The Concept of Faith in the Fourth Gospel -- By: Gerald F. Hawthorne

Journal: Bibliotheca Sacra
Volume: BSAC 116:462 (Apr 1959)
Article: The Concept of Faith in the Fourth Gospel
Author: Gerald F. Hawthorne


The Concept of Faith in the Fourth Gospel

Gerald F. Hawthorne

[Gerald F. Hawthorne is Assistant Professor of Greek at Wheaton College, Wheaton, Illinois.]

John has been called “the Gospel of Belief,”1 and if the number of times one concept recurs in a given piece of literature is sufficient reason to determine its primary theme, this book was thus correctly named. Some form of the verb to believe occurs nearly one hundred times within the compass of the Gospel. Since, then, the idea of faith seems to predominate in the thinking of the Fourth Evangelist, it is only natural that some serious attention be given to the nature of this faith, who all was involved in it as subject and object, what prompted this faith, the levels at which it operated, the results of faith, etc.

In considering the nature of this faith John described, it is significant to observe, by way of introduction, that although some form of the verb πιστεύειν (to believe) is used 98 times, never once does the noun form for faith (πίστις) appear. In addition, the present tense accounts for 54 of these 98 occurrences, and the imperfect tense for 6 more. In others words, the linear concept of action expressed in these two tenses accounts for 60 of the 98 times the verb appears in John, Then too, from among the 5 moods that are employed in this Gospel the participle is used 21 times, exceeded in frequency only by the indicative.

These data could be instructive. Do they not imply on the very surface that there is a dynamic quality to John’s concept of faith that could never be adequately expressed by a noun, and could be best set forth only by those tenses of linear action? Is there not here a hint, at least, that faith was not to be thought of as merely an event (past) but as a continuing attitude throughout life?

The constructions employed in this Gospel reveal additional information regarding the nature of faith. As would be

expected, πιστεύειν with the dative occurs several times. This is the common classical construction and during classical times had two meanings: (1) trust, believe, put faith in, rely on a person or thing; and (2) entrust something to another. It would appear that the ideas of “believe” and “believe in” were run together in classical times with no care at all being taken to distinguish between these concepts.

This same construction (πιστεύειν with the dative) predominated in the LXX as well, ...

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