The meaning of the word Saint

The meaning of the word Saint. (Feast of all Saints & feast of all souls)

In putting the two feasts side by side (ie those who made it & those who didn’t make it. Yet ! ) the church is asking us to think about where we stand at the present moment.  In strictly biblical terms they are all Saints.

Act of the Apostles. There is one very interesting word in this passage. Twice the Christians at Lydda are called saints (verses 32 and 41). The same word is used earlier in the chapter by Ananias to describe the Christian at Jerusalem (verse 13). This is the word that Paul always uses to describe the church member, for he always writes his letters to the saints that are at such and such a place.

The Greek word for saints is hagios and it has far-reaching associations. It is sometimes translated holy but the root meaning of it is different. Basically the Christian is a man who is different from those who are merely people of the world. But wherein does that difference lie? Hagios was specially used of the people Israel. They are specifically a holy people, a different people. Their difference lay in the fact that of all nations God had chosen them to do his work. Israel failed in her destiny. She was disobedient and by her actions she lost her privileges. The Church became the true Israel; and the Christians became the people who are different, their difference lying in the fact that they were chosen for the special purposes of God.

So then we who are Christians are not different from others in that we are chosen for greater honour on this earth; we are different in that we are chosen for a greater service. We are saved to serve.