Faith

fā th:
1. Etymology
2. Meaning: A Divergency
3. Faith in the Sense of Creed
4. A Leading Passage Explained
5. Remarks
6. Conclusion
In the Old Testament (the King James Version) the word occurs only twice: Deu_32:20 (‫אמון‬, 'ēmūn); Hab_2:4 (
‫אמונה‬, 'ĕmūnāh). In the latter the Revised Version (British and American) places in the margin the alternative
rendering, “faithfulness.” In the New Testament it is of very frequent occurrence, always representing πιστις, pistis,
with one exception in the King James Version (not the Revised Version (British and American)), Heb_10:23, where it
represents ἐλπίς, elpís, “hope.”
1. Etymology

The history of the English word is rather interesting than important; use and contexts, alike for it and its Hebrew
and Greek parallels, are the surest guides to meaning. But we may note that it occurs in the form “feyth,” in Havelok
the Dane (13th century); that it is akin to fides and this again to the Sanskrit root bhidh, “to unite,” “to bind.” It is
worth while to recall this primeval suggestion of the spiritual work of faith, as that which, on man's side, unites him to
God for salvation.
2. Meaning: A Divergency

Studying the word “faith” in the light of use and contexts, we find a bifurcation of significance in the Bible. We may
distinguish the two senses as the passive and the active; on the one side, “fidelity,” “trustworthiness”; and “faith,”
“trust,” on the other. In Gal_5:22, e.g. context makes it clear that “fidelity” is in view, as a quality congruous with the
associated graces. (the Revised Version (British and American) accordingly renders pistis there by “faithfulness.”)
Again, Rom_3:3 the King James Version, “the faith of God,” by the nature of the case, means His fidelity to promise.
But in the overwhelming majority of cases, “faith,” as rendering pistis, means “reliance,” “trust.” To illustrate would be
to quote many scores of passages. It may be enough here to call attention to the recorded use of the word by our Lord.
Of about twenty passages in the Gospels where pistis occurs as coming from His lips, only one (Mat_23:23) presents it
in the apparent sense of “fidelity.” All the others conspicuously demand the sense of “reliance,” “trust.” The same is
true of the apostolic writings. In them, with rarest exceptions, the words “reliance,” “trust,” precisely fit the context as
alternatives to “faith.”
3. Faith in the Sense of Creed

Another line of meaning is traceable in a very few passages, where pistis, “faith,” appears in the sense of “creed,”
the truth, or body of truth, which is trusted, or which justifies trust. The most important of such places is the paragraph
Jam_2:14-26, where an apparent contradiction to some great Pauline dicta perplexes many readers. The riddle is
solved by observing that the writer uses “faith” in the sense of creed, orthodox “belief.” This is clear from Jam_2:19,
where the “faith.” in question is illustrated: “Thou believest that God is one.” This is the credal confession of the
orthodox Jew (the shema‛; see Deu_6:4), taken as a passport to salvation. Briefly, James presses the futility of creed
without life, Paul the necessity of reliance in order to receive “life and peace.”

4. A Leading Passage Explained

It is important to notice that Heb_11:1 is no exception to the rule that “faith” normally means “reliance,” “trust.”
There “Faith is the substance (or possibly, in the light of recent inquiries into the type of Greek used by New Testament
writers, “the guaranty”) of things hoped for, the evidence (or “convincing proof”) of things not seen.” This is sometimes
interpreted as if faith, in the writer's view, were, so to speak, a faculty of second sight, a mysterious intuition into the
spiritual world. But the chapter amply shows that the faith illustrated, e.g. by Abraham, Moses, Rahab, was simply
reliance upon a God known to be trustworthy. Such reliance enabled the believer to treat the future as present and the
invisible as seen. In short, the phrase here, “faith is the evidence,” etc., is parallel in form to our familiar saying,
“Knowledge is power.”
5. Remarks

Faith 09 19 06 1
 A few detached remarks may be added: (a) The history of the use of the Greek pistis is instructive. In the
Septuagint it normally, if not always, bears the “passive” sense “fidelity,” “good faith,” while in classical Greek it not
rarely bears the active sense, “trust.” In the koinē, the type of Greek universally common at the Christian era, it seems
to have adopted the active meaning as the ruling one only just in time, so to speak, to provide it for the utterance of
Him whose supreme message was “reliance,” and who passed that message on to His apostles. Through their lips and
pens “faith,” in that sense, became the supreme watchword of Christianity. See JUSTIFICATION; UNION WITH
CHRIST.
6. Conclusion

In conclusion, without trespassing on the ground of other articles, we call the reader's attention, for his Scriptural
studies, to the central place of faith in Christianity, and its significance. As being, in its true idea, a reliance as simple
as possible upon the word, power, love, of Another, it is precisely that which, on man's side, adjusts him to the living
and merciful presence and action of a trusted God. In its nature, not by any mere arbitrary arrangement, it is his one
possible receptive attitude, that in which he brings nothing, so that he may receive all. Thus “faith” is our side of union
with Christ. And thus it is our means of possessing all His benefits, pardon, justification, purification, life, peace, glory.
As a comment on our exposition of the ruling meaning of “faith” in Scripture, we may note that this precisely
corresponds to its meaning in common life, where, for once that the word means anything else, it means “reliance” a
hundred times. Such correspondence between religious terms (in Scripture) and the meaning of the same words in
common life, will be found to be invariable.

Faith
General references
2Sa_22:31; Psa_5:11; Psa_7:1; Psa_9:9-10; Psa_18:30; Psa_32:10; Psa_33:18-19; Psa_34:1-8; Psa_34:22;
Psa_2:12; Psa_36:7; Psa_40:4; Psa_64:10; Psa_78:5-7; Psa_84:5; Psa_84:12; Psa_112:5; Psa_112:7-8;
Psa_118:8-9; Psa_125:1; Psa_147:11; Pro_3:5; Pro_14:26; Pro_22:19; Pro_28:25; Pro_29:25; Pro_30:5;
Isa_10:20; Isa_14:32; Isa_26:3; Isa_30:15; Isa_57:13; Jer_17:7-8; Jer_39:18; Nah_1:7; Mat_9:22; Mat_21:21-22;
Mar_9:23-24; Mar_11:23-24; Luk_7:50; Luk_8:48-50; Luk_17:5; Luk_18:8; Joh_11:25-27; Act_3:16; Act_13:48;
Act_26:18; Rom_1:16-17; Rom 4:1-25; Rom_5:1; Rom_9:31-33; Rom_10:6-10; Rom_11:20; Rom_11:23;
Rom_15:13; 1Co_1:21; 1Co_2:5; 1Co_12:8-9; 2Co_1:24; Gal 3:1-29; Gal_5:22; Eph_2:8; Eph_6:16; Col_1:23;
Col_2:12; 1Th_2:13; 1Th_5:8; 2Th_2:13; 1Ti_1:5; 1Ti_1:19; 1Ti_2:15; 1Ti_4:10; 1Ti_6:11-12; 1Ti_6:17; 2Ti_4:7-8;
Heb_4:1-11; Heb_6:1; Heb_6:7; Heb_6:12; Heb_6:18; Heb_10:35; Heb_10:38-39; Heb_11:1-3; Heb_11:6;
Heb_13:5-6; Jam_1:6; Jam 2:1-26; 1Pe_1:5; 1Pe_1:7; 1Pe_1:9; 1Pe_1:21; 1Pe_3:5; 1Jo_3:21; 1Jo_5:4; Rev_22:7
Enjoined
Exo_14:13; Deu_20:1; Num_21:34; Deu_1:21-31; Deu_3:2; Deu_3:22; Deu_7:17-21; Deu_31:23; Jos_10:25;
Jdg_6:14-16; 2Ki_19:6-7; 2Ch_20:15; 2Ch_20:17; Deu_31:6-8; Jos_1:5-9; 2Ch_15:7; 2Ch_16:9; 2Ch_20:20;
2Ch_32:7-8; Neh_4:14; Job_35:14; Psa_4:5; Psa_27:14; Psa_31:19; Psa_31:24; Psa_37:3; Psa_37:5; Psa_37:7;
Psa_37:39-40; Psa_55:22; Psa_62:8; Psa_115:9; Psa_115:11; Psa_130:7; Pro_3:5-6; Pro_3:24-26; Pro_16:3;
Isa_26:4; Isa_26:20; Isa_35:3-4; Isa_37:6; Isa_41:10; Isa_41:13-14; Isa_43:1-2; Isa_43:5; Isa_43:10; Isa_44:2;
Isa_44:8; Isa_50:10; Jer_42:11; Jer_49:11; Joe_2:21; Joe_3:16; Hab_2:3-4; Zep_3:16-17; Zec_8:9; Zec_9:12;
Mat_6:25-34; Mat_17:18-20; Mar_11:23-24; Mar_1:15; Mar_11:22; Luk_12:22-32; Luk_17:6
Exemplified
Gen_6:22; Gen_16:13; Gen_24:7; Gen_24:40; Gen_48:21; Gen_50:20; Gen_50:24; Ex 15:1-19; Exo_18:11;
Num_10:29; Num_14:8-9; Jos_14:12; 1Sa_14:6; 1Sa_17:36-37; 1Sa_17:45-47; 2Sa_7:28; 2Sa_23:5; 2Ki_18:5;
1Ch_28:20; 2Ch_13:10-11; 2Ch_14:11; 2Ch_20:12; 2Ch_32:7-8; Ezr_8:22; Neh_1:8-10; Neh_2:20; Job_4:7-21;
Job_5:8-9; Job_10:12; Job_13:15-16; Job_14:15; Job_16:19; Job_19:25-27; Job_23:6; Job_42:2; Psa_3:3;
Psa_3:5-6; Psa_4:3; Psa_4:8; Psa_6:8-9; Psa_7:1; Psa_7:10; Psa_9:3-4; Psa_11:1; Psa_13:5; Psa_16:1-2;
Psa_16:5; Psa_16:8; Psa_16:11; Psa_17:6; Psa_18:1-3; Psa_18:18; Psa_18:28-29; 2Sa_22:2-5; Psa_20:5-7;
Psa_21:7; Psa_22:4-5; Psa_23:1-6; Psa_25:1-2; Psa_25:5; Psa_25:15; Psa_25:20; Psa_26:1; Psa_26:12; Psa_27:1;
Psa_27:5-6; Psa_27:10; Psa_28:7; Psa_31:1; Psa_31:3-6; Psa_31:14-15; Psa_32:7; Psa_33:20-22; Psa_35:10;
Psa_38:9; Psa_38:15; Psa_39:7; Psa_40:3-4; Psa_40:17; Psa_41:12; Psa_42:5-6; Psa_42:8; Psa_43:5; Psa_44:5;
Psa_44:8; Psa_46:1-3; Psa_46:5; Psa_46:7; Psa_47:3-4; Psa_48:8; Psa_48:14; Psa_52:8; Psa_54:4; Psa_55:16-
17; Psa_56:3-4; Psa_56:8-9; Psa_56:11; Psa_55:23; Psa_57:1-3; Psa_59:9-10; Psa_59:17; Psa_60:9-10;
Psa_60:12; Psa_108:10-13; Psa_61:2; Psa_61:4; Psa_61:6-7; Psa_62:1; Psa_62:5-7; Psa_63:6-7; Psa_66:9;
Psa_67:6; Psa_69:19; Psa_69:35-36; Psa_70:5; Psa_71:1; Psa_71:3; Psa_71:5-7; Psa_71:14; Psa_71:16;
Psa_71:20-21; Psa_73:23-24; Psa_73:26; Psa_73:28; Psa_74:12; Psa_77:10-12; Psa_86:2; Psa_86:7; Psa_89:18;
Psa_89:26; Psa_90:1; Psa_91:1-2; Psa_91:9-10; Psa_92:10; Psa_92:15; Psa_94:14-15; Psa_94:17-18; Psa_94:22;
Psa_102:13; Psa_115:12-14; Psa_116:7; Psa_118:6-7; Psa_118:10; Psa_118:14; Psa_118:17; Psa_119:42-43;
Psa_119:57; Psa_119:74; Psa_119:81; Psa_119:114; Psa_119:151; Psa_119:166; Psa_121:2; Psa_124:8; Psa_130:5-6;
Psa_138:7-8; Psa_140:6-7; Psa_140:12; Psa_141:8; Psa_142:3; Psa_142:5; Psa_143:8-9; Psa_144:2; Psa_144:10;
Ecc_11:1; Isa_8:10; Isa_8:17; Isa_12:2; Isa_25:9; Isa_26:1; Isa_26:8; Isa_33:2; Isa_33:22; Isa_38:16; Isa_50:7-
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 9; Isa_63:16; Isa_64:8; Jer_10:23; Jer_14:9; Jer_14:22; Jer_16:19; Jer_17:12; Jer_17:17; Jer_20:11; Lam_3:24-
32; Dan_3:16-17; Dan_6:16; Jon_2:2-9; Mic_7:7-9; Mic_7:20; Hab_1:12; Hab_3:17-19; Zep_3:12; Luk_1:38;
Luk_7:50; Joh_3:33; Act_16:34; Act_24:14-15; Act_27:25; Rom_8:18; Rom_8:28; Rom_8:38-39; Rom_15:29;
1Co_9:26; 2Co_1:10; 2Co_4:8-9; 2Co_4:13; 2Co_4:16-18; 2Co_5:7; Gal_5:5; Phi_1:19-21; 1Ti_4:10; 2Ti_1:12;
2Ti_2:11-13; Heb_10:34; Heb_11:4-5; Heb_11:7-11; Heb_11:13-14; Heb 11:16-39; Heb_13:14; 2Pe_3:13; 1Jo_4:16
Instances of:
Noah, in building the ark
Gen_6:14-22; Heb_11:7
Abraham:
In forsaking the land of his nativity at the command of God
Gen_12:1-4
In believing the promise of many descendants
Gen_12:7; Gen_15:4-8
In the offering up of Isaac
Gen_22:1-10; Rom_4:18-21; Heb_11:8-19
Jacob, in blessing Joseph's sons
Heb_11:21
Joseph, concerning God's providence in his being sold into Egypt, and the final deliverance of
Israel
Gen_50:20; Heb_11:22
Jochebed, in caring for Moses
Exo_2:2; Heb_11:23
Pharaoh's servants, who obeyed the Lord
Exo_9:20
Moses:
In espousing the cause of his people
Heb_11:24-28
At the death of Korah
Num_16:28-29
See Miracles, Catalogue of
Israelites:
When Aaron declared the mission of himself and Moses
Exo_4:31
In the battle with the Canaanites
1Ch_5:20
In other conquests
2Ch_13:8-18
Caleb, in advising to take the land of promise
Num_13:30; Num_14:6-9
Rahab, in hospitality to the spies
Jos_2:9; Jos_2:11; Heb_11:31
The spies, sent to reconnoiter Jericho
Jos_2:24
Conquest of Jericho
Josh 6
Manoah's wife
Jdg_13:23
Hannah
1 Sam 1
Jonathan, in smiting the Philistines
1Sa_14:6
David:
In smiting Goliath
1Sa_17:37; 1Sa_17:46-47

In choosing to fall into the hands of the Almighty in his punishment for numbering Israel
2Sa_24:14
In believing God's promise, that His kingdom would be a perpetual kingdom
Act_2:30
Elijah, in his controversy with the priests of Baal
1Ki_18:32-38
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 Widow of Zarephath in feeding Elijah
1Ki_17:13-15
Amaziah, in dismissing the Ephraimites in obedience to the command of God, and going alone to
battle against the Edomites
2Ch_25:7-10
Hezekiah
2Ki_18:5; 2 Kin 19; 2Ki_20:1-11
Daniel, in the lions' den
Dan 6
The three Hebrews, who refused to worship Nebuchadnezzar's idol
Dan_3:13-27
Ninevites, in obeying Jonah
Jon_3:5
Ezra, in making the journey from Babylon to Jerusalem without a military escort
Ezr_8:22
Joseph, in obeying the vision about Mary and to flee into Egypt
Mat_1:18-24; Mat_2:13-14
Abel
Heb_11:4
Eliphaz, in the overruling providence of God, that afflictions are for the good of the righteous
Job 5:6-27
Mordecai, in the deliverance of the Jews
Est_4:14
Simeon, when he saw Jesus in the temple
Luk_2:25-35
Conquests by
Heb_11:32-34
In Christ
Mat_7:24-25; Luk_6:46-49; Mat_8:2; Mat_8:13; Mat_9:22; Mat_9:29; Mat_11:6; Mat_11:28-30; Mat_14:27;
Joh_6:20; Mat_15:28; Mat_17:7; Mar_9:23; Mar_16:16; Luk_7:9; Luk_7:50; Luk_8:50; Mar_5:36; Luk_17:6;
Luk_18:42; Joh_1:12; Joh_3:14-16; Joh_3:18; Joh_3:36; Joh_6:47; Joh_5:24; Joh_6:29; Joh_6:35; Joh_6:45;
Joh_7:38; Joh_9:35; Joh_11:25-26; Joh_11:40; Joh_12:36; Joh_12:44; Joh_12:46; Joh_13:7; Joh_13:20;
Joh_14:1; Joh_14:11-12; Joh_16:27; Joh_16:33; Joh_18:37; Joh_20:27; Joh_20:29; Joh_20:31; Act_3:16;
Act_10:43; Act_15:9; Act_15:11; Act_16:31; Act_20:21; Act_26:18; Rom_3:22-28; Rom_9:33; Rom_10:4;
Rom_10:9; Gal_2:16; Gal 3:1-29; Gal_5:6; Eph_1:12-14; Eph_3:12; Eph_3:17; Eph_4:13; Phi_3:9; Col_2:7;
1Ti_1:16; 2Ti_1:13; 2Ti_2:1; 2Ti_3:15; Heb_4:16; Heb_6:19; Heb_10:22; Heb_12:2; Heb_13:7; 1Pe_1:8; 1Pe_2:6-
7; Isa_28:16; 2Pe_1:1; 1Jo_3:23; 1Jo_5:4-5; 1Jo_5:10; 1Jo_5:13-14; Jud_1:21; Rev_1:17; Rev_3:18; Rev_3:20
In Christ, exemplified
Mat_8:2; Mat_9:18; Mat_9:21; Mar_5:28; Luk_8:48; Mat_9:28; Mat_14:33; Mat_15:26-28; Mar_7:27-30;
Mat_16:16; Mar_9:24; Joh_9:38; Luk_5:5; Luk_7:3-9; Mat_8:5-10; Luk_23:42; Joh_4:29; Joh_4:42; Joh_6:14;
Joh_6:68-69; Joh_7:31; Joh_10:41-42; Joh_11:21-22; Joh_11:27; Joh_11:32; Joh_16:30; Joh_20:28; Act_8:37;
Act_11:17; Rom_7:24-25; Rom_8:35; Rom_8:37; 2Co_12:9-10; Gal_2:20; Phi_4:13; 1Ti_1:14; 2Ti_1:12; 2Ti_4:18
Instances of faith in Christ:
The wise men of the East
Mat_2:1-2; Mat_2:11
Peter
Mat_4:18-22; Mar_1:16-20; Luk_5:4-5; Joh_6:68-69
Andrew
Mat_4:18-22; Mar_1:16-20; Joh_1:41
James and John
Mat_4:21-22; Mar_1:19-20
The woman with the issue of blood
Mat_9:21-22
Jairus, for the healing of his daughter
Mat_9:18; Mat_9:23-25

Two blind men

Mat_9:29-30
Blind Bartimaeus and a fellow blind man
Mat_20:30-34; Mar_10:46-52; Luk_18:35-42
The Samaritan leper
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 Luk_17:11-19
The sick of Gennesaret
Mat_14:36; Mar_3:10; Mar_6:54-56
Those who brought the paralytic to Jesus
Luk_5:18-20
The Syrophenician woman
Mat_15:22-28; Mar_7:25-30
The woman who anointed Jesus' feet
Luk_7:36-50
Those who brought sick of palsy
Mat_9:2
Philip
Joh_1:45-46
Nathanael
Joh_1:49
The Samaritans who believed:
Through the preaching of Jesus
Joh_4:39-42
Through the preaching of Philip
Act_8:9-12
The nobleman whose child was sick
Joh_4:46-53
Abraham
Joh_8:56
The blind man whom Jesus healed on the Sabbath
John 9:13-38
Mary, the sister of Martha
Luk_10:38-42; Joh_11:32
John, the disciple
Joh_20:8
The disciples, through the miracle at Cana of Galilee
Joh_2:11
Jews at Jerusalem
Joh_2:23; Joh_8:30; Joh_11:45; Joh_12:11
Three thousand at Pentecost
Act_2:41
Five thousand
Act_4:4
Multitudes
Act_5:14
The cripple at Lystra
Act_14:9
Stephen
Act_6:8
Ethiopian eunuch
Act_8:37
People of Lydda and Saron
Act_9:35
People of Joppa
Act_9:42
People of Antioch
Act_11:21-24
Barnabas
Act_11:24

Eunice, Lois, and Timothy

2Ti_1:5; Act_16:1

Lydia
Act_16:14
Philippian jailer

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 Act_16:31-34
Crispus
Act_18:8
The Corinthians
Act_18:8; 1Co_15:11
Jews at Rome
Act_28:24
Ephesians
Eph_1:13; Eph_1:15
Colossians
Col_1:2; Col_1:4
Thessalonians
1Th_1:6; 1Th_3:6-8; 2Th_1:3-4
Philemon
Phm_1:5
Church at Thyatira
Rev_2:19
Trial of
General references
1Ch_29:17; Psa_26:2; Psa_81:7; Mat_13:19-22; Luk_8:13-14; Mat_24:21-25; 2Th_1:3-5; Heb_6:13-15;
Jam_1:3; Jam_1:12; 1Pe_1:7
See Temptation
Instances of trial of faith:
Noah
Gen_6:14-22; Heb_11:7
Abraham:
When commanded to leave his native land and go he knew not whither
Gen_12:1-4; Heb_11:8
When commanded to offer Isaac
Gen 22:1-19; Heb_11:17-19
Moses:
When sent to Pharaoh
Exo_3:11-12; Exo_4:10-17; Heb_11:25-29
At the Red Sea, by the murmurings of the people
Ex 14-15
Joshua and the children of Israel, in the method of taking Jericho
Josh 6; Heb_11:30
Gideon, when commanded to deliver Israel
Jdg_6:36-40; Judg 7; Heb_11:32
Job, by affliction and adversity
Job 1-2
Ezra, in leaving Babylon without a military escort
Ezr_8:22
Daniel, when forbidden to pray to Jehovah
Dan 6:4-23; Heb_11:32-33
The three Hebrews, when commanded to worship the image
Dan 3:8-30; Heb_11:32-34
The Syrophenician woman
Mat_15:21-28; Mar_7:24-30
The two blind men who appealed to Jesus for sight
Mat_9:28
The disciples, when Jesus came walking on the Sea of Galilee
Mat_14:25-33
The disciples:

By the question of Jesus, as to who He was

Mat_16:15-20; Luk_9:20-21
By their inability to cast out the evil spirit from the lunatic
Mat_17:14-21; Mark 9:14-29; Luk_9:37-42

In the tempest at sea

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 Mat_8:23-27; Mar_4:36-41; Luk_8:22-26
Of Philip, when questioned by Jesus as to how the multitude would be fed
Joh_6:5-6
Of Peter, when asked whether he loved Jesus
Joh_21:16-17
See Afflictions, Design of
Strengthened by miracles
See Miracles, Design of
Sum total of religious belief and life
Rom_1:8; Jud_1:3
Weak
See Doubting

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