Curriculum

In the context of 1 & 2 Thessalonians Paul uses the word pistis to mean faithfulness/loyalty in most contexts and grammatical structures and suggests trusting/believing in a few. Therefore it is best to understand Paul’s use of pistis as meaning faithfulness/loyalty/fidelity. In order to substantiate this claim it will be necessary to review the various texts of 1 & 2 Thessalonians which pertain to pistis along with Paul’s description of his example for the Thessalonians.

The opening thanksgiving of 1 Thessalonians is the first instance which Paul uses the term pistis in the letters(1:3). It is in this verse that Witherington notes the historical context of faith and love which were virtues in Greco-Roman world of Paul’s day (Witherington, 58). This seems to support that pistis is not simply an inner disposition such as the translation to trust/believing denotes but an action. Also Witherington’s point gives more credence for understanding why Paul would be thanking God for the Thessalonians’ “work engendered by faithfulness.”

Paul describes the pistis of the Thessalonians which he is so thankful for in verses 6-10. There Paul describes their pistis to the “gospel” which was both proclaimed and modeled for them (1:4-5). Paul’s example to the Thessalonians was characterized by Paul as being pure, upright and blameless in conduct (2:10). Though he could have been a burden to them, he was like “a father with his children (2:11).” He also was open with them about the persecution that they would face because of their faithfulness to the “gospel” as he and the other co-ministers of God had and were enduring (3:3-5). His example of faithfulness in the face of persecution for the sake of the “gospel” also characterized the pistis that he desired to see imitated by the Thessalonians. As a result of that, they became imitators of Paul and also Christ in spite of the persecution they suffered. Through suffering for their faithfulness to the “gospel”, they became a typos or example/models to all the believers throughout Macedonia and Achaia (1:6, 7).

In the final verses of this section Paul depicts the Thessalonians’ faithfulness as being constituted by three descriptions of “turning”, “serving” and “waiting”. Harink describes turning in this context as an “active response” to the “gospel” marked by “decisive rejection of idolatry and public confession of the one God of Israel” which would have brought social and political hardship (Harink, 33).” If this is the case then the Thessalonians would have certainly had to express a faithfulness/loyalty to the “gospel” in the midst of persecutions. Paul adds the description of the Thessalonians’ pistis the action of “serving” the living God. Furnish believes that at this point Paul’s description of the Thessalonians’ pistis is a reflection of the triadic virtues of faith, love and hope which Paul opened the letter. Thus “serving” for Furnish is the action of love of God. However, it is more likely that this is a further description of pistis rather then of love given the context. Therefore the pistis that the Thessalonians exhibit is a “serving” of the true God analogous to “the Lord who also took the form of a slave (Phil 2:6-8)”(Johnson, 1:10). Therefore their faithfulness/loyalty was in the pattern of Christ’s faithfulness to God’s redemptive work (mission Dei). Finally, Paul marks the faithfulness of the Thessalonians in their action of “waiting” for the return of Christ. At this point, Paul explains the hope which sustains and empowers their faithfulness/loyalty. The object of their hope is the return of God’s “Son from heaven”(NRSV) who is their Lord, Jesus. They “wait” for this Lord not in idleness which Paul writes against (1 Thess 5:14-15 and 2 Thess 3:6-10) but in active participation in God’s redemptive work in their life together (1 Thess 5:15).

Later in 1 Thessalonians (3:1-8), Paul tells the Thessalonians that it is because he is concerned about their faithfulness/loyalty in the face of persecution that he has sent Timothy to them to enquire and strengthen them in their faithfulness to God. Here Paul refers to their pistis as something that is not merely an inner reality as trusting or believing denotes but as a way of life that can be hindered by the persecution that they face because of their faithfulness to the “gospel”. Specifically, Paul describes their pistis in the image of “standing firm in the Lord” (NRSV 3:8b). Johnson explains that in light of Paul’s other usage that the act of standing firm is done by faithfulness/loyalty/fidelity to the “gospel” (Johnson 3:8n).

Thus, pistis which is typically rendered “faith” in 1 & 2 Thessalonians should be translated as faithfulness, loyalty or fidelity in light of the evidence provided. The previous description of pistis points toward the reality that our pistis to Jesus is characterized more by “active response” than merely an inner disposition.