The Faithful & Wise Servant
Volume 3, Number 22The word “Faithful” in the Gospels - Part 1:The Greek word “pistos,” usually translated “faithful,” occurs 66 times in the New Testament. In this and the next few studies we are attempting to understand what Jesus Christ taught with this word during His earthly ministry. Pistos/faithful is found 12 times in the Gospels, i.e., Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, which is significant in that 12 is the number for governmental perfection in the Bible and thus is indentified with the nation of Israel. Jesus Christ's earthly ministry was to the Nation of Israel, Matthew 15:24 and Jesus uttered this word... Continue reading →
Recap of the "Faith" Words in the NT
Volume 3, Number 21Greek words translated faith, faithful, believe, of little faith, unbelief, etc. in the New Testament:We began studying the subject of faith in the New Testament over a year ago. Our methodology in doing so is to examine how different words having to do with faith are used in their various Scriptural contexts and from that attempt to derive what our Lord has for our understanding. For the purpose of this study I am using the King James version of the Bible and as with any version it should be noted that some Greek words in the original manuscripts are translated... Continue reading →
Background of "Faith" in the Bible
Volume 3, Number 20Faith in the Gospels - a look back & forward:In the original languages in which it was written the Word of God was perfect, like everything God created. The Holy Spirit even chose the words used in the original to convey His ideas to man when He inspired the authors of Scripture. But when that Scripture was translated into our language there were, in some cases, no words to convey the exact meaning in the original. Then, many of our English words have assumed different meanings as generations have come and gone. To compound the issue various scholars have established... Continue reading →
The Faith of the Son of Man
Volume 3, Number 19Faith in the Synoptic Gospels as taught by the Greek word “pistis” - Part 5:We continue our study of the Greek word “pistis” translated with the English noun “faith” found 24 times in Matthew, Mark and Luke. (It is not found in the book of John.) Jesus uttered it 23 times, His disciples once. Part 1 of this series (Vol 3, No 15) described 8 incidents in which Jesus alluded to the faith of 13 people as the key to their healing and/or forgiveness from sins. In Part 2 (Vol 3, No 16) we studied 4 incidents in which Jesus... Continue reading →
Faith Omitted from the Law by Israel's Leaders
Volume 3, Number 18Faith in the Synoptic Gospels as taught by the Greek word “pistis” - Part 4:We continue our examination of the Greek word “pistis,” translated with the English noun “faith,” found 24 times in Matthew, Mark and Luke. (It is not found in the Gospel of John.) Jesus is recorded as having uttered it 23 times while His disciples did so once. Part 1 of this series (Vol 3, No 15) described 8 incidents in which Jesus alluded to the faith (pistis) of 13 people as the key to their healing and/or forgiveness of sins. In Part 2 (Vol 3, No... Continue reading →
Peter's Faith Tried by Satan
Volume 3, Number 17Faith in the Synoptic Gospels as taught by the Greek word “pistis” - Part 3:We continue with our examination of the 24 occasions the Greek word “pistis,” translated with our noun “faith” is found in Matthew, Mark and Luke (never in John.) Part 1 (Vol 3, No 15) described 8 incidents in which this word is used where Jesus alluded to the faith of 13 people as the key to their healing or forgiveness of sins. Part 2 (Vol 3, No 16) covered 4 incidents in which this word is used where Jesus told His disciples what they could accomplish... Continue reading →
\"Faith\" Taught by Jesus
Volume 3, Number 16Faith in the Synoptic Gospels as taught by the Greek word “pistis” - Part 2:We are studying how the Holy Spirit used the Greek word “pistis,” translated with our noun “faith” the 24 times it is found in Matthew, Mark and Luke (not used in John.) Jesus is recorded as having uttered this word all but once out of the 24. In our last study we identified a group of 8 incidents where it is used 14 times to describe the faith of 13 individuals who approached Him for healing and/or forgiveness of sins. They believed Jesus was Who He... Continue reading →
Jesus Uttered The Word "Faith" 23 Of the 24 times the Word Faith is Found in The Gospels
Volume 3, Number 15Faith in the Synoptic Gospels as taught by the Greek word “pistis” - Part 1:Volume 3 began our study of Faith in the Gospel accounts of Jesus' earthly ministry - Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. He was the Word of God in flesh, John 1:1; the Son of God, Matthew 3:17, etc; the Son of Man, Matthew 9:6; Mark 2:10; Luke 5:24; and He was/is the Author and Finisher of Faith, Hebrews 4:2. When He walked this earth He did what none other has ever done; His faith was flawless; He was faith personified, Galatians 3:23 - 26. To understand... Continue reading →
The 10 Centurians in the NT
Volume 3, Number 14The Centurions, Part 4:This concludes our study of the Centurions; each commanding 80 to 100 Roman soldiers (a Centurion of Centurions, or Chief Captain, was in charge of up to 1000 or more soldiers.) There appear to be 10 such Roman Commanders mentioned in the New Testament (NT.) We began our study of them because the first time the Greek word “pistis,” translated with our English noun “faith,” is found in the NT is when Jesus described the faith of one in Matthew 8:5 - 13. (See also Luke 7:1 - 10.) Jesus observed that none in Israel had as... Continue reading →
Centurians in the NT
Volume 3, Number 13A Centurion's Faith, Part 3:The fact the noun “faith” is first used in the New Testament (NT) when Jesus described the faith of a Centurion in Matthew 8:5 - 13 is what brought us to that passage and was the subject of our last two studies. (We also examined Luke 7:1 - 10, which describes the same incident from Luke's point of view.) It was noted that while commenting about the Centurion's faith Jesus also made the dismaying observation that none in Israel had as much faith as this Gentile Centurion. The record is silent as to his name or... Continue reading →