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THE TRUE MEANING OF THE WORD "GLORY" IN THE BIBLE

2007
May
18
defender — @ 01:54 Tags:

THE GLORY: DO YOU KNOW WHAT IT REALLY MEANS?

By. Mario Olcese

Key Text : “Eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality;” (Rom 2:7 NKJV)

The Mistaken Concept of Glory

Millions of people have listened to sermons in churches that state that God has called their friends and loved ones to his celestial glory. Also, in funeral sermons, the Pastor or Bishop may say that the dear deceased brother is right now with God in His glory, being synonymous with heaven itself. However, what many Christians are ignorant of is that this promised glory by God and His Son for the faithful, has to do with a possession, or inheritance, of a Kingdom on the earth at the the Parousia (the coming or appearing) of our Lord Jesus Christ, the King of God's Kingdom.

This brief study will demonstrate that the Glory to which all believers are called has to do with the coming of Christ’s millennial kingdom to the earth. This primary study is intended to remove the doubts that we can still partake of the glory which we have been offered. The Catholic tradition is a distortion of the biblical view of the glory we are offered. It has largely gone unexamined by many Christians.

In Search of Glory

The apostle Paul refers to glory as the Christian's goal: the OBJECTIVE. We are to seek for it tenaciously. In his letter to the Romans, the apostle says to them:

“God "will give to each person according to what he has done." {7} To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life.” (Rom 2:6-7 NIV) So, all Christian believers must seek and long for the future glory (see the parallel words of Jesus in Matthew: “But seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness…” (Matt. 6:33), that will be granted to the believer after his mortal body has been clothed with immortality by the resurrection of the last day, in the parousia (or coming of) our Lord Jesus Christ. These are Paul's words: “When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.” (Col. 3:4). So you see that nobody yet possesses the glory that we have been offered through the teaching of the Bible. And again the apostle Paul tells the believing Romans about this end-time glory, in the following: “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed in us” (Rom. 8:18). Here Paul says that we must suffer tribulations before receiving the glory, which agrees with other writings of his that say: “If we endure, we shall also reign with Him” (2 Tim. 2:12). Here our suffering will bring glory as a reward: Glory which will come when we REIGN with Christ.

It is a fact that our glory is inseparably linked to the future kingdom of Christ. One cannot be in glory, without being in the Kingdom and vice versa. In 1 Thes. 2:12 Paul shows this inseparable connection between the glory and the kingdom. He writes to the faithful of Thessalonica the following words: “so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory”. Paul says concerning the Kingdom and glory that they are future when he says that our glory will come when Christ appears. “When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.” (Col 3:4 NKJV)

The Glory in the Old Testament

King David, singer of beautiful praise Psalms, says it this way in Psalms 145:11-13: “They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and tell of thy power, to make known to the sons of men thy mighty deeds, and the glorious splendor of thy kingdom. Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and thy dominion endures throughout all generations”. The LORD is faithful in all his words, and gracious in all his deeds. David predicts that men will recognize the kingdom of God as something glorious and magnificent. Besides, King David's Kingdom, including his descendants, was the very same kingdom of Yahweh. 1 Chro. 28:5 reads: “And of all my sons (for the LORD has given me many sons) he has chosen Solomon my son to sit upon the throne of the kingdom of the LORD over Israel”. Solomon, the successor of David, took his seat in the same throne of Yahweh's kingdom in Israel. And this kingdom that Solomon inherited was a glorious kingdom in the judgment of all men! God's dominion or government over His people through His anointed kings was God's glorious kingdom in the Promised Land. That kingdom was established to last for many generations (Psa. 145:13) and exercising divine authority on the nations of the earth in the long term (Psa. 72:8). God had sworn to David that his sons would continue to sit on the throne without fail. (2 Sam 7:16 NKJV) "And your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever."' " (1 Ki 9:5 NKJV) "then I will establish the throne of your kingdom over Israel forever, as I promised David your father, saying, 'You shall not fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.' Also he promised that some day a last and final Davidic king would restore David's throne (Eze. 21:25-27). The glory of the Kingdom would someday be established in the earth with a Jewish king of David's line. And Daniel (in chapter 7) spoke of that kingdom-glory as an inheritance that would be possessed by God's saints in the future. Note especially, verses 18 and 27 “But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, for ever and ever.' And the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High; their kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey them” This is the glory that the Most High's saints will receive!

Ezekiel 39:21 says the following: “And I will set my glory among the nations; and all the nations shall see my judgment which I have executed, and my hand which I have laid on them”. Here God talks about putting his glory among the nations, that glory that has to do with His tabernacle, his dwelling place among the saints (Rev. 21:1-3). God Himself will place His sanctuary among men. Finally, His presence and His rulership as King of kings will be absolute in the world. He will first reign in His kingdom through His Son, Jesus (The King of kings), for a thousand years, and then The Almighty Father will personally reign with Christ and his church as the Sovereign over His whole creation forever. Then the world will enjoy peace and justice never seen before by any human being, when the devil and his followers will be eradicated from the earth forever.

An Already Present Glory by Faith, but Not Yet Realized

It is certain that today we can have the glory, the salvation, the everlasting life, and the Kingdom through our faith. Each believer is already in the book of life in God's sight, and in a way, right now we possesses that glory and immortality by faith (“…those who through faith and patience inherit the promises” Heb. 6:12). But let's remember that we must keep that faith in order to get the final realization of our salvation (See Heb. 9:28; 1 Pet. 1:5). Jesus “has given” us glory by faith (John 17:22). Christ had it while He was on the earth, although He received it after his victory over death in his resurrection (Heb. 2:9). In the same way, Christ will take us to glory (not heaven!) when we are raised from the grave, having also been made perfect through the present tribulations. "We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God." (Acts 14:22 NKJV)

The Gospel of Christ's Glory ( 2 Cor. 4:4 )

Paul in 2 Corinthians 4:4 Says: “In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the likeness of God”. Here Paul reveals that Christ's glory – which is like the glory that is promised to us, is the glory of the gospel. Paul preached ‘the Kingdom of God’ as related to the message of the gospel concerning Jesus. Consider (Acts 28:23 NKJV) “So when they had appointed him a day, many came to him at his lodging, to whom he explained and solemnly testified of the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus from both the Law of Moses and the Prophets, from morning till evening.” (Also Acts 28:30, 31)

So That ALL RELATED with Christ's glory is the true Gospel, because this glory is an important part of the Gospel of Christ's Kingdom (Mat. 24:14). (Mat 24:14 NKJV) "And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.”

We have just seen that kingdom and glory come side by side. So, each time that we are promised glory, in reality what is promised to us is the Kingdom. In short, to talk about the gospel of Christ's glory is to talk about the gospel of Christ's kingdom. The glory is part of the Kingdom, and the Kingdom involves the glory that we will obtain completely in the Parousía (or return of Christ). All believers are moving by faith to that monarchical glory (Heb. 2:10).

Peter “Took Part” In The Coming Glory (1 Peter 5:1)

The apostle Peter says it this way: “…So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ as well as a partaker in the glory that is to be revealed” (1 Pet. 5:1). With these words the apostle Peter recognized that right now he was also participating with the other believers of the glory that has not yet been manifested. That participation in glory was, for Peter, the participation of the divine nature (see 2 Pet. 1:4), by which one can obtain “…an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (See 2 Pet. 1:11). This agrees with what has been said by Paul when he assured the faithful of Corinth that: “flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable” (1 Cor. 15:50). One must earnestly desire the divine nature! Besides, for Paul, this participation in the glory of the Kingdom was equivalent to the participation of GRACE (Phil. 1:7), the true gospel of God's grace or the gospel of God's Kingdom in the earth (Look for my two articles on the subject in Google: “ Is the Gospel of Grace Paul's New Gospel? And “The Part is not the whole: A Study of the Complete Gospel!”).

The Apostle John Also Was a Participant in the Kingdom

John, just like Peter and Paul, was a participant of the glory which he called “the Kingdom”. In Revelation 1:9 he says: “John, your brother, who shares with you in Jesus the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus”. Did you notice, dear reader, that partnership in the Kingdom for John was the partnership of glory for Peter, and in turn was the partnership of grace for Paul? That is, do You Understand now that the 3 terms (glory, kingdom, and grace) are closely related? It is evident than John participated in the kingdom; that is to say, in the glory that had not yet become manifest. And if glory had not become manifest, then neither had Christ's Kingdom. Christ's Kingdom was for John, a subject of the future, because he finalized his book asking for the coming of the King of the kingdom (Rev. 22:20 ).

What does John and James's Petition reveal?

It is interesting to compare Matt. 20:20-21 with Mar. 10:35-37, where we will discover what was clearly the glory for the disciples. These verses in Matthew' and Mark have been overlooked by many students of the Bible, and are key verses to understand what glory is promised by Christ. Unfortunately many believe that the glory is to be in the third heaven as white winged little angels playing a harp or a golden lyre for all the eternity.

Let's compare these two passages:

Matt. 20:20,21: “Then the mother of the sons of Zeb'edee came up to him, with her sons, and kneeling before him she asked him for something. And he said to her, "What do you want?" She said to him, "Command that these two sons of mine may sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your KINGDOM."

Mar. 10: 35-37: “And James and John, the sons of Zeb'edee, came forward to him, and said to him, "Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you." And he said to them, "What do you want me to do for you?" And they said to him, "Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your GLORY."

If we compare both texts that refer to the same subject, but with slightly different perspectives, we will see that Matthew says that the mother of Zebedee's children (James and John) requested of Jesus a position of privilege in the KINGDOM for her two children. On the other hand, Mark writes saying that James and John asked Jesus for a place of privilege in His GLORY. Why this difference between both evangelists? Well, the only possible explanation is that there was little or no difference, since it was obvious that for the first Christians they associated the glory with the Kingdom and vice versa. With these verses it’s again demonstrated that the gospel of Christ's glory (2 Cor. 4:4) is closely related to the gospel of Christ's Kingdom (Mat. 24:14). Rresent-day preachers should understand this subject, and not speculate with interpretations that get away from the pristine truth of the Scriptures. Definitively the gospel of grace, the gospel of the Kingdom, the gospel of glory, the gospel of peace, the gospel of salvation, Christ's gospel, the gospel of the promise, etc, are all basically the same unique biblical gospel (Gál. 1:6-9).

The Glory that the three Witnesses saw: Peter, James and John

It is extremely interesting what the apostle Peter wrote in his second epistle that carries his name, chapter one, and verses 16-18: “For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For when he received honor and glory from God the Father and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory: This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased, we heard this voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain” (of the transfiguration)”. This reminds us of what Jesus said in the Parable of the Tares when the nobleman went to heaven to RECEIVE a Kingdom, according to Luke 19:12. So Jesus went to heaven to receive glory and honor (2 Pet. 1:17), part of his glory and honor was in receiving the kingdom (Luke 19:12).

Now please notice this: In Luke 9:32 we are told that three selected disciples, Peter, James, and John, saw Jesus' GLORY. Notice that in Luke 9:27, Jesus had promised that some would see HIS KINGDOM. Also in Mark 9:1 Jesus announced to his disciples that it would be His kingdom that was to come and would be seen by some of His disciples in an event that we now know was his TRANSFIGURATION that occurred 6 days after. The three disciples, Peter, John, and James, really saw the majesty or the Messianic King's GLORY or His KINGDOM, like a preview of the glorified Lord in order that they might be witnesses of his glory and Kingdom.

Crowned to receive the Glory

The apostle Peter says that there is a crown of glory for the faithful. 1 Peter 5:4 says, “And when the chief Shepherd is manifested you will obtain the unfading crown of glory”. This means that we will be crowned like kings in the Kingdom as was Jesus Christ according to Heb. 2:9: “But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone.” (Rev. 5:10: NKJV) “And have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth." (Rev 3:21 NKJV) "To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.”

This tells of our glorification. Only the crowned are the nominees to be the executives of the messianic Kingdom, and this event the prophet Daniel foresaw clearly for the conquerors ((Dan 7:18 NKJV) “ 'But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever.' . . . (27) Then the kingdom and dominion, And the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven, Shall be given to the people, the saints of the Most High. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, And all dominions shall serve and obey Him.'”

Thrones of Glory

We read in Matthew 19:28: “Jesus said to them, "Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of man shall sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”. See clearly that Christ's glory has THRONES. And where can there be thrones but in the kingdom? In this case we discovered that in Christ’s glory (his kingdom) there are thrones for Him and for the saved. Those thrones are Messianic Kingdom's thrones. So the GLORY again relate with THE KINGDOM of the Messiah in the new earth. In addition, take notice of the Psalm 122:3-5, where we are given more details on the thrones and the geographic location: “Jerusalem, built as a city which is bound firmly together, to which the tribes go up, the tribes of the LORD, as was decreed for Israel, to give thanks to the name of the LORD. There thrones for judgment were set, the thrones of the house of David”.

So you must be aware that the glory has nothing to do with a stay of the just in heaven like winged little angels, but with the dwelling of the saints in positions of authority at Christ's millenarian Kingdom in the promised land. That promised land is not the heaven, but Jerusalem, Christ will govern with his followers. Notice (Mat 19:28 NKJV) ‘So Jesus said to them, "Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.’ At that time Christ's Kingdom will be glorious. Psal. 72:7-20 says: “In his days may righteousness flourish, and peace abound, till the moon be no more! May he have dominion from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth! May his foes bow down before him, and his enemies lick the dust! May the kings of Tarshish and of the isles render him tribute, may the kings of Sheba and Seba bring gifts! May all kings fall down before him, all nations serve him! For he delivers the needy when he calls, the poor and him who has no helper. He has pity on the weak and the needy, and saves the lives of the needy. From oppression and violence he redeems their life; and precious is their blood in his sight. Long may he live, may gold of Sheba be given to him! May prayer be made for him continually, and blessings invoked for him all the day! May there be abundance of grain in the land; on the tops of the mountains may it wave; may its fruit be like Lebanon; and may men blossom forth from the cities like the grass of the field! May his name endure for ever, his fame continue as long as the sun! May men bless themselves by him, all nations call him blessed! Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things. Blessed be his glorious name for ever; may his glory fill the whole earth! Amen and Amen! The prayers of David, the son of Jesse, are ended.”

But it is equally necessary to emphasize that our Lord Jesus Christ has not yet taken a seat on the throne of His glory in spite of the fact that some theologians have propagated the opposite. Notice what Jesus Himself says about the time of his being enthroned at his kingdom or glory: "When the Son of man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne.” (Mathew 25:31). So Jesus has gone to heaven to receive the power of the kingdom (Luke. 19:12; Dan. 7:13,14), but he has not yet taken a seat on HIS throne, but on His Father's throne. He says : “He who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I myself conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne” ( Rev. 3:21 ).

Glory and Power

We read in Rev. 5:13: “And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all therein, saying, "To him who sits upon the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might for ever and ever!". And in Rev. 19:1 we read: “After this I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, crying, "Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God”. So the glory has to do with the power that Christ and His saints will have in the kingdom over the entire world.

Power, Authority and the Kingdom

In Revelation 12:10, talking about our Lord Jesus Christ's future kingdom and his saints, says: “And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, "Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God.”. Well then again, power, glory, and authority are intimately linked with Christ's Kingdom. The saints will have power in glory, or that is the same as saying: Authority at Christ's kingdom. In the parable of Luke's ten Mines, Jesus explains that the faithful will receive authority over entire cities, and the power exercised on human groups means authority (v.17). Also Rev. 2:26 “He who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, I will give him power over the nations”.

Satan has obscured The Gospel of Christ

We have seen that Satan has blinded the unbelievers' eyes in order that they not perceive or understand the message of the Gospel of the Kingdom; that is, the gospel of grace, or the gospel of coming Christ's glory. The devil does not desire that potential believers welcome this message of God because it means his own ruin, and of his kingdom in this world (See Mark 4:15). He has exchanged the gospel of a literal kingdom of God in the earth for a “spiritual reign in the believer's heart”, or for an “ecclesiastical kingdom”. The devil obstructs the human beings' reasoning, making them believe that God's Kingdom has nothing to do with a personal reign of the Messiah over the new earth. He has managed to convince millions that the Davidic covenant and the Abrahamic covenant, which insures for Christ and his church a kingdom on this planet, were not to be realized. Such preachers maintain that those covenants expired because of the infidelity of God's pristine people, and that these now have proceeded to being the inheritance of a new people (the gentile church) but with a purely spiritual significance. Augustine of Hipona was one of the responsible fathers for this crass mutation of the original pact. For Augustine, the Messianic Kingdom became an ecclesiastic kingdom, and David's throne transferred, from the earthly Jerusalem, to the celestial Jerusalem itself. This grave error was propagated subtly by Romanism for centuries, obscuring and making almost dissappear the true earthly Kingdom, as it is displayed in the Scriptures from cover to cover.

Summary

1.- Looking for the Glory ( Rom. 2:6,7 ) is to look for the Kingdom ( Matt. 6:33 ).

2.- The afflictions precede the glory ( Rom. 8:18 ) and it precede also the Kingdom ( 2 Tim. 2:12 ). Therefore glory and reign are equivalent.

3.- the Gospel of Christ's Glory (2 Cor. 4:4) is the Gospel of Christ's Kingdom (Matt. 24:14), and is the gospel of grace (Acts 20:24).

4.- To be participating in the Glory (2 Pet. 1:4) is to be participating in the Kingdom (Rev. 1:9).

5.- To receive the Glory (2 Pet. 1:16-18) is to receive the Kingdom (Luc. 19:12).

6.- To see the Glory (Luke. 9:32 ) is to see the Kingdom ( Luke. 9:27 ).

7.- Christ is sitting now on His Father's throne, not on His ( Apo. 3:21 ).

8.- The Glory is associated with the Power, and the power with the kingdom, and the kingdom with Authority ( Rev. 5:13; 19:1; 12:10 ).

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THE SAINTS: ¿WHO ARE THEY?

2007
May
18
defender — @ 00:21 Tags:

THE SAINTS: ARE THEY ONLY THOSE THAT THE PAPACY CANONIZES?

By Mario A Olcese

The Truth that the Bible Teaches

The way of selecting the saints of Catholicism is not found in any part of the Bible. In fact, we will never find in the Bible the apostle Peter canonizing any saint or deceased martyr. Contrary to the Catholic belief of a holy minority, the Bible teaches that the saints of the First Century were constituted by most of the believers, for not saying all. The use of the words saint, sanctify, sanctity, and sanctification, is also very common in the New Testament and are applied to the living believers. The saints, for example, refer directly to the believers in general: those baptized and consecrated to Christ's cause without regard to their gender, age, profession, or social class. All those that lived in purity of character, and in moral and spiritual righteousness, according to Christian doctrine, were called saints. They were not required or asked to perform miracles or any supernatural acts such as levitations, or to have the gift of bi-location or to present stigmata in the body. Neither were they demanded to live in monasteries or cloisters in a strict state of poverty and obligatory celibacy. These Catholic demands cannot be found in any part of the Bible, and especially, in the New Testament.

Married Saints

In the Bible we find that some of the apostles were married and had a family, or home. Peter, for example, the supposed first Pope of Rome, was married. The Bible tells us the following of Peter: “Now when Jesus had come into Peter’s house, He saw his wife’s mother lying sick with a fever” (Matthew 8:14 NKJV). And in 1 Corinthians 9:5 Paul asks as apostles and servants of God: “Do we have no right to take along a believing wife, as do also the other apostles, the brothers of the Lord, and Cephas?”. This Cephas was without a doubt the apostle Peter (John 1:42) of whom is said that he had a own mother-in-law. Obviously Cephas or Peter was married or perhaps a widower.

References to Other Saints in the New Testament

We have seen that the holy apostles were married, and perhaps more than one widower. Now we will also see that many of the other believers — the apostles' disciples — were also living saints. We will analyze a series of interesting passages that will illuminate us on the matter of the Christian sanctity or Christians being saints:

In 2 Corinthians 1:1 we read: “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, to the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints who are in all Achaia (¡not in heaven!)”. Notice that Paul greets the church of God in Corinth, and all the saints that are in the city of Achaia (not in heaven!). Here Paul equates the Church of God of Corinth with the saints of Achaia. For him, the expressions: 'Church of God' and 'Saints' meant the same thing. Also, it is clear that those saints were not few and they were all alive. Also II Corinthians 2, verses 5-11, we see Paul and the church forgiving a saint who had been an offender. These would indicate that those saints were imperfect, and some were subject to correction, as it had been the case with Peter himself. In Ephesians 1:1, Paul addresses the Ephesians with the following greeting: “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints who are in Ephesus (¡not in heaven!), and faithful in Christ Jesus”. Here we see again that living believers in the church at Ephesus were saints and faithful. These were not deceased saints that had been canonized by St. Peter, the supposed first Roman Pope. Neither were they monks or nuns of some religious order. These people were simply converted sinners to the Christian faith, and they were surely from both classes, married and single. Specially, take note of Ephesians 5 verses 21-33. Here we see married saints that should maintain their marriage's sanctity, that is to say, love and fidelity among the couple, as well as Christ loved his church (His bride) and was devoted to her.

In Philippians 1:1, Paul greets the believers of the city of Philippi, in this way: “Paul and Timothy, bondservants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints (Christians) in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi (¡not in heaven!), with the bishops and deacons (The leaders)”. Here we see that the Christians were saints, the so called “secular” or “lay” members of the Catholicism. But take note that also here all are saints in life or living saints that have not been canonized by Peter, the supposed first Roman Pope.

In Colossians 1:1 ,2, Paul addresses the brethren of Colosse in this way: “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, to the saints and faithful brethren in Christ who are in Colosse (¡Not in heaven!): Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ”. In the same way, take note that Paul addresses the saints and faithful brethren that are in Colosse, a Greek city. These saints were the same flock of God (the congregation), composed of all the believers of that city. Among these saints there were some that were servants and slaves of free Christian believers. To these saints Paul tells them, among other things: “Bondservants, obey in all things your masters according to the flash…”. Notice again that these saints didn't belong to any religious order, nor did they live in any cloister. These saints equally worked as servants for believing and unbelieving masters. These saints were actually servants, or slaves. Paul refers to bondservants. Today, we have workers for whom the same principles apply. This letter is also directed to the believing couples, to whom the apostle writes: “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives and do not be bitter toward them. Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing to the Lord” (3:18-20). As you can see, the concept of sanctity, or sainthood in the New Testament is far from the concept of the saints of Roman Catholicism.

In Jude 1 we read: “Jude, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James,
to those who are called, sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ”. This letter from Jude is to encourage the saints to "contend earnestly for the faith" and (v.3) to "keep yourselves in the love of God” (v.21). He is writing to saints so that they don’t allow themselves to be influenced by the false teachers who had infiltrated inside the flock of God. Without a doubt Jude was aware of the danger that the saints of God could encounter with false doctrines that were introduced into the church of God. Now let us notice that Jude addresses "those who are called", that are sanctified in God the Father. Well, these saints were "called" by God, but how? Did these perhaps hear a celestial voice as Paul heard once, personal and privately, in route to Damascus? Not necessarily this way. The apostle Paul tells the Thessalonians the following: “to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Tess. 2:14). Notice that potential saints are called when they hear the gospel or message of Jesus Christ and they believe in it with all their heart. If you hear Christ's gospel, then you are being called by God to be a saint, and in this way to reach Jesus Christ glory. The gospel is God’s power to transform men and women and to make them real saints. Paul says it clearly with these solemn words: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek” (Romans 1:16). And Jesus tells his followers: “You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you”. We see that because Christ's word —His gospel— has the power to cleanse the sinner and to make him a saint. Tragically millions of Catholics don't understand this Biblical truth as it is presented.

Only the Saints will Be able to see God

The Bible teaches very clearly that only saints will be able to see God. In Hebrew 12:14 we read: “Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord”. Notice that without the sanctity, holiness, or being a saint, no one will see the Lord. That is; without sanctification, or holiness; that is, being a saint, nobody will be saved. Regrettably the Catholic theology on the topic of sainthood maintains that the saints are few (a handful people) in relation to the total of their parishioners. This simply means that the great majority of Catholics, are not saints, and, therefore, won't be able to see God or to be saved. Millions of deceased Catholics have not been made saints by the Papacy. These will be deprived for all eternity of seeing God. This also means that our devoted good Catholic friends— already deceased — that didn't "reach" sainthood, are resting in the grave or in hell and not in heaven in the presence of God. That tragic is the matter! Millions of deceased Catholics that have not been sanctified by the Papacy, will be deprived by the eternity of seeing to God. This means that our devote good Catholic friends --- already deceased --- that didn't "reach" the sanctity, are resting in hell but not in heaven where God and His Son lives and reigns.

Now the truth of the matter is that saints will only be saved and they will be able to live with the Lord God forever. Paul is emphatic in this respect when, associating saints that is those who are sanctified, salvation, and glory as he says: “But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, 14 to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ”. Those that are called Christian, but don't feel like saints, are lost, because if they are not saints, what are they? The answer is only one: Dirty! See you what Paul says in this respect: “For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness” (1 Thess. 4:7). Notice that Paul is emphatic. If someone is not a saint then that person is unclean. And what does the Bible say of the unclean ones? Paul says: “For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God” (Ephesians 5:5). The problem arises in that Catholicism has idealized the sanctity or sainthood, and has transformed it practically into an unreachable level for most human beings. In other words, it is believed in Catholicism that a saint is a pure, perfect, impeccable, devote, good, chaste, celibate, healer, maker of miracles and extraordinary phenomena and with stigmata in the body, praying, poor, hermit, and things like these. But, from where did the great majority of Catholics get this idea Have we forgotten St. Peter, the supposed “first Roman Pope” who was a saint since His conversion? Did he show his colleagues signs of stigmata, levitation, and “bi-location”? We don’t have a single case. Let us return to Peter again: don't we remember how Peter hesitated and denied his Master three times? (John 13:38) Don't we remember how Christ responded Peter: "Get behind me, Satan!"? (Mark 8:33). Don't we remember how Paul had to reprehend his colleague Peter for seeking to observe some Judaic practices and to demand his fellow Christians to observe these? (Gal. 2:11-14). But in spite of all these facts, Peter continued being a saint of God. He was not exempt from errors. One could think that in a moment Peter would give up his faith and that he would not return to the road that had continued with Jesus. But in the Acts of the Apostles we find a valiant, transformed, and convinced Peter who strongly believed that Christ was the Son of God, the King of Israel. He is found celebrating the first council in Jerusalem, and making a strong defense of His Master in front of many unbelieving Jews.

And as for the apostle Paul, didn't he say that "the good thing that he should do he didn't do it, and the bad thing that he should not do he did? (Rom. 7:15-25). Do we understand Paul's struggles, and his human flaws as an imperfect man? Did he stop being a saint of God because he was not completely perfect? Nevertheless, and in spite of his mistakes, he himself demands us to imitate him so that we can also be saints in our present life and win salvation (1 Corinthians 11:1). For Paul, it cannot be salvation without sanctity, as I have already demonstrated above.

Christ's Church is Holy by nature

There are those who ignore that the church is composed of all baptized believers, as is clear from Acts 2:38-42. It is, then, completely false that the church is only composed of the so called "clergy" ("the religious") of Roman Catholicism. Most Catholics don't seem to understand that they, the so called "lay," are also part of the church, because for that purpose they were baptized, participating of the sacraments of their church. All those who are baptized are members of Christ's body, that is to say, members of His church. Now the church is ordered to maintain its sanctity with these words: “…just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, 27and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless” (Eph. 5:25-27). Well, if the church is composed of all those baptized, and she should be holy, then we conclude that all those baptized practitioners are saints. It’s that simple!

To the Corinthians believers Paul says: “…for God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple” (1 Cor. 3:17). And to the Colossian believers Paul tells them: “Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. 22But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation” (Col. 1:21,22). Notice the contrast: the saints do good works, versus the infidels that do bad works. If a believer in Christ has renovated his mind to be held to the will of God, he is transformed automatically into a saint. This believer has been sanctified because he has put his faith in Christ, and he has made his expiatory sacrifice in the cross, and he has been baptized for the pardon of his sins. To the saints, Peter tells them: “As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. 15 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16 for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy" (1 Peter 1:14,15). Notice that Peter is not saying: "Aspire to be saints, so that I can beatify you and call you saints when you die." No! What Peter exhorts is that all the believers should be saints, opting to live a pious life so that they can become true obedient children of God.

Each one of us becomes a saint when we don't conform to the desires that we had in our ignorance and instead we live for the cause and laws of Christ. That is the truth of the matter. Also, Peter doesn't say that we should perform miracles, or that we should be celibate, monks, hermits, poor, or have stigmata in the body, or levitate to deserve sainthood. Neither does Peter says to the believers that they will first die and then be canonized by him or by any of his supposed successors. What he says is that the believers should live now in sanctity and holiness as true children of God. This is not a Christian option, but rather, an obligation or demand for salvation. Peter wants the people of God be saints or separated from the world in order to fulfill their saving and evangelizing mission. The gospel is preached by example, without a doubt.

The Saints should Be Perfected

Many believe that first the believer should be perfected to be named "saint" of the church. This is simply not true! The apostle Paul writes something very interesting to the believers of Ephesus. These are his words: “It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ” (Eph. 4:11-13). If one examines well these three verses, it will be seen that the saints could be perfected with the help of the apostles, prophets, evangelists, bishops and teachers; that is to say, not by the well called "clergy." These Christians, or those called "laity" by Catholicism, are the saints mentioned by Paul in this epistle to the Ephesians. Also in 2 Corinthians 7:1 Paul says: “Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God”. It is clear that the saints were far from being perfect, but they could be perfected in the measure that they moved away from the carnal and spiritual contamination. Notice that Paul doesn't say that to the measure that the saints made miracles, levitation, or stigmatized his body, they would be perfected. On the other hand, in the Bible that strange division of "Clergy" and “Lay” of Catholicism doesn't exist. On the contrary all believers are in fact part of the (Gr. ‘Kleron’) or Clergy.

Conclusion

The Christian, biblical Church, composed of all baptized believers, is holy in its essence. That is to say, baptized believers are holy because they have been sanctified by Jesus Christ, the Holy Head. They are holy because they have given up the vain way of living that they inherited of their parents to continue for a new one on the way to rightness and truth. They are not extraordinary men that have given up marriage, businesses, children, etc, to live as gody hermits. They are rather common and average men, with their defects and qualities that have decided to follow Christ's principles and to apply them. Other requirements or demands don't exist, as for example: to make miracles or supernatural wonders, that is: to levitate or to present stigmata in the body. These are rather married or single individuals: Farmers, peasants, Managers, merchants, workers, servants, housewives, students of schools and universities, etc, that live in harmony with Christ and for Christ.

To seek to make saints a sort of supernatural individuals, besides puritan and godly, it is to twist the true concept of the biblical sanctity. What is clear, according to the New Testament, is that without holiness no one will see God; that is to say, no one will survive (see Hebrews 12:14). The requirement to live with God is the sanctity of life today. But as Catholicism has limited sainthood to only an insignificant minority of their congregation, it would mean that hopelessly the great majority of Catholic that have not "reached" sainthood and the beatification, will be condemned to never see God for all of eternity. And if they won't see to God—whom will they see?

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