Exploring the Meaning of Katartisis in Greek

κατάρτισις refers to “perfection” and is attested once in the New Testament, in Paul’s closing words to the Corinthian church. In that single occurrence it is presented as the specific object of prayer, expressing the settled aim Paul seeks for his readers.

Root and Related Words

κατάρτισις is related to the verb katartizo (καταρτίζω), “to complete” (Strong’s G2675). The noun expresses the result or state associated with that verbal idea.

Occurrences

“For we rejoice when we are weak and you are strong. We also pray for this: your becoming perfect.” (2 Corinthians 13:9)

In 2 Corinthians 13:9, κατάρτισις appears in a sentence shaped by paired contrasts and pastoral desire. Paul sets “we are weak” alongside “you are strong,” and the emotional tone is explicit: “we rejoice” at that condition. The word then enters as the content of intercession—“We also pray for this”—and it names the goal of that prayer: “your becoming perfect.” In this verse, “perfection” is not offered as a compliment already secured but as something sought on their behalf, a condition toward which they are to move. The wording frames it as a hoped-for change or arrival (“your becoming”), not merely a static label.

The immediate context inside the verse links “perfection” with a relational situation in which Paul and his companions accept “weak[ness]” while the Corinthians are “strong.” The prayer does not ask for Paul’s strength, nor does it ask that the Corinthians become weak; instead, it moves beyond that contrast to a deeper objective. In this scene, κατάρτισις gathers up Paul’s concern for what their strength should serve: a mature, completed condition that can be named simply as “perfection.” The placement of the word at the end of the verse gives it rhetorical weight. After the emotional statement (“we rejoice”) and the disclosure of ongoing action (“we also pray”), the final phrase places “perfection” as the culminating desire that explains the prayer’s direction.

Sense and Usage

With only one New Testament occurrence, the sense of κατάρτισις is defined by how it functions in this prayerful wish. “Perfection” here is personal and communal: Paul addresses “you,” and the phrase “your becoming perfect” treats the church as a whole as the subject of this hoped-for outcome. The word therefore operates as a collective goal, not merely an individual achievement. Even without further occurrences, the construction in 2 Corinthians 13:9 clarifies that κατάρτισις is something that can be sought, asked for, and awaited as the result of divine help—since it stands as the explicit object of “we also pray.”

The verse also shows that “perfection” is compatible with an honest admission of weakness. Paul does not present “perfection” as the opposite of weakness in the same way “strong” is paired with “weak.” Instead, weakness and strength describe the present relationship (“we are weak and you are strong”), while “your becoming perfect” names a future-oriented aim that transcends the immediate contrast. In that way, κατάρτισις functions as a theological and pastoral category: the word points to an intended completeness of condition that Paul can desire for the Corinthians even while he locates himself and his coworkers in “weak[ness].”

Because it is framed as “becoming,” the term carries a developmental orientation within this verse. “Perfection” is not treated as a mere status conferred without movement; it is something into which the Corinthians are to come. Yet it is also not presented as uncertain or optional: Paul’s prayer is targeted, singular (“for this”), and definite in its object. The word thus serves to concentrate the letter’s closing tone into one clear petition. Within the narrow compass of the verse, κατάρτισις names the constructive end that makes sense of Paul’s rejoicing and his praying together.

Imagery

The verse’s imagery is quiet and relational rather than visual: rejoicing, weakness, strength, and prayer form the atmosphere in which “perfection” is spoken. κατάρτισις stands at the point where spoken prayer meets lived community life—an expressed desire that the Corinthians arrive at a condition fit to be called “perfect,” even as the apostolic voice accepts its own weakness and finds joy in the church’s strength.

Sources: Lexical data from Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance and the Translators Brief Lexicon of Extended Strongs for Greek (STEPBible, CC BY). Occurrence data from the Translators Amalgamated Greek New Testament (STEPBible, CC BY). Scripture quotations from the World English Bible (public domain).