The words of the Perfect of God, Jesus Christ, who has the 7 Spirits of God and the 7 stars (Rev 3:1). Bible scholars from their in depth studies of Scripture tell us that the number seven is typically representative of God’s complete perfection. Jesus is described as such.

This Perfection of God, Jesus Christ, who is also God’s Word and Truth of Grace has not “found your (Sardis church) works perfect before God”.

And His message to this church in Sardis is, “Be alert and strengthen what remains, which is about to die”. This message of the Perfect One is reinforced by the following statement, “Wake up! I have found your works incomplete, unfulfilled, NOT perfect, before God.”

The Perfect God who worked a Perfect Salvation for His people by giving up His life as a Perfect High-Priest offering up His own Perfect Body to redeem His lost people from satan’s dominion, and crowning them with His own life purely through His mercy and grace, recognizes that the Sardis church has fallen back into the flesh, and therefore, works-based religion, an affront, and impure sacrifice to God.

This Sardis church was imperfect in that they were now, quite like the Galatian church, thinking that they could work out their salvation through their independent will, and fleshly works. They had begun to mix the pure milk of God’s work, with fallen human reasoning, and unable to tell the difference between the presence and work of the Spirit of God’s grace, and their own human constructs.

It is telling that the Perfect Lord then says in verses four and five that He has found-same word here-those who “did not defile (stain, pollute) their garments”, and therefore, these ones who did not stain and pollute their garments would walk with their Perfect Lord in white, and are worthy. In their overcoming, “they will be arrayed in white garments”.

White and worthy garments speak loudly of the Lord’s own righteousness imputed to His people through His sacrificial death on the cross. 2 Cor 5:21 makes it explicit that God “made Him (Jesus) who had no sin, to be sin for us, so that we (His saved people) may be made the righteousness of God in Him.”

Jesus’s own righteousness and only His worthiness is white. And in being engrafted into Him, we take on His white garments of righteousness and worthiness.

This is why the LORD is so strong in His admonition to this church in Sardis. Such a price was paid through His mercy and grace. His own life substituted for His fallen race, His elect people. and for them to grovel back to flesh and works is to despise that mercy and grace. The church in Sardis had given in to the leaven of fallen human pride of accomplishment apart from His grace. They had “soiled” their garments of grace righteousness with the human depravity of fallen reason. They thought their “free-will” played a part in their conversion and justification before God. They had naturally progressed to human powered decision making even in the things of God, despising all His resources given to His people in their union with the King and Prince of Heaven itself, Jesus Christ.

They had committed spiritual adultery.