Paul and Timothy, bondservants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the bishops and deacons (Philippians 1:1 NKJV).
Right out of the starting gate, Paul gives us something to chew on that is foreign to our mindset. We don’t often think of ourselves as “saints.” We definitely can fathom the fact that we are sinners saved by grace and on most days have no problem identifying the fact that we still struggle with sin. Yet, to think of ourselves as saints, is another whole dimension that causes us to pause and ask the question, “Am I really a saint?” because we have a completely different idea of what it means to be a saint than it seems to indicate here. Our concept is more in line with the Catholic one – where someone has lived a life so exemplary that they go down in the annals of history as exceptional in their moral fortitude, selflessness, and servanthood.
The qualifications for sainthood are: the person must be dead for at least five years to even start the investigation, they had to have a complete life of servitude, miraculous ingredients, and a level of poverty, to name a few that already disqualify all of us (if you’re reading this you’re not dead). Yet, Paul calls the believers in Philippi saints. Obviously, God has a different meaning for the word and it has nothing to do with us, but with Him. We are saints by virtue of the fact that we have been sanctified and set apart for holiness by the blood of Jesus Christ.
Why is this important to consider? It has everything to do with mindset. We are told in Scripture to: Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth (Colossians 3:2). There is a really good reason for that. The Bible also tells us that as a man thinks, so is he (Proverbs 23:7). If I begin my thought process with the fact that I am a sinner, I start from a place of defeat. I will be inclined then to behave like a sinner. However, if my thought process starts with, “I’m a saint. I’ve been set apart for God’s holy purpose,” how different will my actions likely be? While most might want to argue that this is a matter of semantics, I believe it is the recipe for staying the course with Christ.
Today, I will spend a few minutes contemplating the reality of God’s Word and what Christ has done for me in making me a living saint for Him.
