We place faith following regeneration. This is not to suggest that man is first made alive and regenerated, and then is gifted with faith; on the contrary, faith precedes regeneration. This is not true in a chronological sense, but as far as natural order is concerned, for the Word is the seed of regeneration (1 Pet 1:23), and the Word cannot be efficacious except by faith (Heb 4:2). Upon the first act of receiving Jesus and being united with Him, man becomes spiritually alive. It is by faith, however, that one receives Him as such and is united to Him, and by the exercise of faith the life of such a person increases. “As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him: rooted and built up in Him, and stablished in the faith” (Col 2:6-7).
Since atheism is presently manifesting itself on the one side, and temporal faith on the other side, it is all the more necessary that we present and consider the nature of faith from all perspectives. We shall first discuss the word “faith,” and then consider the matter itself. In our consideration of the word itself we shall deal with 1) its meaning, 2) the diversity of matters represented by the very same word, and 3) other words which are identical in meaning.
The Meaning of the Word “Faith”
We shall first consider the meaning of the word. Each language, being unique, cannot be the rule for another language. We are here discussing the word “faith” as it is recorded in the original Hebrew and Greek. We must therefore observe what the essential meaning of this word is in Hebrew and Greek, rather than what it commonly means in our language, as this paves the way for the misinterpretation of Scripture as far as faith is concerned.
The Hebrews used the word האמינ (hemin). The word hemin has the inherent meaning (approved by linguists): to conduct oneself. In our language this is occasionally translated as to believe. “He that believeth shall not make haste” (Isa 28:16). In our language the act of believing generally presupposes a promise, or a statement made by another. This, however, is not always true for the Hebrew word. It means to believe, even when neither a declaration nor a promise is involved. “He believeth not that he shall return out of darkness, and he is waited for of the sword” (Job 15:22). This is also true in Job 19:25 and Lam 4:12. Sometimes the same word hemin is translated as “to trust,” even when there is no reference whatsoever to either a declaration or a promise. “Let not him that is deceived trust in vanity” (Job 15:31); “Behold, he put no trust in his servants” (Job 4:18). This is likewise true in Job 15:15. אמונח (Emouna) is derived from this word, which is translated in our language as “faith” (cf. Hos 2:19; Hab 2:4). It is also referred to as “faithfulness” (Isa 25:1; Ps 89:2; Ps 119:75), “truth” (Ps 33:4), and “faithful” (Prov 28:20). These various expressions1 in our language are expressed by this one word in Hebrew.
The Greek words πίστις (pistis) and πιστεύω (pisteuo) are occasionally translated as faith and to believe respectively, when they have reference to promises. “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Rom 10:17). Sometimes it is translated as to commit, when there is neither reference to the Word nor to a promise. “But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because He knew all men” (John 2:24); “Unto them were committed the oracles of God” (Rom. 3:2); “A dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me” (1 Cor. 9:17); “Who will commit to your trust the true riches?” (Luke 16:11).2
It is beyond refutation that we must define the essence and nature of the word believe as it is found in the Hebrew and Greek rather than in our language. The verb believe then does not always pertain to promises, and it does not always refer to the act of receiving and the giving of assent to the Word and the promises, but it also means “to trust in,” “to commit to,” and “to rely upon.” Since the word “believe” does not really have this meaning in our language, we would rather use the French or the original Latin word crediter or crediteur, which means “to believe” in these languages, for these words do not merely have reference to holding someone’s words to be true, but they also express the act of entrusting something to someone.
The foregoing clearly confirms that one would make serious mistakes if one were to understand the word “believe” only as we customarily do in our language, and if one were to base a description of saving faith upon this meaning. This explains why there is such ignorance concerning the nature of faith in those who merely focus on their own language and pay no attention to the meaning of this word in the original language. Consequently, the word means to trust in (or to entrust to).
The second thing to be observed in considering this word is that this one word “faith” refers to a variety of matters which are essentially different.
(1) Sometimes it refers to faithfulness in fulfilling one’s promises. “Shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect” (Rom 3:3).
(2) Sometimes it refers to the doctrine of faith. “Holding faith, and a good conscience” (1 Tim 1:19).
(3) Occasionally it also refers to the confession of truths which are believed. “… your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world” (Rom 1:8).
(4) At times it also refers to the actual exercise of the soul whereby one believes the truths of Scripture. In reference to such faith Scripture speaks of four kinds: historical faith, miraculous faith, temporal faith, and saving faith. These differ in essence from each other, even though they are called by the same name. This must be clearly noted, lest one be misled by the sound of the word, for we shall here only discuss saving faith.