In the Kingdom of God: I am a saint
If you google the word 'saint', it will tell you the definition of saint - 'a person acknowledged as holy or virtuous and regarded in Christian faith as being in heaven after death'.
When someone mentioned the word 'saint' to you, I am confident these words will come to your mind: holy, pious, good.
And if you are a Catholic or are familiar with the religion, then the names of some Catholic saints may come to mind as well, like Saint Peter, Saint Thomas, Saint Patrick, Saint Dominic.
In fact, in the town where I am from, there are many schools and churches named after saints. So, even before I came to accept Christ, I had a vague idea of what a 'saint' is, namely saints are those who are in the Christian religion and who did great and mighty things for the religion. And because they have reached a certain status or level, they were given the title of 'saint'. (May not be accurate but I wasn't entirely clueless 😂).
I believe there are many who also had this vague idea of a saint being a highly pious and super holy person who has dedicated his/ her entire life to God and to doing good and has achieved something great. And, of course, by that definition, it seems that only a very small group of people can fit into this category.
That's why there are many churches or monuments built in recognition of and named after saints in the Catholic religion. Because being a saint is no small matter! Not everyone can be called a saint. 😅
Well, that's how the English language defines saint.
Now, let's look at the meaning of the original word in Hebrew and in Greek which are translated as saint in the Bible, shall we? I'll list three words with a verse example for each.
1) In the OT, qaddîysh - holy, separate (or angels, saints).
Daniel 7:18 But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever.
2) In the OT, châsîyd - faithful, kind, godly, holy one, saint, pious
Psalms 50:5 Gather My saints together to Me, Those who have made a covenant with Me by sacrifice.
3) In the NT, hágios - most holy thing, a saint
Phil 1:1 Paul and Timothy, bondservants of Jesus Christ, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the bishops and deacons.
I'm quoting Daniel 7:18 and Psalms 50:5 as example, because I, personally, like the implication of these 2 verses in the OT:
- Who are the 'saints'? Those who have made a covenant with God (by sacrifice, nonetheless).
- What do the 'saints' possess? The kingdom, forever and ever.
How marvellous? A saint is simply someone who has made a covenant with God. (There is no measurement of life-long dedication or achievement or anything of that sort.)
And think about it, that is in the OT under the old covenant. How much more marvellous will it be in the NT under the new covenant in Christ?
And indeed, I assure you it is!
Beloved in Christ, first of all, let's delve deeper into the word hágios.
This word carries the meaning or implication of being 'set apart' (and therefore 'different/ distinguished from others'). It implies being special to the Lord.
Bearing in mind this implication of hágios, I would like you to now turn to the apostle Paul's epistles, read the first chapter and pay attention to one thing:
How did the apostle Paul greet those to whom he was writing the letters to?
And you'll notice that in most of his epistles, when he greeted the churches, he addressed them as saints.
To the Corinthians, he greets them as such 'To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours.'
To the Ephesians, he greets 'To the saints who are in Ephesus, and faithful in Christ Jesus'.
To the Philippians, he greets 'To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the bishops and deacons'.
To the Colossians, he greets 'To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ who are in Colosse'.
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| Source: Internet |
Read also apostle Paul's closing words to the Philippians in Phil 4:21-22.
Right after one of his most famous and popular exhortations (I believe there is no Christian who has not heard of this - 'And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Now to our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.'), he asked the Philippians church to do this:
Greet every saint in Christ Jesus. The brethren who are with me greet you. All the saints greet you, but especially those who are of Caesar’s household.
Do you see what I see, beloved brothers and sisters?
1) This is who we are - In Christ, we are saints. We are the 'every saint in Christ Jesus'.
2) Hágios (saints) are 'most holy ones'. Are set apart. Are different from others. Are separate unto God. Are special to God. And we are hágios!
3) Yes, each and everyone of us is a saint in Christ Jesus. Not just a handful of privileged few.
And perhaps, I need to answer a burning question for some: OK, you say that I am a saint. But it cannot be. I am not holy, not at all. So, how? How did I become a saint? How can you say that I am a saint?
The answer is simple (and short) - In Christ.
For me, I glimpsed this revelation from Psalms 50:5, where God says that 'those who have made a covenant with Him by sacrifice are His saints.
In the OT, God made a covenant (the first covenant, Abrahamic Covenant) with His people. These people are His saints. The sign of this covenant is in the flesh (circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, Gen 17:11).
When Jesus came, in the NT, God made a new covenant with His people: the New Covenant in Christ.
Quoting EWK's words from his book, New Creation Realities, he explained it clearly - When Jesus came, His first work was to fulfil that Abrahamic Covenant and set it aside. Jesus came to fulfil the first covenant and through Him, a new covenant was made. A covenant made, not by our man-made sacrifice, but by the perfect, complete, once for all sacrifice of Jesus.
Heb 10:10 By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
Notice how we have been sanctified? It is through the once for all offering of the body of Jesus. Now, tell me, had Jesus offered His body for us? Yes. Was it a complete offering? Yes.
(The Greek word translated 'sanctified' here is hagiazó, which means to make holy, to consecrate. And is derived from the root word hágios.)
Titus 2:14 tell us that Jesus gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.
So, you see, when we entered into a relationship with God through Christ, we entered into God's New Covenant in Christ. We are, then, His saints, those who have made a covenant with Him by sacrifice.
The Hebrews author tells us plainly that we have been sanctified in and by Christ (Heb 2:11 For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one), so, truly we are holy hágios indeed.
Beloved in Christ, I hope that now you are able to see that, even when there isn't a 'saint' title in front of our name, just like how no one would ever call me Saint Irene (how funny would that be! 😂), we are hágios, holy and set apart unto God.
So, remember this, brothers and sisters, in Christ, we are in the kingdom of God as elects (chosen) and as saints (holy and set apart).
