I Corinthians 1:1-3

Παῦλος κλητὸς ἀπόστολος Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ διὰ θελήματος θεοῦ, καὶ Σωσθένης ὁ ἀδελφός, τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ τοῦ θεοῦ τῇ οὔσῃ ἐν Κορίνθῳ, ἡγιασμένοις ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ, κλητοῖς ἁγίοις, σὺν πᾶσιν τοῖς ἐπικαλουμένοις τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ ἐν παντὶ τόπῳ, αὐτῶν καὶ ἡμῶν: χάρις ὑμῖν καὶ εἰρήνη ἀπὸ θεοῦ πατρὸς ἡμῶν καὶ κυρίου Ἰησοῦ Χριστο

Paul, a called messenger of Christ Jesus through the will of God, and Sosthenes, a brother, to the church (assembly) of God which is in Corinth, having been purified in Christ Jesus, called to be Holy Ones, with all of those who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ in every place, theirs and ours. Grace be to you and peace from God our father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Most translations render ἡγιασμένοις as sanctified and ἁγίοις as Saints.  I have rendered these two words purified and Holy Ones respectively. I was recently asked by my best friend what the difference between the two were.  Here is my attempt to do so.

ἡγιασμένοις (having been purified) is a perfect participle in this passage.  It indicates an action that happened in the past, but is still in affect at the time of this letter being written.  It is from the verb ἁγιάζω.  Here is the definition.

ἁγιάζω,v  \{hag-ee-ad'-zo} 1) to render or acknowledge, or to be venerable or hallow  2) to separate from profane things and dedicate to God  2a) consecrate things to God  2b) dedicate people to God  3) to purify  3a) to cleanse externally  3b) to purify by expiation: free from the guilt of sin  3c) to purify internally by renewing of the sou

ἁγίοις is a adjective that means holy.  It is formed from the verb ἁγιάζω listed above.  It is being used as a noun here.  So, Saints are literally “holy ones”.

So what's the difference?  They both are very much related to each other.  We can use the word read as an example.  I read vs. I am a reader.  One is a verb and the other is a noun.  A reader is one who reads.  So, a Holy One is one who is purified or cleansed.