Saints - Part One
“Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God. To the SAINTS who are at Ephesus who are faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Ephesians 1:1-2)
Paul had no choice in the matter of becoming an apostle, it was the WILL of God for him. And he wrote this letter to saints “who are FAITHFUL”. Not to all Saints, but to the faithful saints…meaning of course that there are also saints who are unfaithful…which made me start to think about the term “saints” in the Scripture.
The Hebrew word for Saint is “qodesh” and the Greek word for Saint is “hagios” and both are translated not only “saint” but “holy” in the English versions of the Bible. The short definition is “set apart” or “holy” or “sacred”. But it has nothing to do with a person’s goodness or righteousness as Christian dogma implies but simply refers to any person or thing God sets apart, and is therefore “unique” or “special” just because God says so. The Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle and later in the Temple was simply the most special place of the special places in those structures. It was where God met with the High Priest once per year and where the Arc of the Covenant with Israel was kept.
The Bible says that when God created mankind He set them apart as a unique or special class of “living souls” to be made into God’s own image…
“And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a LIVING SOUL…Then God said, Let Us make man in Our IMAGE, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them…” (Genesis 2:7, 26-27)
ALL those descended from Adam and Eve are set apart…or “SAINTS”, special animals who are to receive salvation as a gift of God’s GRACE…not according to their Godly works.
Listen to both Peter, the apostle to Israel and Paul the apostle to both Jew and Gentile as they talk of this Salvation….
Peter: “As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the GRACE that would come to you…fix your hope completely on the GRACE to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ...you shall be holy...” (1 Peter 1:10-15)
Paul: “For the wages of sin is death but the free GIFT of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord…It is by GRACE you have been saved through faith, and this not of yourselves, it is a GIFT of God, not of works…” (Romans 6:23; Ephesians 2:8-10)
Mankind is a special creation of God (saints) because He says so…we all become sinners and miss the mark in this life...but He is mighty to save!