Tag: pistos

Romans 3:3 – Ya Gotta Believe

Posted on by Will

For what if some did not believe? Will their unbelief make the faithfulness of God without effect?

Truth to Learn

Salvation and our relationship with God are all about faith.

 

Behind the Words

The word translated “not believe” is apisteō, a compound verb made up of the privative a, meaning “not” and pisteō, meaning “to believe” or “to have faith.”

The noun “unbelief” is from apistia, a noun made up of the privative a, meaning “not” or “un” and a form of pistos, meaning “faith” or “belief.”

“Faithfulness” is translated from pistis, which comes from the verb peithō meaning “to win over” or “to persuade.” In other words, it means “to be persuaded,” that is, “to believe.”

Paul is very fond of using words playfully (meaningfully, but playfully). Here he is playing on the word pistis (faith) and its verb forms pisteuō (to believe) and apisteō (to not believe). In the previous verse the passive form of pisteuō was used to indicate that God “entrusted” the Holy Writings to the Jews. And here he asks if the “unbelief” (apistia) of the Jews would cancel out the “faithfulness” (pistis) of God.

 

Meaning Explained

In the first chapter of this letter to the Christians in Rome, Paul clearly articulated the fact that the Gentiles are sinners and that they are guilty before God and without excuse. In the second chapter he made a very clear case against the Jews, showing that they also were guilty before God without excuse. And, even though many of the early Christians were converted Jews, Paul makes it very clear that when it comes to being righteous before God, the Jews had no advantage over the Gentiles.

In the first verse of this third chapter, Paul posed a rhetorical question and he proceeded to answer it in verse two. He now poses another rhetorical question that a Jewish Christian might ask him. Since there were so many Jews who did not believe in Jesus, the Messiah, when He came, what good did it do for the Jews to be keepers of the oracles?

Paul says, in effect, “So what if some (many) did not believe in Jesus? Does that mean that God is not faithful in saving His special people (the Jews)?” As he showed in general during the first two chapters, Paul will point out several verses from now very specifically that both Jews and Gentiles are guilty of sin. Because there is none righteous, Jew or Gentile, neither group is deserving of salvation.

Do you notice that? None of us deserves salvation. Paul will make this abundantly clear. God doesn’t judge any of us to be righteous based on our actions or our deeds, but on a single act of obedience by Jesus Christ.

 

Application

Sooner or later each one of us has to face the question: Are you good enough for God to let you into heaven? There are many people who, when asked this question, will say, “Of course, I’ve done the best I can. What more can God expect of anyone?” But “the best I can” isn’t good enough since God expects perfection. Since none of us is perfect, none of us deserves heaven. God has entrusted us with the Holy Bible. If we ignore it, we’re lost. If we read it and believe that Jesus died to pay for our sins, then God judges us to be perfect.

It’s all about believing (pisteuō).

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2017 Will Krause. All rights reserved

Romans 1:17 – Confident Faith

Posted on by Will

For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; even as it has been written, "The just shall live by faith."

Truth to Learn

From salvation to service, we reveal God’s righteousness.

 

Behind the Words

The phrase “from faith to faith” has been hotly debated for centuries. The Greek is ek pisteos eis pistin. As I have said before, Greek is a very descriptive language. It is an inflected language, meaning that the “case” of nouns and adjectives tells us how the nouns or adjectives are used. The two nouns in this phrase, pisteos and pistin, are both inflected forms of the noun pistis which means “faith.” The first of these, pisteos is in the Genitive case, which means “of faith” or “from faith” and the second, pistin, is in the Accusative case, which means that it is the direct object of the verb.

Now, since the case of a noun does not always give a precise indication of its meaning, prepositions were added to the Greek language to make the meaning clearer. In this example, ek pisteos uses the proposition ek, which means “out of” or “from” implying “the result of” (that is, the outcome of faith), and eis pistin uses the preposition eis which means “into” or “unto,” implying that it leads, or continues, into faith (you could say it results in faith).

 

Meaning Explained

I give you my apology up front for the technicality of today’s discussion. I hope you didn’t get lost in the Greek grammar lesson here. Technical as it is, it is important for a complete understanding of this verse.

What Paul is saying in this verse is that the righteousness of God is revealed in the gospel first of all as the result of faith. That is, we are declared righteous when we believe the gospel message, just as Abraham was declared righteous when he believed God regarding the promise of many descendants (see Genesis 15:6). We see from this that righteousness is revealed from (as the result of) faith. Paul is then saying that this righteousness, which God has now given us, is also revealed when we live by faith after we have been saved. That is, righteousness is revealed unto (resulting in) faith. One way of putting it is to say that the righteousness of God is revealed from saving faith which results in a daily living faith.

By way of firmly reinforcing what he means (that the righteousness that God gives us results in daily living faith), Paul then says, “as it has been written, ‘The just shall live by faith.’” This is a quote taken from Habakkuk 2:4. Both the Septuagint translation of this passage in Habakkuk and the original Hebrew carry the meaning, “the righteous person shall live by his confidence in God.”

 

Application

This gospel message that we are to proclaim to the world contains the most powerful truth ever declared. Belief in this truth results in God’s righteousness being applied to us, and it results in us having the faith to serve with humility and to continue on with confidence.  Through this confident faith in God, we can face anything that happens to us in this life knowing that God truly loves us and will care for us.

Does your life of faith reveal the righteousness of God?

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2017 Will Krause. All rights reserved

2 Thessalonians 3:3 – Walking Faith

Posted on by Will

But the Lord is faithful, and He will establish you and guard you from the evil one.

Truth to Learn

Walking by faith means trusting that God will establish and guard you both now and in the future.

 

Behind the Words

The word translated “faithful” is pistos, which is based on peithō, meaning “to win over” or “to persuade.” In common usage it refers to someone who is worth believing, that is, someone who does what he or she says they will do. In Greek, word order is significant, with emphasis being given to the word or words expressed first. In this verse, the word order is “Faithful is the Lord,” thus emphasizing God’s faithfulness.

“Establish” is from the Greek verb stēridzō, which is based on the noun histēmi, meaning “to stand.” Stēridzō means “to set firmly in place.” It is expressed here in the future tense, indicating action that God is going to do.

The word “guard” is translated from phulassō, which means “to keep watch over” or “to protect from harm.”

Ponēros is the word translated “evil one.” In the previous verse it was translated “wicked.” It refers to “evil in a moral or spiritual sense.” In this verse it is preceded by the definite article the, indicating a specific evil person.

 

Meaning Explained

As we mentioned above, Paul starts off this verse with “faithful,” which is the word pistos. What’s particularly interesting about this is that he ended the previous verse with “faith,” from the word pistis. Apparently, Paul is making a play on words here, saying “Not all men have faith in the Lord, but faithfulness is a characteristic of God.”

He is also using a play on words to make a point regarding how God will take care of us. He does this through his use of the verb stēridzō. A few verses back, in 2 Thessalonians 2:15, Paul gave a command to “stand fast and keep a firm hold on the things you have been taught.” The command form (imperative mood) of the verb implies it is something that is not happening, but it needs to happen. Then, in his prayer for them, Paul asks that God “may … establish you in every good word and work.” The use of stēridzō is that verse (2 Thessalonians 2:17) is in the optative mood, indicating that it may not be happening currently, but that it probably would. Now, in the current verse, Paul says that “the Lord will establish you and guard you.” This is expressed in the indicative mood, as something that definitely will happen because the Lord is faithful.

Not only will God make our stand firm, He will also protect us from the evil one. There is some disagreement among Biblical scholars as to whether Paul is talking about Satan (as Jesus was in His prayer for His disciples in Matthew 6:13), or to one of the “unreasonable and wicked men” that he referred to in the previous verse. Whatever position you take on this issue, the point is that God is faithful; He always does what He says He will do, and Paul says that He will establish and guard His children.

 

Application

Just because we’re saved through “faith” in the work of Jesus Christ on the cross, doesn’t mean that we have “faith” in God’s protection and care for us. Saving faith is a one-time thing; walking faith is a lifelong thing. Are you currently walking by faith daily, trusting God to establish and guard you?

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2016 Will Krause. All rights reserved

1 Thessalonians 5:24 – The Promise Keeper

Posted on by Will

He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.

Truth to Learn

God will keep His promise regarding your salvation.

 

Behind the Words

“He who calls” is translated from ho kalōn. The word ho is the third person singular personal pronoun (he) and kalōn is the present participle form of the verb kaleō, meaning “to call” or “to call forth.” A literal translation of these two words could be “the one calling” or “he who is calling.” The emphasis is on the one doing the calling rather than the act itself.

The word “faithful” is from the Greek noun pistos. It is based on the verb pistis, meaning “to convince, to believe, or to have faith.” Pistos refers to someone who is faithful or trustworthy, that is, someone who will do what he said he will do.

The Greek verb poieō is translated as “will … do it.” Poieō means “to make” or “to do” in a wide variety of applications. It is expressed here in the future tense, indicating something that will happen in the future.

 

Meaning Explained

In the previous verse, the Apostle Paul expressed a prayer concerning the Christians in Thessalonica. He asked that God would set them apart completely from sin and the consequences of that sin. He also asked that God would guard them to keep them blameless until Christ comes to claim His own (at the rapture).

Now he reminds them (and us) about a couple of very significant facts regarding our God. The first is that God is the one who called each of us. That’s another way of saying that God is the one who chose us. Let’s look at Jesus’ disciples for an example of this. In Matthew 4:18-21 we see that Jesus called Peter, Andres, James, and John to come and follow Him. And in the upper room after they had completed the last supper, Jesus told all of His disciples:

You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you. (John 15:16)

We don’t know what God’s criteria were when He decided whom to call, and Paul does not take any time in any of his writings trying to figure out those criteria. Paul’s point in today’s verse is not to prove anything, he is simply stating that God is the one who calls us, and He is completely faithful in performing what He said He will do.

The question we have to ask ourselves here is What is it that He said He would do? The answer is in the previous verse, God will completely set us apart from sin and its consequences, and He will preserve us blameless until the day He comes to take us home with Him. In other words, our Salvation is completely a work of God. We didn’t deserve it, we don’t deserve it, and we won’t deserve it. This should cause every Christian to humbly bow at the feet of our Savior in thanksgiving for the greatest gift that anyone could ever receive: our Salvation.

 

Application

If you are a Christian, then you are one of the called ones according to God’s purpose (Romans 8:28). And, he will preserve you until the end. You will not be lost because you are His forever. Praise be to God!

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2016 Will Krause. All rights reserved

1 Corinthians 4:2 – Trustworthy Stewards

Posted on by Will

Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful.

Truth to Learn

Preachers and teachers must be believable and trustworthy.

Behind the Words

The word “moreover” is translated from the Greek words, hōde loipon. Hōde is an adverb of place. That is, it describes the action of the verb (it is required) as “here in this place.” The word loipon refers to “that which remains.” So, these three words could be translated as “as to the rest,” “additionally,” or “moreover.”

Dzēteō is the Greek verb translated “it is required.” It literally means “to seek after, to require, or to expect.”

“Stewards” is from oikonomos, which in the previous verse we learned means “a person who manages the affairs of a household or a business which rightfully belongs to someone else.”

The words “be found” are from the Greek verb heuriskō, meaning “to find something.” It usually implies the result of a search, but it may mean to find something not searched for.

“Faithful” is translated from the noun pistos, which is based on the verb peithō, meaning “to win over or persuade.” Thus, pistos refers to someone who is trustworthy or believable.

Meaning Explained

In the previous verse Paul instructed us on how we ought to view the leaders of our local congregation, especially those who proclaim the Word of God, either in preaching or teaching. He said that they should be seen as the Lord’s assistants, as those who have the responsibility of managing the affairs of their master and handing out the “mysteries of God.” You may recall from earlier studies that the word “mystery” (from the Greek word musterion) refers to something that was hidden in the past but that is now being publicly made known.

Now we are told that an additional, and perhaps most important, characteristic of those who handle God’s Word is that they be faithful. The English word carries the idea of being full of faith, that is, a believer. However, that is not the point that Paul is making. After all, every Christian is full of faith, every Christian is one who believes that Jesus Christ died on the cross as payment for their sins. Since every member of the true church is a believer, of course that also applies to the preachers and teachers.

Paul’s point here is that these leaders, these who are given the responsibility of handling the mysteries of God, are to be found trustworthy and believable. People who preach and teach God’s Word must be observed and must be found to properly dispense that which the Master has given to their care. In other words, we who sit under their teaching should not just take everything they say as truth, but we should test what they say and teach. We should act as the Christians in Berea are said to have acted:

These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so. (Acts 17:11)

Application

When you leave your church meeting, do you forget about what was taught? Or do you think about what was said and study your Bible to verify the trustworthiness of the teacher?

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2013 Will Krause. All rights reserved

 

1 Corinthians 1:9 – Called Into Eternal Fellowship

Posted on by Will

God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Truth to Learn

Christians are called into fellowship with God, forever.

Behind the Words

Pistos is the Greek word translated “faithful.” It is based on the verb peithō, meaning “to win over” or “to persuade.” The word pistos means “worthy of belief, trust, or confidence.”

The words “you were called” are from the verb kaleō, which literally means “to call to someone in order that he may come or go somewhere.” It is expressed here in the passive voice, indicating something done to the subject (you) and in the aorist tense, indicating an action that was done at a point in time in the past.

The word “into” is translated from the preposition eis. It literally refers to motion into, or unto, a place or thing. It carries the idea of moving from outside to inside. There is another Greek preposition, en, which indicates a position “in a place or thing,” but it does not contain the idea of movement as eis does, only the final position.

“Fellowship” is translated from koinōnia, which is based on the verb koinōneō, meaning “to share with, to participate with, or to have things in common with.” Thus, koinōnia refers to a condition in which someone shares things in common with others.

Meaning Explained

Paul has just told the Corinthian Christians that God will preserve them as blameless until Jesus Christ comes to give them their eternal bodies and take them home to His Father. He now tells us another marvelous truth about God: He is faithful. In other words, whatever God promises, He fulfills. Faithfulness is part of who God is and He never changes. Therefore, He is always going to do what He says He will do. This adds more firmness to the statement in the previous verse that God will preserve us blameless until the end.

Now Paul couples God’s faithfulness with our calling. Although the word kaleō sounds to us like simply an invitation, when used of God it always represents an effectual call. Paul gives us a little more information about this calling in his letter written to the Romans:

Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified. (Romans 8:30)

This verse tells us that God determined ahead of time that we would be saved. It also tells us that those whom He predestined, he also called. And, it tells us that those whom He called, he also justified. In other words, everyone who is called by God is given the righteousness of Christ; we are justified, that is, declared to be guiltless of any and all sin. This is sometimes referred to as God’s effectual call.

Today’s verse tells us a little more about our calling. We have been called into fellowship with Jesus Christ. This is important, especially given that Paul is about to scold the Corinthians for all the factions and divisions within their church.

Application

Every Christian has been called by God for a purpose. That purpose is to serve Him in spreading the Gospel and building up the body of Christ. God will never give up on you, so don’t give up on him. Get to work and give Him your all!

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2013 Will Krause. All rights reserved

 

2 Thessalonians 3:3 – Walking Faith

Posted on by Will

But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one.

Truth to Learn

Walking by faith means trusting that God will establish and guard you both now and in the future.

Behind the Words

The word translated “faithful” is pistos, which is based on peithō, meaning “to win over” or “to persuade.” In common usage it refers to someone who is worth believing, that is, someone who does what he or she says they will do. In Greek, word order is significant, with emphasis being given to the word or words expressed first. In this verse, the word order is “Faithful is the Lord,” which emphasizes God’s faithfulness.

“Establish” is from the Greek verb stēridzō, which is based on the noun histēmi, meaning “to stand.” Stēridzō means “to set firmly in place.” It is expressed here in the future tense, indicating action that God is going to do.

The word “guard” is translated from phulassō, which means “to keep watch over” or “to protect from harm.”

Ponēros is the word translated “evil one.” In the previous verse it was translated “wicked.” It refers to “evil in a moral or spiritual sense.” In this verse it is preceded by the definite article the, indicating a specific evil person.

Meaning Explained

As we mentioned above, Paul starts off this verse with “faithful,” which is the word pistos. What’s particularly interesting about this is that he ended the previous verse with “faith,” from the word pistis. Apparently, Paul is making a play on words here, saying “Not all men have faith in the Lord, but faithfulness is a characteristic of God.”

He is also using a play on words to make a point regarding how God will take care of us. He does this through his use of the verb stēridzō. A few verses back, in 2 Thessalonians 2:15, Paul gave a command to “stand fast and keep a firm hold on the things you have been taught.” The command form (imperative mood) of the verb implies it is something that is not happening, but it needs to happen. Then, in his prayer for them, Paul asks that God “may … establish you in every good word and work.” The use of stēridzō is that verse (2 Thessalonians 2:17) is in the optative mood, indicating that it may not be happening currently, but that it probably would. Now, in the current verse, Paul says that “the Lord will establish you and guard you.” This is expressed in the indicative mood, as something that definitely will happen because the Lord is faithful.

Not only will God make our stand firm, He will also protect us from the evil one. There is some disagreement among Biblical scholars as to whether Paul is talking about Satan (as Jesus was in His prayer for His disciples in Matthew 6:13), or to one of the “unreasonable and wicked men” that he referred to in the previous verse. Whatever position you take on this issue, the point is that God is faithful; He always does what He says He will do, and Paul says that He will establish and guard His children.

Application

Just because we’re saved through “faith” in the work of Jesus Christ on the cross, doesn’t mean that we have “faith” in God’s protection and care for us. Saving faith is a one-time thing; walking faith is a lifelong thing. Are you currently walking by faith daily, trusting God to establish and guard you?

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2012 Will Krause. All rights reserved

 

 

 

1 Thessalonians 5:24 – The Promise Keeper

Posted on by Will

He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.

Truth to Learn

God will keep His promise regarding your salvation.

Behind the Words

“He who calls” is translated from ho kalōn. The word ho is the third person singular personal pronoun (he) and kalōn is the present participle form of the verb kaleō, meaning “to call” or “to call forth.” A literal translation of these two words could be “the one calling” or “he who is calling.” The emphasis is on the one doing the calling rather than the act itself.

The word “faithful” is from the Greek noun pistos. It is based on the verb pistis, meaning “to convince, to believe, or to have faith.” Pistos refers to someone who is faithful or trustworthy, that is, someone who will do what he said he will do.

The Greek verb poieō is translated as “will … do it.” Poieō means “to make” or “to do” in a wide variety of applications. It is expressed here in the future tense, indicating something that will happen in the future.

Meaning Explained

In the previous verse, the Apostle Paul expressed a prayer concerning the Christians in Thessalonica. He asked that God would set them apart completely from sin and the consequences of that sin. He also asked that God would guard them to keep them blameless until Christ comes to claim His own (at the rapture).

Now he reminds them (and us) about a couple of very significant facts regarding our God. The first is that God is the one who called each of us. That’s another way of saying that God is the one who chose us. Let’s look at Jesus’ disciples for an example of this. In Matthew 4:18-21 we see that Jesus called Peter, Andres, James, and John to come and follow Him. And in the upper room after they had completed the last supper, Jesus told all of His disciples:

You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you. (John 15:16)

We don’t know what God’s criteria were when He decided whom to call, and Paul does not take any time in any of his writings trying to figure out those criteria. Paul’s point in today’s verse is not to prove anything, he is simply stating that God is the one who calls us, and He is completely faithful in performing what He said He will do.

The question we have to ask ourselves here is What is it that He said He would do? The answer is in the previous verse, God will completely set us apart from sin and its consequences, and He will preserve us blameless until the day He comes to take us home with Him. In other words, our Salvation is completely a work of God. We didn’t deserve it, we don’t deserve it, and we won’t deserve it. This should cause every Christian to humbly bow at the feet of our Savior in thanksgiving for the greatest gift that anyone could ever receive: our Salvation.

Application

If you are a Christian, then you are one of the called ones according to God’s purpose (Romans 8:28). And, he will preserve you until the end. You will not be lost because you are His forever. Praise be to God!

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2012 Will Krause. All rights reserved