In this study, we
will seek to understand what the Bible says
about saints. Is every believer a
saint, or just an extraordinary group of
super Christians? Should we pray to
human saints?
“Shew me thy ways, O
LORD; teach me thy paths.” (Psalm 25:4
As in previous studies,
we will look at definitions, scriptures,
commentary evidence and confessional
support for the glorifying of God in how we
live.
Definition:
Saints
The body of Christ,
all believers worldwide, both living and
dead. *
Definition:
Question: What are Christian saints
according to the Bible?
Answer: The word “saint” comes from
the Greek word hagios, which means
“consecrated to God, holy, sacred, pious.”
It
is almost always used in the plural,
“saints.” “…Lord, I have heard from many
about this man, how much harm he did to your
saints at Jerusalem” (Acts 9:13). “Now
as Peter was traveling through all those
regions, he came down also to the
saints who lived at Lydda” (Acts 9:32). “And
this is just what I did in
Jerusalem; not only did I lock up many of
the saints in prisons” … (Acts
26:10). There is only one instance of the
singular use, and that is “Greet
every saint in Christ Jesus…” (Philippians
4:21). In Scripture, there are 67
uses of the plural “saints” compared to only
one use of the singular word
“saint.” Even in that one instance, a
plurality of saints is in view: “…every
saint…” (Philippians 4:21). Therefore,
scripturally speaking, the “saints” are
the body of Christ, Christians, the church.
All Christians are considered
saints. All Christians are saints—and at the
same time are called to be saints.
**
From
the Scriptures about Saints:
“And to make thee high above all
nations which he hath made, in praise,
and in name, and in honour; and that thou
mayest be an holy
people unto the
LORD thy God, as he hath spoken.” (Deuteronomy
26:19) (Emphasis mine) God’s
people are holy, i.e. “set a part,” saints.
“O love the LORD, all ye his saints:
for the LORD preserveth the
faithful, and plentifully rewardeth the
proud doer.” (Psalm 31:23)
“Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have
heard by many of this man, how much
evil he hath done to thy saints at
Jerusalem.” (Acts 9:13)
“To all that be in Rome, beloved of
God, called to be saints: Grace to
you and peace from God our Father, and the
Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 1:7)
“And he that searcheth the hearts
knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit,
because he maketh intercession for the
saints according to the will of God.”
(Romans
8:2)
“And he that searcheth the hearts
knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit,
because he maketh intercession for the
saints according to the will of God.”
(Romans 8:27)
“Unto the church of God which is at
Corinth, to them that are sanctified
in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with
all that in every place call upon
the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both
theirs and ours.” (1Corinthians 1:2)
“Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by
the will of God, and Timothy our
brother, unto the church of God which is at
Corinth, with all the saints which
are in all Achaia.” (2Corinthians 1:1)
“Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by
the will of God, to the saints which
are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in
Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians 1:1)
“May be able to comprehend with all
saints what is the breadth, and
length, and depth, and height.” (Ephesians
3:18)
“For the perfecting of the saints, for
the work of the ministry, for the
edifying of the body of Christ.” (Ephesians
4:12)
From
the Pulpit
Commentary on Ephesians
4:12:
“Verse 12. - In order to the
perfecting of the saints. The ultimate end
for which the gifts bestowed (comp. Hebrews
12:1). A work of completion is in
hand, which must be fulfilled (see ver. 13):
the saints, now compassed about
with infirmity, have to be freed from all
stain (Ephesians 5:26, 27), and as
instruments towards this end, the ministers
of the Church are given by Christ;
they are not mere promoters of civilization,
men of culture planted among the
rude, but instruments for advancing men to
complete holiness. For the work of
the ministry. The preposition is changed
from πρὸς to εἰς
πρὸς denoting
the ultimate end, εἰς
the immediate
object (comp. Romans 15:2); the office of
the Church officers is not lords, but
διακονοί,
servants, as Christ himself
was (Matthew 20:28). For the building up of
the body of Christ. Bringing bone
to its bone and sinew to its sinew,
increasing the number of believers, and
promoting the spiritual life of each;
carrying on all their work as Christ's
servants and with a definite eye to the
promotion of the great work which he
undertook when he came to seek and to save
the lost.” (1)
Comments:
Since the saints in Ephesians, 4:12
need perfecting, we can conclude that
are ordinary believers growing in the
sanctification process and not a
super-saint.
Additional
Scriptures:
“Praying always with all prayer and
supplication in the Spirit, and
watching thereunto with all perseverance and
supplication for all saints.” (Ephesians
6:18)
“To the saints and faithful brethren
in Christ which are at Colosse:
Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our
Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
(Colossians
1:2)
“Paul and Timotheus, the servants of
Jesus Christ, to all the saints in
Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the
bishops and deacons.” (Philippians
1:1)
“Salute every saint in Christ Jesus.
The brethren, which are with me,
greet you.” (Philippians 4:21)
“For God is not unrighteous to forget
your work and labour of love, which
ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye
have ministered to the saints, and
do minister.” (Hebrews 6:10)
“But as he which hath called you is
holy, so be ye holy
in all manner of
conversation; because it is written, be ye holy;
for I am holy.” (1Peter 1:15–16) (Holy
set apart, saints)
“Beloved, when I gave all diligence to
write unto you of the common
salvation, it was needful for me to write
unto you, and exhort you that ye
should earnestly contend for the faith which
was once delivered unto the
saints.” (Jude 1:3)
Paul addressed his letters to the
saints in the churches. The biblical
ideas of saints is not the saints in heaven
as the Roman Catholics say. In
opposition to that, the Bible calls all the
believers in Christ “saints.” “Saint”
literally means “holy one,” or “set apart.”
In Christ you are sanctified, which
makes you a “holy one” or “set apart.” An
individual becomes a saint by regeneration,
i.e. born again in Christ.
A
small list of synonyms for saints:
Disciples, angels, a good person, a
loved one, a pietist, an evangelist, a
devotee, a benefactor
Vine's Expository
Dictionary of New
Testament Words:
[1, G40, hagios]
for the meaning and use of which See
HOLY, B, No. 1, is used as a noun in
the singular in Philippians 4:21, where pas,
every, is used with it. In the
plural, as used of believers, it designates
all such and is not applied merely
to persons of exceptional holiness or to
those who, having died, were
characterized by exceptional acts of
“saintliness.” See especially
2Thessalonians 1:10, where “His saints” are
also described as “them that
believed,” i.e., the whole number of the
redeemed. They are called “holy ones”
in Jude 1:14, RV. For the term as applied to
the Holy Spirit See HOLY SPIRIT.
See also SANCTIFY.
Notes:
(1) In Rev 15:3 the RV follows those
texts which have aionon,
“ages,” and assigns the reading ethnon,
“nations,” to the margin; the AV
translates those which have the inferior
reading hagion, “saints,” and puts
“nations” and “ages” in the margin.
(2) In Rev 18:20, the best texts have
hagioi
and apostoloi,
each with the article,
each being preceded by kai, “and,” RV, “and
ye saints, and ye apostles;” the
AV, “and ye holy apostles” follows those
mss. from which the 2nd kai and the
article are absent.
(3) In Rev 22:21, the RV follows those
mss. which have hagion,
with the article, “(with) the
saints;” the AV those which simply have panton,
“all,” but adds “you” (RV, marg., “with
all”). (2)
Saint
from Baker's
Evangelical Dictionary of
Biblical Theology:
The word “saint” is derived from a
Greek verb (hagiazo [aJgiavzw])
whose
basic meaning is “to set apart,” “sanctify,”
or “make holy.” In the history of
the Old Testament religion, the idea of
holiness or separateness was inherent
in the concept of God. God was
unapproachable in the tabernacle or temple
by
the ordinary individual, being accessible
only to the priests and only under
carefully specified conditions. His presence
(the Shekinah) dwelled in the Holy
of Holies or the Most Holy Place, the most
remote and inaccessible place in the
wilderness tabernacle and later in the
Jerusalem temple. Only the high priest
was allowed to stand in God's presence in
this area, and then only once a year
at Yom
Kippur (the Day of Atonement).
This sacred place was further
separated from the ordinary Jewish
worshiper by another room called “the Holy
Place,” which could be entered only
by priests. The intent was to impress upon
the people the utter holiness and
sacredness of the God they worshiped, as
well as the necessity of their being
set apart or sanctified as saints in his
service. This sense of Jehovah's
separateness from the sins of the people and
from the pagan idols of the lands
in which they dwelled was the heart of
Jewish monotheism. Its eventual
disregard led to the destruction of the
temple and the exile of Israel.
This idea of the separateness of God
and his people is carried forward in
the New Testament, which was written by Jews
(except possibly Luke-Acts) who
interpreted God's covenant with Israel
through the teachings of Christ. Those
who were dedicated to the teachings of
Christ were frequently called saints by
these writers (e.g., Matt 27:52; Acts 9:13;
26:10; Rev 14:12). Six of Paul's
letters to churches are addressed to saints
(Romans, 1-2 Corinthians,
Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians).
Saints, in the New Testament, are
never deceased individuals who have
been canonized by the church and given
sainthood. They are living individuals
who have dedicated themselves to the worship
and service of the one true God as
revealed through his Son, Jesus Christ. Even
the children of such parents are
called “sanctified” (1Cor. 7:14-15). That
is, they are considered undefiled by
paganism if at least one of their parents is
a Christian. All saved are
sanctified, but not all sanctified are
saved.
On occasion, when discussing the
atonement, Paul carefully differentiates
between Jewish Christians and Gentile
Christians, calling the former saints and
the latter believers. It was the saints, the
holy people of God in the Old
Testament, who brought the Messiah and
redemption into the world, eventually
extending the blessings to the Gentiles.
This usage may be seen in 1Corinthians
1:2, which is addressed to “those
sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be
holy [saints Jewish Christians],
together with all those [Gentiles]
everywhere who call on the name of our Lord
Jesus Christ Lord and ours.” The same
distinction is made in Ephesians 1:1: “to
the saints [Jewish Christians] in Ephesus
and the faithful [Gentiles] in Christ
Jesus.” Colossians is also addressed to “the
holy and faithful brothers” in
Christ.
Paul addresses the letter to all the
Christians in Rome as saints (Rom.
1:7, because Gentiles who, as wild olive
branches have been grafted into the
stem of Judaism, now share in the full
relationship to that plant and are also
saints), but the Jewish Christians in Rome,
who are to be recipients of a special
contribution Paul collected among Gentile
churches, are called “the saints” in
distinction (Rom. 15:25-33).
It is informative in this regard that
Paul refers to this same collection
in 2 Corinthians 8:1-4 as a sharing by the
Macedonian churches with “the
saints,” not with the “other” saints. Paul's
apprehension over whether the
Jerusalem saints would accept such a
contribution was based on the fact that
Jewish Christians were being asked to accept
the offering from Gentile
Christians. The entire discussion of the
issue in Acts 21 when Paul arrived in
Jerusalem makes this clear.
Thus, although Gentile Christians are
saints, too, because they were
given access to the faith of Abraham and the
people of the Old Testament, when
redemptive history is discussed the Jews are
specially designated the “saints”
while the Gentiles are considered believers
who were later admitted into this “holy”
Jewish nucleus. John McRay (3)
Westminster
Confession of Faith, Chapter XXVI. Of
Communion of Saints:
Section I.–All saints that are united
to Jesus Christ their head, by his
Spirit and by faith, have fellowship with
him in his graces, sufferings, death,
resurrection, and glory: and, being united
to one another in love, they have
communion in each other's gifts and graces,
and are obliged to the performance
of such duties, public and private, as to
conduce to their mutual good, both in
the inward and outward man.
Section II.–Saints by profession are
bound to maintain an holy fellowship
and communion in the worship of God, and in
performing such other spiritual
services as tend to their mutual
edification; as also in relieving each other
in outward things, according to their
several abilities and necessities. Which
communion, as God offereth opportunity, is
to be extended unto all those who,
in every place, call upon the name of the
Lord Jesus.
In
closing:
In this study, the question of prayers
to saints has not been addressed
thus far. We are to pray for our fellow
saints but not to them. Why?
The Scriptures give us hope and
confidence that God hears our prayers.
For example, “Let us therefore come boldly
unto the throne of grace that we may
obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time
of need.” (Hebrews 4:16)
In
addition:
“For there is one God, and one
mediator between God and men, the man
Christ Jesus.” (1Timothy 2:5)
In light of the two above passages, we
can say; first, a saintly human
intermediator is un-needed since the Bible
only recognizes one mediator, the
Lord Jesus Christ. Second, we are directed
by the Hebrews passage to go
directly to God.
Prayer
from dictionary.com:
Prayer is a noun
1.A devout petition
to God or an object of worship.
2.A spiritual
communion with God or an object of
worship, as in supplication, thanksgiving,
adoration, or confession.
3.The act or
practice of praying to God or an object
of worship.
“And I John saw these things, and
heard them. And when I had heard and
seen, I fell down to worship before the feet
of the angel which shewed me these
things. But he said to me, Do not do that. I
am a fellow servant of yours and
of your brethren the prophets and of those
who heed the words of this book.
Worship God.” (Revelation 22:8-9)
If the angel refused John and his
misguided attempt at worship, how much
more should we reject the practice of prayer
to human saints?
Notes:
1.H.
D. M. Spence and Joseph S. Exell, The
Pulpit Commentary, Ephesians, Vol. 20,
(Grand Rapids, Michigan, Eerdmans
Publishing Company reprint 1978), p. 149.
2.W.
E. Vine, An
Expository Dictionary of New
Testament Words, (Iowa Falls, Iowa,
Riverside Book and Bible House), p.
986-987.
3.Walter
A. Elwell, Editor, Baker’s
Evangelical
Dictionary of Biblical Theology,
(Grand Rapids, Michigan, Baker Book
House), p. 700-701.
Mr. Kettler has
previously published articles in the Chalcedon
Report and Contra
Mundum. He and his wife Marea attend
the Westminster, CO, RPCNA Church. Mr.
Kettler is the author of the book defending
the Reformed Faith against attacks,
titled: The Religion That Started in
a Hat. Available at:
www.TheReligionThatStartedInAHat.com