Deuteronomy 33:3 Yea, he loved the people; all his saints are in thy hand: and they sat down at thy feet; every one shall receive of thy words.

Ephesians 4:12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

Reading in Hosea recently I found the words saints used and got curious about the Old Testament use of that word. The translation from Hebrew to English is often different than the translation from Greek to English for the same words.

I was pleasantly surprised to discover that in this case the definitions of the Hebrew word godesh and the Greek word hagios translated saint are identical.

They bother mean consecrated, set aside unto God, holy, morally blameless.

So many times I have found differences in the translation in Hebrew and Greek into English that require me to understand the definitions in terms of OT vs NT usage. It is easy to confuse the two and keeping that in mind as I read might not always be at the forefront of my mind.

It is pleasing to me that saints are viewed and treated the same by God in the OT and the NT. The differences are often seen as they relate to righteous law (OT) and righteous love (NT). In this case however they relate to God’s attitude and view of the people He holds in relationship.

It is how Enoch, who had no law to follow and no Christ as an example, could walk with God and please God. The faithfulness of God is unwavering and unchanged throughout time.

It is God’s faith imputed to us that makes the difference. Not in who we are or what we do because God can and does change us.

What happens when we break faith?

That is a question for another day.