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these elements according to the context. All this stands in contrast to belief in its purely
natural exercise, which consists of an opinion held in good “faith” without necessary
reference to its proof. The object of Abraham’s “faith” was not God’s promise (that was
the occasion of its exercise); his “faith” rested on God Himself, Rom. 4:17, 20-21. See
ASSURANCE
,
BELIEF
,
FAITHFULNESS
,
FIDELITY
.
Notes:
(1) In Heb. 10:23,
, “hope,” is mistranslated “faith” in the
KJV
(
RV
,
“hope”). (2) In Acts 6:8 the most authentic mss. have
, “grace,”
RV
, for
,
“faith.” (3) In Rom. 3:3,
RV
,
, is rendered “want of faith,” for
KJV
, “unbelief” (so
translated elsewhere). See
UNBELIEF
. The verb
in that verse is rendered “were
without faith,”
RV
, for
KJV
, “did not believe.” (4) In Rom. 3:25, the
KJV
wrongly links
“faith” with “in His blood,” as if “faith” is reposed in the blood (i.e., the death) of Christ;
the is instrumental; “faith” rests in the living Person; hence the
RV
rightly puts a
comma after “through faith,” and renders the next phrase “by His blood,” which is to be
connected with “a propitiation.” Christ became a propitiation through His blood (i.e., His
death in expiatory sacrifice for sin). (5) In Gal. 3:23, though the article stands before
“faith” in the original, “faith” is here to be taken as under (a) above, and as in v. 22, and
not as under (c), “the faith”; the article is simply that of renewed mention. (6) For the
difference between the teaching of Paul and that of James, on “faith” and works, see
:
5
by Hogg and Vine, pp. 117-119.
FAITH (of little)
(
A
, 3640), lit., “little of faith” (
, “little,”
, “faith”), is
used only by the Lord, and as a tender rebuke, for anxiety, Matt. 6:30 and Luke 12:28; for
fear, Matt. 8:26; 14:31; 16:8.¶
FAITHFUL, FAITHFULLY, FAITHLESS
1.
(
, 4103), a verbal adjective, akin to
(see
FAITH
), is used in two
senses, (a) passive, “faithful, to be trusted, reliable,” said of God, e.g., 1 Cor. 1:9; 10:13;
2 Cor. 1:18 (
KJV
, “true”); 2 Tim. 2:13; Heb. 10:23; 11:11; 1 Pet. 4:19; 1 John 1:9; of
Christ, e.g., 2 Thess. 3:3; Heb. 2:17; 3:2; Rev. 1:5; 3:14; 19:11; of the words of God, e.g.,
Acts 13:34, “sure”; 1 Tim. 1:15; 3:1 (
KJV
, “true”); 4:9; 2 Tim. 2:11; Titus 1:9; 3:8; Rev.
21:5; 22:6; of servants of the Lord, Matt. 24:45; 25:21, 23; Acts 16:15; 1 Cor. 4:2, 17;
7:25; Eph. 6:21; Col. 1:7; 4:7, 9; 1 Tim. 1:12; 3:11; 2 Tim. 2:2; Heb. 3:5; 1 Pet. 5:12; 3
John 5; Rev. 2:13; 17:14; of believers, Eph. 1:1; Col. 1:2; (b) active, signifying
“believing, trusting, relying,” e.g., Acts 16:1 (feminine); 2 Cor. 6:15; Gal. 3:9 seems best
taken in this respect, as the context lays stress upon Abraham’s “faith” in God, rather
than upon his “faithfulness.” In John 20:27 the context requires the active sense, as the
Lord is reproaching Thomas for his want of “faith.” See No. 2.
With regard to believers, they are spoken of sometimes in the active sense, sometimes
in the passive, i.e., sometimes as believers, sometimes as “faithful.” See Lightfoot on
Galatians, p. 155.
Note:
In 3 John 5 the
RV
has “thou doest a faithful work,” for
KJV
, “thou doest
faithfully.” The lit. rendering is “thou doest (
) a faithful thing, whatsoever thou
workest (
).” That would not do as a translation. To do a “faithful” work is to do