This is the first post in a three-part series titled “Three Things Remain.” The purpose of this series is to go deeper into the meaning of the three greatest gifts: faith, hope, and love.
So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
1 Corinthians 13:13
Faith is a word that Christians and non-Christians commonly use. Though they may use it differently and not even rightly. Historically, the word faith was translated in English from the Latin word fides, which means trust or confidence.
One definition of faith from the Merriam-Webster dictionary is “a belief and trust in and loyalty to God.” Additionally, the Oxford English Dictionary defines faith as “complete trust or confidence in someone or something.”
However, over time, the definition of faith has changed. And it’s modernly used to express belief in something with little to no evidence. The Merriam-Webster dictionary has another meaning for the word faith. It is a “firm belief in something for which there is no proof” and the Oxford English Dictionary as “strong belief in the doctrine of a religion, based on spiritual conviction rather than proof.”
But which of the two is the biblical definition of faith? Is it a confident belief or blind trust? Before we answer that question, let’s look at the meaning of the word faith used in its original Hebrew and Greek.
Faith in Hebrew
The first appearance of the word faith in the old testament depends on the translation used. In the NKJV, the word “faith” appears twice. The first time is in Deuteronomy 32:20. “And He said: I will hide My face from them, I will see what their end will be, for they are a perverse generation, children in whom is no faith.”
According to Strong’s concordance, the Hebrew word translated as faith is emun, which means faithfulness. The word emun, however, appears four other times in the Old Testament: Proverbs 13:17, Proverbs 14:15, Proverbs 20:6 and Isaiah 26:2.
Faith appears for the second time in Habakkuk 2:4. “Behold the proud, His soul is not upright in him, but the just shall live by his faith.”
According to the Strong’s Concordance, the word faith here is the Hebrew word emunah, which means firmness, steadfastness, fidelity. It first appears in Exodus 17:12, but the translation is steady. Emunah appears forty-eight other times in the Old Testament, mostly as faithfulness or faithfully such as in 1 Samuel 26:23 and 2 Kings 12:15.
Emunah and emun both come from the root word aman, which means established, confirm, and support. So, we can conclude that faith means being steady and firm in what you believe, and it‘s long-lasting.
Faith in Greek
Faith first appears in the New Testament in Matthew 8:30, “Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?”
From Strong’s Concordance, the Greek word used in that verse is pistis, which means belief, trust, confidence, and fidelity. Pitis appears over 200 times in the New Testament.
Pistis comes from the root word peitho, which means to persuade, have confidence, come to trust. So, we can conclude that faith is an absolute and confident belief. It is being persuaded and assured that He is who He is.
Putting it all together
The Bible defines faith in Hebrews 11:1 as “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”
The amplified version says, “Now faith is the assurance (title, deed, confirmation) of things hoped for (divinely guaranteed), and the evidence of things not seen (the conviction of their reality- faith comprehends as fact what cannot be experienced by the physical senses).”
From both the Hebrew and Greek words of faith and the verse above, the right definition of faith is a complete belief, trust, and confidence in something. It is steady, unwavering, and lasts forever.
For Christians, to have faith in God means to confidently believe in Him, to be assured and convinced that He exists even though we can’t see Him. And to steadily trust Him no matter what goes on in our life. Faith means to trust God.
As Martin Luther King Jr. said, “faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.” But by modern definition, faith is walking in the dark, believing you are on a staircase without evidence.
Many Christians believe in the modern definition of faith (I once believed that too). When I became a Christian, I thought faith meant believing without proof, so I never tried to look up for facts. But I don’t think God wants us to have blind faith.
Romans 1:20 states that God has left us enough evidence to enable us to believe in Him confidently and “we are without excuse“. Furthermore, 1 Peter 3:15 says that we must always be ready to defend our faith and “give the reason for the hope that is in you.” We can’t do that if we have nothing to show for it.
However, we are not always going to have “proof” for everything God asks us to do. Sometimes God may ask us to “take a leap of faith,” ask us to walk in the dark and can’t see where we are going. But because we have a confident trust in Him, we can obey Him and go wherever He leads us, even though we may not know where. Our faith, our trust is in the One who leads us, not the destination nor journey.
Attributes of Biblical faith
Faith appears over 200 times in the new testament. Hebrews 11, also known as the “Hall of Faith” or the “Faith Hall of Fame,” features many examples of people who lived by faith. Here is what the Bible has to say about faith
1. Faith is a gift from God. It is not something we can produce on our own
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,
Ephesians 2:8
2. Faith in God comes first, without it we cannot please Him.
And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
Hebrews 11:61
3. Faith is priceless and it is tested and refined through trials
In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
1 Peter 1:6-7
4. Faith comes through the Word of God
So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
Romans 10:17
5. Good deeds evidence real faith
So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
James 2:17
6. Faith produces miracles
He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you
Matthew 17:20
7. Faith is a lifestyle
For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”
Romans 1:17
Also, If you subscribe to my blog, you will receive a free study on the book of James which features a lesson on faith.
Read part two on hope next
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