Faith and Faithfulness (Part 1)

This is the first in a series of studies on the topic of faith and faithfulness. (If you are coming to this page from a search engine, I recommend this link for a table of contents of the topics covered in this series.)

What is faith?  How is it different (or the same) as faithfulness?   Before we I look at some Bible texts, I will start with some dictionary definitions.  As with much of Biblical vocabulary, I think the dictionary is an inadequate source for determining meaning, but it is a starting point.  In this post I will mostly look at definitions from various sources.

Dictionary Definitions for Faith

Following is the entry for faith in Wiktionary.   I suspect that most people use the word in the sense of #1, #2 and #5.   I also suspect that faith in the senses of #6 and #7 is not what most people are thinking about when they use the word in a Biblical context.  In this study I propose that definitions #6 and #7— faith as fidelity or faithfulness— are an important aspects that add to our understanding of the Bible.  "Belief and trust" are the primary definitions in a religous context.

faith

1. Mental acceptance of and confidence in a claim as truth without proof supporting the claim.
2. (Christian theology) Belief and trust in the Christian God's promises revealed through Christ in the New Testament.
3. A feeling or belief, that something is true, real, or will happen.
   
4. A trust in the intentions or abilities of a person, object, or belief in spite of a lack of knowledge in the person, object, or belief.
   
5. A system of religious belief.
   
6. An obligation of loyalty or fidelity.
7. The observance of such an obligation.
   

Following is the definition for faith from the online Merriam-Webster dictionary.   I am pleasantly surprised to see "allegiance to duty or a person: loyalty" as the leading definition as I think this is a meaning of the word that is being lost.  However, the definitions with a religious context emphasize belief.

Main Entry: faith
Pronunciation: \ˈfāth\

Function: noun

Inflected Form(s): plural faiths \ˈfāths, sometimes ˈfāthz\

Etymology: Middle English feith, from Anglo-French feid, fei, from Latin fides; akin to Latin fidere to trust — more at bide

Date: 13th century

1 a : allegiance to duty or a person : loyalty b (1) : fidelity to one's promises (2) : sincerity of intentions
2 a (1) : belief and trust in and loyalty to God (2) : belief in the traditional doctrines of a religion b (1) : firm belief in something for which there is no proof (2) : complete trust
3 : something that is believed especially with strong conviction; especially : a system of religious beliefs

synonyms see belief

The Oxford American Dictionary has nothing to say about loyalty or allegiance in its definition.  Again, the definitions with a religious context are about belief.

faith |fāθ|
noun
1 complete trust or confidence in someone or something : this restores one's faith in politicians.
2 strong belief in God or in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual apprehension rather than proof.
• a system of religious belief : the Christian faith.
• a strongly held belief or theory : the faith that life will expand until it fills the universe.

Dictionary Definitions for Faithfulness

Following is the definition for faithful from the online Merriam-Webster dictionary.   Notice that faithful is not  full of belief.

Main Entry: faith·ful
Pronunciation: \ˈfāth-fəl\
Function: adjective
Date: 14th century
1 obsolete : full of faith
2 : steadfast in affection or allegiance : loyal
3 : firm in adherence to promises or in observance of duty : conscientious
4 : given with strong assurance : binding
5 : true to the facts, to a standard, or to an original
— faith·ful·ly  \-fə-lē\ adverb
— faith·ful·ness noun

The Oxford American Dictionary has this definition for faithful.  If faithful was simply the adjective form of the belief sense of faith, then we would expect it to be a synonym for believing— but it is not.

faithful |ˈfāθfəl|
adjective
1 loyal, constant, and steadfast
• (of a spouse or partner) never having a sexual relationship with anyone else.
• (of an object) reliable.
2 [usu. as plural n. ] ( the faithful) having a strong belief in a particular religion, esp. Islam.
3 true to the facts or the original.

Synonyms
loyal, constant, true, devoted, true-blue, unswerving, staunch, steadfast, dedicated, committed; trusty, trustworthy, dependable, reliable.

Uses of Faith and Faithful in the New Testament


Following is a list of the Greek vocabulary that faith and related words translate in the King James Version.  The most important Greek words in this list are pistis (πιστις – G4102) and pistos (πιστος – G4103).

faith*  (303 total words)

      faith = 243
            G3640  oligopistos  ολιγοπιστος  = 5
            G4102  pistis  πιστις  = 238
      Faithful = 2
            G4103  pistos  πιστος  = 2
      faithful = 51
            G4103  pistos  πιστος  = 50
            (No Key number) = 1
      faithfully = 1
            G4103  pistos  πιστος  = 1
      faithfulness = 2
            G4102  pistis  πιστις  = 2
      faithless = 4
            G0569  apisteo  απιστεω  = 1
            G0571  apistos  απιστος  = 3

The King James Version translates pistis and pistos and the related word pisteuo in the following ways:

• pisteuo (G4100) –  believe (239 times), commit unto (4 times), commit to (one's) trust (1 time), be committed unto (1 time),  be put in trust with (1 time),  be commit to one's trust (1 time), believer (1 time)
• pistis (G4102) – faith (239 times),  assurance (1 time),  belief (2 times),  them that believe (1 time),  fidelity (1 time) 
• pistos (G4103) –  faithful (53 times),  believe (6 times),  believing (2 times),  true (3 times),  faithfully (1 time),  believer (1 time),  sure (1 time)

Notice that all of these words include a range of meanings from belief (highlighted in orange) to faithfulness (highlighted in green).

You can read a lengthy discussion about these words (online here) in Thayer's Lexicon on pages 511-514.  I will try to summarize the discussion below.  Notice that these definitions also include a range of meanings that are similar to those above.

• pisteuo – Used in the Septuagint for he'emin (האמין) –  To believe; to think to be true; to be persuaded of; to credit, place confidence in; to intrust a thing to one; to be instrusted with a thing
• pistis – Used in the Septuagint for emunah (אמונה) and several times for emet (אמת) and amanah (אמנה) – confiction of the truth of anything, belief; (almost as an afterthought) fidelity, faithfulness, i.e. the character of one who can be relied on
• pistos – Used in the Septuagint mostly for ne'eman (נאמן) – trusty, faithful; worthy of trust; can be relied on; easily pursuaded; believing, confiding, trusting

Following are the definitions taken from Blue Letter Bible.  As with the other sources, there are a range of meanings for each word.  I have highlighted some meanings that seem to be less recognized in New Testament interpretation.

Pisteuo – verb – G4100

• to think to be true, to be persuaded of, to credit, place confidence in
• of the thing believed
• to credit, have confidence
• in a moral or religious reference
• used in the NT of the conviction and trust to which a man is impelled by a certain inner and higher prerogative and law of soul
• to trust in Jesus or God as able to aid either in obtaining or in doing something: saving faith
• mere acknowledgment of some fact or event: intellectual faith
• to entrust a thing to one, i.e. his fidelity
• to be intrusted with a thing

Pistis – noun – G4102

• conviction of the truth of anything, belief; in the NT of a conviction or belief respecting man's relationship to God and divine things, generally with the included idea of trust and holy fervour born of faith and joined with it 
• relating to God 
• the conviction that God exists and is the creator and ruler of all things, the provider and bestower of eternal salvation through Christ 
• relating to Christ 
• a strong and welcome conviction or belief that Jesus is the Messiah, through whom we obtain eternal salvation in the kingdom of God 
• the religious beliefs of Christians 
• belief with the predominate idea of trust (or confidence) whether in God or in Christ, springing from faith in the same 
• fidelity, faithfulness 
• the character of one who can be relied on

pistos – adjective – G4103

• trusty, faithful
• of persons who show themselves faithful in the transaction of business, the execution of commands, or the discharge of official duties
• one who kept his plighted faith, worthy of trust
• that can be relied on
• easily persuaded
• believing, confiding, trusting
• in the NT one who trusts in God's promises
• one who is convinced that Jesus has been raised from the dead
• one who has become convinced that Jesus is the Messiah and author of salvation

I am not very satisfied with these definitions.  There is a lot of room for very different interpretations.  In the next post in this series I will start to look at these words in the Septuagint to see if we can get a better understanding about what they mean.   Here is something to think about— in the Septuagint, the word pistis is often used to talk about God— Psalm 33:4 – For the word of the LORD is upright,
And all His work is done in faithfulness (Septuagint: pistis).  Pistis is the word that is translated as faith in the New Testament.  Do the primary definitions given above for pistis make any sense when talking about the work of God?