Faith, Believe and Trust

What is faith? What do faith, believe and trust have in common?

The Greek word used most often in the New Testament for “faith” is pistis and it defines faith as a belief or conviction (connected with trust) that leads to action.

²⁶ For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead. James 2:26

¹⁷ In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. James 2:17

²⁰ You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? James 2:20

In the Old Testament there are two main words that stand out to me… Aman and Emunah. Aman (which is a root word) is usually translated into the words “believe, faith, trust, amen or nurse.”

“Abram (Abraham) Believed (אָמַן Aman) יְהוָֹה YHVH and it was credited to him as Righteousness.” Genesis 15:6; Romans 4:3, 20

In Hebrew Aman is spelled aleph, mem and nun and in pictograph it looks like this:

For just a moment let’s look at some of the words that are created from this root word Aman. For instance, the word mother (אֵם Em ) comes from this word and in pictograph it looks like this:

They sometimes refer to the word mother in pictograph language as strong water because the ox represents strong and the mem equates to water or liquid. They see a mother as the person who is the glue (strong liquid) in a family that holds it together. If you add the Nun (symbolic of seed, offspring, sprout, life) back to the word Mother to form the word אָמַן Aman, the two words together give you a picture of a womb of life.

The word Truth, אֶמֶ  Emet, is derived from the word mother אֵם Em and believe אָמַן Aman. Emet (truth) also means to support or make firm, and expresses the image of strong arms of a parent supporting the helpless infant. In pictograph you would be adding a tav to the end of this word, Tav ת represents a Sign, Seal, or Covenant. Emet (truth) symbolizes Mother of the Covenant.

This brings us to Emunah אֱמוּנָה which is derived from the word mother אֵם Em. When you take this word mother and you add וּ Vav, נָ  Nun, and ה   Heh to form the word emunah you are presented with a picture of a Mother’s Life Showing us what Faithfulness looks like. A perfect example of this is found in the book of Isaiah.

“Can a woman forget her nursing child, or lack compassion for the child of her Womb? Even if she could forget, I will not forget you! Isaiah 49:15.

We always hear how men are more logic based and women are more emotion based. You can see from the above that faith is more connected with emotions such as compassion and nurturing. Faith isn’t always logical because you are trusting in what you can’t always see.

Emunah is an innate conviction, a perception of truth that transcends, rather than evades, reason.

Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Faith is taking the first step even when you can’t see the whole staircase.” It requires action, a stepping out and a trust which is the deeds that the apostle James is speaking about above. Another definition of faith (emunah) is steadfastness.

So Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought with Amalek, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. ¹¹ Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed. ¹² But Moses’ hands grew weary, so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it, while Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side. So his hands were steadfast (emunah) until the going down of the sun. ¹³ And Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the sword. Exodus 17:10-13

Other words to describe emunah are: reliable, dependable, stable, steady, verified, true and these are all action words. These are deeds we can put into practice in our lives to reflect that we are walking in faith and are faithful. There is one last deed that needs mentioned because this deed helps build faith.

 “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” 

Roman 10:17

This word hearing in Hebrew is Shema and it means to listen and obey. Paul is telling us to get into God’s word, hear what it truly says and follow it.

I close with this question… Is your faith only through words or is it also reflected in actions?