Anchor My Faith

Author: Stephen Weller
Contributors: ChatGPT & Bible Gateway
Lesson Index
Lesson: sls06
1,419 words, 8 minutes read time

Apart From Us They Should Not Be Made Perfect

At the end of Hebrews 11 is found a difficult verse that will draw the focus of this lesson. In Hebrews 11:40 is the phrase “that apart from us they should not be made perfect.”

Beginning with “they” we can assume “they” refers to those listed in Hebrews 11, the Old Testament men and women of faith (Abel, Abraham, Moses, Rahab, etc.), but what does “made perfect” mean here? 

Made perfect

• In Hebrews, “perfect” (Greek teleioō) usually refers not to moral flawlessness but to completion or fulfillment of God’s saving purpose (cf. Hebrews 7:19; 9:9; 10:14).
• The OT saints had genuine faith, but their hope was forward-looking. They died without receiving the ultimate promise, the coming of Christ and the redemption he accomplished.
• Therefore, they are “made perfect” only together with us, because Christ’s work is the one final sacrifice that unites all God’s people across history (Hebrews 10:14).

Our role today

We don’t complete their faith in the sense of adding something lacking to it. Their faith was already real and commended by God. But:

• Our inclusion completes the picture: God’s plan was that the redeemed community would include both Old Covenant and New Covenant believers, perfected together in Christ.
• Our witness continues the story: By sharing the gospel, we invite others into that same perfection, the finished work of Christ. In this sense, yes, we extend the hope of faith to others so that they too can share in what those saints anticipated.
• We join their testimony: Hebrews 12:1 follows immediately: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses…” Their faith encourages us, and our faith, and witness, brings their testimony to fulfillment in a united people of God.

So how to phrase it

You can say that in witnessing, we help bring others into the same faith those saints had, so the whole family of God is perfected together. But it’s not that we “make their faith more complete,” rather, Christ alone completes faith. Our role is to carry forward their testimony and share in the same perfection they were waiting for.

Summary thought

• “They” = OT saints.
• “Made perfect” = salvation’s final completion in Christ.
• Our witness doesn’t perfect them but invites others into the same perfected salvation, uniting all believers into one fulfilled promise.
• Our witness joins us with the faith of those who came before us.
  The saints in Hebrews 11 lived by faith but died without seeing the full promise fulfilled. God’s plan was that they and we together would share in the perfection brought through Christ. Their faith looked forward; our faith looks back to the cross and forward to Christ’s return. When we live and witness faithfully today, we stand in the same story, carrying their testimony forward and drawing others into the people of God.

Applications

1. Recognize the unity of God’s people across time. – You are part of the same family of faith as Abraham, Moses, and Rahab. Their story is your story, fulfilled in Christ.
2. See your witness as continuation, not isolation. – When you share Christ, you are joining a long line of faithful witnesses. Your faith adds to the chorus of those who point to the same Savior.
3. Trust God’s timing for perfection. – Just as they waited for Christ’s coming, we await his return. Faith means trusting even when the promise is not yet fully seen.
4. Encourage others with the bigger picture. – Remind fellow believers that our faith is not just about individual salvation, it is part of God’s grand plan to unite all his people into one perfected whole.

Discussion Questions with Answers

Q1. Who are the “they” mentioned in Hebrews 11:40?

A1. The “they” refers to the Old Testament men and women of faith described in Hebrews 11 (Abel, Abraham, Moses, Rahab, etc.). They lived by faith and were commended by God, but they did not see the final fulfillment of his promises in their lifetime.

Q2. What does it mean that they were “not made perfect apart from us”?

A2. “Made perfect” means reaching the final completion of God’s salvation plan in Christ. The Old Testament saints looked forward to the Messiah, while we look back to his finished work. God’s design was that both they and we would be perfected together in Christ, uniting all his people across history.

Q3. Does our faith make theirs more complete?

A3. Not in the sense of adding something lacking to their faith. Their faith was genuine and accepted by God. But our inclusion in Christ’s work completes the bigger picture: the one people of God brought together in Christ. Our faith joins with theirs to display God’s full redemptive plan.

Q4. How does our witness today connect to the faith of those who came before us?

A4. When we live faithfully and share the gospel, we carry forward their testimony and join their “cloud of witnesses” (Hebrews 12:1). Our witness helps bring others into the same perfected salvation in Christ, extending the story they began.

Q5. What encouragement can we take from knowing that their faith and ours are united?

A5. We are not alone in our walk of faith; we are part of God’s great family stretching across time. Just as they endured by trusting God without yet seeing the full promise, we too can endure, knowing that God’s plan is certain and will be fulfilled in Christ’s return.

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A Personal Note

Before posting the above lesson, I came back a day later and reread it and felt it needed more work. I decided not to change what I had written, but to add different wording here, maybe for more clarity. 

1. The Main Idea of Hebrews 11:40

• The phrase “that apart from us they should not be made perfect” teaches that God’s saving plan is corporate, not individual.
• “Made perfect” means brought to completion; reaching the goal of salvation through Christ (Hebrews 10:14; 12:23).
• The Old Testament faithful looked forward to the promise, but the promise is only fulfilled in Christ’s death and resurrection.

So, the point is: God designed salvation so that his people across time, Old Covenant and New Covenant, would together be perfected in Christ, not separately.

2. What is our role?

The text does not mean that we personally “finish” or “add to” their faith. Christ alone completes faith. But our role can be understood in three ways:

1. Inclusion in God’s plan

• “Us” refers to New Covenant believers. God’s design was that the OT faithful and NT believers would be perfected together in Christ.
• Our role is not active completion of their faith but participation in the one body that God perfects as a whole.

2. Continuation of their witness

• Hebrews 12:1 follows immediately: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses…”
• We run the race of faith as they did, adding our testimony to theirs. Our role is to carry forward the same faith and to show the fruit of the promises they only foresaw.

3. Extension of the promise to others

• As we live and witness to Christ, others are drawn into the same salvation. In that way, our witness does not make their faith more complete, but it does enlarge the perfected people of God who will inherit the promise together.

3. Summary Statement

Our role in Hebrews 11:40 is not to complete their faith but to share in the same perfection in Christ with them.

• They looked forward; we look back and forward.
• Together, we form one perfected family in Christ.
• Our witness carries on their testimony until the final day when God perfects all his people together.

4. Teaching Note on Hebrews 11:40

In this verse, “they” refers to the Old Testament saints and “us” to New Covenant believers. The phrase means that God’s plan was not to perfect his people separately, but together in Christ. Our role is not to complete their faith, Christ has already done that, but to share in the same perfection and to carry forward their testimony. As we live by faith and witness to Christ, we join their story, showing that all God’s people across history are perfected together in him.

5. One-Sentence Takeaway

“God’s people of every age are perfected together in Christ; their faith looked forward, our faith looks back, but we share one promise and one completion.”