G4102 – pistis – πίστις – a faith, conviction
- Strong’s ID:
- G4102
- Greek Word:
- πίστις
- Transliteration:
- pistis
- Pronunciation:
- pis’-tis
- Part of Speech:
- noun feminine
- Etymology:
- from G3982
- Equivalents:
- H530, a steadiness, faithfulness
- Usage Count:
- 244
- Search:
- Find “pistis” in the Bible (New Testament)
Equip God’s People Greek Lexicon
a faith, conviction
Word Picture:
The word “pistis” was used in various contexts to denote trust, confidence, or assurance in someone or something. In the New Testament, it takes on layers of meaning, from simple belief in God to a more profound understanding of trust in His promises and character.
Think of “pistis” like the trust you’d put in a good friend, believing they’ll catch you when you fall. It’s not because you’ve seen them do it a thousand times, but because you know their character. It’s an active and living trust, not just a passive belief. It’s not merely contractual, but a relational term that transforms the life of the believer.
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Strong’s Greek Lexicon
from G3982; persuasion, i.e. credence; moral conviction (of religious truth, or the truthfulness of God or a religious teacher), especially reliance upon Christ for salvation; abstractly, constancy in such profession; by extension, the system of religious (Gospel) truth itself:—assurance, belief, believe, faith, fidelity.
Owing to changes in the enumeration while in progress, there were no words left for numbers 2717 and 3203–3302, which were therefore silently dropped out of the vocabulary and references as redundant.
Thayer’s Greek Definitions
1) conviction of the truth of anything, belief; in the NT of a conviction or belief respecting man’s relationship to God and divine things, generally with the included idea of trust and holy fervour born of faith and joined with it
1a) relating to God
1a1) the conviction that God exists and is the creator and ruler of all things, the provider and bestower of eternal salvation through Christ
1b) relating to Christ
1b1) a strong and welcome conviction or belief that Jesus is the Messiah, through whom we obtain eternal salvation in the kingdom of God
1c) the religious beliefs of Christians
1d) belief with the predominate idea of trust (or confidence) whether in God or in Christ, springing from faith in the same
2) fidelity, faithfulness
2a) the character of one who can be relied on
Thayer’s Definitions are as edited by the Online Bible of Winterbourne, Ontario. They removed the etymology, cross-references, and Greek phrases and changed some of Thayer’s Unitarian doctrinal positions concerning the work and person of Christ.