Written by Paul J Bucknell on October, 25, 2023
Praying for the Dead, Biblical? (Ephesians 6:18)
“A pastor was preaching and quoted Eph 6:18 “prayers should be made for all saints.” He contested that the “all saints” here include the dead saints. I want to find out if the text also refers to the dead. Are Christians to pray for the dead saints?”
18 “With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, 19 and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel…” (Eph 6:18-19).
Four issues must be addressed to adequately evaluate the suggestion that living believers should pray for the dead.
1. ‘Saints’ refers to the living!
The word ‘saints’ in the Bible refers to those living, not the dead as Roman Catholic suggests. Most notable is Ephesians 1:1, “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to the saints who are at Ephesus and who are faithful in Christ Jesus.” Paul was, without question, writing to the living who would read and hear his letter.
Furthermore, the word ‘saints’ is used 9 times in the Book of Ephesians 6:18 (Ephesians 1:1, 1:15, 1:18; 2:19; 3:8, 18; 4:12; 5:3; 6:18). Just through this simple search—within the same book, we discover, as in verse 1:1, that Paul instructs the local Ephesian believers on how to conduct themselves towards other living Christians.
2. Distorted Meaning of Saints
Some believe saints refer to the venerated “saints of old,” certain dead saints. It is proper to remember the good works of those who have gone on before us, as in Hebrews 11. “For by it the men of old gained approval” (Heb 11:2). The author depicts many godly men through their past faith and works.
However, the Roman Catholic Church's teaching departs far from this by canonizing (definition: declared to be a Saint) some highly venerated believers as saints. “This is an incomplete list of people and angels whom the Catholic Church has canonized as saints” (Wiki). The problem is that the Roman Catholic Church and others have redefined the word, concluding saints only refers to specially church-recognized people from the past. In the Bible and Ephesians, the word “saints” represents all believers, including the living.
If we apply the distorted Roman Catholic usage, we can see why some would think Eph 6:18 includes prayer for the dead saints. The word ‘saints’ should not be used to define the select group of people who have died.
3. The Meaning of Saints
Though saints refers to a certain group of people, it is much broader than the Roman Catholic Church’s designation. The Greek word ‘hagios’ (ἁγίοις) is used more than two hundred times and means holy or sacred. All genuine Christian believers are considered saints. We see the word sanctity, meaning holy, behind the usage of saints and sanctification.
Holy describes those influenced by God’s holy presence. Many believers do not feel holy and would shy away from the term saint; however, this leads to faulty thought and behavior. If we believe in Jesus, we are taken into God’s presence and live in the heavenly places (Eph 2:6). We ought to further pursue conformity to God’s holy ways. “Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord” (Heb 12:14).
“Be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints” (Eph 6:18) advises believers not to neglect or minimize an individual or group—for whatever reason. Perhaps he refers to how some ethnic groups (Jews and Gentiles) only pray for themselves.
4. Special Concerns for Praying for the Dead
Paul instructs us to pray for the living who face problems and need further strength from God, not the dead who are now in the presence of the Lord. Roman Catholic teaching perverts this thought and advises believers to pray for the dead believers (not strictly saints in their thought) to lessen their years in purgatory.
Purgatory is not a Biblical teaching. Martin Luther and others criticized this practice as a way the church manipulated the vulnerable to gather collections to build their lofty church structures. They made people think that if they give money to priests to pray for the dead, then their loved ones would have less time in purgatory. This is a pagan practice and distorts the teaching of God’s free gift in Christ Jesus: “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom 6:23).
We need to be very wary of those who try to get us to pray for the dead. Instead, we are to expose their false thinking:
- Do they not believe a person is saved through faith or redemption? Why are further prayers needed for the dead?
- Do they believe that prayers for the unbelieving dead (indeed not saints) can spiritually redeem or aid them? Once a person dies, he or she faces judgment. “And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment” (Heb 9:27). It’s better to pray for the living to know the Lord.
- Do they believe in an intermediate stage after death, like purgatory, where they think prayers can influence a soul? In the story of the Rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31), Jesus clearly states that we cannot affect those who have gone beyond. Our best response is to live rightly, believe in God, pray, and help others now while they live.
Summary
False teachings lead God’s people astray. It is straightforward to use saints as Paul did in Ephesians. Saints refers to living believers who need God’s people to pray for them, increasing their strength from the Lord. The Roman Catholic teaching of a venerable class of dead believers is not biblical and goes against the teaching of the Scriptures.
Other Relevant Teaching from Paul J. Bucknell
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