Faith … at some point after World War II … people noted and adopted into their lives the development of high fidelity audio … now some 70 or more years later these devices now seem primitive … however our modern audio components in every electronic device that uses audio in one way or another delivers the same anticipated quality of sound promised by high fidelity … this original promise of high fidelity represented the duplication and delivery of sound as an accurate copy of the original source with high precision in repeated listening sessions … a musical record is a good example … so way back when … high fidelity technology was incorporated into … movie theaters … color televisions … radios … record players … eventually various types of audio tape players … and … other various types of audio media players that developed over the years … the key term in this definition is … fidelity … the definition of our English noun fidelity can be applied on one level to human relationship … like marriage or personal partnerships or corporate contractual relationships … the term fidelity represents in this context … commitment … that is … the degree of faithfulness to a … person … cause … contract … or … belief … as demonstrated by … commitment … loyalty … and … support … alternatively … the noun … fidelity … can be applied to the definition of … the degree of exactness with which something is copied or reproduced … in terms of … accuracy … precision … exactness … and … correctness … the storage and playing of music from a record is a good example … the English word fidelity originates from the classical Latin verb … FIDES … a well used verb in Roman … literature … performing arts … and … business … with the best literal meaning being … the trust between two or more persons or parties who are in a defined specific relationship … examples include … marriage … other types of personal commitment and/or relationships … and … business contractual relationships … the literal meaning of … FIDES … includes the concept of … privileges … and … responsibility … for all persons or parties in the relationship with the inclusion of a specific reference to the accountability and legal consequences regarding both parties in a business or personal relationship … the Romans also extended the meaning of … FIDES … into their religion … the verb was personified into a noun as the name of a worshiped perceived divinity termed … FIDES … one of the fifteen spirits who together were called … the VIRTUEs … in the great Roman epic poem termed the AENEID … the first two of the ancient Roman Virtues are FIDES and PIETAS are present … in this context … FIDES represents faithfulness … that is sticking to a commitment and seeing it through all circumstance even if there is a bitter end … essentially … not quitting … while … the Virtue PIETAS represents … piety … that is essentially … doing the right thing … our English word … faith … comes from a period of time around 1400 AD with the Middle English noun … FEITH … its best literal meanings include … trust … or … loyalty … we see this primitive noun in our expression … bona fide … and … FEITH came into Middle English from the Old French noun … FEID ( also spelled FOI ) … which originated as both a spoken and a written word in a period of time around 1300 AD … the best literal meanings for FEIDI include … trust … or … confidence … in a person or thing … FEID comes from the Classical Latin verb … FIDES …so … when we encounter our English noun … faith … in an English translation of the Holy Bible … it is a word that came to be spoken and written some where around six or seven hundred years ago … many have a good understanding of their personal faith in Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior … and … many have a good understanding of this word’s meaning as we read its use in various English translations of the Holy Bible and/or listen to other folks in dialog … therefore … we thought it both interesting and prudent … in this bible study … for a review and analysis of our understanding of … faith … as it is translated to English from the Greek text of select New Testament scripture verses …

 

Hebrews, chapter 11, vs 1

... faith is the substance of things hoped for … the conviction of things not seen …

 

… depending on the English translation one might be using … both … substance … or … assurance … are very reasonable translations for the Greek word … HUPOSTASIS … Strong# Greek 5287 … the best literal translation for this noun is … a support … because … the literal meaning is something that stands under a structure to support … like the foundation of a bridge or the foundation of a building …

 

… the Greek word translated here as … conviction … is … ELEGCHOS … Strong# Greek 1650 … the best literal meanings include … a legal proof … or … a legal guarantee … like a property deed is the legal proof of land ownership … or … a marriage certificate that is the legal proof of relationship … or … a legal contract between two companies … the root of ELEGCHOS is Greek verb … ELEGCHO … Strong# Greek 1651 … the best literal meanings include … to convince with compelling evidence … or … to persuade …

 

… the English phrase … not seen … is a portmanteau for the translation to the English word … seen … which has as its root Greek verb … BLEPO … Strong# 991 … the best literal meanings include … to look at …. to perceive …  to take heed of … to see … this portmanteau is used only one other time in the Holy Bible or any where else in literature for that matter and again in Hebrews chapter 11 but in verse #3 … by faith the world was created by the Word of God so that what is seen ( the portmanteau ) was made out of things that are not visible … so … back in verse #1 the … not … is Greek adverb … OU … Strong# Greek 3756 … a good literal meaning is … not …

 

… the English phrase … hoped for … is Greek verb … ELPIZO … Strong# Greek 1679 … the best literal meanings include … to hope in someone or something … or … to trust in someone or something … or … to have confidence in someone or something … the root of ELPIZO is Greek noun … ELPIS … Strong# Greek 1680 … the best literal meanings include … a hope or trust or confidence or expectation that someone has in someone or something … 

 

… the English word … faith … is Greek noun … PISTIS … Strong# Greek 4102 … the best literal meanings include … trust … or … confidence … there are many analyses which would find … faith … the best literal meaning however that term did not exist until the 12^th and 13^th century’s in France and England … at the time that the Gospels and other books of the New Testament were written … just about every verse that has the English word … faith … in the New Testament regardless of the translation version … the original Greek word is PISTIS … as an example … Jesus Christ saying in … Luke chapter 18, vs 8b … when the Son of Man comes will He find faith on earth …

 

… when we consider the text of Hebrews 11, vs 1 … faith is the substance of things hoped for - the conviction of things not seen … the text is a definition of faith which contains two provisions that represent the key actions central to that definition … hoped for … and … not seen …

 

… as we read Hebrews 11, vs 1 … the translated English text tells us that the object for action that these two provisions … what is hoped for … and … what is not seen … effect is our English noun … things … the  translation of the English noun … things … for both occasions of PRAGMA that are found in this verse is the translation is for the Greek noun … PRAGMA … Strong# Greek 4229 … the best literal meaning of PRAGMA is a reference to … multiple repetitive actions performed habitually to maintain relationship which are both practiced and practical … note that PRAGMA does not refer to a physical object or a period of time or a person or persons or any other physical tangible but rather to multiple sequences of various actions which are necessary to maintain relationship as exampled in marriage or corporate contracts or legal documents or many other aspects of life … our English word … pragmatic … comes from PRAGMA … the root of PRAGMA is Greek verb … PRASSO … Strong# Greek 4238 … the best literal meanings include … to commit to do something … or … to accomplish … the root of PRASSO is Greek verb … POTEO … Strong# Greek 4160 … the best literal meaning is … to perform practical actions for the manufacture or construction of something … perhaps a good way to look at it is the example of multiple activities which a couple do together repeatedly while maintaining relationship … or … if you prefer … the repetitive activities of legal relationship that two companies will pursue that have a shared contractual relationship … of interest in this analysis when tracing the meaning of this word PRAGMA to its root verb PRASSO … we find additional clarification in that verb’s definition as an action performed repeatedly or habitually ... by extension … an action which is practiced resulting in some level of accomplishment ... and so … the use of this word PRAGMA is not a reference to something or some theoretical action ... but rather to ... practical and repeated activities – that is practiced endeavors - which work well based on mutual agreement - cultural consensus - the situation and common sense … of additional interest is a return to our review of the Roman Latin verb … FIDES … which in general usage would represent the meaning of our English noun … trust … but which has a literal and legal definition of … that trust between two or more persons or parties who are in a defined specific relationship … so … both PRAGMA and FIDES define a concept of both … privileges … and … responsibility … for all persons or parties in a relationship with the inclusion of a specific reference to the accountability and consequences required of both parties in a business or personal relationship … in our analysis … the take away for a best understanding of PRAGMA is …  repetitive practiced actions which are mutually beneficial to each participant sharing the relationship … interesting …

 

Romans chapter 10, vs 17

… faith comes from what is heard and what is heard comes from the Word of God …

 

Luke chapter 8, vs 50                             Jesus Christ speaking

… do not fear … only believe … and … she will be saved …

 

… so here in Luke 8, vs 50 … the English word … believe … is the translation of Greek verb … PISTEUO … Strong# Greek 4100 … the best literal meanings include … to believe … or … to have faith in … or … to trust in … the root of PISTEUO is Greek noun … PISTIS … Strong# Greek 4102 …

 

Romans chapter 5, vs 1 – 5                 select verse segments in sequence

… we are justified by faith … in which … we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ … through Whom … we have obtained access to the grace in which we now stand … and so … we celebrate in our hope of sharing the glory of God forever … God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Spirit of God ( Holy Spirit ) … Who has been given to us …

… the Greek noun translated in Romans 5, vs 1 as … faith … is … PISTIS … Strong# Greek 4102 …

 

John chapter 14, vs 6                              Jesus Christ speaking

… I AM … the way … the truth … and … the life … no one comes to the Father except through Me …

 

John chapter 3, vs 13 – 18                   Jesus Christ speaking

… no one has ascended into heaven but He who descended from heaven … the Son of Man … and … as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness … even so must the Son of Man be lifted up so that everyone who believes in Him will have everlasting life … for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but will have everlasting life … for God did not send His Son into the world to judge the world but that the world might be saved through Him … everyone  who believes in Him is not judged … however … those who does not believe are judged already, because they have not believed in the Name of the only begotten Son of God …