Grammatical Constructions of Faith in the NT
(avg. read time: 5–10 mins.)
As is well known, the vocabulary of “faith” in all of its various senses is crucial in the NT. One of the ways this is shown is in the number and variety of expressions of faith (in nominal and verbal forms) that articulate some relationship to an object. I would like to examine the various ways in which these relationships of faith are expressed in the NT. Specifically, this post will examine verbal phrases—or nominal phrases expressing the verbal idea—that are transitive, and, often, contain a preposition to define the relationship. The last category will involve cases in which no preposition appears, but in which the case still conveys some relationship of faith or trust (as such, content clauses with “that” are not included here). These are distinguished from the default preposition-less construction in which faith terminology takes the dative case as its direct object (Matt 21:32; Mark 11:31; [16:13–14]; Luke 1:20; 20:5; John 2:22; 4:50; 5:24, 38, 46 [2x], 47 [2x]; 6:30; 8:45–46; 10:37, 38 [2x]; 12:38; 14:11; Acts 8:12; 16:34; 18:8; 26:27; 27:25; Rom 10:16; Gal 2:20; 3:6; 1 Thess 2:11–12; 2 Tim 1:12; Titus 3:8; Jas 2:23; 1 John 3:23; 4:1; 5:10).
Faith “in” or “to” (εἰς)
By far the most common preposition linked with faith terminology is εἰς, in part because it is featured in the vast majority of John’s expressions, and John is significantly overrepresented in the NT’s use of faith terminology. In total, it appears 57 times in connection with faith terminology. It is featured in connection with verbs (John 2:11, 23; 4:39; 6:29; 7:5, 31, 48; 8:30; 9:35–36; 10:42; 11:45, 48; 12:11, 36–37, 42, 44; 14:1 [2x]; 16:9; Acts 14:23; 19:4; Rom 10:14; Gal 2:16; Phil 1:29; 1 John 5:10), nouns (Acts 20:21; 24:24; 26:18; Rom 5:2; Col 2:5; Heb 10:39; 1 Pet 1:5, 21 [2x]), and participles (Matt 18:6 // Mark 9:42; John 1:12; 3:16, 18, 36; 6:35, 40; 7:38–39; 8:31; 11:25–26; 12:44, 46; 14:12; 17:20; Acts 10:43; 1 John 5:10 [2x], 13). Its objects include Jesus (Matt 18:6 // Mark 9:42; John 2:11; 3:16, 18, 36; 4:39; 6:35, 40; 7:5, 31, 38–39, 48; 8:30–31; 9:35–36; 10:42; 11:25–26, 45, 48; 12:11, 36–37, 42, 44, 46; 14:1, 12; 16:9; 17:20; Acts 10:43; 14:23; 19:4; 20:21; 24:24; 26:18; Gal 2:16; Phil 1:29; Col 2:5; 1 John 5:10), Jesus’s name (John 1:12; 2:23; 1 John 5:13), God (John 6:29; 12:44; 14:1; 1 Pet 1:21 [2x]; 1 John 5:10), God’s testimony concerning Jesus (1 John 5:10), “this grace in which we stand” (Rom 5:2), and in one case it is ambiguous (Rom 10:14). In the cases of Heb 10:39 and 1 Pet 1:5, the εἰς expresses “for” or “to” in terms of purpose, and so it is not connected with a personal object, but with the end of preservation of life or salvation.
A few aspects of the use of this preposition are noteworthy. First, it is overwhelmingly common for the object to be Jesus. Second, even when God the Father is the object, the relationship of the action is ultimately in connection with Jesus, as God attests to Jesus and Jesus unites people with God. Third, as noted previously, the default direct object of faith terminology is in the dative case, but εἰς takes the accusative case. It is true that there is significant overlap between the dative and the εἰς + accusative construction, but still, one must wonder why this construction is overwhelmingly John’s preferred construction (36 times in his Gospel alone) and why it appears so often otherwise in the NT, where the vast majority have a sense other than purpose. It may be because, unlike the typical sense of ἐν (which takes the dative), εἰς also has the sense of movement into, of going from outside in (hence why it can often be translated “in,” “to,” or “into”). As such, it could be that phrases with this preposition place stress on the entrance into the relationship of faith, whether it is an assumed condition of the present or it is stated with an explicit or implied future focus. But this must be determined on a case-by-case basis, as εἰς does also overlap with ἐν.
Faith “in” (ἐν)
The preposition ἐν appears 12 times in the NT in connection with faith terminology. It is featured in connection with verbs (Mark 1:15; Rom 10:9; 1 Tim 3:16), nouns (1 Cor 12:9; Gal 3:26; Eph 1:15; Col 1:4; 1 Tim 1:14; 3:13; 2 Tim 1:13; 3:15), and, in one case, a participle (John 3:15). Its objects include the gospel (Mark 1:15), Jesus (John 3:15; Gal 3:26; Eph 1:15; Col 1:4; 1 Tim 1:14; 3:13; 2 Tim 1:13; 3:15), one’s heart (Rom 10:9), the Spirit (1 Cor 12:9), and the nations in a passive construction (1 Tim 3:16).
Once again, the vast majority of uses of this preposition have Jesus as the object, and these all appear to have a distinct sense from εἰς, where the stress is rather on the present state of being “in” Christ, hence why faith may be connected with love, and these things may be described as being the things “that/which” are in Christ (the case of 2 Tim 3:15 is ambiguous). The one case in which the gospel is the object indicates something like εἰς in terms of stressing the initiation of the investment of faith in the gospel, but perhaps ἐν is used here because the object is not personal. The other instances all feature some other peculiar nuance that explains why this preposition was used. Romans 10:9 uses it in terms of location, identifying the seat of one’s faith in the heart. 1 Corinthians 12:9 features a sense of instrument or means, as one here is said to have faith “by the same Spirit.” In the last case of 1 Tim 3:16, the passive construction actually has Jesus as the object of the action of faith, while the ἐν defines the sphere in which Jesus was believed.
Faith “to,” “on,” or “upon” (ἐπί)
The preposition ἐπί appears 13 times in the NT in connection with faith terminology. It is featured in connection with verbs (Matt 27:42; Luke 24:25; Acts 9:42; 16:31; 1 Tim 1:16), one case of a noun (Heb 6:1), and participles (Acts 11:17; 22:19; Rom 4:5, 24; 9:33; 10:11; 1 Pet 2:6). Its objects include Jesus (Matt 27:42; Acts 9:42; 11:17; 16:31; 22:19; 1 Tim 1:16), what was spoken by the prophets (Luke 24:25), God (Rom 4:5, 24; Heb 6:1), cases where the “him” is ambiguous from an OT quote (Rom 9:33; 10:11; 1 Pet 2:6), although Rom 10:9 may indicate, at least in Romans, that it is God the Father.
Constructions with this preposition are perhaps especially appropriate for conveying the senses of trust and allegiance that are associated with the faith terminology. That is, they have a sense relying “upon” or pledging/trusting oneself “to.” This can be seen in the OT quote from Isa 28:16 used in Rom 9:33; 10:11; 1 Pet 2:6. It is also appropriately phrased for the foundational teaching on faith in Heb 6:1. The case that may not fit this pattern as well is where the object is “all that was spoken by the prophets” in Luke 24:25, as this is a case where “trust” and “belief” overlap significantly.
Faith “through” or “because of” (δία)
The next three categories are relatively rare, especially compared to the first three categories of prepositions attached to faith terminology. The preposition δία appears 6 times in the NT in connection with faith terminology. It is connected with verbs (John 1:7; 14:11; 1 Cor 3:5), one noun (Acts 3:16), and participles (John 17:20; Acts 18:27). Its objects include John the Baptist (John 1:7), the works of Jesus’s Father (John 14:11), the words of Jesus’s followers (John 17:20), Jesus himself (Acts 3:16), grace (Acts 18:27), and Paul (1 Cor 3:5).
Five of these cases are the δία + genitive construction that signifies “through” the object. That is, these references describe the one through whom faith comes. John the Baptist, Paul, and Jesus’s followers in general are those who proclaim about Jesus to others, and so they are said to be those through whom people come to believe. In the other two cases, Jesus and grace could be described as the more direct means of faith. One case (John 14:11) uses the δία + accusative construction that signifies “because of” or “on account of” the object, as Jesus tells the disciples to have faith, if nothing else, because of the works that the Father has done in him.
Faith “about” him (περί); Faith “toward” (πρός)
The last two categories of prepositions can be treated together, since they only account for three cases combined. John 9:18 features the verb in connection with περί and Jesus as the object. This construction is unique in that it combines the transitive prepositional construction with a content clause concerning what the Jewish leaders did not believe about Jesus. We have otherwise set aside content clauses from the scope of this analysis, but clearly περί is particularly appropriate for such a purpose of combining these constructions.
The last preposition used in relation to faith terminology, πρός, appears in 1 Thess 1:8 and Phlm 5, both in connection with the noun, one with God as the object, and one with Jesus as the object. In both cases, there is some complexity in the construction of the sentence so that this preposition does not directly follow the noun. But, in any case, this phrasing refers to the orientation of faith, that it is directed toward God and Jesus.
Faith without Prepositions
As I noted at the start of this analysis, the majority of cases in which the transitive constructions with faith terminology are used are without prepositions, wherein the direct object is in the dative. But there are many other cases in which there is no preposition, but the object is in the genitive or accusative. Of course, the most discussion has been devoted to the question of whether the references to faith with Christ in the genitive are uses of the subjective or objective genitive. In the former case, Christ is the subject of the verbal idea of faith, so that the genitive refers to Jesus’s own faith or faithfulness. In the latter case, Christ is the object of the verbal idea, so that the genitive refers to the faith that has Christ as its object. These genitives appear in Rom 3:22, 26; Gal 2:16 (2x); 3:22; Eph 3:12; Phil 3:9. A similar case appears in Rev 14:12. I do not wish to examine the debate in detail here, but it is worth noting that there are other similar uses of this genitive in connection to faith with “God” in the genitive that are subjective (Rom 3:3) and objective (Mark 11:22; Jas 2:1; Col 2:12 is ambiguous). One objective genitive that does not fit this category is 2 Thess 2:13, since there it refers to faith in the truth.
Only two genitives attached as objects of faith terminology do not fit the above categories. One is in Rom 10:14, where the genitive is driven by the verb of hearing, which naturally takes a genitive object. The other is Titus 1:1, which refers to the faith of God’s elect, making this a unique case of a possessive genitive that does not use a personal pronoun.
Other preposition-less constructions have accusative objects. In most of these instances, the author or speaker uses the verb of faith with the accusative clarifying the sense of this verb as meaning “entrust” (Luke 16:11; John 2:24; Rom 3:2; 1 Cor 9:17). One exception appears in Jesus’s question to Martha in John 11:26 as to whether she believes “this” (what he had just said about being the resurrection and the life). The demonstrative pronoun may be in the accusative because he is asking about a statement of content, rather than “do you believe me?” A similar principle may be at work in 1 Cor 11:18; 13:7 (using a noun rather than a verb); Gal 2:7; 1 Thess 2:4; 1 John 4:16. These cases are essentially content clauses, but there are no explicit syntactical markers for content clauses.