"1 Paul and Timothy, SERVANTS of Christ Jesus, To all the SAINTS in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons:
2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ."
1 Peter 2:9 (ESV)
"But you are a CHOSEN RACE, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light."
The "modern day meaning" of words often shed a different meaning than what the author intended the message to be in the original text. To me, the word SAINTS has always meant someone who was one of THE BEST! Wasn't it about Saint Peter that JESUS said "Upon this rock I will build my church"? In the original translation of the letter from Paul and Timothy to the church at Philippi, the word used as SAINTS actually might have been used as QUARANTINED, or maybe SPECIAL EDUCATION, in modern language! To be "set aside", or "chosen", by the CREATOR of the Universe makes them pretty special, one might think!
But Paul and Timothy described themselves as SERVANTS in verse one, chapter one of Philippians. In the NASB translation they are described as "bond-servants"! Paul, possibly considered by some to be one of the most significant believers in the New Testament, wrote that he was a "slave" to JESUS CHRIST! How can one be thought to be a "SERVANT" while at the same time be considered a "SAINT", unless I have always misunderstood what was meant by saint??? The CONTEXT in which we view words can determine what meaning we derive from what we read.
GOD has chosen "US" (the people who believe that GOD is the author and finisher of our faith and that JESUS the CHRIST is the self-embodiment of HIS Deity) to be HIS servants while we are here on earth. We all have our specific tasks to perform (1 Corinthians 7:17), but we all must perform those tasks as SERVANTS (or SLAVES) to a HOLY GOD!
You might ask why would I want to submit myself to be a SERVANT, or be a SPECIAL EDUCATION student in anyone? In John 8:34, scripture records "JESUS answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin." So you can choose to be a SLAVE to a HOLY GOD, or you can choose to be a SLAVE to sin? Joshua said it best in Joshua 24:14-15, "Now therefore fear the LORD and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. And if it is evil in your eyes to SERVE the LORD, CHOOSE this day whom you will SERVE, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. BUT AS FOR ME AND MY HOUSE, WE WILL SERVE THE LORD!!"
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