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An Exegetical Examination of πίστις in Romans 3:3: Faith or Faithfulness?
This exegetical study of An Exegetical Examination of πίστις in Romans 3:3: Faith or Faithfulness? is based on a b-greek discussion from a recent online forum. The initial query posits that the New Testament lacks a distinct Greek word for “faithfulness,” suggesting that πίστις (faith) and πιστός (faithful) are the primary terms in question. The original commentator expressed the belief that if an author like Paul intended to convey “faithfulness,” the adjective πιστός would be employed rather than the noun πίστις, thereby raising a fundamental question about the semantic range of πίστις in specific New Testament contexts.
The main exegetical issue at hand concerns the precise meaning and semantic boundaries of the noun πίστις, particularly in Pauline theology and its application to divine attributes. Specifically, the inquiry seeks to ascertain whether πίστις in Romans 3:3, where it refers to “the πίστις of God,” signifies “God’s faith” (as in God’s belief), “faith in God” (objective genitive), or “God’s faithfulness” (subjective genitive denoting God’s reliability). The prevailing assumption in the original discussion was that “faithfulness” would invariably be expressed via the adjectival form πιστός, implying a potential limitation in the noun’s semantic scope. This study will explore whether the New Testament usage, supported by lexical and contextual analysis, permits πίστις to convey the concept of “faithfulness” when attributed to God, thus challenging the initial premise.
Greek text (Nestle 1904)
τί γὰρ εἰ ἠπίστησάν τινες; μὴ ἡ ἀπιστία αὐτῶν τὴν πίστιν τοῦ θεοῦ καταργήσει;
Key differences with SBLGNT (2010):
- No significant textual variants affecting the word πίστιν or its immediate context are present between Nestle 1904 and SBLGNT 2010 for Romans 3:3. Both editions present the same Greek text for this verse.
The textual stability of Romans 3:3 is confirmed by Nestle-Aland 28th edition (NA28), which presents the same text for this verse, with no critical apparatus variants relevant to πίστιν. Lexical analysis provides crucial insight into the semantic range of πίστις. KITTEL (Theological Dictionary of the New Testament) extensively discusses πίστις, highlighting its broad spectrum of meanings including “faith,” “belief,” and “trust.” Significantly, when applied to God, πίστις frequently denotes God’s *faithfulness* or *reliability*, emphasizing divine steadfastness and truthfulness. This usage is distinct from human faith, which is an act of believing. BDAG (Bauer, Danker, Arndt, Gingrich Lexicon) further supports this, listing “faithfulness, reliability” as a recognized meaning for πίστις, especially when referring to God’s character. Romans 3:3 is explicitly cited as an instance where “God’s faithfulness” is the intended meaning. While πιστός (faithful, trustworthy) is an adjective describing one who possesses faith or is reliable, πίστις (faith, faithfulness, trust) is a noun. The choice between them depends on the grammatical function required by the sentence. In Romans 3:3, a noun is needed as the object of καταργήσει, and its semantic range, particularly in relation to God, readily accommodates “faithfulness.”
Translation Variants
Grammatically, τὴν πίστιν τοῦ θεοῦ features πίστιν (accusative singular feminine) as the direct object of the verb καταργήσει (will nullify/make ineffective), and τοῦ θεοῦ is a genitive of relationship. This genitive can be interpreted as objective (“faith in God”) or subjective (“God’s faith/faithfulness”). Given the context of Romans 3:3, the subjective genitive is overwhelmingly favored. Rhetorically, Paul introduces a rhetorical question responding to the hypothetical objection of Jewish unfaithfulness (ἠπίστησάν τινες / “some were unfaithful”) and their unbelief (ἡ ἀπιστία αὐτῶν / “their unbelief/unfaithfulness”). The subsequent contrast is between this human failure and God’s πίστις. For God’s πίστις to logically stand in antithesis to human ἀπιστία (unfaithfulness/unbelief), it must refer to God’s *faithfulness* or *reliability*, not “God’s faith” (which would imply God believes, a less coherent concept in this context) or “faith in God” (which would shift the focus away from God’s character to human response to God). The parallelism demands that God’s steadfastness is the counterpoint to human inconstancy. Therefore, interpreting πίστις as “faithfulness” here underscores the unwavering nature of God’s covenantal promises and character despite human failure.
Conclusions and Translation Suggestions
The exegetical analysis confirms that the Greek noun πίστις possesses a semantic range that explicitly includes “faithfulness,” particularly when attributed to God. This meaning is strongly supported by lexical evidence (KITTEL, BDAG) and, more importantly, by the immediate rhetorical context of Romans 3:3, where God’s unwavering character is contrasted with human unfaithfulness. The initial premise that πιστός would be exclusively used for “faithfulness” is not sustained, as πίστις functions as the necessary noun form carrying this meaning. Therefore, translations should reflect this nuanced understanding of divine reliability.
- “Will their unfaithfulness nullify the faithfulness of God?” This translation directly renders πίστις as “faithfulness,” aligning with the contextual contrast to human unfaithfulness and strong lexical support for divine reliability.
- “Will their unfaithfulness nullify God’s faithfulness?” A more idiomatic English rendering of the subjective genitive construction, effectively conveying the core meaning of God’s steadfastness and reliability.
- “Will their unfaithfulness make God’s trustworthiness ineffective?” This option emphasizes the aspect of reliability and dependability inherent in divine πίστις, which is a key component of “faithfulness,” offering a slightly different nuance while remaining accurate to the Greek’s potential meaning.
You say you don’t think there is one, yet you give it yourself.
2 Timothy 2:11 (NA27) 11πιστὸς ὁ λόγος· εἰ γὰρ συναπεθάνομεν, καὶ συζήσομεν· PISTOS hO LOGOS: EI GAR SUNAPEQANOMEN, KAI SUZHSOMEN. george gfsomsel
… search for truth, hear truth, learn truth, love truth, speak the truth, hold the truth, defend the truth till death.
– Jan Hus _________
________________________________ href=”mailto:[email protected]”>[email protected] Sent: Sat, December 18, 2010 9:36:14 AM
I don’t believe there is a separate Greek word for “faithfulness” in the N.T.; at least I don’t see one.
That being said, it would seem to me that if Paul or any other N.T. author intended for an existing word like PISTIS or PISTOS to be used to mean faithfulness, he/they would have used PISTOS (faithful) instead of PISTIS (faith).
Would someone shed some light on this please?
Thanks, Ren Preston
— B-Greek home page: http://www.ibiblio.org/bgreek B-Greek mailing list [email protected] http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/b-greek
— B-Greek home page: http://www.ibiblio.org/bgreek B-Greek mailing list [email protected] http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/b-greek
PISTOS is an adjective; it might and can mean “faithful” but not “faithfulness.” There’s nothing wrong with PISTIS as “faithfulness” — BDAG s.v. PISTIS: 1.a. the state of being someone in whom confidence can be placed, faithfulness, reliability, fidelity, commitment
Carl W. Conrad Department of Classics, Washington University (Retired)
href=”mailto:[email protected]”>[email protected]
— B-Greek home page: http://www.ibiblio.org/bgreek B-Greek mailing list [email protected] http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/b-greek
—– Original Message —– Sent: 18. december 2010 19:36
Yes, PISTIS covers both the English “faith” and “faithfulness”.
You would find it helpful to look up in a dictionary and study the occurrences where PISTIS is used for “faithfulness”. While PISTEUW refers to the event of putting one’s trust in something or someone, the adjective PISTOS describes a person or thing as being trustworthy. But sometimes a Greek construction requires a noun to be used, and in that case, PISTIS has to do double duty as the noun corresponding to PISTEUW, i.e. “faith”, and as the noun corresponding to PISTOS, i.e. “trustworthiness, loyalty, committedness”.
Iver Larsen
— B-Greek home page: http://www.ibiblio.org/bgreek B-Greek mailing list [email protected] http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/b-greek
Hi, Ren,
A good example of where PISTIS means not so much trust but faithfulness or loyalty is Chariton 5:1
τὴν Καλλιρόης πρὸς Χαιρέαν πίστιν…ἐν τῳ πρόσθεν λόγῳ δεδήλωται.
THN KALLIROHS PROS XAIREAN PISTIN…EN TW PROSQEN LOGWi DEDHLWTAI
“the loyalty of Calliroe towards Chaireas…has been shown in the preceding account.”
Up until this point, Calliroe has not really shown trust in Chareas, because she thinks he is dead, and at any rate she doubts his own character and fidelity throughout the book. But she is devoted to him, she tries to remain chaste to his memory, she persists in committedness. Faithfulness usually implies trust, but not always.
Now, whether Paul believes (e.g. Gal 2:16) that we are made righteous by trust IN Christ (EK PISTEWS CRISTOU) or by the faithfulness OF Christ (EK PISTEWS CRISTOU) depends on the further question of whether this is an objective or subjective genitive, and above all what King Context has to say about the matter. But lexigraphy gets you half way there.
Mark L Φωσφορος
FWSFOROS MARKOS
________________________________ href=”mailto:[email protected]”>[email protected]; [email protected] Sent: Sat, December 18, 2010 11:24:35 PM
Sent: 18. december 2010 19:36
Yes, PISTIS covers both the English “faith” and “faithfulness”.
You would find it helpful to look up in a dictionary and study the occurrences where PISTIS is used for “faithfulness”. While PISTEUW refers to the event of putting one’s trust in something or someone, the adjective PISTOS describes a person or thing as being trustworthy. But sometimes a Greek construction requires a noun to be used, and in that case, PISTIS has to do double duty as the noun corresponding to PISTEUW, i.e. “faith”, and as the noun corresponding to PISTOS, i.e. “trustworthiness, loyalty, committedness”.
Iver Larsen
— B-Greek home page: http://www.ibiblio.org/bgreek B-Greek mailing list [email protected] http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/b-greek
— B-Greek home page: http://www.ibiblio.org/bgreek B-Greek mailing list [email protected] http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/b-greek
Another example I think will demonstrate it nicely is Romans 3:3 –
ROMANS 3:3 TI GAR; EI HPISTHSAN TINES, MH hH APISTIA AUTWN THN PISTIN TOU QEOU KATARGHSEI; What then? If some did not believe, their unbelief will not nullify the faithfulness of God, will it? (NASB) Blue Harris
________________________________ href=”mailto:[email protected]”>[email protected]; [email protected] Sent: Sun, December 19, 2010 5:33:40 AM
Hi, Ren,
A good example of where PISTIS means not so much trust but faithfulness or loyalty is Chariton 5:1
τὴν Καλλιρόης πρὸς Χαιρέαν πίστιν…ἐν τῳ πρόσθεν λόγῳ δεδήλωται.
THN KALLIROHS PROS XAIREAN PISTIN…EN TW PROSQEN LOGWi DEDHLWTAI
“the loyalty of Calliroe towards Chaireas…has been shown in the preceding account.”
Up until this point, Calliroe has not really shown trust in Chareas, because she
thinks he is dead, and at any rate she doubts his own character and fidelity throughout the book. But she is devoted to him, she tries to remain chaste to his memory, she persists in committedness. Faithfulness usually implies trust, but not always.
Now, whether Paul believes (e.g. Gal 2:16) that we are made righteous by trust IN Christ (EK PISTEWS CRISTOU) or by the faithfulness OF Christ (EK PISTEWS CRISTOU) depends on the further question of whether this is an objective or subjective genitive, and above all what King Context has to say about the matter. But lexigraphy gets you half way there.
Mark L Φωσφορος
FWSFOROS MARKOS
________________________________ href=”mailto:[email protected]”>[email protected]; [email protected] Sent: Sat, December 18, 2010 11:24:35 PM
Sent: 18. december 2010 19:36
Yes, PISTIS covers both the English “faith” and “faithfulness”.
You would find it helpful to look up in a dictionary and study the occurrences where PISTIS is used for “faithfulness”. While PISTEUW refers to the event of putting one’s trust in something or someone, the adjective PISTOS describes a person or thing as being trustworthy. But sometimes a Greek construction requires a noun to be used, and in that case, PISTIS has to do double duty as the noun corresponding to PISTEUW, i.e. “faith”, and as the noun corresponding to PISTOS, i.e. “trustworthiness, loyalty, committedness”.
Iver Larsen
— B-Greek home page: http://www.ibiblio.org/bgreek B-Greek mailing list [email protected] http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/b-greek
— B-Greek home page: http://www.ibiblio.org/bgreek B-Greek mailing list [email protected] http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/b-greek
— B-Greek home page: http://www.ibiblio.org/bgreek B-Greek mailing list [email protected] http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/b-greek
You say you don’t think there is one, yet you give it yourself.
2 Timothy 2:11 (NA27) 11πιστὸς ὁ λόγος· εἰ γὰρ συναπεθάνομεν, καὶ συζήσομεν· PISTOS hO LOGOS: EI GAR SUNAPEQANOMEN, KAI SUZHSOMEN. george gfsomsel
… search for truth, hear truth, learn truth, love truth, speak the truth, hold the truth, defend the truth till death.
– Jan Hus _________
________________________________ href=”mailto:[email protected]”>[email protected] Sent: Sat, December 18, 2010 9:36:14 AM
I don’t believe there is a separate Greek word for “faithfulness” in the N.T.; at least I don’t see one.
That being said, it would seem to me that if Paul or any other N.T. author intended for an existing word like PISTIS or PISTOS to be used to mean faithfulness, he/they would have used PISTOS (faithful) instead of PISTIS (faith).
Would someone shed some light on this please?
Thanks, Ren Preston
— B-Greek home page: http://www.ibiblio.org/bgreek B-Greek mailing list [email protected] http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/b-greek
— B-Greek home page: http://www.ibiblio.org/bgreek B-Greek mailing list [email protected] http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/b-greek
PISTOS is an adjective; it might and can mean “faithful” but not “faithfulness.” There’s nothing wrong with PISTIS as “faithfulness” — BDAG s.v. PISTIS: 1.a. the state of being someone in whom confidence can be placed, faithfulness, reliability, fidelity, commitment
Carl W. Conrad Department of Classics, Washington University (Retired)
href=”mailto:[email protected]”>[email protected]
— B-Greek home page: http://www.ibiblio.org/bgreek B-Greek mailing list [email protected] http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/b-greek
—– Original Message —– Sent: 18. december 2010 19:36
Yes, PISTIS covers both the English “faith” and “faithfulness”.
You would find it helpful to look up in a dictionary and study the occurrences where PISTIS is used for “faithfulness”. While PISTEUW refers to the event of putting one’s trust in something or someone, the adjective PISTOS describes a person or thing as being trustworthy. But sometimes a Greek construction requires a noun to be used, and in that case, PISTIS has to do double duty as the noun corresponding to PISTEUW, i.e. “faith”, and as the noun corresponding to PISTOS, i.e. “trustworthiness, loyalty, committedness”.
Iver Larsen
— B-Greek home page: http://www.ibiblio.org/bgreek B-Greek mailing list [email protected] http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/b-greek
Hi, Ren,
A good example of where PISTIS means not so much trust but faithfulness or loyalty is Chariton 5:1
τὴν Καλλιρόης πρὸς Χαιρέαν πίστιν…ἐν τῳ πρόσθεν λόγῳ δεδήλωται.
THN KALLIROHS PROS XAIREAN PISTIN…EN TW PROSQEN LOGWi DEDHLWTAI
“the loyalty of Calliroe towards Chaireas…has been shown in the preceding account.”
Up until this point, Calliroe has not really shown trust in Chareas, because she thinks he is dead, and at any rate she doubts his own character and fidelity throughout the book. But she is devoted to him, she tries to remain chaste to his memory, she persists in committedness. Faithfulness usually implies trust, but not always.
Now, whether Paul believes (e.g. Gal 2:16) that we are made righteous by trust IN Christ (EK PISTEWS CRISTOU) or by the faithfulness OF Christ (EK PISTEWS CRISTOU) depends on the further question of whether this is an objective or subjective genitive, and above all what King Context has to say about the matter. But lexigraphy gets you half way there.
Mark L Φωσφορος
FWSFOROS MARKOS
________________________________ href=”mailto:[email protected]”>[email protected]; [email protected] Sent: Sat, December 18, 2010 11:24:35 PM
Sent: 18. december 2010 19:36
Yes, PISTIS covers both the English “faith” and “faithfulness”.
You would find it helpful to look up in a dictionary and study the occurrences where PISTIS is used for “faithfulness”. While PISTEUW refers to the event of putting one’s trust in something or someone, the adjective PISTOS describes a person or thing as being trustworthy. But sometimes a Greek construction requires a noun to be used, and in that case, PISTIS has to do double duty as the noun corresponding to PISTEUW, i.e. “faith”, and as the noun corresponding to PISTOS, i.e. “trustworthiness, loyalty, committedness”.
Iver Larsen
— B-Greek home page: http://www.ibiblio.org/bgreek B-Greek mailing list [email protected] http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/b-greek
— B-Greek home page: http://www.ibiblio.org/bgreek B-Greek mailing list [email protected] http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/b-greek
Another example I think will demonstrate it nicely is Romans 3:3 –
ROMANS 3:3 TI GAR; EI HPISTHSAN TINES, MH hH APISTIA AUTWN THN PISTIN TOU QEOU KATARGHSEI; What then? If some did not believe, their unbelief will not nullify the faithfulness of God, will it? (NASB) Blue Harris
________________________________ href=”mailto:[email protected]”>[email protected]; [email protected] Sent: Sun, December 19, 2010 5:33:40 AM
Hi, Ren,
A good example of where PISTIS means not so much trust but faithfulness or loyalty is Chariton 5:1
τὴν Καλλιρόης πρὸς Χαιρέαν πίστιν…ἐν τῳ πρόσθεν λόγῳ δεδήλωται.
THN KALLIROHS PROS XAIREAN PISTIN…EN TW PROSQEN LOGWi DEDHLWTAI
“the loyalty of Calliroe towards Chaireas…has been shown in the preceding account.”
Up until this point, Calliroe has not really shown trust in Chareas, because she
thinks he is dead, and at any rate she doubts his own character and fidelity throughout the book. But she is devoted to him, she tries to remain chaste to his memory, she persists in committedness. Faithfulness usually implies trust, but not always.
Now, whether Paul believes (e.g. Gal 2:16) that we are made righteous by trust IN Christ (EK PISTEWS CRISTOU) or by the faithfulness OF Christ (EK PISTEWS CRISTOU) depends on the further question of whether this is an objective or subjective genitive, and above all what King Context has to say about the matter. But lexigraphy gets you half way there.
Mark L Φωσφορος
FWSFOROS MARKOS
________________________________ href=”mailto:[email protected]”>[email protected]; [email protected] Sent: Sat, December 18, 2010 11:24:35 PM
Sent: 18. december 2010 19:36
Yes, PISTIS covers both the English “faith” and “faithfulness”.
You would find it helpful to look up in a dictionary and study the occurrences where PISTIS is used for “faithfulness”. While PISTEUW refers to the event of putting one’s trust in something or someone, the adjective PISTOS describes a person or thing as being trustworthy. But sometimes a Greek construction requires a noun to be used, and in that case, PISTIS has to do double duty as the noun corresponding to PISTEUW, i.e. “faith”, and as the noun corresponding to PISTOS, i.e. “trustworthiness, loyalty, committedness”.
Iver Larsen
— B-Greek home page: http://www.ibiblio.org/bgreek B-Greek mailing list [email protected] http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/b-greek
— B-Greek home page: http://www.ibiblio.org/bgreek B-Greek mailing list [email protected] http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/b-greek
— B-Greek home page: http://www.ibiblio.org/bgreek B-Greek mailing list [email protected] http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/b-greek