THE SAINT

And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; .For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ (Ephesians 4:11-12). The word ‘perfecting’ is the Greek word “kartatismos” from the root word “kartatizo” which means ‘complete furnishing’. To be a saint is not a place of completion of state or nature. The saint needs to be perfected. In fact, a saint is the place of the one who has just been born again. Scripture declares in 1 Corinthians 1:2: Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours… To be a saint is the place of the called, which is new believer. If you are called into Christ, you have become a saint and you must be perfected by the ministry gifts (Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors and Teachers) for the work of the ministry. To say the 12 apostles of the lamb are ‘Saints’ is a demeaning of their current perfected state in Christ. Again to say that a believer is not a saint is to have counted as unholy the Spirit of Grace (Holy Ghost). It is by the Holy Spirit that the believer is made saint. The essence for which the saint is perfected is for the work of the ministry, until he gets to the place where he matures into the perfect man, through the knowledge of the Son of God (Ephesians 4:13). The ultimate however is to measure to the stature of the fullness of Christ. Do not be fully excited that you have become a saint but rather that you are being perfected so you must forge ahead. The Apostle Paul declared in Philippians 3:13-14: Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. There is a high calling in Christ beyond ‘The called’. Be like-minded as Paul to rise to the place of the overcomer. Walk in this reality! Shalom.