Greek Strong's Number: 4102
The word believes denotes continuous action, meaning continually believing. So does most all the words translated believe. We are saved by grace through believing...... not for a moment, but always.
Continuous action is not always the implication of the present tense, else "in many things we all stumble" (James) would mean that Christians continuously sinned. But taking the present as continuous is consistent with the idea that Christians do not lose their basic faith in Christ, ever.
BDAG (Bauer, etc.) is the standard NT Greek Lexicon. I abridge the very long article on pisteuō, leaving out non-biblical references & refs to modern literature. [My translations of Greek words are in brackets for those who don't read Greek]
BDAG LEXICON
case abbreviations: acc; = accusative, dat = dative.
inf = infinitive; abs = absolute(ly) (no object); pers = person; foll = following
obj = object; v.l. = variant reading
D = the "western text," an inferior text type
Greek letters may be used as outline indicaters, like A. B. C. D.
pass = passive voice
πιστεύω pisteuo [I believe]
(the word does not occur in Phlm, 2 Pt, 2 and 3J, Rv. But it is a special favorite of J and 1J, where it is found 96 times and 9 times respectively;
πίστις pistis [faith]
is not found in the gospel at all, and occurs in 1J only once, 5:4.
1. to consider someth. to be true and therefore worthy of one’s trust, believe
a. believe (in) someth., be convinced of someth., w. that which one believes (in) indicated
α. by acc. of thing …ἡ ἀγάπη πάντα πιστεύει [love all-things believes] 1 Cor 13:7
β. by means of a ὅτι-clause believe that [
ὅτι = hoti means "that"]
π. περί τινος ὅτι
believe concerning someone that J 9:18
γ. by the acc. and inf.
πιστεύομεν σωθῆναι = we believe to be saved Ac 15:11
δ. by means of the dat. of thing give credence to, believe
ε. w. prepositional expressions: εἰς [= into] Ro 4:18, …
On πιστεύειν εἰς τὸ ὄνομά τινος …Rather in the sense
‘put one’s trust in’ Sir 32:21 μὴ πιστεύσῃς ἐν ὁδῷ ἀπροσκόπῳ. …
—ἐπί τινι [upon something]:
πιστεύειν [to believe] ἐπὶ πᾶσιν [upon all things] οἷς ἐλάλησαν οἱ προφῆται [which spoke the prophets] Lk 24:25; Ro 9:33.
b. w. the pers. to whom one gives credence or whom one believes,
in the dat. …τοῖς θεασαμένοις αὐτὸν ἐγηγερμένον οὐκ ἐπίστευσαν
they did not believe those who saw him after he was raised from the dead Mk 16:14.
—Also of Jesus and God whom one
believes, in that one accepts their disclosures without doubt or contradiction:
Jesus: … Gal 3:6; Js 2:23; (all three Gen 15:6).
ὁ μὴ πιστεύων [the one not believing] τῷ θεῷ [in (the) God] ψεύστην πεποίηκεν αὐτόν [liar has made Him] 1J 5:10b.
c. w. pers. and thing added π. τινί τι
believe someone with regard to someth.…
—W. dat. of pers. and ὅτι [that] foll.
πιστεύετέ μοι ὅτι ἐγὼ ἐν τῷ πατρί J 14:11a. Cp. 4:21; Ac 27:25.
d. abs. (in which case the context supplies the obj., etc.
J 20:29ab πιστεύσαντες
those who have nevertheless believed (
it=the fact of the Resurrection);
Ac 4:4; 26:27b;
1 Cor 11:18 πιστεύω
I believe (
it=that there are divisions among you); 15:11;
Js 2:19b
even the daemons believe this; Jd 5.
Pass. καρδίᾳ πιστεύεται
with (or
in)
the heart men believe (
it=that Jesus was raised fr. the dead) Ro 10:10. …
2. to entrust oneself to an entity in complete confidence, believe (in), trust, w. implication of total commitment to the one who is trusted.
In our lit. God and Christ are objects of this type of faith that
relies on their power and nearness to help,
in addition to being convinced that their revelations or disclosures are true.
The obj. is
a. given
α. in the dat.
Some of the passages referred to in 1b above, end, are repeated, since they may be classified here or there w. equal justification.
Of God: π. τῷ θεῷ [believe (in) God]
Ac 16:34;
—Of Christ: J 6:30 (σοί [in you] =vs. 29 εἰς ὃν ἀπέστειλεν ἐκεῖνος [into whom he sent);
J 8:31 (αὐτῷ [(in) him] =vs. 30 εἰς αὐτόν [into him];
Ac 5:14; 18:8a (both τῷ κυρίῳ [(in {the} Lord] );
Ro 10:14b…; 2 Ti 1:12; .
—Pass.
be believed in ἐπιστεύθη ἐν κόσμῳ [was believed in (the) world] 1 Ti 3:16.
—π. τῷ ὀνόματι τοῦ υἱοῦ
believe in the name of the Son, i.e. believe in the Son and accept what his name proclaims him to be 1J 3:23.
β. w. εἰς [into] God
J 12:44b; 14:1a ;
—Christ: Mt 18:6; Mk 9:42; J 2:11; 3:15 v.l., 16, 18a, 36; 4:39; 6:29,
35, 40, 47 v.l.; 7:5, 31, 38f, 48; 8:30; 9:35f; 10:42; 11:25, 26a, 45, 48; 12:11, 36 (εἰς τὸ φῶς [into the light]), 37, 42, 44a, 46; 14:1b, 12; 16:9; 17:20; Ac 10:43; 14:23; 18:8 D; 19:4; Ro 10:14a; Gal 2:16; Phil 1:29; 1 Pt 1:8; 1J 5:10a;
—εἰς τὸ ὄνομα Ἰησοῦ [into the name of Jesus] (or αὐτοῦ [of him], etc.) J 1:12; 2:23; 3:18c; 1J 5:13
γ. w. ἐπί and dat.,
of God Ac 11:17 D.
Of Christ: Mt 27:42 v.l.; J 3:15 v.l.; Ro 9:33; 10:11; 1 Pt 2:6 (the last three Is 28:16); 1 Ti 1:16.
δ. w. ἐπί and acc.
of God: Ac 16:34 D; Ro 4:5, 24;
Of Christ: Mt 27:42; J 3:15 v.l.; Ac 9:42; 11:17; 16:31; 22:19.
ε. π. ἔν τινι believe in someone is questionable in our lit.:
in J 3:15 the best rdg. is ἐν αὐτῷ [in him] and is prob. to be construed w. ἔχῃ [may have]
(in J πιστεύω usually takes the prep. εἰς [into] when expressing the obj. of belief, as in 3:16);
in Eph 1:13 both occurrences of ἐν ᾧ [in him/it] are prob. to be construed w. ἐσφραγίσθητε [you were sealed] (=‘in connection with whom you have been sealed’ [cp. 4:30]);
the acts of hearing and believing are coordinate, and πιστεύσαντες [having believed],
along w. ἀκούσαντες, [having heard] is used abs.
b. not expressed at all
Mk 15:32; 16:16f; Lk 8:12f; J 1:7, 50; 3:15, 18b; 4:41f, 48, 53; 5:44; 6:36, 47, 64ab, perh. 69;
9:38; 10:26; 11:15, 40; 12:39; 20:31b; Ac 4:4; 8:13, 37a; 11:21; 13:12, 39, 48; 14:1; 15:5, 7; 17:12, 34; 18:8b, 27; 19:2; 21:25; Ro 1:16; 3:22; 4:11; 10:4; 13:11; 15:13; 1 Cor 1:21; 3:5; 15:2; Gal 3:22; Eph 1:13, 19; 1 Th 2:10, 13; Hb 4:3; 1 Pt 2:7;
—Participles in the var. tenses are also used almost subst.:
(οἱ) πιστεύοντες
(the) believers, (the) Christians
Ac 2:44; Ro 3:22; 1 Cor 14:22ab (opp. οἱ ἄπιστοι [unbelievers]);
1 Th 1:7;
(οἱ) πιστεύσαντες
(those) who made their commitment = (those) who became believers, (the) Christians, Ac 2:44 v.l.; 4:32; 2 Th 1:10a.
οἱ πεπιστευκότες [the ones having believed]
those who became (and remained) believers Ac 19:18; 21:20.
c. A special kind of this faith is the confidence that God or Christ is in a position to help suppliants out of their distress, have confidence
(some of the passages already mentioned might just as well be classified here)
abs. ὡς ἐπίστευσας [as you believed] γενηθήτω σοι
may it be done to you in accordance with the confidence you have Mt 8:13.
ὅσα ἂν [whatever] αἰτήσητε [you pray for] πιστεύοντες [believing]
whatever you pray for with confidence 21:22. Cp. Mk 5:36; 9:23f; Lk 8:50; 2 Cor 4:13a (Ps 115:1), b.
W. ὅτι foll.: πιστεύετε ὅτι δύναμαι τοῦτο ποιῆσαι;
do you have confidence that I am able to do this? Mt 9:28.
—Mk 11:23.
3. entrust τινί τι someth. to someone τὸ ἀληθινὸν[the true (thing) τίς [who] ὑμῖν [to you] πιστεύσει [will entrust]; Lk 16:11.
αὐτόν [self] τινι [to someone]
trust oneself to someone J 2:24.
—Pass. πιστεύομαί [I am entrusted] τι [with something].
ἐπιστεύθησαν [they were entrusted (with)] τὰ λόγια τοῦ θεοῦ [the sayings of God] Ro 3:2.
πεπίστευμαι τὸ εὐαγγέλιον [I have been entrusted with the gospel] Gal 2:7;
cp. 1 Th 2:4; 1 Ti 1:11.—Tit 1:3.
οἰκονομίαν [(a) dispensation] πεπίστευμαι [I have been entrusted with] 1 Cor 9:17;
4. be confident about, a unique use found in ὃς μὲν πιστεύει φαγεῖν πάντα, someth. like
the one is confident about eating anything Ro 14:2 (a combination of two ideas: ‘the pers. is so strong in the faith’ and: ‘the pers. is convinced that it is permissible to eat anything’; in brief: not cultically fussy. Another probability is the sense
5. think/consider (possible), in Ro 14:2 perh.
holds everything possible;
cp. J 9:18 οὐκ ἐπίστευσαν
they refused to entertain the possibility, and Ac 9:26.
