Faithfulness

A fruit of the Spirit in you

ver.: 01 May 2008

This harvest of spiritual fruit is ripe for the picking :

• love (agape);
• joy (chara);
• peace (eirene);
• patience (makrothumia);
• kindness (chrestotes);
• goodness (agathosune);
• gentleness (prautes);
• self-control (enkrateia).
• Also, see Humility

Faithfulness

Faithfulness : [ < Latin fides < assumed IE bheidh- (to trust, have faith in, abide in)] The quality of being faithful. Noun form of 'faithful' : Loyal, full of faith or trust; firmly and resolutely sticking with a person, group, cause, belief, or idea, without waver. Other words in the word-field of 'faithful' include true, constant, loyal, steadfast, devoted, staunch, trusty. Of 'faithfulness' : fidelity, loyalty.

The Greek word used in Galatians 5:22 is pistis.

Faithfulness in the Bible, shown :

• in declaring God's will
• by testifying
• to the duties of one's task or office
• in declaring God's will
• in helping others
• in delivering messages
• in declaring God's will
• in lesser matters

Who was faithful, in the Bible?

• Abraham
• Joseph
• Moses
• David
• Elijah
• Isaiah
• Jeremiah
• Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego
• John the Baptizer
• Peter
• Paul
• Abijah
• Micaiah
• Azariah
• Hanani and Hananiah
• a centurion in Capernaum
• a servant of Abraham
• A roll call of the faithful

Faithfulness, like other fruit of the Spirit in us, is also a part of God's own character -- one side of what God's all about. That means faithfulness is a part of what is meant when speaking of our being made "in the image of God". God's faithfulness is :

• unfailing
• infinite
• beyond compare

God is faithful :

• to promises
• to the Covenant and its people
• in forgiving sins
• in giving counsel

There is no one word in ancient Hebrew that consistently corresponds with 'faithfulness'. Hebrew meaning, like English, is much determined by context. When used in parallel or context with Heb. chesed ('steadfast love', 'lovingkindness'), Heb. ’emet and sometimes ’emânâ (both meaning 'truth') refer to how true and loyal God is to the covenant people -- that is, God's faithfulness. Chesed itself implies faithfulness or steadfastness. This combination is very common in the Hebrew Scriptures, for example, Psalm 100:5, 2 Samuel 2:6, Lamentations 3:22-23, Psalm 40:10-11, and Hosea 2:19-20.

In 2 Timothy 2, pistos is used twice to convey the sense of secure, true faithfulness. The first use is that "The saying is sure (pistos)" -- in this case, a lyric/parallel-saying that was already in existence, which the letter's readers knew and trusted. The second use is about God's faithfulness (pistos) in the face of our faithlessness.
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