Bill Mounce

For an Informed Love of God

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ἅγιος

ἅγιος means “holy”; plural noun: “saints.”

“The one who comes after me will baptize you with the ἅγιος Spirit” (Matt 3:11).

“Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus, to the ἅγιος who are in Ephesus” (Eph 1:1).

Mounce's Expository Dictionary (abridged): 

Adjective: ἅγιος (hagios), GK G41 (S G40 & 39), 233x. ἅγιος describes that which is distinct or separate from the common or profane, set aside for special purpose. God is specifically described as holy (Jn. 17:11; 1 Pet. 1:15–16; Rev. 4:8; 6:10), and Christ is called holy in the same sense as God (Rev. 3:7; cf. 1 Jn. 2:20). The proper sphere of the holy in the NT is not the priestly or ritual but the prophetic. The sacred no longer belongs to things, places, or rites, but to manifestations of life produced by the Spirit. Hence, people in relationship to God through the work of the Spirit as the “Saints,” the “Holy Ones.”