The title of today’s post might seem a bit presumptuous. Who am I to call myself a saint? When we think about the person who fits this description, many envision an elderly person who has served God faithfully for decades. Or you may attribute the title of saint to someone who is pious and cloistered in a monastery in the mountains somewhere.
However, understanding the biblical meaning of this word allows us to see that it truly does apply to me and to all of you who have accepted the gift of salvation by faith. To be called a saint has nothing to do with how others in this world perceive me or even how I would define myself. I can accept the title of saint because this is how God sees me.
In 2 Corinthians 5:16-18, the Holy Spirit, through the pen of the Apostle Paul gives us this amazing definition of our redemption. 16 So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: This is the promise that when I say yes to Jesus as Savior, God eliminates my sin and recreates me to be blameless in God’s sight. It is not simply the removal of sin, but it is rebuilding my life around the presence of God’s Spirit that now lives in me. I am made perfect in his eyes.
Another Scriptural image of this process is found in Galatians 3:26-27, 26 So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, 27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. As men of God, we are literally covered by the holiness of Jesus. This means that when God looks at me, he sees Jesus. To help in our understanding of this, consider the purpose of clothing. It covers our shame. When Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden, they suffered the consequence of shame for the first time. Without having to be told to do so, they gathered fig leaves to cover themselves. Another attribute of clothing is to protect us from the elements; to keep us warm or dry, etc. But a third characteristic of clothing that we don’t often think about is its ability to identify us. Others can see our style and even understand personality traits by our clothing.
To be clothed with Christ eliminates the shame of sin. I stand pure and righteous before God. This spiritual clothing protects me from the external attacks of Satan. (see the Armor of God, Ephesians 6:10-18). But most importantly, being clothed with Christ identifies me as a loved and protected child of God.
When Paul wrote to the “saints” in the Ephesian Church, his greeting included all the believers. He then goes on to give words of encouragement and correction to teach them to mold their lives around the truth of God’s Word. They were not all perfect. They struggled with consistency, just like you and me. However, they were given the title of saints because of who they were in Christ.
If you are a disciple of Jesus, you are a saint. It is what God has made you to be. It is his gift and could never be achieved through any effort of our own. Our challenge is to fit into the garments God gave us when he clothed us in the righteousness of Christ.