Saints and the One New Man in Ephesians
Question
Are there no saints in the one new man of Ephesians 2:15?
Originally published in Vol. 1, Number 9, September 2026, Ask The Theologian Journal.
Answer
Ephesians 2:15 describes Christ as
“having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace.”
The “one new man” is the body of Christ, composed of both Jew and Gentile in a new entity that is neither Jew nor Gentile in its standing. The question is whether “saints,” as the New Testament uses the term, are present in that one new man.
I hold that there indeed were saints in the one new man during the transitional period of the first century, but there are not saints in the body of Christ today.
The Meaning of “Saint”
By “saints,” I am not referring to all believers in the present age. My position is that New Testament “saints” are first-century Jewish believers who were part of Israel’s believing remnant, the “little flock,” being offered the kingdom. They are those set apart in relation to the kingdom promises, not simply all who are saved by grace through faith in this dispensation.
This is distinct from the common evangelical view that “saint” is simply the positional title of any believer in Christ today. I do not believe that standard use can be consistently grounded in the biblical text.
Saints and the One New Man
In the early years of Paul’s ministry, there was an overlap between the kingdom program for Israel and the newly revealed body of Christ. Jewish believers who were saints in the kingdom sense could also become members of the one new man.
They did not enter the one new man by circumcision, baptism, repentance, or any other requirement of the kingdom gospel, but by the same grace-through-faith gospel that defines the body of Christ. When they believed that gospel, they came into the new man. However, I do not believe they thereby forfeited their kingdom promises and covenant blessings; for a short transitional period they effectively lived on a dual track—remaining objects of kingdom promises while also being members of the new man.
The “one new man” abolishes the distinction of Jew and Gentile in terms of position in Christ, but it does not retroactively erase Israel’s covenants or the kingdom offer that had been extended to that first-century remnant.
No Saints in the New Man Today
In the present day, there is no active kingdom offer to Israel. The kingdom offer was withdrawn, and God will in the future raise up a new remnant of Israel, distinct from the body of Christ. Because “saint” in the New Testament sense refers to those in that kingdom-remnant context, there are no saints in the one new man today.
Even a Jewish believer today who trusts Christ and enters the body of Christ is not a saint in that technical, scriptural sense, because he or she is not being offered the kingdom and is not living under that specific covenantal arrangement. Such a believer is saved by grace through faith and is a member of the body of Christ, but not biblically a “saint” as that term is used for the first-century remnant.
Ephesians and the Usage of “Saints”
In Ephesus there were saints in the first-century sense. Ephesians 1:1 says:
“Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus.”
Note the distinction: “to the saints … and to the faithful in Christ Jesus.” If “saints” simply meant “all believers,” there would be no need to add “and to the faithful in Christ Jesus.” The conjunction “and” naturally suggests two groups: the saints (kingdom-remnant Jews) and the faithful in Christ Jesus (those in the new man, including Gentiles). The saints of Ephesus, as first-century kingdom believers, could be simultaneously part of the one new man while still being saints in relation to the kingdom offer.
Testing the Definition of “Saint”
A helpful exercise is to examine every New Testament occurrence of “saint(s)” and ask whether it more naturally fits all believers of all times, or specifically first-century Jewish believers in the kingdom program. Start with the easiest contexts—for example, collections taken “for the saints”—where the beneficiaries are clearly identifiable as the Jewish remnant in need. Use those clear passages as your default definition and then test the more ambiguous texts against that.
On that basis, I understand “saints” as belonging to the first-century kingdom remnant, some of whom also entered the one new man during the overlap period. Today, however, in the ongoing body of Christ on earth, there are no saints in that technical, biblical sense, because the kingdom offer is not presently on the table.