HOLY ONES. BROTHERS. SERVANTS. - WORDS THAT DEFINE US
It’s not unusual for a group of people who share somethings in common to be given some designation.
People who live north of the Mason-Dixon line are “Yankees”
In the 60’s and 70’s a subculture develop – long hair, tye dye, peace signs - we called them hippies
For you football fans, followers of the Green Bay Packers are known as Cheeseheads
A little throwback to golf, Arnold Palmer’s followers were labeled Arnie’s Army
How about folks who love the original Star Trek – we call them Trekkies
People who share values, beliefs, who have things in common are usually given names that describe them.
We see this in the NT as Jesus begins to draw a following. These people are described by different terms. Oddly enough none became official. It wasn’t like they all got together and decided what they wanted to be called. It was not like a professional sports league when they grant a city an expansion team and the owners send out a poll and then decide on a name and begin creating logos and assigning team colors. There is no “official” name for us.
Even though there is nothing official, followers of Jesus began to be known by different names/terms. I scoured through the NT and found at least ten different designations used for followers of Christ. The one that is used most in the Gospels and Acts is the term “disciple” where we find it almost 300 times. In the gospels it is used primarily in reference to the 12 apostles but in Acts we see it used to describe all followers. We see this word 27 times in Acts.
Here are some examples:
Acts 6:7 (NIV) — 7 So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.
Acts 14:21–22 (NIV) — 21 They preached the gospel in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, 22 strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said.
Disciple is a good word – follower, student, learner.
You might think the term “Christian” was a popular term, but it’s not. The term Christian, which is so popular today, is found only 3 times in the NT. And interestingly, the word “disciple” which is so widely used in the Gospel and Acts disappears in the rest of the NT. The term disciple is not found in Romans through Revelation.
So, what are the terms used? There are as many as 10-12 but let’s look at three of the most frequently used terms and see how those terms define who we are and who we should be as followers of Christ.
Designation #1 – Hagios (gk), Holy Ones
This term is used 56 times in the Romans – Revelation
Translated in the NIV by various words/phrases: Lord’s people, God’s people, Holy people, people, God’s holy people, people of God, his people
Older translations (NIV 84) – most often translates this word as “saints”
Christian Standard Bible, English Standard Version – consistently “saints”
The term saint was eliminated to avoid the connotation that only the “super-spiritual” are saints. This term hagios is used to refer to all followers of Christ – we are all holy ones; we are all saints.
Here are some examples:
Ephesians 1:1 (NIV) — 1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To God’s holy people in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus:
Colossians 1:1–2 (NIV) — 1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, 2 To God’s holy people in Colossae, the faithful brothers and sisters in Christ: Grace and peace to you from God our Father.
Hebrews 13:24 (NIV) — 24 Greet all your leaders and all the Lord’s people. Those from Italy send you their greetings.
Holy means set apart for a sacred purpose, pure, blameless, consecrated, dedicated
It is a religious word that has a background in the OT, especially Leviticus and Exodus.
It is used a lot in conjunction with worship and experiencing the presence of God; it’s how you practice your religion, rituals, ways to connect with the holy one.
It implies we do holy things, there are certain religious practices that we involve ourselves in.
Worship is of course a daily practice, but there is something about being in the presence of the Holy One that helps us be holy
We experience his transcendence, his otherness in worship
An example from Exodus:
Exodus 31:13 (NIV) — 13 “Say to the Israelites, ‘You must observe my Sabbaths. This will be a sign between me and you for the generations to come, so you may know that I am the Lord, who makes you holy.’”
One of the nuances of this designation is that we are religious people – we worship – we make a connection with the Holy One
You hear the expression – spiritual but not religious. I really wonder if that is true. The practice of our religion brings us into the presence of the Holy One – it helps us connect and identify with our spiritual nature.
What we do on Sunday is important. It leads us to holiness. It reminds us of our separateness. What you do at home - prayers, readings, meditate on Scripture, fasting, all of those spiritual disciplines lead us to holiness. We will never be holy if we are never in the presence of the Holy One.
Let’s move to a second word – used by far more than any other term
Designation #2 – Adelphos
Used over 175 times in the Romans-Revelation to refer to followers of Christ
Translated “Brother” – sometimes blood brother, Jewish brother, but mainly used to refer to fellow flowers of Jesus. Newer translations translate brothers and sisters when it clearly means all followers, not just males.
It describes the family relationship we have with one another
Older translations just have brother or brothers, or the older term brethren. The ESV in their attempt to be more literal maintains the term “brother”.
Here are some examples:
Romans 16:14 (NIV) — 14 Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas and the other brothers and sisters with them.
Colossians 1:1–2 (NIV) — 1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, 2 To God’s holy people in Colossae, the faithful brothers and sisters in Christ: Grace and peace to you from God our Father.
In the church we live as brothers and sisters, as a family. We live out our life with one another.
We love, encourage, support, share joys and trials
There are all sorts of one another passages in the NT – there is a new family formed – ate together, shared and helped one another
Also implies a level of transparency with one another
Jesus talks about this new family created among his followers:
Luke 8:19–21 (NIV) — 19 Now Jesus’ mother and brothers came to see him, but they were not able to get near him because of the crowd. 20 Someone told him, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to see you.” 21 He replied, “My mother and brothers are those who hear God’s word and put it into practice.”
Are you in relationship with other believers?
That can happen spontaneously, but we encourage spiritual relationships by asking members to be in a small group or in a Bible class.
Designation #3 – Doulos
Translated “Servant” when it refers to a follower of Christ – 22 times in Romans through Revelation. It is translated “slave” in reference to the insit
Here are some examples:
Philippians 1:1 (NIV) — 1 Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all God’s holy people in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons:
Colossians 4:12 (NIV) — 12 Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured.
Can also be translated as “slave” as we see here:
1 Peter 2:16 (NIV) — 16 Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves.
Romans 6:22 (NIV) — 22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.
We can use these three designations to examine ourselves as Paul encourages the Corinthians to do:
2 Corinthians 13:5 (NIV) — 5 Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?
2 Corinthians 13:5 (The Message) — 5 Test yourselves to make sure you are solid in the faith. Don’t drift along taking everything for granted. Give yourselves regular checkups. You need firsthand evidence, not mere hearsay, that Jesus Christ is in you. Test it out. If you fail the test, do something about it.
Ask yourself:
Am I holy – how often am I coming into the presence of God through worship, prayer, Bible study and the other spiritual disciplines?
Am I a brother and sister – do I have spiritual relationships through small groups or Bible classes?
Am I a servant – do I serve others through the ministries of my church?
