Jesus hung upon the cross in agony, never to die again. His one offering "perfected forever" those of us who are saved. Not for a little while, not for as long as we live on the Earth, but for all eternity. His saving of us will never end. So what does this biblical fact tell us? Since we have been saved through the perfect Sacrifice, we have complete perfection in the Lord Jesus Christ. When you are saved, God doesn't just give you a fresh start. He gives you eternal perfection by that "one offering."

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J C Philpot - "For by one offering he has perfected forever those who are sanctified." Hebrews 10:14

To be "sanctified" is to be made a partaker of that holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord; to be made a new creature; to "put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness;" in a word, to be "made a partaker of the divine nature," and thus have the holiness of God breathed into and communicated to the soul. Without this inward sanctification, none can enter the gates of heaven. To be made fit, therefore, for the heavenly inheritance, you must have a heavenly heart and a praising, adoring, loving spirit; you must delight yourself in the Lord as being so holy and yet so gracious, so pure and yet so loving, so bright and glorious and yet so condescending and sympathizing. 

Now this fitness for the holiness, happiness, and employments of heaven is communicated at regeneration, in which the new man of grace, though weak, is still perfect. Look at the thief upon the cross--what an instance is he how the Spirit of God can in a moment make a man fit for heaven! Here was a vile malefactor, whose life had been spent in robbery and murder, brought at last to suffer the just punishment of his crimes; and as we are told that "they who were crucified with him reviled him," we have reason to believe that at first he joined his fellow malefactor in blaspheming the Redeemer. But sovereign grace, and what but sovereign grace? touched his heart, brought him to see and feel what he was as a ruined sinner, opened his eyes to view the Son of God bleeding before him, raised up faith in his soul to believe in his name, and created a spirit of prayer that the Lord of heaven and earth would remember him when he came into his kingdom--perhaps the greatest act of faith we have recorded in all Scripture, almost equal if not superior to the faith of Abraham when he offered up Isaac on the altar. 

The dying Redeemer heard and answered his cry, and said to him, "Today shall you be with me in paradise." Spirit and life accompanied the words, and raised up at once in his soul a fitness for the inheritance, and before the shadows of night fell, his happy spirit passed into paradise, where he is now singing the praises of God and of the Lamb. Many a poor child of God has gone on almost to his last hours on earth without a manifestation of pardoning love and the application of atoning blood; but he has not been allowed to die without the Holy Spirit revealing salvation to his soul, and attuning his heart to sing the immortal anthem of the glorified spirits before the throne.

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Perfection: a Process
The command "be ye perfect" is not idealistic gas. Nor is it a command to do the impossible. He is going to make us into creatures that can obey that command. 

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John Piper from Taste and See - page 98 - IMPERFECTION: THE MARK OF ALL THE PERFECTED

Meditation on Hebrews 10:14 For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.

Two things here are mightily encouraging for us in our imperfect condition as saved sinners.

First, notice that Christ has perfected his people, and it is already complete. “For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.” He has done it. And he has done it for all time. The perfecting of his people is complete and it is complete forever. Does this mean that Christians don’t sin? Don’t get sick? Don’t make mathematical errors in school? That we are already perfect in our behavior and attitudes?

There is one clear reason in this very verse for knowing that is not the case. What is it? It’s the last phrase. Who are the people that have been perfected for all time? It is those who “are being sanctified” (emphasis added). The ongoing continuous action of the Greek present tense is important. “Those who are being sanctified” (emphasis added) are not yet fully sanctified in the sense of committing no more sin. Otherwise they would not need to go on being sanctified.

So here we have the shocking combination: The very people who “have been perfected” are the ones who “are being sanctified.” We can also think back to chapters 5 and 6 to recall that these Christians are anything but perfect. For example, in Hebrews 5:11 he says, “You have become dull of hearing.” So we may safely say that “perfected” in Hebrews 10:14 does not mean that we are sinlessly perfect in this life.

Well, what does it mean? The answer is given in the next verses (15–18). The writer explains what he means by quoting Jeremiah on the new covenant, namely, that in the new covenant which Christ has sealed by his blood, there is total forgiveness for all our sins. Verses 17–18: “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more. Now where there is forgiveness of these things, there is no longer any offering for sin.” So he explains the present perfection in terms (at least) of forgiveness.

Christ’s people are perfected now in the sense that God puts away all our sins (9:26), forgives them, and never brings them to mind again as a ground of condemnation. In this sense, we stand before him perfected. When he looks on us he does not impute any of our sins to us—past, present, or future. He does not count our sins against us.

Now notice, second, for whom Christ has done this perfecting work on the cross. Hebrews 10:14 tells us plainly: “By one offering He has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified” (emphasis added). You can put it provocatively like this: Christ has perfected once and for all those who are being perfected. Or you could say, Christ has fully sanctified those who are now being sanctified—which the writer does, in fact, say in verse 10, “By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” Thus verse 10 says, we “have been sanctified.” Verse 14 says, we “are being sanctified.”

What this means is that you can know that you stand perfect in the eyes of your heavenly Father, if you are moving away from your present imperfection toward more and more holiness by faith in his future grace. Let me say that again, because it is full of encouragement for imperfect sinners like us and full of motivation for holiness. Hebrews 10:14 means that you can have assurance that you stand perfected and completed in the eyes of your heavenly Father, not because you are perfect now, but precisely because you are not perfect now but are “being sanctified”—“being made holy.”

You may have assurance of your perfect standing with God because by faith in God’s promises, you are moving away from your lingering imperfections toward more and more holiness. Our remaining imperfection is not a sign of our disqualification, but a mark of all whom God “has perfected for all time”—if we are in the process of “being changed” (2 Corinthians 3:18+).

So take heart. Fix your eyes on the once-for-all, perfecting work of Christ. And set your face against all known sin.

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Spurgeon - full sermon Perfecton in Faith We could not have access to God unless on the footing of perfection; for God cannot walk and talk with imperfect creatures. But we are perfect; not in character, for we are still sinners; but we are perfected through the blood of Jesus Christ, so that God can allow us to have access to him as perfected creatures. We may come boldly, because being sprinkled with the blood, God does not look on us as unholy and unclean, otherwise he could not allow us to come to his mercy seat; but he looks upon us as being perfected for ever through the one sacrifice of Christ. That is one thing. The other is this. We are the vessels of God’s temple; he has chosen us to be like the golden pots of his sanctuary; but God could not accept a worship which was offered to him in unholy vessels. Those vessels, therefore, were made perfect by being sprinkled with blood. God could not accept the praise which comes from your unholy heart; he could not accept the song which springs from your uncircumcised lips, nor the faith which arises from your doubting soul, unless he had taken the great precaution to sprinkle you with the blood of Christ; and now, whatever he uses you for, he uses you as a perfect instrument, regarding you as being perfect in Christ Jesus. That, again, is the meaning of the text, and the same meaning, only a different phase of it. And, the last meaning is, that the sacrifices of the Jews did not give believing Jews peace of conscience for any length of time; they had to come again, and again, and again, because they felt that those sacrifices did not present to them a perfect justification before God. But behold, beloved, you and I are complete in Jesus. We have no need of any other sacrifice. All others we disclaim. He hath perfected us for ever. We may set our conscience at ease, because we are truly, really, and everlastingly accepted in him.

THOSE WHO ARE SANCTIFIED: tous hagiazomenous (PPPMPA):

• (Are being) Sanctified - He 2:11; Heb 6:13-14; Heb 13:12; Acts 20:32; Acts 26:18; Ro 15:16; 1Cor 1:2; Eph 5:26; Jude 1:1
• Hebrews 10 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries

Related Passages: 

Hebrews 2:11+ For both He who sanctifies (present tense - continuously sets us apart) and those who are sanctified are all from one Father; for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren,

THE BELIEVER'S PROGRESSIVE
GROWTH IN HOLINESS

Whereas perfected describes every believer's eternal position before the Holy God, sanctified describes the daily practice which assures fellowship and communion with Him. 

Those who are sanctified (hagiazo) - This could be paraphrased as "those who are continually being sanctified, set apart or made holy" (see more discussion below). The NIV translation is more accurate in this passage than the NASB. "By one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy." (NIV)  As John Piper points out "the translation, "those who are sanctified," at the end of the verse, could also look in English as if the sanctifying is also complete. They "are (now, already) sanctified." But that is not what the tense in the original Greek means. It is the present tense and signifies an ongoing process. (Sermon)

A sanctified person is one set apart from ordinary (profane, common, "vulgar" [originally meant "common"]) use to be God’s own possession, for His use, and enjoyment (cp 1Co 6:19, 20). The opposite of sanctification is profanation (the act of making profane - treating with abuse, irreverence and/or contempt).

Hagiazo is in the present tense, passive voice which signifies that all believers are "works in progress" so to speak. We are all involved in the process of being continually sanctified. It is not "Let go, let God," but "Let God, let's go," God's part/power and our part/responsibility. This process will not cease until the day we see Jesus face to face and are then glorified forever. The passive voice signifies that the process is being carried out by an outside "force" acting upon and in believers. The outside "force" (Who is at the same time the indwelling source - 1Cor 3:16+, 1Cor 6:19+) is the Spirit of Christ, Who is making us holy by exertion of His power, not as a result of our own power (cf 2Co 3:18+). (Cp Jesus in Hebrews 2:11+]) This process is referred to as Practical sanctification is a day by day (moment by moment) growth in holiness of believers who are in Christ positionally (positional sanctification - see 1Th 4:3+) In summary, Hebrews 10:14 describes a process whereas Hebrews 10:10+ describes our position in Christ.

Without going into great detail, it should be noted that there are four types of sanctification in Scripture: pre-conversion sanctification, positional sanctification (our initial salvation experience when we were justified by faith in Christ, representing a one time setting apart, eg Acts 26:18+, Acts 20:32+), practical sanctification (where believers live day by day, thus representing an ongoing event until the next stage of our salvation, cp "being saved" in 1Co 1:18+), and perfect sanctification (or glorification, when we see Jesus we will be like Him, 1 John 3:2, 3+). (See also Three Tenses of Salvation). As you read Hebrews sanctification is used several times and the context should help determine which meaning is in view but sometimes only knowing the verb tense will aid this distinction.

Hagiazo means to render or acknowledge to be venerable or to hallow. It means to separate from things profane and dedicate to God, to consecrate and so render them inviolable. It means to purify or cleanse, either externally as in the Levitical system or to purify by expiation so that one is free from the guilt of sin. In general, Christians are called "holy ones" indicating that they are those who have been freed from the impurity of wickedness, having been brought near to God by grace through faith. This latter meaning is seen in Acts were Luke records Jesus' charge to Paul to go to the Gentiles…

to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, in order that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified (describes the initial setting apart at the time of salvation) by faith in Me.' (Acts 26:18+)

We are continually being brought to the full purpose (telos = goal) for which we were created (Christlikeness) and while we are now in process, one day we will be like Him for we shall see Him face to face (1Jn 3:2+). Lord, hasten the day. Amen! While the Spirit is continually sanctifying us, that truth does not give us license to live any way we please. Nor does it mean that we simply "let go and let God" as some falsely teach. In a somewhat mysterious way (at least to me) we as believers still have a responsibility to work out our salvation in fear and trembling (Php 2:12+), even while the Spirit indwelling us gives us the desire and the power to "work out our salvation! (See Php 2:13NLT+) This "mysterious" process of growth in holiness, in greater and greater degrees of Christlikeness or of progressive sanctification (these are synonymous phrases) is what I like to refer to as "Sacred Synergism" (adapted from Jerry Bridges' book I highly recommend entitled The Bookends of the Christian Life or listen to Related lectures The Bookends - Session 1 MP3; The Bookends - Session 2 MP3)).

Spurgeon - You must beware of misunderstanding that word (sanctified - made holy) as though it meant those who are made perfectly holy in character. The word implies an inward work of grace, but it means a great deal more. The passage should be read “He has perfected for all time those who are being made holy,” for it is in the present (tense) in the Greek. The text is not to be made to say that those who are perfectly sanctified are perfected—that would be a commonplace, self-evident truth—but the Great High Priest perfected forever those who are being sanctified. Now, sanctification means, primarily, the setting apart of a people by God to be holy to Himself. Election is sanctification virtually; all God’s people were sanctified—set apart and made holy to the Lord—in the eternal purpose and sovereign decree before the earth was. Christ has by His death perfected all who were sanctified or set apart in election.John Piper explains that… What this means is that you can know that you stand perfect in the eyes of your heavenly Father if you are moving away from your present imperfection toward more and more holiness by faith in his future grace. Let me say that again, because it is full of encouragement for imperfect sinners like us, and full of motivation for holiness. This verse means that you can have assurance that you stand perfected and completed in the eyes of your heavenly Father not because you are perfect now, but precisely because you are not perfect now but are "being sanctified", "being made holy", that, by faith in God's promises, you are moving away from your lingering imperfection toward more and more holiness. (See Hebrews 10:32, 33, 34, 35; 11:24, 25, 26 etc. for examples of how faith in future grace sanctifies, cp 1Peter 1:13-note) (John Piper's entire message "Perfected for All Time by a Single Offering")

KJV Bible Commentary has a good summary note on Hebrews 10:14 where we see the verb sanctify (here and Hebrews 10:10) used twice the writer is describing…

the twofold nature of salvation (see Three Tenses of Salvation). The believer possesses a positional, judicial standing of righteousness and, second, a remaining need for practical, progressive holiness. Three factors within this verse make perfected absolute, suggesting the eternal security of the believer. The word itself (Greek teleioo from telos = goal) involves completion, the bringing of something to its end. Second, the use of the Greek perfect tense (have been sanctified -- He 10:10+) suggests that the perfection has been accomplished and its effects are continuing. Third, the modifier, forever, expresses security for the believer.

The need, however, of a progressive sanctification is expressed by the word sanctified. The use of the present participle implies the thought of a sanctification that is continuing, rather than completed. There is an initial, or positional, sanctification involved in regeneration (1Cor 1:2+; 1Co 6:1+). Equally, there is a progressive sanctification by which the Holy Spirit continually maintains and strengthens the holiness imparted in regeneration (Ro 6:19+; "perfecting holiness" = 2Cor 7:1+; "the will of God...sanctification" = 1Th 4:3+). Finally, there exists for the people of God an ultimate or completed sanctification whereby we will be freed from even the very presence of sin within our lives (1Th 5:23+). Even though the believer’s sanctification is still in progress, yet because of Christ’s once-for-all sacrifice, he stands eternally secure and perfect because of Christ’s righteousness (2Cor 5:21+). (See page 2882 in the KJV Bible Commentary) (Bolding added)

Sanctified (37) (hagiazo from hagios = holy, set apart in turn from a = privative + ge = the earth ~ because everything offered or consecrated to God was separated from all earthly use) conveys the idea of setting someone apart, in this case God's Spirit setting the sinner apart from the world, the flesh and the devil and unto God, to be His possession (1Pe 2:9+) and His willing vessel. 

HAGIAZO - 25V - hallowed(2), keep holy(1), sanctified(16), sanctifies(2), sanctify(7). Matt. 6:9; Matt. 23:17; Matt. 23:19; Lk. 11:2; Jn. 10:36; Jn. 17:17; Jn. 17:19; Acts 20:32; Acts 26:18; Rom. 15:16; 1 Co. 1:2; 1 Co. 6:11; 1 Co. 7:14; Eph. 5:26; 1 Thess. 5:23; 1 Tim. 4:5; 2 Tim. 2:21; Heb. 2:11; Heb. 9:13; Heb. 10:10; Heb. 10:14; Heb. 10:29; Heb. 13:12; 1 Pet. 3:15; Rev. 22:11

Hebrews 2:11  For both He who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from one Father; for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren,
Hebrews 9:13  For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh,
Hebrews 10:10  By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. 
Hebrews 10:14   For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.
Hebrews 10:29   How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace?
Hebrews 13:12 Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people through His own blood, suffered outside the gate.

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Oswald Chambers writes on The Impartial Power of God

We trample the blood of the Son of God underfoot if we think we are forgiven because we are sorry for our sins. The only reason for the forgiveness of our sins by God, and the infinite depth of His promise to forget them, is the death of Jesus Christ. Our repentance is merely the result of our personal realization of the atonement by the Cross of Christ, which He has provided for us. "… Christ Jesus … became for us wisdom from God--and righteousness and sanctification and redemption … " ( 1Co 1:30 ). Once we realize that Christ has become all this for us, the limitless joy of God begins in us. And wherever the joy of God is not present, the death sentence is still in effect.

No matter who or what we are, God restores us to right standing with Himself only by means of the death of Jesus Christ. God does this, not because Jesus pleads with Him to do so but because He died. It cannot be earned, just accepted. All the pleading for salvation which deliberately ignores the Cross of Christ is useless. It is knocking at a door other than the one which Jesus has already opened. We protest by saying, "But I don’t want to come that way. It is too humiliating to be received as a sinner." God’s response, through Peter, is, "… there is no other name … by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12). What at first appears to be heartlessness on God’s part is actually the true expression of His heart. There is unlimited entrance His way. "In Him we have redemption through His blood … " ( Ephesians 1:7-note). To identify with the death of Jesus Christ means that we must die to everything that was never a part of Him.

God is just in saving bad people only as He makes them good. Our Lord does not pretend we are all right when we are all wrong. The atonement by the Cross of Christ is the propitiation God uses to make unholy people holy. (My Utmost for His Highest)

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Robert Hawker -  For by one offering, he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.—Hebrews 10:14.

I hope, my soul, thou hast still upon thee the sweet savour of His name, whom in the morning portion thou didst contemplate as wonderful. And if so, here is another view of Jesus presented to thine evening meditation, to keep alive the blessed fragrancy, and under the Spirit’s influence, to preserve both, not only through the night, but to the morning, and every night, and every morning that follows, until the night of death be passed, and that everlasting morning break in upon thee, in which thy sun shall no more go down, but Jesus himself be thine everlasting light, and thy God thy glory. Look, my soul, this evening, at thy Jesus, as this sweet scripture sets him forth, and behold him in his high priestly office, at once the sacrifice, the sacrificer, and the altar, on which he hath offered up that one offering, by which he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified. And mark both the preciousness of thy Jesus, and the preciousness of his work. It is but one offering, and that one but once offered. For, from its eternal value and efficacy, an everlasting perfection is given to all them that are sanctified, and set apart for himself. “For Christ (as the apostle in his delightful manner expresseth it) being raised from the dead, dieth no more: death hath no more dominion over him. For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.” (Rom. 6:9, 10.) And what abundant precious things are contained in this view of the one offering of the Lord Jesus, which the Holy Ghost is continually holding forth to the Church! It is blessed to behold them, blessed to believe them, and doubly blessed to be living in the constant enjoyment of them. So vast and comprehensive is this one offering of Jesus, that it hath not merely procured the hopes of pardon, but the certainty of it; not only brought poor sinners into a capability of being saved, but absolutely saved them; and not only saved them, but qualified them for happiness; yea, hath perfected, and that for ever, them that are sanctified. And who are they? Surely all are sanctified who were set apart from everlasting, in the counsel of peace, between the persons of the Godhead, and given unto the Son, in an everlasting covenant, that cannot be broken; for to this purport are those blessed words of Jesus himself, in his prayer to his Father (John 17:2), “That I should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given me.” And, my soul, take one observation more from this sweet scripture: this perfection, given to his people, by his one offering, is for ever: he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified. So that the blessing runs through all eternity. The efficacy of Jesus’s blood and righteousness is eternally the same. In point of merit, it flows as fresh, and pure, and sovereign, in its pleadings now, as ever. Hallelujah! Fold up, my soul, this blessed verse in thy bosom, and carry it about with thee in thine heart. Let it be among the first and last of thy thoughts when thou liest down and when thou risest up. Jesus will own it, and prove it to the full, when thou bringest it before his throne.

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Walter Kaiser -  Made Perfect? (Hard Sayings of the Bible page 645) (See also discussion of "Be Perfect" in Mt 5:48 on page 328)

The men who wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls used to call themselves “the perfect of way,” but Christians have not wanted to call any human being (other than Jesus) perfect. In fact, when people intimate that they are in any way perfect, we call them proud and believe that they are self-deceived. Thus it does not surprise us that Hebrews glorifies the work of Christ, but it does surprise us when we read in this passage that Jesus has “made perfect forever” a group of human beings. How could living human beings be perfect? Furthermore, how can they be perfect if they are still “being made holy”? Aren’t the two expressions contradictory?

The meaning of the first part of the verse is clear in context. Hebrews 10:11–12 contrasts the daily offerings of the Aaronic priests, “which can never take away sins,” with the completed once-for-all sacrifice of Christ. The Aaronic priests still stand, working at a job that will never be finished, while Christ sits “at the right hand of God,” his work completed. From this perspective he has made all who believe in him “perfect forever.” The author then quotes Jeremiah 31:34, a passage about a new covenant, arguing that according to this new covenant in Christ, “their sins and lawless acts I [God] will remember no more” (Heb 10:17). He then adds, “And where these have been forgiven, there is no longer any sacrifice for sin” (Heb 10:18). In other words, perfection here does not mean that people are free from moral error, but that they are completely forgiven for their moral error. This sense is possible because the Greek term for “perfect” can mean “complete” or “fulfilled” or “brought to a conclusion.” For the author of Hebrews, Jesus has brought the work of forgiving sins to a conclusion or to completion. He has fulfilled the new covenant. Those who commit themselves to him are perfect in that there is nothing remaining in them that God has to forgive.

How does this fit with the concept of “those who are being made holy”? In Hebrews 10:10 the author uses the same Greek term (for making something holy) in another tense. There he refers to a work completed in the death of Christ, a holiness given to the believer on the basis of what Jesus has done. “And by that will [of God in establishing the new covenant], we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” Four verses later he changes the tense, using the same one as in Hebrews 2:11, which refers to a process.

We can interpret this in two ways. The first is that individuals are made holy as they commit themselves to Christ. Thus this verse would indicate that the work of Christ is once-for-all, but as individuals repent and commit themselves to Jesus they enter into this completed work, being made holy, that is, fit to enter the presence of God—forgiven of their sins. The progressiveness of making people holy is in this interpretation that of spreading the gospel so more and more people enter into the holiness available in Christ.

The second way of interpreting the phrase is that there is a tension in the Christian life. On the one hand, we have been forgiven. Nothing else is needed. No further work of Christ is necessary. On the other hand, sanctification is a progressive action in the Christian life. We are not yet completely free from sin. Our past sins may have been forgiven; the power of sin in our lives may have been broken; but we keep sinning and God must continue to confront us and bring us to repentance over and over again. We are in the process of being made truly holy, not just forgiven for our failure to be holy.

While both explanations are possible, I personally prefer the second, because it appears most fully to take into account the change in tense in the verb and reflects the fact that the spread of the gospel is not a topic in this chapter. Furthermore, it expresses a tension that is frequently found in the New Testament. Christians are not to walk around feeling guilty, but forgiven. They stand before God in an attitude of gratitude for forgiveness, not cringing because of guilt. Yet the more they appreciate the sacrifice of Christ, the more they become aware that they are not yet holy; indeed, that which they might not have viewed as sin before they now see as sinful. God is producing holiness in each believer, but it is a process that takes discipline (as Heb 12 will argue). Losing sight of either side of this tension is disastrous. On the one hand, we might so focus on the perfection accomplished on the cross that we neglect to cooperate with God in growing in holiness. On the other hand, we might so focus on the process of becoming holy that we lose the relief of knowing that Christ has done all that is necessary, and so wallow in guilt and feel alienated from God. Both sides of the balance are necessary, and both are found in this verse.

See also comment on 2 CORINTHIANS 5:17; 1JOHN 3:6, 9.

THE SANCTIFIED
PERFECTED FOR EVER
Andrew Murray
Hebrews 10:14

THIS verse is in reality the conclusion of the doctrinal part of the Epistle. The four following verses are simply the citation of the words of the new covenant to confirm its teaching with the witness of the Holy Spirit. The writer having, in the context, expounded the nature of Christ's sacrifice, as showing what the way into the Holiest is, sums up his proof of its worth and efficacy in the words: By one offering He hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified. We find here five of the most important words that occur in the Epistle.

Sanctified. That looks back to the great purpose of Christ's coming, as we had it in Hebrews 2. Sanctified is cleansed from sin, taken out of the sphere and power of the world and sin, and brought to live in the sphere and power of God's holiness in the Holiest of All. It looks back, too, to Hebrews 2:10: In which will we are sanctified by the offering of the body of Christ.

He hath perfected them that are sanctified. It not only says that He has finished and completed for them all they need. The word points back to what was said of His own being made perfect. All He became was for us. In His one sacrifice He was not only perfected Himself, but He perfected us; He took us into the fellowship of His own perfectness, implanted His own perfect life in us, and gave His perfected human nature to us what we were to put on, and to live in.

For ever. He hath perfected us once for all and for ever. His perfection is ours; our whole life is prepared for us, to be received out of His hand.

By sacrifice. The death, the blood, the sacrifice of Christ, is the power by which we have been alike sanctified and perfected. It is the way which He opened up, in which He leads us with Himself into what He is and does as the One who is perfected for evermore, and the Holiest of All.

By one sacrifice. One because there is none other needed, either by others or Himself; one divine, and therefore sufficient and for ever.

The chief thought of the passage is: He hath for ever perfected them that are being sanctified. The words in Hebrews 10:10, In which will we have been sanctified, speak of our sanctification as an accomplished fact: we are saints, holy in Christ, in virtue of our real union with Him, and His holy life planted in the centre of our being. Here we are spoken of as being sanctified. There is a process by which our new life in Christ has to master and to perfect holiness through our whole outer being. But the progressive sanctification has its rest and its assurance in the ONCE and FOR EVER of Christ's work. He hath perfected for ever them that are being sanctified.

In Hebrews 9:9-10. I we read that the sacrifices could never, as touching the conscience, make the worshipper perfect, never make perfect them that draw nigh, so that they have no more conscience of sins. Our conscience is that which defines what our consciousness of ourselves before God should be: Christ makes the worshipper perfect, as touching the conscience, so that there is no more conscience of sins. He hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified. At the close of the chapter on Christ's priesthood we read of Himself (Hebrews 7:28): He is a High Priest, a Son, perfected for evermore. Here at the close of the unfolding of His work, it is said of His saints: He hath perfected them for ever. The perfection in both cases is one and the same. The sanctification and the perfection of the believer are prepared as a new nature in Christ,, to be appropriated in the daily life of faith. To know this is the secret of power.

And wherein His perfection consists we know too. (See in Hebrews 2:10 and 5:9.) A Leader in the way of glory, God made Him perfect through suffering; perfected in Him that humility and meekness and patience which mark Him as the Lamb, which are what God asks of man, and are man's only fitness for dwelling with God. Having offered up prayer, and having been heard for His godly fear, though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by what He suffered, and was made perfect. His godly fear, His waiting on God in the absolute surrender of His will, His submitting to learn obedience, His spirit of self-sacrifice, even unto death,--it was by this that as man He was perfected, it was in this He perfected human nature, and perfected His people too. In His death He accomplished a threefold work. He perfected Himself, His own human nature and character. He perfected our redemption, perfectly putting away sin from the place it had in heaven (Hebrews 9:23), and in our hearts. He perfected us, taking us up into His own perfection, and making us partakers of that perfect human nature, which in suffering and obedience, in the body prepared for Him, and the will of God done in it, He had wrought out for us. Christ Himself is our perfection; in Him it is complete; abiding in Him continually is perfection.

Let us press on to perfection, was the call with which we were led into the higher-life teaching of the Epistle. Here is our goal. Christ, by one offering, hath perfected us for ever. We know Him as the Priest for ever, the Minister of the new sanctuary, and the Mediator of the new covenant, who by His blood entered into the Holiest; there He lives for ever, in the power of an endless life, to impart to us and maintain within us His perfect life. It is the walk in this path of perfection, which as our Leader He opened up in doing the will of God, which is the new and living way into the Holiest.

1. The work of Christ is a perfect and perfected work. Everything is finished and complete for ever. And we have just by faith to behold and enter in, and seek and rejoice, and receive out of His fulness grace for grace. Let every difficulty you feel in understanding or claiming the different blessings set before you, or in connecting them, find its solution in the one thought--Christ has perfected us for ever; trust Him, cling to Him, He will do all.

2. One sacrifice for ever. We perfected for ever. And HE who did It all, HE for ever seated on the throne. Our blessed Priest-King, He lives to make it all ours. In the power of an endless life, in which He offered Himself unto God, In which He entered the Holiest, He now lives to give and be in our hearts all He hath accomplished. What more can we need? Wherefore, holy brethren! partakers of a heavenly calling, consider Jesus. (Andrew Murray. The Holiest of All)