Belief, Believe, Believers

1. pisteuo
2. peitho

1. pistis

1. pistos

pisteuo "to believe," also "to be persuaded of," and hence, "to place confidence in, to trust," signifies, in this sense of the word, reliance upon, not mere credence. It is most frequent in the writings of the Apostle John, especially the Gospel. He does not use the noun (see below). For the Lord's first use of the verb, see John_1:50. Of the writers of the Gospels, Matthew uses the verb ten times, Mark ten, Luke nine, John ninety-nine. In Acts_5:14 the present participle of the verb is translated "believers." See COMMIT, INTRUST, TRUST.

See also : pisteuo in other topics

peitho "to persuade," in the Middle and Passive Voices signifies "to suffer oneself to be persuaded," e.g., Luke_16:31; Heb_13:18; it is sometimes translated "believe" in the RV, but not in Acts_17:4, RV, "were persuaded," and Acts_27:11, "gave (more) heed;" in Acts_28:24, "believed." See AGREE, ASSURE, OBEY, PERSUADE, TRUST, YIELD.

Note: For apisteo, the negative of pisteuo, and apeitheo, the negative of peitho, see DISBELIEVE, DISOBEDIENT.

See also : peitho in other topics

pistis "faith," is translated "belief" in Rom_10:17; 2_Thess_2:13. Its chief significance is a conviction respecting God and His Word and the believer's relationship to Him. See ASSURANCE, FAITH, FIDELITY.

Note: In 1_Cor_9:5 the word translated "believer" (RV), is adelphe, "a sister," so 1_Cor_7:15; Rom_16:1; James_2:15, used, in the spiritual sense, of one connected by the tie of the Christian faith.

See also : pistis in other topics

pistos
(a) in the Active sense means "believing, trusting;"
(b) in the Passive sense, "trusty, faithful, trustworthy." It is translated "believer" in 2_Cor_6:15; "them that believe" in 1_Tim_4:12, RV (AV, "believers"); in 1_Tim_5:16, "if any woman that believeth," lit., "if any believing woman." So in 1_Tim_6:2, "believing masters." In 1_Pet_1:21 the RV, following the most authentic mss., gives the noun form, "are believers in God" (AV, "do believe in God"). In John_20:27 it is translated "believing."

It is best understood with significance C1(a), e.g., in Gal_3:9; Acts_16:1; 2_Cor_6:15; Titus_1:6; it has significance C1(b), e.g., in 1_Thess_5:24; 2_Thess_3:3 (see Notes on Thess. p. 211, and Gal. p. 126, by Hogg and Vine). See FAITHFUL, SURE.

Notes:
(1) The corresponding negative verb is apisteo, 2_Tim_2:13, AV, "believe not" RV, "are faithless," in contrast to the statement "He abideth faithful."

(2) The negative noun apistia, "unbelief," is used twice in Matthew (Matt_13:58; Matt_17:20), three times in Mark (Mark_6:6; Mark_9:24; Mark_16:14), four times in Romans (Rom_3:3; Rom_4:20; Rom_11:20,23); elsewhere in 1_Tim_1:13; Heb_3:12,19.
(3) The adjective apistos is translated "unbelievers" in 1_Cor_6:6; 2_Cor_6:14; in 2_Cor_6:15, RV, "unbeliever" (AV, "infidel"); so in 1_Tim_5:8; "unbelieving" in 1_Cor_7:12-15; 1_Cor_14:22-24; 2_Cor_4:4; Titus_1:15; Rev_21:8; "that believe not" in 1_Cor_10:27. In the Gospels it is translated "faithless" in Matt_17:17; Mark_9:19; Luke_9:41; John_20:27, but in Luke_12:46, RV, "unfaithful," AV, "unbelievers." Once it is translated "incredible," Acts_26:8. See FAITHLESS, INCREDIBLE, UNBELIEVER.

(4) Plerophoreo, in Luke_1:1 (AV, "are most surely believed," lit., "have had full course"), the RV renders "have been fulfilled." See FULFILL, KNOW, PERSUADE, PROOF.

See also : pistos in other topics