Growth and Perfection

Δοκεῖ μοι, ὅτι ὥσπερ ἐν τοῖς ἀνθρωπίνοις σώμασίν ἐστι μεγέθη διάφορα, ὥς τινας μὲν εἶναι  μικροὺς, ἑτέρους δὲ μεγάλους, καὶ ἄλλους μεταξύ· καὶ πάλιν εἶναι μικρῶν διαφορὰς ἐπὶ πλεῖον ἤ ἔλαττον, ὄντων μικρῶν,  ὁμοίως καὶ μεγάλων, καὶ τῶν μεταξύ οὕτως καὶ ἐν ταῖς τῶν ἀνθρώπων ψυχαῖς ἐστί τινα χαρακτηρίζοντα τὴν μικρότητα αὐτῶν, καὶ ἄλλα τὴν, ἵν' οὔτως εἴπω, μεγαλειότητα, καὶ ἀπαξαπλῶς, ἀνάλογον τοῖς σωματικοῖς, τὴν μεταξύτητα. Ἀλλ' ἐπὶ μὲν τῶν σωμάτων οὐ παρὰ τὴν αἰτίαν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου, ἀλλὰ παρὰ τοὺς σπερματικοὺς λόγους, ὁ μέν τις ἐστὶ βραχὺς καὶ μικρὸς, ὁ δὲ μέγας, ὁ δὲ μεταξύ· ἐπὶ δὲ τῶν ψυχῶν, κιὰ τὸ ἡμῖν, καὶ αἱ τοιαίδε πράξεις, καὶ τὸ τοιοῦτον ἦθος τὴν αἰτίαν ἔχει τοῦ μέγαν τινας εἶναι, ἤ μικρὸν, ἤ ἐν τοῖς μεταξὺ τυγχάνειν· καὶ ἔστιν ἐκ τῶν ἐφ' ἡμῖν ἥτοι προκόπτειν τῇ ἡλικί ἐπιδιδόντα εἰς μέγεθος, ἢ μὴ προκόπτοντα εἰναι βραχύν. Και οὕτω γε ἀκούω περὶ τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἀναλαβόντος ἀνθρωπίνην ψυχὴν, τό· ' Ὁ Ἰησοῦς προέκοπτεν.' Ὡς γὰρ ἐκ τοῦ ἑφ' ἡμῖν τῆς ψυχῆς αὐτοῦ ἧν ἡ ἑν σοφίᾳ προκοπὴ καὶ χάριτι, οὑτω καὶ ἑν ἡλικίᾳ, καὶ ὁ Ἀπόστολος· ' Μέχρι καταντήσωμεν πάντες εἰς ἄνδρα τέλειον, εἰς μέτρον ἡλικίας τοῦ πληρώματος τέλειον, κατὰ τὸν ἔσω ἂνθρωπον νομιστέον τὸν διαβάντα τὰ τοῦ νηπίου, καὶ φθὰσαντα ἐπὶ τὸν ἂνδρα, καὶ καταργήσαντα τὰ τοῦ νηπίου, καὶ ἁπαξαπλῶς τελειώσαντα τὰ τοῦ ἀνδρός· οὕτω δ' ὑποληπτέον εἶναί τι καὶ μέτρον πνευματικῆς ἡλικίαη, ἐφ' ὅ ἡ τελειοτάτη δύναται φθάσαι ψυχὴ ἐκ τοῦ μεγαλύνειν τὸν Κύριον, καὶ μεγάλη γίνεσθαι. Ὠριγένης, Κατὰ Ματθαιον Ἐξηγητικων, Τομος ΙΓ'

It seems to me that as among the bodies of men there are differences of size, so some are little and others great and others of middling height, and, again, there are differences among the little, as they are more or less little, and it is so with the great, and with those of middle height, so also among the souls of men there are some things which give them the mark of littleness, and other things, one may say, the mark of greatness, and generally, after the analogy of bodily things, other things the mark of mediocrity. But for bodies this is not caused by the action of men but for genetic reasons, that one is short and little, another great, and another is middling, but for souls it is we, our actions of such a kind and habits of such a kind, who give the cause why we are  great or little or middling, and it is we who because we advance in stature increase our size, or because we do not advance are short. And so indeed I understand what is said of Jesus having taken a human soul, 'Jesus advanced.' 1 For as with us, there was an advance of His soul in wisdom and grace, and so also in stature, and the Apostle says, 'Until we all attain to man fully grown, to the perfect measure of the age of fullness,' 2 according to which it should be thought that he is a man who has gone through the things of the child, and has reached the stage of the man, and has left behind the things of the child, and generally, has perfected the things of the man. And so it should be supposed that there is a certain measure of spiritual stature to which the most perfect soul is able to reach by magnifying the Lord, and become great. Origen, Commentary on Matthew, Book 13 1 Lk 2:52 2Eph 4:13