This episode continues to describe the inherent advantages of Paul's addressing believers in churches as "saints" as opposed to addressing his letters to a "church." Paul's last 4 letters don't even mention the word "church" in the intro. The main advantage of the word "saint" is that it invokes a significant amount of Christian theology. A "saint" is one who is accounted righteous based on the righteousness of Christ. Christ's merit alone, made available through His sacrificial death and resurrection, is the ground of sainthood. Additionally, sainthood connotes one who is set aside for God's purposes. The word "church" COULD be interpreted as the outward visible church without reference to the Biblical basis of participation in that church. Many note that nominal believers often point to their participation in the visible church without reference to the necessity of repentance and faith in Christ. The episode finally notes that Paul experienced firsthand working with "false brethren," so-called believers who were never saints to begin with. They identified with the visible church but were NOT saints. Nominal believers and tares hide behind denominational banners, identification with a visible church, but are not yet part of the church that Christ is building.
The Chronological Explanation of the ‘saint’ Omission in the Book of Galatians
This episode provides the answer to the question, demonstrating that Paul's omission of the word "saints" in his intro to the Galatians is best explained by analyzing Paul's letters chronologically. The earliest letters Galatians (49) and 1 and 2 Thessalonians (50 and 51) omit the "word" saints in the intro, though the Thessalonian correspondence uses it in the body of the letters. Paul directed these 3 letters to "churches." 1 and 2 Corinthians, written next (55 and 56), are addressed both to "churches" and "saints." The last 4 letters (Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Romans, written 57-62) are not addressed to churches at all, but just to saints. The best explanation of the omission of the word "saints" in Galatians is therefore stylistic: the omission is consistent with the omissions to the Thessalonians written at the same time and Paul's last 4 letters don't use the word "church" at all in the intro. Paul nevertheless considered the gatherings of saints as "churches," though he chose not to specifically address "churches" in the intro.
Paul’s Use of “Saints” in his Thessalonian Correspondence
This episode narrowly focuses on 1 and 2 Thessalonians, noting that while "saints" are not mentioned in the intro, they are referred to in the body of the letter. 1 Thessalonians 3:13 refers to "the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints." This is strong evidence, but not airtight, that Paul was describing "believers." The reason is that "saints" or "holy ones" is sometimes used in reference to angels, as in Jude 14 and Daniel 7:10. Irrefutable evidence that Paul meant believers when he described the Thessalonians as saints occurs in 2 Thessalonians 1:10: at the second coming Christ "comes to be glorified in His saints." So while Paul doesn't use the word "saints" in his intro to 1 and 2 Thessalonians, he definitely had believers in mind in 2 Thessalonians. This fact of course makes the omission of the word "saints" in both the intro and body of Galatians more glaring. The explanation of this omission is provided in the next lesson.
“Also no Salutations to Saints in Thessalonica”
On the road to answering the question regarding the omission of the word "saints" in the intro to Galatians, this episode notes that the same omission occurs in the books of 1 and 2 Thessalonians. Paul uses the words "saints" in 6 of his 9 epistles to churches. The episode notes Augustine's distinction between the visible and invisible church, and posits that Paul addressed his letters to the visible church, which included believers and unbelievers. Christ's use of the word church in Matthew 16:18 only referred to believers. "Upon this rock, I build my church." The distinction between the visible and invisible church might possibly influence how the question is ultimately answered.