Saints

Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus,
To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons:
(Philippians 1:1 ESV)

Are you a saint? Ask just about anyone this question and the answer you are likely to receive is 'no, not really.' No one walks around claiming sainthood because it just seems somehow unbecoming or conceited. We reserve sainthood for someone who does some wonderful unselfish act that we admire and we usually confer it on them out of gratefulness or admiration. Sainthood is reserved for the exceptionally virtuous.

But that is not how Paul uses the word, is it? When Paul writes to the church at Philippi he writes to them as the 'saints' at Philippi. And the fact that he is not addressing a certain privileged class of those Christians, but just the regular church members, is evidenced by his purposely including the bishops and deacons along with these 'saints' in his opening salutation. So Paul implies that every Christian at Philippi, every believer, is a saint.

Odd isn't it? Are these Christians at Philippi somehow elite? Perhaps they are just more virtuous than the believers in other churches and communities throughout the first century. A quick perusal of the other books of the New Testament, however, would demonstrate otherwise. Paul's dubbing of them as 'saints' is not unique in this letter. He does this in all his letters, to all the believers in all the churches. He calls them 'saints'.

What is a saint? What does the word mean?

The Greek word is hagios (pictured in Greek letters above) and it is sometimes translated into English as 'holy'. At its most basic level it means 'different' or 'distinct' or 'distinguished', 'set apart' or 'other'. In biblical usage it implies anything belonging to God. God is distinct, separate from his creation. He is the Great Other. Anything set apart for his purposes, anything belonging to him, is hagios by definition. It is holy. It has been saint-ified (sanctified). We, who belong to him, are his distinct ones, separated by him for him.

So everyone who belongs to God is a saint by virtue of belonging to God. Is that you? Do you belong to God? Are you his? Has he separated you by his grace and are you united to him by faith? Are you a follower of Christ? Then you are a saint.

That does not mean you are perfect. No, no, no. What it does mean, though, is that God has separated you for perfection. The perfecting is his work. God has intentions for you.

If you are a believer.

There's a nuance to what Paul says in his salutation that I don't want you to miss, so I'll show it to you again.

"To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, . . ."

See it?

It is only those who are "in Christ Jesus" who are saints.

We don't saint-ify ourselves, nor can we be saint-ified apart from Christ. This is God's work, God's doing, and it is only done in and through and by Jesus Christ.

Are you in Christ Jesus? Paul will have much to say about this as the letter goes along. But I want you to think about it now. If he were to say to you now, "Come follow me," would you go?