February, 1946
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W HAT was the distinguishing fèature about a certain iew among the many occupants of Caesar’s house* hold? Were they a kind of celestial beings who flitted about airily, rec ognizable by halos about their heads? Did an ethereal glow emanate from their brows, and strange, unearthly sounds proceed from their lips? Did they, by virtue of such phenomena, strike awe to the hearts of Caesar’s servants? Thè Scriptures give an impressive negative to such a view of these per sons. Saints are not Heavenly crea tures released from t h e i r blissful abode to pose upon earth like models adorning an outfitter’s window. On the contrary, they are ordinary peo ple, like you and me, who, through the grace of God, possess extraordinary insight. Their purpose on earth is to fulfill the obligations of citizenship . .. with a plus. Who Are Saints? The word “saint” means, “holy, sep arated, spiritual” and suggests “one who has at 'ength come within sight* of an infinite holiness: who has come within sight of Another, whose moral beauty stays him in deed, yet lifts him.” Saints, therefore, are neither ethereal beings, nor yet completely holy humans (as God is holy), but, through redemption, are set aside for a holy use. Their sanctification signifies that, beyond the environ ment of earth, they are living in the larger environment of Heaven; that the greater emphasis in their lives is spiritual. To the pressure of ordinary life, has been added the constraining power of the love of God in Christ Jesus. They are in the world, but out of it—in Ca e s a r ' s household, but superior to it. Their feet walk the palace floors, but they are breathing the purer air of Heaven. They were
born, but now are reborn (John 1:12, 13). The last person to assert that he has attained sinless perfection is the saint himself. Even the most mature Christians know that they must await their e n t r y into the Heavenly realm to see perfection. “For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face.” Paul tells us that saints here on earth are not'gath- ered out of the world, but have been called into companionship with the risen Christ. Now with Christ they are liberated from thè bondage of the world and are separated unto holy living. Once in darkness, in Caesar’s household, they now are light in the Lord. If, as some believe, saints are those already with Christ, this would imply that those still on earth are alienated from Him and yet in their sins. But from this very condition Christ came to redeem man. Until one accepts this redemption, he remains a sinner and cannot become a saint. Saints, then, are ordinary sinners, saved by faith in Christ Jesus who delights in making s u c h a transformation of slaves of Satan.
There Is More But saints are not merely sinners saved by grace. In the Epistle to the Ephesians, we see that saints are God’s inheritance. “That ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the- richer of the glory of his inheritance in the saints” (Eph. 1:18). It is ’ to God that Paul is referring. Each sinner saved, each saint created, each addition to the ecclesia adds to the size and glory of God’s in heritance. T h i s is an a m a z i n g thought: God, the author and pre server of all things, is not the owner of all things. He who made all things, lost the only part of His creation en dowed with free will, namely, man; He redeemed His lost property through the sacrifice of His only begotten Son, and yet man must exercise faith and become a believer before God can add him to His inheritance. Here is the task of the evangelist: to persuade men to be reconciled to God through faith, t h e r e b y causing rejoicing in Heaven because each new convert adds to God’s inheritance in the saints. As John Edwards has written: “The preacher’s most sacred duty is to seek (Continued on Page 74)
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