Use of the word 'faith' in the bible.

Pamelav · Aug 6, 2016

Something I cannot get a grasp on is the Word used in the new testament of 'faith'. I understand it's meaning in Hebrews 11 as 'the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.'
But the way the Apostle Paul uses it, and he uses it especially alot on his writings to Timothy. I was wondering maybe if this word is put in there often as the closest English word available to the Greek.
1 Timothy 14 '...and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus.'

1 Timothy 19 '...Keeping faith and a good conscience which some have rejected and suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith.' ( Sounds like two different meanings?)

1 Timothy 2:7 'For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle ( I am telling to truth, I am not lying) as a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.

1 Timothy 'but holding to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience.' ( Seems obvious that would be the faith of christianity, or can we say 'religion' of christianity? )

1 Timothy 'For those who have served well as deacons obtain for themselves a high standing and great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.' (Seems obvious that would be christianity) ( why do they? But that is for another question)

1 Timothy 4:1 'But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith...'( seems obvious. That would be christianity)

1 Timothy 4:6 '...constantly nourished on the words of the faith...'( Christianity)

2 Timothy 1:13 'Retain the standard of sound words which you have heard from me in the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus.

2 Timothy 18 'Men who have gone astray from the truth saying that the resurrection has already taken place, and they upset the faith of some.' Sounds like 'truth' here could be replaced with 'faith'.

2 Timothy 22 'Now flee from youthful lust and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace...' ???? Seems like all these things are a part of faith, so why would the umbrella term 'faith' be included? So what does it mean here then?

2 Timothy 3:10 'Now you followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, perserverance...' Sounds just like I said above.

2 Timothy 15 'and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.' This one actually sounds like the Hebrews 11 definition.

2 Timothy 4:7 'I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith'

Ephesians 6:23 'Peace be to brethren, and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.' Huh?

I skipped over several of the obviouses in Timothy which where referring the the faith or religion of Christianity. I know in our modern world, the term faith is used as saying 'what religion are you?' Or 'of what faith are you?' Same thing.

It just messes up my comprehension when I'm reading along and suddenly this word 'faith' gets interjected in alot of areas.

Gregory Thompson · Aug 6, 2016

I tend to use Trust as a replacement word/concept, more conducive relationship with hope, love, and every day life.

We do live in a society with trust issues, well I do anyway.

dysert · Aug 6, 2016

In almost all cases, the word rendered "faith" means reliance or trust. Heb. 11:1 allows the believer to treat the future as sure as the present and the unseen things as seen. Having faith (in God) means you're relying on Him to keep His word, and you're trusting Him alone for eternal life.

fhansen · Aug 6, 2016

Traditionally faith as been seen as a supernatural (God-given) virtue, along with hope and love (ref 1 Cor 13), and also as the body of truths one must believe in. We can believe-which is the act of faith- but also have or hold beliefs, which define the objects of our faith.

Soyeong · Aug 6, 2016

Pamelav said:
Something I cannot get a grasp on is the Word used in the new testament of 'faith'. I understand it's meaning in Hebrews 11 as 'the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.'
But the way the Apostle Paul uses it, and he uses it especially alot on his writings to Timothy. I was wondering maybe if this word is put in there often as the closest English word available to the Greek.
1 Timothy 14 '...and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus.'

1 Timothy 19 '...Keeping faith and a good conscience which some have rejected and suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith.' ( Sounds like two different meanings?)

1 Timothy 2:7 'For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle ( I am telling to truth, I am not lying) as a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.

1 Timothy 'but holding to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience.' ( Seems obvious that would be the faith of christianity, or can we say 'religion' of christianity? )

1 Timothy 'For those who have served well as deacons obtain for themselves a high standing and great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.' (Seems obvious that would be christianity) ( why do they? But that is for another question)

1 Timothy 4:1 'But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith...'( seems obvious. That would be christianity)

1 Timothy 4:6 '...constantly nourished on the words of the faith...'( Christianity)

2 Timothy 1:13 'Retain the standard of sound words which you have heard from me in the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus.

2 Timothy 18 'Men who have gone astray from the truth saying that the resurrection has already taken place, and they upset the faith of some.' Sounds like 'truth' here could be replaced with 'faith'.

2 Timothy 22 'Now flee from youthful lust and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace...' ???? Seems like all these things are a part of faith, so why would the umbrella term 'faith' be included? So what does it mean here then?

2 Timothy 3:10 'Now you followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, perserverance...' Sounds just like I said above.

2 Timothy 15 'and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.' This one actually sounds like the Hebrews 11 definition.

2 Timothy 4:7 'I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith'

Ephesians 6:23 'Peace be to brethren, and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.' Huh?

I skipped over several of the obviouses in Timothy which where referring the the faith or religion of Christianity. I know in our modern world, the term faith is used as saying 'what religion are you?' Or 'of what faith are you?' Same thing.

It just messes up my comprehension when I'm reading along and suddenly this word 'faith' gets interjected in alot of areas.

Faith/Faithfulness

“These terms refer to the value of reliability. The value is ascribed to persons as well as to objects and qualities. Relative to persons, faith is reliability in interpersonal relations: it thus takes on the value of enduring personal loyalty, of personal faithfulness. The nouns ‘faith’, ‘belief’, ‘fidelity’, ‘faithfulness,’ as well as the verbs ‘to have faith’ and ‘to believe,’ refers to the social glue that binds one person to another. This bond is the social, externally manifested, emotionally rooted behavior of loyalty, commitment, and solidarity. As a social bond, it works with the value of (personal and group) attachment (translated ‘love’) and the value of (personal and group) allegiance or trust (translated ‘hope.’) p. 72 Pilch and Malina Handbook of Biblical Social Values.

Optimax · Aug 6, 2016

Faith is referred to as:

Faith/trust in Jesus.
Faith or belief in the whole Christian belief system.
Faith to live by.

hedrick · Aug 6, 2016

Some responses have given the most widespread definition in Paul. But the OP asks about a specific use in the Pastorals, and also Jude (e.g. 3:20) and 2 Pet (1:1). These are later letters in a time when Christianity has become something headed down from earlier Christians. The Greek word is the same. Even in English it has the same range of meaning, so I think the translation is a reasonable one. In those passages the faith is an established body of beliefs and practices. It can be a synonym for Christianity, a word that I don't think was used yet.

Lexicon entries for faith are pretty long, since it has a range of meanings and implications. You have to understand the specific nuance from the context and the habits of the specific author.

Greg J. · Aug 7, 2016

In the Greek, faith, belief, and trust have the same root word. So when I am trying to understand a verse, I swap in a different word to see if it is easier to understand, and it often is. But trust your translators, and afterward, swap back the original word and try to understand it again.

Archie the Preacher · Aug 8, 2016

"Faith" is the English language word used in place of the Greek word transliterated 'pistos'. As many English words, it can be used in more than one way.

Used as a verb, ('having faith') it means a reliance, a deep and abiding trust in something. It suggests far more than 'wishful thinking' as is often suggested or implied in modern usage. When scientists do experiments and come up with what they see as 'solid' results, they have 'faith' the information is correct and that 'faith' is essentially the same as a Christian's 'faith' in God. There is no room for doubt or question of error. Some scientists would demand use of the word 'know' in place of faith, but Christians 'know' God's love - or should. Both cases are indicative of the same level of confidence in the matter at hand. That is the meaning of the Hebrews 11 usage.

"Faith" - pistos - is also used as a noun in the sense of the set of ideas, concepts and teachings incorporated in Christianity; as in "I am of the Faith". It has come to include that same idea for any 'religion'. This is the 1 Timothy 19 use. (They gave up the set of beliefs and came to grief over that surrender.)

tdidymas · Aug 8, 2016

Words are defined by the context in which they are used. I'll try to help where you had specific questions:

Pamelav said:
1 Timothy 19 '...Keeping faith and a good conscience which some have rejected and suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith.' ( Sounds like two different meanings?)

"their faith" is a personal faith, that is, where they are directing their trust (as opposed to "the faith" which is the set of Christian doctrines which the apostles and Jesus taught). Therefore "keeping faith" should also mean to keep one's personal faith/trust directed toward Christ.

2 Timothy 18 'Men who have gone astray from the truth saying that the resurrection has already taken place, and they upset the faith of some.' Sounds like 'truth' here could be replaced with 'faith'.

"Truth" means the actual facts as taught by the NT, so yes, it could possibly mean "the faith," that is, the teachings of the apostles. But "the faith of some" means their personal faith. Personal faith is a spiritual action of a person.

2 Timothy 22 'Now flee from youthful lust and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace...' ???? Seems like all these things are a part of faith, so why would the umbrella term 'faith' be included? So what does it mean here then?

2 Timothy 3:10 'Now you followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, perserverance...' Sounds just like I said above.

Faith here is not separated from the other virtues, but has a distinct function. Again, it is the personal faith he is speaking of, which is a person's spiritual action to hold Christ as the object of their trust. Other virtues, such as patience, love, and perseverance would be different actions but would result from faith.

Ephesians 6:23 'Peace be to brethren, and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.' Huh?

"love with faith from God..." would mean that we should love the brethren because God loved us first, and we should love them out of our faith in Christ. "With faith" has to mean the same as "the goal of our instruction is faith working through love." The two go together.

Hope this helps.
TD

Geralt · Aug 8, 2016

not just believing (which implies a passive tense), but total reliance (which is active). i would define it as "total dependence". it is therefore in the biblical sense, a reaction or response.

if it is the active tense, then you will have to ask the most important question about faith which no one have seemed to asked in this forum : What precedes faith ? or what causes a person to have faith ? a reaction/response to what?

my answer is 1) awareness of helpless need, and 2) understanding and conviction of who God is

1) no one will have faith on God if he has NEED for it. why have faith ?-> because you have a need. not just a need, but a need beyond your control, something you cannot resolve on your own. whether it be cancer, or search for meaning or understanding, or fear of failure, or danger, or death, or poverty, or suffering, or disability, o hunger, or persecution, etc..

you can see this happening on all the people of God commended or rebuked for their faith (or lack of it): the bleeding woman for more than a decade, the thief on the cross, the apostles on the boat with the storm, abraham traveling to a land he has not known, his desire for a child in a very old age, his fear of losing isaac of whom he is to sacrifice, christians tortured in the arena, people wondering about how the world came into being, etc..

all these people have been subjected to a condition or situation were they are totally helpless and in dire NEED of help or comfort or answer.

small children or babies cannot have faith, they are not aware of what their needs are. mentally disable persons cannot have faith, they are not physically able to understand what their needs are.

now I am about to write something you might be shock or disagree: DID JESUS HAVE FAITH? -> JESUS DID NOT HAVE FAITH or has no need of it, for the main reason that there simply is no situation in his recorded life BEYOND his control that he is totally helpless. He can and has the ability to resolve all His difficult situation by His own power if He wills it. But his true humility is shown in his obedience to the cross and WILLFULLY endure the suffering. He is however the source of faith, and the giver of faith for those who has need of it.

2) our helpless need points us to someone who has the power and ability to resolve it -> GOD himself. however we cannot have faith in God by simply becoming aware that we are totally and helplessly in dire need IF WE DO NOT KNOW OR UNDERSTAND CORRECTLY who God is.

God has revealed Himself in/ and given us Scripture for us to know the character of God, his ABILITY, his power and promises, his likes and dislikes. All this are more than enough to satisfy the question of WHOM TO GO TO, when we are placed in a position of helplessness.

TOTAL HELPLESSNESS => LOOK TO GOD FOR HELP = FAITH

the lack of falsely understanding God becomes Idolatry- when we acknowledge we have a need and then approach an idol or a convenient idea of our own making about how God is or should be.

application in evangelism: obviously you do not start with an Altar Call, or the niceties and privileges of belonging to a church. you start to tell people they are sinners, subject to damnation and loss of eternal life. This places them in a position of helpless need. If they find this as of No importance then it is totally useless to tell them to have faith, otherwise forcing it you will have a conforming peson who thinks they have faith, but honestly don't know why they have faith in the first place. the gospel is not good news to those who have no need for it, much like a doctor offering medicine to a person who denies he is sick or is in no need. that said, really the best places to share the gospel are those who are in places of suffering and helplessness, near death, or those who experienced sorrow. (hospitals, impoverished and persecuted people, nursing homes and end-of-life care centers, homeless and rejected people, funerals and death of a loved one, etc..) all these places are people asking for help and comfort and meaning and are totally helpless.

application in salvation: salvation is by grace through faith (alone). by faith we acknowledge we are totally helpless to save ourselves, and thus we look to another to save us. if salvation is by works (or faith+works as others would like the play of words) => this assumes that salvation is within the control of a person and therefore is not a helpless situation. look at it whatever way you want, there is really no FAITH there. salvation is not a gift and becomes a reward -> which is within your control.

application to suffering: obviously our suffering is the opportune time to have faith or witness our faith. unless we are placed in a situation of total helplessness, we will never look to God for help. the faithful man has always one common and regular prayer, like Peter, "Lord save me". Matthew 14:30 ; this is akin to many chapters in the book the Psalms wherein the psalm writer asks God 'to save me' or that 'God is His salvation' in response to sorrow, guilt from sin, threat of enemies, etc..

Pamelav said:
Something I cannot get a grasp on is the Word used in the new testament of 'faith'. I understand it's meaning in Hebrews 11 as 'the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.'
But the way the Apostle Paul uses it, and he uses it especially alot on his writings to Timothy. I was wondering maybe if this word is put in there often as the closest English word available to the Greek.
1 Timothy 14 '...and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus.'

1 Timothy 19 '...Keeping faith and a good conscience which some have rejected and suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith.' ( Sounds like two different meanings?)

1 Timothy 2:7 'For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle ( I am telling to truth, I am not lying) as a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.

1 Timothy 'but holding to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience.' ( Seems obvious that would be the faith of christianity, or can we say 'religion' of christianity? )

1 Timothy 'For those who have served well as deacons obtain for themselves a high standing and great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.' (Seems obvious that would be christianity) ( why do they? But that is for another question)

1 Timothy 4:1 'But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith...'( seems obvious. That would be christianity)

1 Timothy 4:6 '...constantly nourished on the words of the faith...'( Christianity)

2 Timothy 1:13 'Retain the standard of sound words which you have heard from me in the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus.

2 Timothy 18 'Men who have gone astray from the truth saying that the resurrection has already taken place, and they upset the faith of some.' Sounds like 'truth' here could be replaced with 'faith'.

2 Timothy 22 'Now flee from youthful lust and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace...' ???? Seems like all these things are a part of faith, so why would the umbrella term 'faith' be included? So what does it mean here then?

2 Timothy 3:10 'Now you followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, perserverance...' Sounds just like I said above.

2 Timothy 15 'and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.' This one actually sounds like the Hebrews 11 definition.

2 Timothy 4:7 'I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith'

Ephesians 6:23 'Peace be to brethren, and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.' Huh?

I skipped over several of the obviouses in Timothy which where referring the the faith or religion of Christianity. I know in our modern world, the term faith is used as saying 'what religion are you?' Or 'of what faith are you?' Same thing.

It just messes up my comprehension when I'm reading along and suddenly this word 'faith' gets interjected in alot of areas.

Optimax · Aug 8, 2016

Faith is believing what God says about any life issue, speaking the same thing He said about it and practicing it.

1213 · Aug 8, 2016

Pamelav said:
...
It just messes up my comprehension when I'm reading along and suddenly this word 'faith' gets interjected in alot of areas.

I have understood that faith comes from word faithfulness that means loyalty. I think the idea is to be loyal to God, same way as many persons in Bible were loyal to God.

Archie the Preacher · Aug 8, 2016

1213 said:
I have understood that faith comes from word faithfulness that means loyalty.

Same as I do

1213 said:
I think the idea is to be loyal to God, same way as many persons in Bible were loyal to God.

Probably correct as well, at least as used in the Bible. However, the word gets bandied about a bit, using the term for 'loyalty' to one's country, to one's friends, perhaps even the brand of car one drives. (I'm a Ford man, just since I mentioned it.)

But, as many words in many languages, it has a function as verb - the above you and I have discussed is 'an action', or verb form and it has a noun form, a 'thing'. As such, it is the composite of religious beliefs in a certain setting. Such as 'the Christian Faith'. In 2nd Timothy 1:3-5, Paul speaks of Timothy's 'faith' which was "...alive first in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice, and I am sure is in you." I suppose one could argue this was the verb meaning, but since it seems to be passed on from Grandmother to mother to Timothy, I gather it to be the knowledge and reliance on all the details of the Jewish religion (faith).

I just did some looking and your impression - the 'verb' form - seems to be of greater frequency than the noun form.

But as such, it is loyalty and reliance on something, not just wishful thinking.

Pamelav · Aug 15, 2016

Romans 12:3

For thru the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think but to think as to have sound judgement, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.

So what do you think he is saying here?

Optimax · Aug 15, 2016

Pamelav said:
Romans 12:3

For thru the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think but to think as to have sound judgement, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.

So what do you think he is saying here?

Everybody was given the same amount.

But everyone does not learn to use the faith that works in the Kingdom of God.

Use of the word 'faith' in the bible.

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