What comes to your mind when you think of the word “saint”? First might possibly be the holy people that some Christian denominations honor, whose statues or pictures we might find in their buildings. We might also think of a particular person we know who is especially good and devout, that rare person who seems to be almost perfect. Most of us, though, would not fall into the category of saint, or so we think. However, that is not what the Apostle Paul says. In our Scripture passage for today, from his first letter to the Corinthian church, Paul calls the believers there “saints”. Let’s take a look at what he says.
The word “saint” in English comes from the Latin word “sanctus”. That is also where we get the word “sanctified”, which means something set apart as holy for God. Everyone who has come to Jesus for salvation and had their sins forgiven is set apart as holy, is sanctified, is a “saint”. We tend to think of saints as special, as super-holy people. Some Christian denominations like to remember particularly godly people who have passed on as “saints”. That is okay, as their lives can inspire us to follow their example. However, we all are saints according to the Biblical use of the word, if we have accepted the Lord Jesus as our personal Savior.
Paul called the believers in the church in Corinth saints. However, if we take a closer look at that church through the reading of his letters to them, many of those Corinthians had behavior that would scarcely be considered saintly! Many of them were an unruly bunch. That church had its share of problems, including sexual sins and some sharp dissension among some of the members. Some of them were taking each other to court. They fought with each other over all sorts of matters, such as arguing over whose spiritual gifts were better than others.
When addressing this group of believers, Paul said that they were “called to be saints” (vs. 2). God personally calls each of us to be citizens of His eternal kingdom. We are called to be “saints”, to be “sanctified”, to be “holy”. We are called to be set apart for His service. Paul’s aim in his letter to the Corinthian church, with their significant problems, was to bring their actions and lifestyle into closer harmony with God’s expectations for those He has made His own. Because we are called to be saints, we should be zealous for good works (Titus 2:14).
We may wonder how we can live a life that is sanctified, that is holy for the Lord. As Paul continued his Epistle, he told the readers that when we get saved, the Lord gives us everything that we need to live for Him (vs. 5). We have everything that spiritually we will ever need. We need to pray for God to bring forth what we need when we need it. God distributes His spiritual gifts to believers when they get saved, and they help to build us up, give us knowledge, help us to become sanctified and holy, and help to edify the church (vs. 5 - 7).
When Jesus returns, the believers will stand before Him blameless, sanctified, and holy (vs. 8). That will not be because of our great ability or shining performance, but because of what Jesus accomplished for us through His death and resurrection. All who believe in Jesus will be considered blameless when He returns.
In addition to being called to be saints, we are called by God into the fellowship of His Son. That fellowship is achieved when we accept Jesus as Savior (vs. 9). God is faithful (Deuteronomy 7:9). He has promised to take care of us, and He will. He cannot lie, and He never changes.
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