One of the most misunderstood principles in the word of God is the principle of the word saint. What we naturally think of is someone who has led a strained, painful, sacrificial life. God uses this word differently! The word translated saint is the word HAGIOS. It means sanctified, holy, set apart by God or consecrated to God for a special purpose, or belonging to God in a special and intimate way. Let’s see who the Word of God calls HAGIOS.

You might think you have problems in your church. I want to use this congregation as a measuring stick. The church at Corinth would absolutely shock you. Many people would say that they had “lost their salvation” or that they had a “head knowledge, but not a heart knowledge.” Look at these facts about the Corinthians. I won’t put all these passages in this email for length’s sake, but you should take some time to look at them.

1. Divided and fighting over who was better. 1 Cor 1:12
2. Fleshly, filled with jealousy and strife. 1 Cor 3:3
3. Judgmental and critical of Paul. 1 Cor 4:5
4. Filled with arrogance. 1 Cor 4:18
5. There was a man having sex with his stepmother. 1 Cor 5:1
6. They would drag each other to court over church matters. 1 Cor 6:1
7. Were “joining themselves together” with prostitutes. 1 Cor 6:16
8. There were married people withholding sex because they thought it was dirty. 1 Cor 7:5
9. They accused Paul of being in the ministry for money. 1 Cor 9:1-9
10. Showed up drunk for the communion service. 1 Cor 11:21
11. Carried away with tongues. 1 Cor 14

But what did Paul call them?

1 Corinthians 1:2

2 To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling, with all who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours:

SAINTS! Paul called them hagios, or saints. A big part of our life as Christians is realizing that regardless of our sins or problems, God sees us as holy and sanctified because of our relationship with Jesus Christ.

John 6:66-69

66 As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore. (Jesus was teaching some difficult passages)

67 So Jesus said to the twelve, "You do not want to go away also, do you?"

68 Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life.

69 "We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God."

Jesus Christ is the HAGIOS TOU THEOUS. The original Holy One of God. Because we are now in Christ as believers, God sees us all as saints, sanctified and set apart to God for a special purpose.

More on this principle of hagios to follow.

In Christ,

Saint Mal