What Word Was Wuest Working With? trust pisteúō πιστεύω

13. The Greek Word for Faith

THE USAGE in early secular documents throws light upon its meaning. In the sentence "whom no one would trust, even if they were willing to work," we see its meaning of confidence in the person's character and motives. The sentence "I have trusted no one to take it to her," speaks of a person's lack of confidence in the ability of another to perform a certain task. From the standpoint of the one trusted we have "I am no longer trusted, unless I behave fairly." Paul uses the word in 1 Thessalonians 2:4; Galatians 2:7; 1 Corinthians 9:17; and 1 Timothy 1:11 "I was put in trust with the gospel, the gospel . . . was committed unto me, the gospel . . . which was committed to my trust." This is the verb usage.
When we come to the noun, we have the meaning of "faith and confidence, fidelity and faithfulness." The adjective gives us "faithful and trustworthy." Paul uses the word in his directions to the Philippean jailer, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house" (Acts 16:31). He exhorts him to consider the Lord Jesus worthy of trust as to His character and motives. He exhorts him to place his confidence in His ability to do just what He says He will do. He exhorts him to entrust the salvation of his soul into the hands of the Lord Jesus. He exhorts him to commit the work of saving his soul to the care of the Lord. That means a definite taking of one's self out of one's own keeping and entrusting one's self into the keeping of the Lord Jesus. That is what is meant by believing in the Lord Jesus Christ.


Kenneth S. Wuest, Volume 3, (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1973), WORDsearch CROSS e-book, 37-38.

Complete Word Study Dictionary, The
πιστεύω
πιστεύω [See Stg: <G4100>]

pisteúō; fut. pisteúsō, from pístis <G4102>, faith. To believe, have faith in, trust. NT meanings:

(I) Particularly, to be firmly persuaded as to something, to believe, followed by the inf. (Rom. 14:2); by hóti <G3754>, that (Mark 11:23; Rom. 6:8; 10:9). With the idea of hope and certain expectation (Acts 18:8).

(A) More commonly used of words spoken and things, followed by the dat. of the person whose words one believes and trusts in (Mark 16:13; John 5:46; Acts 8:12; 1 John 4:1); by hóti (John 4:21).

(B) With an adjunct of the words or thing spoken, followed by the dat. (Luke 1:20; John 4:50; Acts 24:14; 2 Thess. 2:11; Acts 13:41); by epí <G1909>, upon, and the dat. (Luke 24:25); by en <G1722>, in, and the dat. (Mark 1:15, "in the glad tidings" [a.t.], meaning to believe and embrace the glad tidings announced; Sept.: Ps. 78:22; Jer. 12:6).

(C) With an adjunct of the thing believed, followed by the acc. of thing (1 Cor. 13:7; 1 John 4:16). In the pass. (2 Thess. 1:10). Followed by eis <G1519>, unto, with the acc. (John 11:26; 1 John 5:10); by hóti, that (John 14:10; 1161Rom. 10:9); by perí <G4012>, about, concerning, and the gen. (John 9:18).

(D) Used in an absolute sense where the case of person or thing is implied from the context (Matt. 24:23; Mark 13:21; John 12:47; Acts 8:13 [cf. Acts 8:12, 15:7]).

(II) Of God, to believe in God, to trust in Him as able and willing to help and answer prayer. Followed by the dat. of person with hóti, that (Acts 27:25); by eis, in (John 14:1). Used in an absolute sense with the pres. part. pisteúontes, meaning if you believe (Rom. 4:17, 18; Heb. 4:3). Generally, to believe in the declarations and character of God as made known in the gospel, with the dat. (John 5:24; Acts 16:34; 1 John 5:10). Followed by eis, in, with the acc., meaning to believe and rest upon, to believe in and profess (1 Pet. 1:21); by epí, on, with the acc. (Rom. 4:24).

(III) Of a messenger from God, to believe on and trust in him (rather, when applied to a merely human messenger of God, to credit and trust him, as coming from God and acting under divine authority).

(A) Of John the Baptist, with the dat. (Matt. 21:25, 32; Mark 11:31; Luke 20:5).

(B) Of Jesus as the Messiah, able and ready to help His followers, followed by eis, in (John 14:1); to heal the sick and comfort the afflicted, with hóti, that (Matt. 9:28); used in an absolute sense (Matt. 8:13; Mark 5:36; John 4:48). (1) Generally of Jesus as a teacher and the Messiah sent from God. Followed by the dat. of person (John 5:38; 8:31; 10:37, 38; Acts 5:14; 2 Tim. 1:12); by hóti, that (John 8:24; 11:27; 13:19; 16:27, 30; 17:8, 21; 20:31); by ginṓskō <G1097>, to know (John 6:69; 10:38); by eis, in, with the acc. of person meaning to believe and rest upon (Matt. 18:6; Mark 9:42; John 2:11; 3:15, 16; 4:39; 6:35; 7:5, 38; 8:30; 17:20; Acts 10:43; 19:4; Rom. 10:14; Gal. 2:16; 1 Pet. 1:8); figuratively, with tó phṓs (tó, neut. def, art.; phṓs <G5457>, light), the light (John 12:36); tó ónoma (ónoma <G3686>, name), the name, as to who Jesus is and what He has done (John 1:12; 2:23; 1 John 5:13); in the dat. (1 John 3:23). Followed by epí, upon, with the acc. of person (Acts 9:42; 11:17 [cf. 11:21]); with the dat. (Matt. 27:42; 1 Tim. 1:16); figuratively (Rom. 9:33; 1 Pet. 2:6, quoted from Isa. 28:16); in the pass. (1 Tim. 3:16). (2) Used in an absolute sense, to believe, meaning to become a Christian (Mark 15:32; Luke 22:67; John 1:7; 12:39; Acts 4:4; 14:1; 17:12, 34). In the pres. part. pl. (hoi pisteúontes) or aor. part. pl. (hoi pisteúsantes), those who have believed, believers, Christians (Acts 2:44; 4:32; 19:18; Rom. 4:11; 1 Cor. 1:21; Gal. 3:22; 1 Thess. 1:7; 1 Pet. 2:7).

(IV) Trans., to entrust, commit in trust to someone (Luke 16:11; John 2:24). In the pass., pisteúomai, with the acc. of thing, to be entrusted with something, to have something committed to one's trust or charge (Rom. 3:2; 1 Cor. 9:17; Gal. 2:7; 1 Thess. 2:4; 1 Tim. 1:11; Titus 1:3).

(V) Used in connection with the relationship between believing and miracle working.

(A) "And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove: and nothing shall be impossible unto you" (Matt. 17:20). This was what Jesus said to the disciples on His descent from the Mount of Transfiguration upon finding that they were unable to exorcise a boy's demon. This incident is given also in Mark 9:14-29 and Luke 9:37-43.

In Matthew 17:17, when He said, "... O faithless and perverse generation," He did not include the disciples as unbelievers and perverse. The word for "faithless" is ápistos <G571>, unbelieving, with the meaning of not trusting God to perform this and other miracles as opportunity and need arose.

What the father of the child said to Jesus explains how it is possible for him and the disciples to believe and, at the same time, to be beset by unbelief in accomplishing the1162 task at hand. The father said, "I believe, Lord, help me in my unbelief" (a.t.).

Belief creates complete dependence upon the Lord and not independence. "Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting" (Matt. 17:21; see also Mark 9:29). The end result of this whole incident was "And they were all amazed at the mighty power of God" (Luke 9:43).

(B) "And all things whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive" (Matt. 21:22). "Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them" (Mark 11:24). This latter assurance of the Lord also expresses dependence on the Lord through two words: proseuchómenoi (the pres. part. of proseúchomai <G4336>, to pray to God) and aiteísthe (the subjunctive mid. of aitéomai <G154>, to request as an inferior from a superior). It is not a desire at all but a humble request. This speaks not of the omnipotence of the believer's faith but of its full dependence upon God. "Believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them," and, one could add, if the Lord consents to grant them.

(VI) The pres. part. ho pisteúōn (John 3:15, 16, 36; 5:24; 6:35, 40, 47; 7:38; 11:25, 26; 12:44, 46; 14:12) should not be taken as the one holding on to God constantly lest he would let loose and fall. It rather indicates that, once one believes, he continues to believe, for he has eternal life in him (John 3:15). The assurance Christ gave in John 10:28 is this: "And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand." Once a believer places himself in Jesus, it is He who holds him firmly without someone being able to snatch him away, for if this could happen then there would be the acknowledgement that someone is mightier than Christ, which cannot be.

Syn.: peíthomai <G3982>, to be convinced; hēgéomai <G2233>, to deem, consider, think; epiginṓskō <G1921>, to perceive, recognize.

Ant.: aporéō <G639>, to be at a loss; diaporéō <G1280>, to be much perplexed; distázō <G1365>, to  doubt, hesitate; apistéō <G569>, to disbelieve; diakrínomai <G1252>, to doubt, hesitate.


Zodhiates, Spiros. New Testament. Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 1993. WORDsearch CROSS e-book.

Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon

πιστευω, 4100



πιστευω <G4100>; imperfect επιστευον; future πιστευσω; 1 aorist επιστευσα; perfect πεπιστευκα; pluperfect (without augment, cf. Winer’s Grammar, sec. 12, 9; (Buttmann, 33 (29))) πεπιστευκειν

(Acts 14:23); passive perfect πεπιστευμαι; 1 aorist επιστευθην; (πιστος); the Septuagint for ‏הֶאֱמִין‎; in classical Greek from Aeschyl, Sophocles, Euripides, Thucydides down; “to believe,” i.e.



1. intransitive, “to think to be true; to be persuaded of; to credit, place confidence in”;





a. universally: the thing believed being evident from the preceding context, Matthew 24:23,(26); Mark 13:21; 1 Corinthians 11:18; with an accusative of the thing, Acts 13:41 (L T Tr WH ὁ for Rec. ὡ), “to credit, have confidence,” followed by ὁτι, Acts 9:26; τινι, to believe one’s words, Mark 16:13f; 1 John 4:1; τινι ὁτι, John 4:21; τω ψευδει, 2 Thessalonians 2:11; περι τινος, ὁτι, John 9:18.

b. specifically, in a moral and religious reference, πιστευειν is used in the N.T. of “the conviction and  trust to which a man is impelled by a certain inner and higher prerogative and law of his soul”; thus it stands





[α]. absolutely “to trust” in Jesus or in God as able to aid either in obtaining or in doing something: Matthew 8:13; 21:22; Mark 5:36; 9:23f; Luke 8:50; John 11:40; followed by ὁτι, Matthew 9:28; Mark 11:23; (Hebrews 11:6); τω λογω, ὡ (ὁν) ειπεν ὁΙησους, John 4:50.





[β]. of “the credence given to God’s messengers and their words,” with a dative of the person or thing: Μωυσει John 5:46. to the prophets, John 12:38; Acts 24:14; 26:27; Romans 10:16; επι πασιν ὁις ελαλησαν ὁιπροφηται, to place reliance on etc. Luke 24:25. to an angel, Luke 1:20; followed by ὁτι, Luke 1:45. to John the Baptist, Matthew 21:25 (26),32; Mark 11:31; Luke 20:5. to Christ’s words, John 3:12; 5:38,46f; 6:30; 8:45f; 10:(37),38{a}; τοις εργοις of Christ, John 10:38{b}. to the teachings of evangelists and apostles, Acts 8:12; τη αληθεια, 2 Thessalonians 2:12; επιστευθη το μαρτυριον, the testimony was believed, 2 Thessalonians 1:10 (cf. Winer’s Grammar, sec. 39,1 a.; Buttmann, 175 (152)); τη γραφη, John 2:22. εν τω ευαγγελιω, to put faith in the gospel, Mark 1:15 (Buttmann, 174 (151f); cf. Winer’s Grammar, 213 (200f)) (Ignatius ad Philad. 8, 2 ((but see Zahn’s note); cf. John 3:15 in [γ]. below)). [γ]. used especially of the faith by which a man embraces Jesus, i.e. “a conviction, full of joyful trust, that Jesus is the Messiah — the divinely appointed author of eternal salvation in the kingdom of God, conjoined with obedience to Christ”: πιστευω τον ὑιοντου Θεου ειναι Ιησουν Χριστον, Acts 8:37 Rec.; επιστευθη (was believed on (cf. Winer’s Grammar, sec. 39, 1 a.; Buttmann, 175 (152))) εν κοσμω, 1 Timothy 3:16. the phrase πιστευειν εις τον Ιησουν, εις τον ὑιοντου Θεου, etc., is very common; properly, “to have a faith directed unto, believing or in faith to give oneself up to,” Jesus, etc. (cf. Winer’s Grammar, 213 (200f); (Buttmann, 174 (151))): Matthew 18:6; Mark 9:42 (R G L Tr text); John 2:11; 3:15 R G,16,18,36; 6:29,35,40,47 (R G L); 7:5,(38),39,48; 8:30; 9:35f; 10:42; 11:25f,45,48; 12:11,37,42,44,(46); 14:1,12; 16:9; 17:20; Acts 10:43; 19:4; Romans 10:14; Galatians 2:16; Philippians 1:29; 1 John 5:10; 1 Peter 1:8; εις το φως, John 12:36; εις το ονομα αυτου, John 1:12; 2:23; 3:18; 1 John 5:13; τω ονοματι αυτου, to commit oneself trustfully to the name (see ονομα, 2, p. 448a), 1 John 3:23; επ’ αυτον, επι τον κυριον, to have a faith directed toward, etc. (see επι, C. I. 2 g. [α]., p. 235b (cf. Winer’s Grammar, and Buttmann, as above, also Buttmann, sec. 147, 25)): Matthew 27:42 T Tr text WH; John 3:15 L text; Acts 9:42; 11:17; 16:31; 22:19 ((cf. Sap. 12:2)); επ’ αυτω, to build one’s faith on, to place one’s faith upon (see επι, B. 2 a.[γ]., p. 233a; Buttmann, as above): Romans 9:33; 10:11; 1 Timothy 1:16; 1 Peter 2:6; εν αυτω, to put faith in him, John 3:15 (L marginal reading; cf. T Tr WH also (who probably connect εν αυτω with the following εχη; cf. Westcott’s Commentary at the passage, Meyer, others)) (cf. Jeremiah 12:6; Psalm 77:22 (Psalm 78:22), where πιστευειν εν τινι means “to put confidence in one, to trust one”; (cf. Mark 1:15 above, [β]. at the end)); εν τουτω πιστευομεν, on this rests our faith (A.V. “by this we believe”), John 16:30; with the simple dative, τω κυριω, to (yield faith to) believe (cf. B. 173 (151)): Matthew 27:42 R G L Tr marginal reading; Acts 5:14; 18:8; supply τουτω before ὁυ in Romans 10:14; “to trust” in Christ (God), 2 Timothy 1:12; δια τινος, through one’s agency to 512be brought to faith, John 1:7; 1 Corinthians 3:5; δια Ιησου εις Θεον, 1 Peter 1:21 R G Tr marginal reading; δια της χαριτος, Acts 18:27; δια του λογου αυτων εις εμε, John 17:20; δια τι, John 4:39 (41), 42; 14:11. πιστευω followed by ὁτι with a sentence in which either the nature and dignity of Christ or his blessings are set forth: John 6:69; 8:24; 10:38c R G; 11:27,(42); 13:19; (14:10); 16:27,30; 17:8,21; 1 John 5:1,5; Romans 6:8; 1 Thessalonians 4:14; μοι ὁτι, John 14:11; τι, John 11:26; πιστευω σωθηναι, Acts 15:11; the simple πιστευειν is used emphatically, of those who acknowledge Jesus as the saviour and devote themselves to him: Mark 15:32 (here L adds αυτω); Luke 8:12f; 22:67; John 1:50(51); 3:18; 4:42,48,53; 5:44; 6:36,64; 9:38; 10:25f; 12:39,47 Rec.; 16:30; 20:31; Acts 5:14; (13:39); 15:5; 18:8; (21:25); Romans 1:16; 3:22; 4:11; 10:4; 15:13; 2 Corinthians 4:13; Ephesians 1:13,(19); 2 Thessalonians 1:10; Hebrews 4:3; with εξ ὁληςκαρδιας added, Acts 8:37 Rec.; with a dative of instrumentality καρδια, Romans 10:10; participle present ὁιπιστευοντες, as a substantive: Acts 2:44; Romans 3:22; 1 Corinthians 1:21; Galatians 3:22; (Ephesians 1:19); 1 Thessalonians 1:7; 2:10,13; 2 Thessalonians 1:10 Rec.; 1 Peter 2:7; equivalent to “who are on the point of believing,” 1 Corinthians 14:22, cf. 1 Corinthians 14:24f; aorist επιστευσα (marking entrance into a state; see βασιλευω, at the end), “I became a believer, a Christian” (A.V. “believed”): Acts 4:4; 8:13; 13:12,48; 14:1; 15:7; 17:12,34; Romans 13:11; 1 Corinthians 3:5; 15:2,11; with the addition of επι τον κυριον (see above), Acts 9:42; participle πιστευσας, Acts 11:21; 19:2; ὁπιστευσας, Mark 16:16; plural, 16:17; Acts 4:32; ὁιπεπιστευκοτες, “they that have believed” (have become believers): Acts 19:18; 21:20; (on (John’s use of) the tenses of πιστευω see Westcott on 1 John 3:23). It must be borne in mind, that in Paul’s conception of το πιστευειν εις Χριστον, the prominent element is the grace of God toward sinners as manifested and pledged (and to be laid hold of by faith) in Jesus, particularly in his death and resurrection, as appears especially in Romans 3:25; 4:24; 10:9; 1 Thessalonians 4:14; but in John’s conception, it is the metaphysical relationship of Christ with God and close ethical intimacy with him, as well as the true ‘life’ to be derived from Christ as its source; cf. Rückert, Das Abendmahl, p. 251. Moreover, πιστευειν is used by John of various degrees of faith, from its first beginnings, its incipient stirring within the soul, up to the fullest assurance, John 2:23 (cf. John 2:24); 8:31; of a faith which does not yet recognize Jesus as the Messiah, but as a prophet very like the Messiah, John 7:31; and to signify that one’s faith is preserved, strengthened, increased, raised to the level which it ought to reach, 11:15; 13:19; 14:29; 19:35; 20:31; 1 John 5:13b Rec.; (cf. references under the word πιστις, at the end). is applied also to the faith by which one is persuaded that Jesus was raised from the dead, inasmuch as by that fact God declared him to be his Son and the Messiah: John 20:8,25,29; πιστευσης εν τη καρδια σου ὁτιὁΘεος αυτον ηγειρεν εκ νεκρων σωθηση, Romans 10:9 (cf. Buttmann, sec. 133, 19). Since according to the conception of Christian faith Christ alone is the author of salvation, ὁ πιστευων repudiates all the various things which aside from Christ are commended as means of salvation (such e.g. as abstinence from flesh and wine), and understands that all things are lawful to him which do not lead him away from Christ; hence, πιστευει (τις) φαγειν παντα, hath faith to eat all things or so that he eats all things, Romans 14:2; cf. Rückert at the passage; (Winer’s Grammar, sec. 44,3 b.; per contra Buttmann, 273f (235)).





[δ]. πιστευειν used in reference to God has various senses:





[αα]. it denotes the mere acknowledgment of his existence: ὁτιὁ Θεος ἑιςεστιν, James 2:19; acknowledgment joined to appropriate trust, absolutely, Jude 1:5; εις Θεον, John 12:44; 14:1; equivalent to to believe and embrace what God has made known either through Christ or concerning Christ: τω Θεω, John 5:24; Acts 16:34; Titus 3:8; 1 John 5:10; επι τον Θεον, Romans 4:5; την αγαπην, ἡνεχει ὁΘεος, 1 John 4:16; εις την μαρτυριαν, ἡνκ.τ.λ., 1 John 5:10.





[ββ]. “to trust”: τω Θεω, God promising a thing, Romans 4:3,17 (on which see κατεναντι); Galatians 3:6; (James 2:23); absolutely, Romans 4:18; followed by ὁτι, Acts 27:25.





[ε]. πιστευειν is used in an ethical sense, of confidence in the goodness of men: ἡαγαπη πιστευει παντα, 1 Corinthians 13:7. το πιστευειν is opposed to ιδειν, John 20:29; to ὁραν, ibid. and 1 Peter 1:8 (Theoph. ad Autol. 1, 7 at the end), cf. 2 Corinthians 5:7; to διακρινεσθαι, Romans 4:19f; 14:1,23, cf. James 1:6; to ὁμολογειν, Romans 10:9.





2. transitively, τινι τι, “to intrust a thing to one,” i.e. “to his fidelity “: Luke 16:11; ἑαυτοντινι, John 2:24; passive, πιστευομαι τι, “to be intrusted with a thing”: Romans 3:2; 1 Corinthians 9:17; Galatians 2:7; 1 Thessalonians 2:4; 1 Timothy 1:11; Titus 1:8 (Ignatius ad Philad. 9; examples from secular authors are given in Winer’s Grammar, sec. 39, 1 a.). On the grammatical construction of the word cf. Buttmann, sec. 133, 4 (and the summaries in Ellicott on 1 Timothy 1:16; Vaughan on Romans 4:5; Cremer, under the word). It does not occur in Revlation, nor in Philemon, 2 Peter, 2 and 3 John (Cf. the references under the word πιστις, at the end.)*

Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon
A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament
Author: Joseph Henry Thayer
Publisher: Harper & Brothers
Print Publication Date: 1889
Joseph Henry Thayer (November 7, 1828—November 26, 1901), an American biblical scholar, was born in Boston, Massachusetts. Thayer's Greek–English Lexicon of the New Testament is one of the greatest achievements in biblical scholarship

Theological Dictionary of the New Testament - Abridged Edition

πιστεύω pisteúō [to believe, trust] <G4100>,
πίστις pístis [faith, trust] <G4102>,
πιστός pistós [faithful, trusting] <G4103>,
πιστόω pistóō [to make someone trust] <G4104>,
ἄπιστος ápistos [faithless, unbelieving] <G571>,
ἀπιστέω apistéō [to disbelieve, be unfaithful] <G569>,
ἀπιστία apistía [unfaithfulness, unbelief] <G570>,
ὀλιγόπιστος oligópistos [of little faith] <G3640>,
ὀλιγοπιστία oligopistía [littleness of faith] <G3640>
849
A. Greek Usage.
I. Classical.
1. pistós, which is attested first, means a. “trusting” (also with the nuance of “obedient”) and b. “trustworthy,” i.e., faithful, reliable.

2. ápistos means a. “distrustful” and b. “untrustworthy,” “unreliable.”

3. pístis has the sense of a. “confidence,” “certainty,” “trust,” then b. “trustworthiness,” and c. “guarantee” or “assurance” in the sense of a pledge or oath with the two nuances of “trustworthiness” and “proof.”

4. pisteúō means “to trust” (also “to obey”), “to believe” (words), and in the passive “to enjoy confidence” (cf. the later sense “to confide in”).

5. apisteúō usually means “to be distrustful” or “not to believe” (words).

6. apistía means “untrustworthiness,” “unreliability,” also “distrust.”

7. pistóō means “to make someone a pistós,” i.e., a person bound by a pledge or contract, and hence reliable. Another sense is to make a person one who trusts.

8. The words in pist- do not become religious terms in classical Greek. Faithfulness to a compact is a religious duty, fidelity is related to piety, and one may trust a deity, but pistós does not refer to a basic relationship with God. At most one finds only reliance on deities and trust in deities or their utterances.

II. Hellenistic.
1. Philosophical Discussion. In the debate with skepticism, philosophy comes to talk about belief in the gods and its distinctive certainty, which is given by the deity and is related to piety and general belief in the incorporeal. Conduct is affected by such belief, which carries with it belief in the soul’s immortality, membership in the divine world, and final judgment.

2. Religious Propaganda. Religious propaganda demands belief in the deities that are proclaimed. The Hermetic writings reflect this terminology, as do the Odes of Solomon, the papyri, the magical texts, and Celsus.

3. Stoic Usage. In older Stoicism pístis (“trust”) is fitting for the sage. In later Stoicism pístis means “faithfulness” as solidity of character. As God is pistós, so we should be. Primarily faithfulness to self, pístis makes possible faithfulness to others. pístis is religious, not as denoting relationship with deity, but in an actualizing of the relationship.

[R. BULTMANN, VI, 174–82]

B. The OT Concept.
1. General Remarks. In the OT a theocentric view prevails. Hence faith is the human reaction to God’s primary action. At first faith is collective, and a wealth of usage appears only when individuals break free from the collective bond. The prophets give a new creative impulse to the vocabulary and imagery of faith. The greatest expansion takes place in the Psalms. Faith and fear are closely related in the OT; although contradictory, they shade into one another, and together they express the living tension and polar dynamic of the OT relationship to God. They occur more or less equally. Among the relevant stems, ʾmn (pisteúein) comes only fourth statistically but is perhaps more important qualitatively. In each case the religious use has secular roots.

850
II. The Stem ʾmn and Related Expressions.
1. Qal. In the qal the stem is used of the mothers, nurses, or attendants of children with the associated ideas of carrying and educating.

2. Niphal. The range is broader in this usage, the translation “firm,” “reliable,” “secure” being only an approximation. Thus we find the ideas of permanence, devastating effect, correspondence with the facts, and specificity. In the two last instances it is not just a matter of logical connection but of living experience as well. When used of people, e.g., servants, witnesses, messengers, or prophets, what is conveyed is truthfulness, perceptiveness, retentiveness of memory, understanding, and the ability to portray. The qualities vary; the point of intersection is the relationship between the qualities required and those actually present. Religiously, many aspects of God can be comprised under the stem. In Dt. 7:9 the “faithful” God keeps covenant with those who love and obey him. In Isa. 49:7 faithfulness is shown in the election of Israel. In 1 Kgs. 8:26; Isa. 55:3, etc. God’s word comes into force either as promise or threat. The stem may also describe God’s commandments or works (Pss. 19:7; 111:7). The  material definition depends on the aspect in view, but always present is the thought of that which makes God God. When used of believers the term expresses the attitude to God that is in keeping with God’s claim. Totality of disposition, not just a single action, is at issue.

3. When the stem takes the form of a verbal adjective, we are pointed in the same direction (cf. 1 Kgs. 1:36; Num. 5:22; Jer. 28:6; Neh. 8:6; Ps. 41:13). The concept embraces a twofold relation: recognition and acknowledgment of the connection between claim and reality, and the connection between the validity of the claim and its practical consequences for those who accept it.

4. Hiphil. The LXX renders the hiphil 45 times by pisteúein, five by empisteúein, and once each by katapisteúein and peíthesthai. The meaning is acknowledgment with all the consequences for both object and subject. Expressed is recognition both of the objective relation of object to reality and of the subjective relation of the believer to the object. Believing a report means taking cognizance of it, accepting its truth, and acting accordingly (Gen. 45:26; Ex. 4:1; 1 Kgs. 10:7, etc.). Trusting in vassals, friends, etc. means recognizing the claims inherent in the terms and the validity of the claims for those who trust (cf. 1 Sam. 27:12; Mic. 7:5; Prov. 26:25; Job 4:18). Behind the word that is believed stands the person who is trusted. As regards God, the first sense is that of saying Amen to God, i.e., acknowledging the relation into which he has entered with us, and setting oneself in that relation. Even when faith is required, God’s initiative is thus presupposed. In content the orientation is to the aspect at issue, obedience relating to command, trust and worship to the promise (Dt. 9:23; Gen. 15:6). Yet the totality may also be in view. Thus on God’s side his power, love, steadfastness, righteousness, choosing, and demanding might all be covered, namely, everything that makes him God, so that in a covenant context unbelief is tantamount to apostasy. On the human side, faith involves knowledge, will, and feeling, with an element of fear as well, in an attitude of extensive and intensive commitment that embraces the totality of external conduct and inner life. Only with the relation to the OT God is this kind of attitude even a possibility. As Isaiah sees it on the basis of his own experience (6:1ff.), faith in this form, related to the idea of a remnant and a fellowship of faith, stands opposed to political considerations (7:1ff.), earthly security (28:14ff.), and trust in human might (30:15ff.), as a form of existence of those who are bound to God alone and find in this their strength (30:15), their being established851 (7:9). Such faith makes both autonomy and idolatry impossible; it also removes all fear of human power (7:1ff.).

5. ʾmn and Derivatives. The stress that Isaiah laid on the word and concept was never lost. We thus see an expansion of the meaning of all the relevant stems to embrace the relationship with God and the whole attitude of a life lived in faith (cf. Hab. 2:4; Jer. 7:28). Also expressed is the idea of the absoluteness and exclusiveness of true religion related to the true God.

6. The Religious Dynamic. The covenant, with its idea of the faithfulness of God, seems to have supplied the dynamic for this development. If there is little specific connection of faith with the covenant (cf. Neh. 10:1), its strong link with the relationship to God makes this apparent (Ex. 4:8-9; Num. 14:11; Dt. 1:32; 2 Kgs. 17:14; Ps. 78:22).

III. The Stem bṭḥ.
1. The State of Security. This stem first expresses the idea of being in a state of security with either an objective of a subjective emphasis (Judg. 18:7; Isa. 32:9ff.). A state rather than a relation is the point. The idea of trust arises only through the thought of basing one’s security on someone or something, e.g., work, power, righteousness, riches, chariots, wickedness (usually with a negative judgment). Along these lines, the term may be used without a qualm for trust in idols (Isa. 42:17), which the prophets, of course, roundly condemn.

2. Assurance. The sense of security yields the more subjective thought of assurance with a strong assimilation to ʾmn. This is especially so in Deuteronomy, Psalms, and Proverbs. In a weaker sense the term may denote the attitude of prayer (Pss. 91:2; 84:12; 25:2, etc.).

3. Comparison. As compared with ʾmn, this development involves a shift in basic sense which is due to the growth of monotheistic faith, the influence of the prophets, the religious situation of the exile, the sense of being thrown back on God alone, and the rise of religious individualism. The influence of Isaiah is especially important (cf. Isa. 30:15).

IV. The Stem ḥṣh.
1. Seeking Refuge. This stem undergoes a similar development. What is presupposed is the need of help or protection with a stress on the act of seeking.

2. Relation to God. The original sense is apparent when help is sought in God, but more weakly, in liturgical use, the whole relation to God may be covered.

V. The stems qwh, yḥl, ḥkh.
1. Basic Meaning. These three stems for hoping or waiting are often equivalent and undergo the same development in relation to faith. The basic sense is that of tautness or tenseness, and what may be expressed is lying in wait, waiting in vain, or lying in a state of painful expectation.

2. Religious Use. Religiously the terms express collectively the hope of salvation (Jer. 8:15) and individually the hope of being heard (Ps. 119:81) or helped. God’s word and grace are hoped for, and God himself, but mostly along with some concrete expectation (Prov. 20:22). The hope of God’s manifestation leads on to the later eschatological hope of a visible establishment of the divine rule.

3. Isaiah. In Isa. 8:17 (cf. 2 Kgs. 6:33) waiting is a faith which endures in spite of divine judgment and wrath. This waiting is a faith that does not yet see but still believes. The tension is that of a venture of faith in a desperate external situation. Here is not the weak and resigned hope of a perhaps, but the energetic hope of a852 nevertheless that arises out of wrestling through to final assurance. The position is much the same in Isa. 40:31, which refers the people to the wisdom and power of the hidden God (v. 27). Here hoping in God is a new form of life and energy that makes the impossible possible. The whole of the ensuing prophecy (including ch. 53) is proof of the victorious might of the energy of a faith that is inward master of life’s most serious afflictions because it has its roots in the transcendent world.

4. Later References. The Psalms especially use stems of hope in this broader and deeper sense for the whole relationship with God (cf. 42:5, 11; 43:5; 130:5-6). Ps. 119 shows how the various tributaries flow into the one main stream of trust in God — the trust which characterizes the prayers of the righteous.

VI. Summary.
In light of the whole development in the OT, one sees that the LXX and NT are right to relate pisteúein primarily to the stem ʾmn, which may be quantitatively secondary but is qualitatively so preeminent that it absorbs the other terms, partly because of its formal character, partly because it is closest to the unique relation between God and Israel, and partly because the prophets give it a creative profundity that promotes inner triumph over the catastrophes of history and the afflictions of individual life. Faith in the OT expresses the being and life of the people of God in a vital divine relationship that spans the whole of this form of life and involves a certainty that releases new energies.

[A. WEISER, VI, 182–96]

C. Faith in Judaism.
1. The OT Legacy. OT faith corresponds to Gk. pisteúein inasmuch as both involve trust in persons and belief in words (including God and his word). The OT term, however, carries a stronger element of acknowledgment and obedience. Thus the divine commandments can be objects of faith (Dt. 9:23), and believing God is acknowledging him as such in a unity of trust, hope, fear, and obedience. This faith has its ground in God’s past actions, and has its own relation to the past in the form of faithfulness. But it also relates to the future as an assurance that God will do what he has promised, and to the present as obedience to the commands in demonstration of covenant faithfulness. In the OT faith always bears an essential relationship to the people, individuals being its subjects only as members of the people. As distinct from NT faith, this faith does not plainly cover the problem of death, still leaves some scope for an appeal to piety, and is so fulfilled in history that it is not a radical  attitude of desecularization like the peace with God (Rom. 5:1) which is independent of national history and individual destiny in this world.

II. Faith in Judaism.
1. OT Motifs. All the motifs of OT faith appear in Judaism, but with a tendency in the rabbis to put an emphasis on obedience to the law, and a heavier stress on faithfulness in the Apocrypha and pseudepigrapha. Along with trust in God, believing that things are true (e.g., God’s word and promises) is inherent in faith. While faith is usually defined by adding the object, the absolute use may also be found. The righteous are the faithful, and they are also believers as distinct from the ungodly or pagans.

2. The Difference from the OT. The main difference from the OT is that faith is no longer to the same degree either faithfulness to God’s acts in history or trust in his future acts. It is much more strongly obedience to the law, the role of the present being merely to mediate canonized tradition. In its orientation to divine acts, faith is more one-sidedly either a belief in miracles of a general belief in providence, while hope looks ahead to supernatural events in which salvation is for the righteous and judgment means an individual retribution that is based on fulfilment or nonfulfilment of the853 divine commands, so that works tend to stand alongside faith, and faith itself may even be viewed as a merit.

III. Philo’s Concept of Faith.
For Philo faith is primarily belief in the one God and trust in his providence. Its real point is a turning from the transient world to the eternal God. This is a disposition of the soul rather than a response to the word. The influence of Platonism and Stoicism may be seen at these points. The relation to the people and its history is snapped, faith is oriented to pure being, which is finally accessible only to ecstasy, and in the last resort faith seems to be more a relation to the self than it is to God.

D. The pístis Group in the NT.
I. Formal Considerations.
1. pisteúō. Formally in the NT, as in Greek usage, pisteúō denotes reliance, trust, and belief. We find similar constructions to those in the Greek world. Semitic usage produces some new ones, e.g., with epí plus the dative or accusative, or with en. Distinctive is the use of pisteúein with eis, which has the new and strong sense of “believing in” and arises in the context of the church’s mission. Another fairly common sense of pisteúein is “to entrust or commit oneself” (cf. Luke 16:11; Jn. 2:24; also in the passive).

2. pístis. As in Greek, this word means “faithfulness” and more commonly (religious) “trust” or “faith,” usually in the absolute, but with eis, prós, epí, en, and also with an objective genitive.

3. pistós. This word may mean either “faithful” or “trusting.” The former sense is usually secular, and no special religious meaning attaches when the reference is to service of God (1 Cor. 4:2 etc.). The situation is different when we read of the loyalty of faith (Rev. 2:10) or of the faithful witness (2:13), but when preaching is pistós the idea is simply that it is reliable (and cf. the use in relation to God or Christ, 1 Cor. 10:13; 2 Cor. 1:18; 2 Tim. 2:13). When the idea is “trusting,” pistós bears the religious sense of “believing.”

4. pistóō. This word occurs in the NT only in the passive at 2 Tim.3:14 in the sense “to be made believing (certain)” (cf. 1 Clem. 42:3). In 1 Clem. 15:4, however, the sense is “to remain faithful to....”

5. ápistos. This might mean “faithless” in Luke 12:46, but the more likely sense is “unbelieving” (cf. more generally Mark 9:19). In Acts 26:8 the meaning is “unworthy of credence.”

6. apistéō. This verb means “to be unfaithful” in Rom. 3:3, “not to believe” in Luke 24:11, and more technically “to refuse to believe” in Mark 16:16.

7. apistía. This word means “unfaithfulness” in Rom. 3:3; Heb. 3:12 (closely related to disobedience; cf. Heb. 3:19), “unbelief” in Mark 6:6, “unbelief” in words in Mark 16:14, and “unbelief” regarding the Christian message in Rom. 11:20.

8. oligópistos. This word derives from Judaism and occurs only in the Synoptists (Matt. 6:30; 8:26; 14:31; 16:8). oligopistía is a variant in Matt. 17:20.

II. General Christian Usage.
1. Continuation of the OT and Jewish Tradition.

a. pisteúō as “to believe.” In the NT the group becomes a leading one to denote the relationship with God, partly on the OT basis and partly in connection with the Christian mission and its call for faith as a turning to God. The verb is often used for believing God’s word, e.g., Scripture (Jn. 2:22), the prophets (Acts 26:27), Moses (Jn. 5:46-47), or what God says through an angel (Luke 1:20) or the Baptist (Mark 11:31).854 Along these lines the NT says that the people should believe Jesus and his words (Jn. 3:34; 5:38).

b. pisteúō as “to obey.” Heb. 11 stresses that to believe is to obey, as in the OT Paul in Rom. 1:8; 1 Th. 1:8 (cf. Rom. 15:18; 16:19)shows, too, that believing means obeying. He speaks about the obedience of faith in Rom. 1:5, and cf. 10:3; 2 Cor. 9:13.

c. pisteúō as “to trust.” This sense is prominent where OT influence is strong, as in Heb. 11, and cf. Mark 5:36; Acts 3:16; 14:9. A connection with prayer emerges in Mark 11:22ff.; Jms. 1:6. Paul describes Abraham’s faith as trust in God’s miracle-working power (Rom. 4:17ff.; cf. also 9:33; 10:11).

d. pisteúō as “to hope.” The relation between faith and hope is clear in Rom. 4:18 and Heb. 11:13. When hope is directed to what is invisible, it entails trust. Only faith, not sense, can perceive the heavenly reality and grasp the promised future (Heb. 11:1). When pístis is specifically faith in Christ, hope is mentioned separately, but such hope contains an element of believing confidence (1 Th. 1:3; 1 Cor. 13:13; 1 Pet. 1:21).

e. Faithfulness. The OT sense of “faithfulness” finds echoes in Heb. 12:1; 13:7; 2 Tim. 4:7; Rev. 2:13; Heb. 11:17; Jms. 1:2-3. This is the point for Paul, too, when he refers negatively to the apistía (“unfaithfulness”) of Israel in Rom. 3:3. In 1 Cor. 16:13, however, pístis is the faith to which one should be faithful.

2. Specifically Christian Usage.

a. pístis as Acceptance of the Message. Especially when used with eis, pístis is saving acceptance of Christ’s work as proclaimed in the gospel. This includes believing, obeying, trusting, hoping, and being faithful, but it is primarily faith in Christ. For Gentiles, it means conversion to the one God who has brought salvation in and through his Son.

b. The Content of Faith. Paul states the content of faith in Rom. 10:9. It involves acknowledgment of the risen Christ. Faith in Christ means faith in his resurrection, and his resurrection implies his prior death for sin (1 Cor. 15:11; cf. Rom. 4:24; 1 Th. 4:14; Phil. 2:6ff.). Kerygma and faith always go together (cf. Acts 2:22ff.), and the reference is always to Christ and what he has done (cf. Jn. 20:31; 16:27; 14:10; 8:24; Rom. 6:8).

c. Faith as Personal Relation to Christ. Believing eis Christ involves a personal relation similar to the relation to God in the OT, although the NT tends to use different constructions for believing in God and in Christ. Acceptance of the gospel is acceptance of Christ as Lord, for Christ and salvation history cannot be severed. Faith accepts the existence of Christ and its significance for the believer. It rests on the message, but as faith in the message it is faith in the person whom the message mediates. The personal aspect comes out in Rom. 10:9, 14; Gal. 2:20; Phil. 1:29; 1 Pet. 1:8.

d. Believing. Faith may be acceptance of the message, as in Acts 20:21, or it may be continuation in believing, as in 1 Cor. 2:5. Since believing is dynamic, it may be weak or strong (Rom. 12:3; 14:1), it may grow (2 Cor. 10:15), it may endure (Col. 1:23), and there may also be references to its fullness (Acts 6:5), practice (1 Th. 1:3), and unity (Eph. 4:13).

e. The Faith. Paul can call the message itself pístis. As such, pístis is a principle, e.g., in contrast to law (Rom. 3:31; cf. 3:27: the law of faith). Along these lines pístis is Christianity either as being a Christian or as the Christian message or teaching (cf. Gal. 6:10; 1:23). Acts 6:7 and Eph. 4:5 offer similar uses, and cf. 1 Tim. 3:9; 4:1, 6. Orthodox doctrine is pístis in Jude 3, 20 and 2 Pet. 1:1. The phrases in 1 Tim. 1:2, 4; 2:7; Tit. 1:1, 4; 3:5 are to the same effect.855

f. Development of the Use of pisteúō. The verb follows much the same pattern as the noun. It usually means “to receive the message,” but it may also denote “to be believing,” and the participles can have  the same force as pistós, which is equivalent to “Christian.”

3. Christian Faith and OT Faith. Faith in the NT is the same as faith in the OT inasmuch as it is belief in God’s word, but with the difference that God’s deed is now disclosed only in the word. The OT righteous believe in God on the basis of manifested acts, but NT believers believe in God in and with the act of the life, death, and resurrection of Christ as this is known only by gospel proclamation. God’s act is here the word, for Jesus is himself God’s word. Faith, then, is trust in God’s eschatological act in Christ and hope for the consummation of the work that God has thus begun. In the interim it is trust that God will not let believers be confounded but that as they are dead with Christ, so they will be kept until they are also raised with him. Insofar as faith is faithfulness, it is faithfulness to God’s saving act in Christ, to the one name in which is salvation (Acts 4:12). The obedience of faith is obedience to the way of salvation in Christ, which includes, of course, turning aside from sin. In every dimension it means a radical reorientation to God that governs all life. Hence faith is the Christian religion and believers are Christians. Yet the stress on Christ is a stress on God, for faith in Christ is faith in God’s act in Christ. God meets believers (only) in Christ, in whom all God’s fullness dwells. Christ is God’s final act embracing already its future and definitive manifestation.

III. pístis and pisteúō in Paul.
1. Paul and the Common Christian Concept.

a. Acceptance of the Message. For Paul faith is primarily, not a disposition, but an acceptance of the message related to confession (Rom. 10:9). Faith is a historical, not a psychological, possibility (Gal. 3:25ff.). The event of salvation history is actualized in baptism; faith makes it the believer’s. As belief in what the message proclaims, faith recognizes its personal validity. It entails obedience as acceptance of the divine act of both grace and judgment at the cross, which brings understanding both of God and of self, i.e., of the grace of God and of the self under grace. Trust and hope arise within this new understanding.

b. Ways of Believing. Since faith involves confession and obedience, it is a state as well as an act. One can have it (Rom. 14:22), be in it (2 Cor. 13:5), and stand in it (1 Cor. 16:13; cf. 1 Th. 3:8; Rom. 5:2). Yet standing in faith is not static, for faith is under assault and has to establish itself (cf. Rom. 11:20). There are degrees of faith (1 Th. 3:10; 2 Cor. 10:15). A weak faith (Rom. 14:1-2) is related to defective knowledge of right conduct (cf. 14:2, 23). Action must be from faith (Rom. 14:23) according to the measure that each enjoys (12:3). There is a work of faith (1 Th. 1:3); it works by love (Gal. 5:6). This work stands in contrast to the works of the law.

2. The Contrast with Judaism.

a. Faith and the Works of the Law. To express the new relation to God, Paul links salvation strictly to faith. Salvation means righteousness, but righteousness is given to faith, not to works. Faith need not be supplemented by works but is a committal to God and his grace. This committal, of course, is an act of will, but one in which a person is and does not merely do. Faith is the manner of life of those who now live in Christ (Gal. 2:19-20). As a negation of self-will, faith is the supreme act, and as such it is the opposite of works in every sense. It is correlative to grace, which stands in antithesis to works that merit payment. Paul does not oppose the content of works but the manner of their fulfilment. Works do not avail when they are a basis of856 boasting, i.e., of a claim on God, as in pagan as well as Jewish thinking. What Paul rejects is the attitude of self-assurance before God, or the attempt to attain it. Faith is the true obedience made possible by God’s gracious act in Christ.

b. Eschatological Faith. As the surrender of the natural man, determining all conduct, faith is an eschatological attitude made possible by God’s eschatological act, i.e., the attitude of the new man. Being in faith, like being in grace or in Christ, means being a new creature (2 Cor. 5:17). The age of grace has ended that of law (Rom. 6:14). The last time has come with faith (Gal. 3:23ff.).

3. Pauline Faith and Gnosticism.

a. Orientation to the Future. As an eschatological attitude, faith is not itself fulfilment. Believers are in conflict (Phil. 3:12ff.). It is provisional, like all historical being. It actualizes eschatological being in temporality. Referred back to God’s act in Christ, it is also referred forward to the consummation (Rom. 6:8). The past act of God controls the future; hence hope stands alongside faith (cf. 1 Th. 4:14). Faith abides (1 Cor. 13:13), but the present life in faith, not including sight, is provisional (2 Cor. 5:7).

b. Faith and Fear. Since grace is not an infused power, but meets us as the grace of judgment and forgiveness, it never lets us escape the concrete conditions of life. Faith removes the stress of trying to win salvation, but the divine imperative remains, and fear is appropriate as the sense that we do not  stand on our own feet and must be careful not to fall in either frivolity or pride (cf. Phil. 2:12; Rom. 11:20). With the confidence of 2 Cor. 3:4 and the boldness of hope of 3:12, Paul knows the fear of the Lord in 5:11, namely, the sense of standing before God (2:17; 4:2).

c. Faith and Historical Existence. Existence in faith is existence in a not yet as well as a no longer (Phil. 3:12ff.). Faith’s resolve has abandoned self-confidence but must be sustained by renewal, by a constant forgetting of what is behind. Abandoning self-confidence means renunciation of the urge to possess and committal to grace; there is possession only in Christ.

IV. pisteúō in John.
1. As Acceptance of the Message. The noun pístis occurs only in 1 Jn. 5:4, but the verb is common in John, and often denotes acceptance of the message, whether with hóti clauses, with eis, or in the absolute.

2. With eis and the Dative. In John believing Jesus or his words is believing in him, for proclaimer and proclaimed are the same as the proclaimed himself meets and speaks with us. The act of God is word, and Jesus is this word-act (Jn. 1:1). Believing in Jesus is the same as coming to him, receiving him, or loving him (1:12; 5:43; 8:42).

3. Faith and Salvation. Faith in the word that Jesus proclaims, and that proclaims Jesus, brings salvation (3:18; 5:24). The word for salvation in John is life. What the world calls life is not life; the world is in error (8:44ff.). The world would believe Jesus if he would speak its language and show it a sign, but his sayings and signs are clear only to believers (16:25, 29). If he spoke the truth in the world’s way, it would no longer be the truth.

4. Faith as Renunciation of the World. The world does not know true life or salvation, and must renounce itself in a turning to what is not seen (Jn. 20:29). People cannot believe when they seek honor from one another in a bid for security (5:44), or when they only want bread that will assure them of bodily life (ch. 6). Faith itself is not a worldly action; it has its roots in the other world as God’s gift or act. One must be of God to hear God’s voice (8:47). This characterizes faith as a miracle, an act of desecularizing. Believers are no longer of the world (15:19). The world, too, views God857 as an object of faith, but it cannot accept the incarnation of the Word (1:14) with its radical concept of desecularizing, not as human soaring up to another world, but by God’s free, eschatological act which means judgment for the world but also salvation by revelation and faith. The invisible becomes visible in a way that offends the world (6:42; 7:27; 5:17ff.; 8:28, 58). The divine desecularizing is not a flight from the world but a reversal of the world’s values, a turning of believers from evil (17:15), a breaking of the force of the world as a historical entity in which everyone has a share by conduct. Revelation challenges this world and is thus an offense to it. In contrast, faith accepts the divine desecularizing and banishes autonomous human power by grasping the revelation of the word.

5. Johannine Faith and Pauline Faith. The inner unity of John and Paul is plain. For neither is faith a good work. For both, however, it is an act with the character of obedience. For both it means renunciation of one’s own power of self-achieved righteousness.

6. Johannine Faith and Gnosticism. In John, as distinct from Paul, the antithesis is not the Jewish striving for righteousness but the universal worldliness that this represents. The specific antithesis in John is the Christian form of this worldliness, i.e., Gnosticism. John uses Gnostic terms when he speaks about being taken out of the world or passing from death to life, but in the setting of the gospel he turns these phrases against Gnosticism. The believer has life only in faith and not as a possession. Seeing Christ’s glory differs from ecstasy, for it comes by seeing the incarnate Lord. Direct vision lies ahead (17:24). Believers are not taken out of the world; they are still exposed to its assaults (17:15; 15:18ff.). Faith cannot break free from the word; it has life only as faith in the word in which alone God’s revelation is present.

7. Faith and Knowledge. Faith does not set us in a desecularized state. It must abide in the word (8:31), which in turn abides in believers (15:4ff.). Knowledge of the truth comes with abiding (8:32). Knowledge is no rival to faith. The two have the same objects. Each may precede the other, so that they are not just initial and final stages. Knowledge is the knowledge of faith, unlike the mutual knowledge of Father and Son. Only when earthly existence ends will vision replace knowing faith. Then Christ’s glory will be seen directly and not under the concealment of the flesh (17:24).

8. Faith and Love. If believers can overcome the world only by faith (1 Jn. 5:4), they can demonstrate desecularizing by their conduct as they keep the commandments of Jesus in an obedience and steadfastness of faith (2:3-4; 3:22). The content of the divine commandments corresponds to the unity of faith and love. Faith sees in Jesus the revealer of divine love (Jn. 3:16). Love is engendered by the receiving of this love (15:11ff.) and abiding in it (15:1ff.; cf. also 1 Jn. 2:5, 9ff.; 3:10-11; 4:7ff.). Believers are known to be the disciples of Jesus by their love for one another (Jn. 13:35).

[R. BULTMANN, VI, 197–228]

Bromiley, Geoffrey W., trans., Gerhard Kittel, Gerhard Friedrich, ed. Theological Dictionary of the New Testament: Abridged in One Volume Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 2003. WORDsearch CROSS e-book. 

Liddell and Scott's Greek-English Lexicon

πιστεύω

πιστεύω, f. εύσω: plqpf. πεπιστεύκειν: (πίστις):—to trust, trust to or in, put faith in, rely on, believe in a person or thing, c. dat., π. τινί Herodotus, Att.; with neut. Adj., λόγοις ἐμοῖσι πίστευσον τάδε believe my words herein, Euripides:—later, π. εἰς Θεόν to believe on or in God, N.T.; π. ἐπὶ τὸν Κύριον Ib.:—absol. to believe, Herodotus, Thucydides:—Pass. to be trusted or believed, Plato; πιστεύεσθαι ὑπό τινος to enjoy his confidence, Xenophon; π. παρά τινι, πρός τινα Demosthenes; ὡς πιστευθησόμενος as if he would be believed, Id.:—Med. to believe mutually, Id.

2. to comply, Sophocles.

3. c. inf. to believe that, feel sure or confident that a thing is, will be, has been, Euripides, etc.; π. ποιεῖν to dare to do a thing, Demosthenes:—Pass., πιστεύομαι ἀληθεύσειν I am believed likely to speak truth, Xenophon.

4. c. dat. et inf., τοῖσι ἐπίστευε σιγᾶν to whom he trusted that they would keep silence, in whose secresy he confided, Herodotus.

5. to believe, have faith, N.T.

II. π. τί τινι to entrust something to another, Xenophon, etc.:—Pass., πιστεύομαί τι I am entrusted with a thing, have it committed to me, Id.

Liddell, H. G. and R. Scott. An Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon: Founded Upon the Seventh Edition of Liddell and Scott's Greek-English Lexicon. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1889. WORDsearch CROSS e-book. 

Girdlestone's Synonyms of the Old Testament

§5. Trust
Passing from the idea of faith to that of trust, a few exceptional renderings in the A. V. may be noted in the first instance. In Ps. 22:8, 'He trusted on the Lord,' the word galal, 'to roll,' is used. In Job 35:14, 'Trust thou in him,' the word is chul (‏חוּל‎, <H2343>) 'stay thou (or 'wait thou') upon him.' Yachal (‏יחל‎), to hope, occurs in Job 13:15, 'Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him;' and Isa. 51:5, 'On mine arm shall they trust.' Chasah (‏חָסָה‎, <H2620>), to flee for refuge, is rendered 'trust' in the A. V. in above thirty passages, out of which number twenty-four occur in the Psalms. It is often used where God is compared to a rock or a shield, or where the saint is described as taking refuge104 'under the shadow of his wings.' It is used in Ps. 2:12, 'Blessed are all they that put their trust in him;' where we are taught that the Son affords that same kind of shelter or protection which the Father gives. Compare Ps. 34:8, where the same words are applied to Jehovah. The word is also used in Ps. 118:8, 'It is better to trust in the Lord than to put any confidence in man;' in Isa. 14:32, 57:13, and Zeph. 3:12.

The most general word, however, to express trust is bathach (‏בָּטַח‎, <H982>), to confide in, or lean upon.[1] Dr. Sayce says that this root is replaced in Assyrian by takalu, e.g. ina tukulli Assuri, 'in reliance on Assur.' Here it is to be remarked that, though we are in the habit of speaking of faith and trust as the same thing, the Hebrew has two distinct words for them, and so has the LXX. Whilst aman answers to πιστεύω, to believe, or realise, bathach, to trust, is never so rendered, nor is the substantive derived from it ever rendered πίστις. For the verb we generally find ἐλπίζω, to hope, or πείθομαι, to be persuaded; and for the noun we have ἐλπίς, hope. The man who believes God is he who, having received a revelation from Him, realises it, and acts upon it as true. The man who trusts God is he who casts all his hopes for the present and future on God. It is the former quality, not the latter, that God regards as a condition of justification. Faith must precede hope, because a hope for the future which is not grounded upon a present acceptance with God is no hope; and a sense of acceptance which is not accompanied with a living, working faith is an unreality.

Girdlestone, R. B. Girdlestone's Synonyms of the Old Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1897. WORDsearch CROSS e-book.

Girdlestone's Synonyms of the Old Testament
§4. Truth

The general Hebrew word for truth or truthfulness, and faith or faithfulness, is a derivative of the verb Aman (‏אָמַן‎, <H539>, Ass. amanu), whence the word Amen draws its origin. Aman in its simple active form signifies to nurse or nourish up; in the passive, to be firm and established, and hence steadfast (Prov. 11:13); and in the Hiphil or causative form, to take as established, and hence to regard as true, to realise, or to believe. The last is its most general rendering. The A. V. translates it 'to have assurance' in Deut. 28:66; and 'to trust' in Judg. 11:20; Job 4:18, 12:20, 15:15, 31; and Micah 7:5. A form of this word is translated pillars in 2 Kings 18:16; compare 1 Tim. 3:15, 'the pillar and ground of the truth.' In Dan. 3:14, where the A. V. reads, 'Is it true, O Shadrach?' another word (‏צְדָא‎, <H6656>) is used, which signifies of a purpose or intentionally. In Dan. 3:24, 6:12, 7:16 and 19, itsev (‏יָצַב‎, <H3320>), to be firm or settled, is rendered true.


The form emeth (‏אֱמֶת‎, <H571>) is usually rendered truth, but is translated right in Gen. 24:48; Neh. 9:33; Jer. 2:21. The form Emunah, generally rendered faithfulness, is found in 
Hab. 2:4,[1] This passage might be rendered 'the righteous (man) shall live in his faithfulness.' The note on the text in Poole's 'Synopsis' is as follows:—'Qui bonus probusque est manebit constans in expectatione eorum quae dixi, 'the good and upright man will continue firm in the expectation of those things which I have declared.' Certainly faith, in this passage, is something more than a bare acquiescence in God's word. It is such a belief in the revealed word of God as brings the man into contact with the Divine life, and so breathes righteousness or conformity to God's law into his heart. It worketh, as St. Paul says, by love. Compare Bishop Lightfoot's excursus on Faith in his Commentary on the Galatians. 103where we read, 'The just shall live by his faith'—words which ought to be read in connection with the fifth verse of the first chapter, 'I will work a work in your days which ye will not believe, though it be told you.' Emunah is used of the steadiness of the hands of Moses in Exod. 17:12; and of the stability of the times in Isa. 33:6. In several other passages it is used of God's faithfulness; and it would have been well if this rendering had been adopted (instead of truth) in Deut. 32:4; Ps. 33:4, 96:13, 98:3, 100:5, and 119:30. See also Prov. 12:17.

The LXX almost always adopts πιστεύω, to believe, as the rendering for the causative form of Aman, as in Gen. 15:6, where it first occurs. The adjective is sometimes rendered πιστός, faithful; and sometimes ἀληθινός, real or true. When these two Greek words come together in the N. T. as characterising the glorified Son of God, they express the Hebrew word in all its fulness, and answer to the 'Amen,' by which title He is also described.[1] See Rev. 3:14, also 19:11, 21:5, 22:6. 'Amen4' is  usually rendered ἀληθῶς, verily, or γένοιτο, so be it, in the LXX; and only three times do we find the word in its Greek form Ἀμήν. Dr. Sayce points out that at the end of many Babylonian hymns we find amanu. The substantive is usually πίστις, faith; but sometimes ἀλήθεια, truth.


Girdlestone, R. B. Girdlestone's Synonyms of the Old Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1897. WORDsearch CROSS e-book.

Mounce's Complete Expository Dictionary of OT/NT Words: Expository Dictionary

Believe


Old Testament


Verb: ‏אָמַן‎ (ʾāman), GK 586 (S <H539>), 97x.ʾāman means “to believe, trust.” In its participial form it has the nuance of “trustworthy, faithful” and can also be used to express the type of support a guardian might provide for a child (Num. 11:12; Ruth 4:16; 2 Sam. 4:4; Isa. 49:23).


ʾāman addresses the nature of God and his word as being faithful and true. God is “the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love” (Deut. 7:9). Moreover, the Lord “is faithful to all his promises” (Ps. 145:13). Because God is faithful, so is what he speaks: “The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy” (Ps.  19:7). Because God expects his people to look to him for guidance in life characteristics, God also expects faithfulness and integrity from his people (cf. 1 Sam. 2:35; Ps. 101:6; Isa. 1:26). Moses, for example, was “faithful in all [God’s] house” (Num. 12:7).


The most common usage of ʾāman connotes belief, recognizing that something is true. When Jacob’s sons tell their father that Joseph is still alive and that he is ruler of Egypt, Jacob is stunned; “he does not believe them” (Gen. 45:26; cf. Exod. 4:1, 8; 1 Ki. 10:7; 2 Chr. 32:15; Isa. 53:1). But the full biblical concept of believing in both the OT and NT is not merely acknowledging something to be true, nor is it the popular notion of belief that implies little more than having a deep emotional resonance with something. The biblical concept of believing involves action. “Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness,” for his “believing” involved doing (Gen. 15:6; see the argument of James in Jas. 2:20-24). At least twice before this pronouncement from God, Abraham left his “comfort-zone” to obey God (Gen. 12:1-4; 13:14-18), and later he was willing to sacrifice his son Isaac (Gen. 22). Abraham’s basic faith was in God himself as the faithful, covenant Lord.


ʾāman also involves trusting that God is powerful enough to accomplish his word and that what he says is absolute truth and certainty. “And when the Israelites saw the great power the Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant” (Exod. 14:31; cf. Num. 14:11; Deut. 1:32; Ps. 78:22, 32, 37). A key story here is that of King Jehoshaphat, when he faces the threat of Moab and Ammon. The king assures the people that the Lord will fight for them, provided they have faith: “Have faith in God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful” (2 Chr. 20:20). God then destroys the enemy nations gathered against his people.


It is from this same root that we get the word “amen” (GK 589; see Num. 5:22; Deut. 27:15-26; 32:20; 1 Chr. 16:36; Ps. 72:29). Rather than being a perfunctory reply to an agreeable statement, “amen” means “so let it be established” or “let it be so.” Like the idea of faith in general, “amen” is to be followed by a commitment to enact it: “At this the whole assembly said, ‘Amen,’ and praised the Lord. And the people did as they had promised” (Neh. 5:13). To amen the Lord’s commandments is not just to say they are good ideas. It is to say, “I commit myself to obeying them.” See NIDOTTE, 1:427-33.


New Testament


Verb: δοκέω (dokeō), GK 1506 (S <G1380>), 62x. dokeō means “to think, believe, suppose.” See think.


Verb: πιστεύω (pisteuō), GK 4409 (S <G4100>), 241x. pisteuō generally means “to believe, be convinced of something,” and in a more specific way “to have faith” in God or Christ. It can also mean “to entrust something to someone.”


(1) pisteuō can mean “to believe, be convinced of something” (Mt. 8:13; Jn. 9:18; 11:27; Acts 15:11; Rom. 6:8; 14:2; 1 Jn. 5:1). Before healing a group of blind men, Jesus asks them if they believe he is able to do it (Mt. 9:28). Martha is convinced that Jesus is the Christ (Jn. 11:27), and Jesus’ disciples finally believe that God sent him (Jn. 16:27, 30; 17:8). pisteuō is used to express the central convictions of the Christian faith, as in the assertion, “We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him” (1 Thess. 4:14).


In particular, pisteuō is used to mean “to be convinced of” what is spoken or written (Mt. 24:23, 26; Mk. 16:14; Jn. 4:21; 4:53; 8:46; Acts 24:14; 1 Cor. 15:11). Mary is blessed because she believes what the Lord said will be accomplished for her (Lk. 1:45). To believe Jesus’ words is to believe the one who sent him (Jn. 5:24) and to believe the witness of the OT Scriptures (5:46-47). After the resurrection, the disciples remember and believe the Scriptures and the words Jesus spoke while he was with them (Jn. 2:22). People respond to hearing the gospel message by believing it (Acts 4:4; 8:12).


pisteuō also means “to accept as true” what someone says. Jesus rebukes the chief priests and elders for not believing John the Baptist, while tax collectors and prostitutes believed him (Mt. 21:25, 32). Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness (Rom. 4:3; Gal. 3:6; Jas. 2:23). Someone can believe God and still not possess saving faith, since even the demons believe God (Jas. 2:19). This indicates that to believe is not simply to give mental assent, but to turn one’s whole being over to God.


(2) pisteuō can also mean “to have faith in” or “trust in” God (Jn. 14:1; Acts 16:34; Rom. 4:17; Tit. 3:8). Those who believe in God have their faith credited to them as righteousness (Rom. 4:5, 24). Often pisteuō means “to have faith or trust in” Jesus (Mt. 18:6; Jn. 2:23; 4:39; Acts 5:14; 9:42; Phil. 1:29; 1 Jn. 3:23) and so to receive eternal life (Jn. 3:16; 6:40; Acts 16:31; 1 Jn. 5:13). Believing in Jesus also leads to justification (Rom. 10:4, 10; Gal. 2:16), forgiveness of sin (Acts 10:43), and receiving the promises of God (Gal. 3:22). Those who believe in Jesus become children of God (Jn. 1:12), never thirst (Jn. 6:35), are filled with the Spirit (Jn. 7:38-39), and move from darkness into light (Jn. 12:46). Jesus said, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent” (6:29).


There is a correlation between seeing and believing. Many people do not believe even though they have seen Jesus (Jn. 6:36). Thomas says that he will not believe that the other disciples have seen Jesus unless he sees him. When Jesus appears to Thomas and he finally confesses belief, Jesus responds by saying, “Blessed are those who believe without seeing” (Jn. 20:25, 29; see also 1 Pet. 1:8).


There is also a correlation between hearing and believing in that believing is the expected response to hearing the gospel (Jn. 4:39, 41, 42; Acts 11:21; 14:1; Rom. 10:14-17). Jesus calls for a response of belief to his preaching when he says, “The time has come, the kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news” (Mk. 1:15). Consequently, rather than call God’s people “Christians,” the NT often simply calls them “those who believe” or “believers” (Acts 2:44; 4:32; 15:5; 21:25; 22:19; Rom. 4:11; 1 Cor. 14:22; 1 Thess. 1:7). Jesus says that everything is possible for those who believe, because of the power of the God in whom he believes (Mk. 9:23; 11:23, 24).


(3) pisteuō can also mean “to commit or entrust something to someone.” If someone has not been faithful in handling worldly wealth, no one will “trust” him with true riches (Lk. 16.11). Jesus did not entrust himself to those who seemed to believe in him at the Passover feast (Jn. 2:24). The Jews had been entrusted with the words of God in the OT Scriptures (Rom. 3.2). Paul sees the gospel as having been entrusted to him by God for him to preach to the Gentiles (1 Cor. 9:17; Gal. 2:7; 1 Thess. 2:4; 1 Tim. 1:11; Tit. 1:3). See NIDNTT-A, 462-66.



Mounce, William D., ed. Mounce's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words: Expository Dictionary. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2006. WORDsearch CROSS e-book. 

Mounce's Complete Expository Dictionary of OT/NT Words: Expository Dictionary
Trust


Old Testament


Verb: ‏אָמַן‎ (ʾāman), GK 586 (S <H539>), 97x.ʾāman means “to believe, trust.” In its participial form it has the nuance of “trustworthy, faithful.” See believe.


Verb: ‏בָּטַח‎ (bāṭaḥ), GK 1053 (S <H982>), 118x. This word means “to trust, rely on, depend on,” with the sense of being completely confident and feeling utterly safe (cf. the related noun bet[ah@, GK 1055, which means “safety, security”). Trusting God is one of the fundamental lifestyle characteristics of the people of God.


Throughout the OT, people are encouraged to put their trust in the Lord. “Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge” (Ps. 62:8; cf. Ps. 4:5; cf. 115:9-11; 125:1; Isa. 26:4). Though there is a place for trusting other people (Prov. 31:11), human relationships should not be the ultimate basis of our confidence. Jeremiah proclaims, “Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the Lord.… But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him” (Jer. 17:5, 7). It is part of human nature to rely on ourselves.


The essence of trust is a recognition of who God is and who we are. Those who are wealthy could be tempted to “trust” in money (Prov. 11:28). Those who are politically powerful could “trust” in their social networks (Ps. 146:3). Those who are strong could seek stability on the basis of physical or military might (Deut. 28:52; Jer. 5:17). Intelligent people may be tempted to think that they can make sense of life on their own understanding and intellectual prowess (Prov. 3:5-6; 28:26). It is only when we recognize that all of these things are insufficient that we must look outside of ourselves. To trust God rather than any of these earthly things is to express confidence in his character and to acknowledge that he is more reliable than anything we possess might or attain.


Trusting God means that we lean upon him even when it may invite our own destruction (e.g., 1 Sam. 17; Dan. 3). In a story repeated three times in the OT (2 Ki. 18:17-19:37 [bāṭaḥ occurs 9x]; 2 Chr. 32:1-23; Isa. 36:1-37:38 [bāṭaḥ occurs 9x]), the Assyrian king Sennacherib threatens Hezekiah and the city of Jerusalem with a challenge to their dependence on the Lord. Sennacherib specifically derides Hezekiah’s trust in God for deliverance (2 Ki. 18:30, 35). It is during these moments when we are surrounded with terrifying circumstances that our trust is tested. To rely on God is to acknowledge our helplessness and to resign ourselves to his care—no matter the cost. It is chilling to think of the massacre Sennacherib would have inflicted on Jerusalem if he had the chance. However, when morning came, 185,000 of his men lay dead and God had proved, once again, why he is a God who can be trusted. When we “trust” in him, we will “not be disappointed” (Ps. 22:5). See NIDOTTE, 1:644-49.


New Testament


Verb: πιστεύω (pisteuō), GK 4409 (S <G4100>), 241x. pisteuō generally means “to believe, be convinced of something,” and in a more specific way “to have faith” in God or Christ. It can also mean “to entrust something to someone.” See believe.


Mounce, William D., ed. Mounce's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words: Expository Dictionary. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2006. WORDsearch CROSS e-book. 





Mounce's Complete Expository Dictionary of OT/NT Words: Expository Dictionary

Entrust

New Testament

Verb: πιστεύω (pisteuō), GK 4409 (S <G4100>), 241x. pisteuō generally means “to believe, be convinced of something,” and in a more specific way “to have faith” in God or Christ. It can also mean “to entrust something to someone.” See believe.


Mounce, William D., ed. Mounce's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words: Expository Dictionary. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2006. WORDsearch CROSS e-book. 

Mounce's Complete Expository Dictionary of OT/NT Words: Expository Dictionary

Convince

New Testament

Verb: πείθω (peithō), GK 4275 (S <G3982>), 52x. peithō means “to persuade, convince.” In the NT, it has a wide range of application. Paul, for example, uses this word to refer to his own personal convictions about the work of God, that nothing can separate us from the love of Christ (Rom. 8:38) and that God will complete his good work of salvation in us (Phil. 1:6). See persuade.

Verb: πιστεύω (pisteuō), GK 4409 (S <G4100>), 241x. pisteuō generally means “to believe, be convinced of something,” and in a more specific way “to have faith” in God or Christ. It can also mean “to entrust something to someone.” See believe.

Mounce, William D., ed. Mounce's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words: Expository Dictionary. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2006. WORDsearch CROSS e-book. 

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