Faith/Pistis deeper meaning and understanding

Strong’s Concordance
pistis: faith, faithfulness

Original Word: πίστις, εως, ἡ
Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine
Transliteration: pistis
Phonetic Spelling: (pis’-tis)
Short Definition: faith, belief, trust
Definition: faith, belief, trust, confidence; fidelity, faithfulness. help

4102 pístis (from 3982/peithô, “persuade, be persuaded”) – properly, persuasion (be persuaded, come to trust); faith.

 

Faith (4102/pistis) is always a gift from God, and never something that can be produced by people. In short, 4102/pistis (“faith”) for the believer is “God’s divine persuasion” – and therefore distinct from human belief (confidence), yet involving it. The Lord continuously births faith in the yielded believer so they can know what He prefers, i.e. the persuasion of His will (1 Jn 5:4).

 

[4102 (pistis) in secular antiquity referred to a guarantee (warranty). In Scripture, faith is God’s warranty, certifying that the revelation He inbirthed will come to pass (His way).

 

Faith (4102/pistis) is also used collectively – of all the times God has revealed (given the persuasion of) His will, which includes the full revelation of Scripture (Jude 3). Indeed, God the Lord guarantees that all of this revelation will come to pass! Compare Mt 5:18 with 2 Tim 3:16.]

 

  1. The root of 4102/pistis (“faith”) is 3982/peithô (“to persuade, be persuaded”) which supplies the core-meaning of faith (“divine persuasion”). It is God’s warranty that guarantees the fulfillment of the revelation He births within the receptive believer (cf. 1 Jn 5:4 with Heb 11:1).

 

Faith (4102/pistis) is always received from God, and never generated by us.

 

Ro 12:3: “For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith (4102/pistis)” (NASU).

 

Eph 2:8,9: ” For by grace you have been saved through faith (4102/pistis); and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9not as a result of works, so that no one may boast” (NASU).

 

Gal 5:22,23: “22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,

 

patience, kindness, goodness, faith (4102/pistis), 23gentleness,

 

self-control; against such things there is no law.”

 

2 Thes 1:11: “To this end (glorification) – indeed each time we pray about (peri) you for the purpose (hin) of our God counting you worthy of the call – even that He may fulfill (His) every good-pleasure that comes from (His) goodness and work of faith, in (His) ability.”

 

Reflection: Faith is only (exclusively) given to the redeemed. It is not a virtue that can be worked up by human effort.

 

  1. Faith (4102/pistis) enables the believer to know God’s preferred-will (cf. J. Calvin; see 2307/theléma). Accordingly, faith (4102/pistis) and “God’s preferred-will (2307/theléma)” are directly connected in Scripture.

 

2 Ro 12:2,3: ” And do not be conformed to this world, but betransformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will (2307/theléma) of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. 3For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith (4102/pistis)” (NASU).

 

5 2 Cor 8:5,7: ” And this, not as we had expected, but they first

 

gave themselves to the Lord and to us by the will (2307/theléma) of

 

God” (NASU).

 

7″ But just as you abound in everything, in faith (4102/pistis)

 

and utterance and knowledge and in all earnestness and in the love

 

we inspired in you, see that you abound in this gracious work also”

 

(NASU).

 

Heb 10:36,38: “36For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will (2307/theléma) of God, you may receive what was promised” (NASU).

 

” BUT MY RIGHTEOUS ONE SHALL LIVE BY FAITH(4102/pistis); AND IF HE SHRINKS BACK, MY SOUL HAS NO PLEASURE IN HIM” (NASU).

 

1 Jn 5:4: “For whatever is born of God conquers the world;

 

and this is the conquest that has conquered the world – our faith

 

(4102/pistis).”

 

  1. In sum, faith (4102/pistis) is a persuasion from God that we receive as He grants impulse (“divine spark”; cf. the Heb hiphil form of believe, *mn, in a later discussion). Faith is always the work of God and involves hearing His voice – whereby the believer lays hold of His preferred-will (cf. J. Calvin).

 

1 Hab 2:1: ” I will stand on my guard post And station myself on the rampart;

 

And I will keep watch to see what He will speak in (Heb b ) me” (NASU).

 

Hab 2:4: “Behold, as for the proud one,

 

His soul is not right within him;

 

But the righteous will live in his faith” (= 4102/pistis, “faith from the Lord”).

More on what faith is . . . and isn’t

 

In Scripture, faith and belief are not exactly the same. Faith always comes from God and involves His revelation therefore faith is beyond belief!

 

Faith is God’s work; faith is never the work of people. We cannot produce faith ourselves, nor can we “drum it up at will.” Rather, faith comes as Christ speaks His rhéma-word within (see Ro 10:17, Gk text).

 

In all of Scripture, only the term faith is ever used in the following way: Ro 14:23: Whatever is not of faith (4102/pistis) is sin.” Heb 11:6: “And without faith (4102/pistis) it is impossible to

 

please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him” (NASU).

 

Reflection: Nothing quite like this two-fold witness appears elsewhere in the Bible. These sweeping statements sober the heart and inspire the soul!

 

The Lord offers to inbirth faith in each scene of life – so that each matters equally in eternity . . . no matter how insignificant they seem (Lk 16:10 with Lk 17:6 and 2 Pet 1:2).

Key quotes

 

“Faith always pre-supposes revelation” (W. H. Griffith Thomas, Genesis, 55). “Faith is always a response to a divine revelation” (W. H. Griffith Thomas, Hebrews, 143). “Faith . . . both in its initiation and every step of the way, is Spirit given . . . faith is God given” (W. Hendriksen, Galatians, 197). “Faith precedes works, and is not something merely deduced by

 

reason of existing” (D. Edmond Hiebert, Thessalonians, 2 Thes 1:11). “Faith is always a gift of God” (L. Morris, John, p 520). “The basis of faith is God’s revelation of Himself . . . Christianity came

 

to be seen as a faith event” (O. Michel, Dictionary of New Testament Theology).

 

“Faith is the divine response, wrought in man, by God” (from Berkof’s Systematic Theology, representing the views of Barth and Brunner).

 

“Faith always has the element of assurance, certainty and confidence . . . and evidential value substantiating the thing we hope for . . . with faith, there is no strain or tension; rather, it has the element of assurance and confidence in it . . . if there is strain or tension . . . trying to persuade yourself to keep from doubting, you can be quite sure that it is not faith . . . faith is not the law of mathematical probability, . . . faith is not natural . . .faith is spiritual, the gift of God . . . you cannot command faith at will, faith is always something that is given-inwrought by God; . . . therefore, if you want to be a man of faith, it will always be the result of becoming a certain type of person” (M. Lloyd Jones, Romans, Ro 4:18-25).

 

“Faith is the divinely given conviction of things unseen” (Homer Kent Jr., Hebrews, 217, quoting Theological Dictionary of the NT vol 2, 476).

 

Faith is the organ which enables people to see the invisible order” (F.

 

  1. Bruce, Hebrews, 279).

 

“Faith is knowing what is His will toward us; therefore, we hold faith to be the knowledge of God’s will toward us” (John Calvin, as quoted by R. McAfee Brown in Is Faith Obsolete?).

 

“Right faith is a thing wrought in us by the Holy Spirit” (Wm. Tyndale).

 

“We have made faith a condition of mind, when it is a divinely imparted grace of the heart . . . we can receive faith only as he gives it . . . you cannot manufacture faith, you can not work it up . . . you can believe a promise, and at the same time not have the faith to appropriate it . . . genuine, Scriptural faith is not our ability to ‘count it done,’ but is the deep consciousness divinely imparted to the heart of man that it is done, . . . it is the faith that only God can give . . . do not struggle in the power of the will . . . what a mistake to take our belief in God and call of faith . . . Christ, the living word, is our sufficiency . . . (Charles Price, The Real Faith, Logos/publications).

 

Note: On the distinction between believing (belief), and faith in the Scriptures see Js 2:19; Jn 10:38; Ac 8:13, 26:27,28; Ro 14:2; 2 Thes 2:11; 1 Jn 4:1; also Jn 2:23, 7:31, 12:42 and 4102/pisteuô (“believe”).

 

As in the Gospels, a person’s believing (belief) is vital (cf. Heb 11:6). But a personal encounter with Christ (a true connection with Him and His Word) is always necessary for believing (“man’s responsibility”) to be transformed into faith (which is always and only God’s word). See also Mt 8:10,13, 9:22,28,29, 15:28; Ac 20:21; Ro 9:32; Gal 3:9,22.

Summary

 

Belief and faith are not exactly equivalent terms. When Jesus told people, “Your faith has made you well,” faith was still His gift (Eph 2:8,9). Any gift however, once received, becomes the “possession” of the recipient. Faith however is always from God and is purely His work (2 Thes 1:11).

 

Note: The Greek definite article is uniformly used in the expressions “your faith,” “their faith” (which occur over 30 times in the Greek NT). This genitive construction with the article refers to “the principle of faith (operating in) you” – not “your faith” in the sense that faith is ever generated by the recipient.

 

[The meaning of the definite article in this construction is “the principle of faith at work in you,” “the operating-principle of faith in them,” etc. For examples see: Mt 9:2,22,29; Lk 17:19; Phil 2:17; 2 Pet 1:5, etc.]

 

Faith (4102/pistis) involves belief but it goes beyond human believing because it involves the personal revelation (inworking) of God. Faith is always God’s work. Our believing has eternal meaning when it becomes “faith-believing” by the transforming grace of God.

 

Reflection: Demons believe (and shudder) . . . but they do not have (experience) faith!

 

Js 2:19: “You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder” (NASU).

Pyramaze – Ancient Words Within

Pyramaze – Ancient Words Within

 

Strange manifestations in my mind
Words of a long lost and forgotten kind
Why I speak them, I don’t know
Why I write them, time will show

The are buried deep within me
The are living can’t you see

I seek for answers can’t you see
My rapid growing and the strange words within me
I long to write them I long to feel
I long to speak them, to make them real

We see your changes and we can not lie
We don’t have the answers, we don’t know why
No soul amongst these old trees can guide you
Leave on a journey, that’s what you must do

Find the answers that you seek
Speak the words you long to speak

I seek for answers can’t you see
My rapid growing and the strange words within me
I long to write them I long to feel
I long to speak them, to make them real

You must leave the shadows of these trees
Travel along evil paths and leave safety
Seek the old who hold the keys
They guard writings with all prophecies
Travel fast, travel long
But beware ’cause evil’s strong
They reign supreme, outside these woods
They’ll kill by sight and devour light

I seek for answers can’t you see
My rapid growing and the strange words within me
I long to write them I long to feel
I long to speak them, to make them real

obscurantism

obscurantism

Double click it!

Dogmatic Obscurantism

Systematically designed dogmas of man
For new generations to develop to their plan

Beliefs formed before you ever had a chance
Now your doing their pre-designed dance

Never stepping out of line of this trance
A main distraction for man found in romance

All their methods contrived in dogmatic obscurantism
A system to control the masses like Machiavellianism

This is nothing new to man and similar to witchcraft
The power to control and make you believe they supply a life raft

So when you are drowning you reach for this device
In this situation mass fear will suffice

Step out of line see what you get
You will be punished, this you can bet

Just keep on believing our pretty little lies
While we continually obscure and disguise

We know things you could never imagine
Including closing you off so you cannot fathom

Limiting you with what’s been planted in your head
You never were you; you’ve always been dead

Until you find a way to think and trust in yourself
You’ll always be like santas little elf

Isn’t is sad how men teach this lie
Isn’t this the trust in your child you defy

Music as the messenger

Music as the messenger

Bringer of truth if thats what you seek

Reading the signs that appear oblique

Depending on your position in your mind

Truth or a lie is what you will find

Seek and ye will find another perspective

One beyond the origination of the writer defective

The writer completely oblivious the most

Not realizing that he was the host

Thinking what ever it was on their mind

Was only an inspiration for truth to wake the blind

Most of the world missing this intervention

Divinely woven into this dimension

Never seeing where thoughts come from

But the energy behind the scenes delivers to some

Found mostly in music of rock

Don’t get offended this is a lock

Open-minded people are willing to expand

As their knowledge increases across the land

Music as the messenger will fill your soul

Awake and alive and you in control

You will experience an understanding that comes full cycle

Possibly because of an archangel called Michael

It is truly at this level behind the scenes

Where the wars are fought and won by these means

Humans mostly oblivious to anything at all

Leaving the majority oblivious to the call

Mostly due to the distractions of life

All eyes somewhere else severed by the invisible knife

Recognition is powerful just take its hand

As the power of intention will help you understand

Let your heart feel the rhythm and beat of the song

The messages have been there all along

Many in the form of a metaphor in early stages

Now its like they’ve been let loose from their cages

Directly to the point so they’re hard to miss

The truth that’s awaiting it’s awakening kiss

You as the benefactor will experience sensations

As the spirit of truth brings on spiritual presentations

Perspectives can be a prison or class

Its up to every individual to clear their paths

The only way this will happen is to seek and find

Everything beyond the obvious that keeps us blind

Or instead, beyond our mind

Kingdom Come Unwritten language

 

You’re sharing your time — you take me along
You’re spreading your wings — keep singing my songs

Who would have known — I’m part of your life
Connected through sound — our spirit inside

Hope I will see you — again and again
Until then I’m your — invisible friend

We’ve come together — who knows when again
Can’t stay forever — to hold all your hands

The unwritten language — the bridge to your heart
It can’t take you hostage — helps healing our scars
Intensifies sadness — intensifies love
It often can save you — from falling apart

The rhythm transporting — the beat of our time
The melody calling — from deep down inside

This very moment — you’re not alone
The purest dimension — lies deep in your soul

The forbidden book of Enoch

Archives

Volbeat The devils bleeding crown

Falling from the sky cast out from the Heaven’s light.
Drenching the soul with blood, baptized in the fire hole.

The Devil’s spawn no longer breathes
Descending Angels and Fallen Kings
Raise your hands, what do you hold?
The Devil’s Bleeding Crown

Call upon its father, bless the goat the womanizer
Take him to Astaroth, Inanna’s temple of Uruk

The Devil’s spawn no longer breathes
Descending Angels and Fallen Kings
Raise your hands, what do you hold?
The Devil’s Bleeding Crown

They gathered all the children outside the church
And never would they know what went on in there
Close the door and hear all the Angels scream
Oh mercy, mercy, mercy, oh mercy please.
Down, down, down
Down below, you can hear his hooves digging through the ground
Oh Lord, Lord, Lord
The horned one is back and he wants his crown!

The Devil’s spawn no longer breathes
Descending Angels and Fallen Kings
Raise your hands, what do you hold?
The Devil’s Bleeding Crown

Rise

Settle your mind look to the sky, and keep on running. Rely on the time, don’t look behind, and keep on searching. Enjoy the ride! Place yourself in a different direction, keep on moving… moving. Find the ways to promote your ascension. Climb if you can, don’t forget to try. Face your fears take control of your actions. Keep on going… going. Take the risk and explore your intentions. You fight to win, there’s no turning back. Settle your mind, look to the sky and keep on running. Rely on the time, don’t look behind and keep on searching. Enjoy the ride! Settle your mind don’t look behind and keep on running. Rely on the time, don’t look behind and keep on searching. Set the tone and embrace your redemption, build your glory… glory. Don’t retreat and preserve your connection. Go find yourself. Enjoy the ride. Support your words and persuade your reactions, tell your story… story. It is time for you to rise from all the intricate designs. Settle your mind, look to the sky and keep on running. Rely on the time, don’t look behind and keep on searching. Enjoy the ride! Settle your mind don’t look behind and keep on running. Rely on the time, don’t look behind And keep on Rely on the time, don’t look behind and keep on searching. Settle your mind, look to the sky and keep on running. Settle your mind, look to the sky and keep on running. Rely on the time, don’t look behind and keep on searching. Enjoy the ride! Settle your mind don’t look behind and keep on running. Rely on the time, don’t look behind and keep on Rely on the time, don’t look behind RISE

 

Another Journey

Another Journey

We’ve seen the signs, we chose the path
Our fate was bound to stone
I saw a time when we were free
A glimpse of pure redemption
I believe
That our luck is changing
We believe
Let our minds be our guide

I have seen, the lines of our journey
I have seen, a wealth worth earning
I believe, I believe uncertainty is the best for me

I’m looking up into the sky
Reading in between the lines
The future will come for me
I’m guided by the path that leads me

I’m on the edge, too high to breathe
Yet I see it clearly, within my mind, never deviating
I believe
That our luck is changing
We believe
Let our minds be our guide

Follow me into the sky
My will is stronger now
The path burnt in my eyes
From the divine
Follow me into the sky
My will is stronger now
The path burnt in my eyes
From the divine

I have seen, the lines of our journey
I have seen, a wealth worth earning
I believe, I believe uncertainty is the best for me

I’m looking up into the sky
Reading in between the lines
The future will come for me
I’m guided by the path that leads me

I’m looking up into the sky
Reading in between the lines
[?]
Reading these signs is the key

Follow me into the sky
My will is stronger now
The path burnt in my eyes
From the divine
Follow me into the sky
My will is stronger now
The path burnt in my eyes
From the divine
Follow me into the sky
My will is stronger now
The path burnt in my eyes
From the divine