In the book “Verse by Verse. Acts Through Revelations”, written by BYU Faculty members, Kelly Ogden and Andrew Skinner, there are explanations of how words were translated from the Hebrew. The Hebrew word Kedoshim, for example, means ‘holy ones’ which in the Greek translation is Sanctus or saints. It is interesting to see how the churches of our day deal with the references to saints in the Bible. Protestant groups, for the most part, ignore the term altogether except, possibly, as the prefix St., to a person for whom they name their church after. Catholics view the term, saints, as if it should apply only to the most perfect and sanctified members who have ever walked the earth. Those few individuals who have been given the title of Saint, in the Catholic Church, were usually honored with that title long after their demise. Even then, their earthly records were/are carefully scrutinized in order to prove their worthiness.
The New Testament, however, refers to members of the church, in general, as saints or holy ones. For example, Paul writing to the Ephesians, addresses his epistle, (Ephesians 1:1)…”to the saints which are at Ephesus”. His epistles to members of the church all over the ‘then world’ were addressed the same; not with the assumption that they were better than others or free of sin. They were called saints with the hope that they would become holy ones; saints is a transitional name or term.
Paul describes the church organization thusly in (Ephesians 4:11-16): “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: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, … That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;” If the members (saints) in that day were perfect, why would Paul say in verse 12 that the purpose of the church organization was to perfect the saints? The other purpose of the organization was to help the saints come to a unity of the faith.
The falling away from Christ’s Church and changes in the organization he established happened very soon after the original Apostles were killed. Not only was the organization of the church changed, but the truths and doctrines of the Church, which Christ taught, were modified and adulterated by the heathen converts who had difficulty in giving up all of their former beliefs and ceremonies of the time. Whatever unity there was then, was not enduring and there is little unity today, as the hundreds of different Christian churches testify of.
Thank God for Apostles and Prophets and the restoration which was predicted even by Paul: (Ephesians 1:9-10) Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, …That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him: We have again, on the earth, the organization designed to perfect the saints, and the Lord has revealed again His unadulterated doctrines of salvation for all mankind (we who are his offspring).