Word Studies in the Bible

By E. M. Zerr

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FAITH - SIGHT

     Perhaps the first thought suggested to the reader by this heading is that of 2 Corinthians 5:7, "For we walk by faith, not by sight." It is proper that such a thought should occur, for that is the ultimate in the line of subject matter to be presented in this article. However, the ultimate may often be understood and appreciated more if some intermediate phases are considered first. It is my purpose to follow such a procedure, then close the article with emphasis on the ultimate; this is especially true of the first term of our heading.

     It comes from the Greek PISTIS, which occurs 242 times in the New Testament, and it is rendered by faith in every place but 3. In one of the exceptions it is rendered "belief." Thayer uses a page and a half of his lexicon in defining PISTIS. I shall give his outstanding definitions as follows: "Conviction; the conviction that God exists and is the creator and ruler of all things; faith in God of which Jesus Christ is the author; persuasion or conviction; the religious belief of Christians; the substance of Christian faith or what is believed by Christians; fidelity, faithfulness, i.e., the character of one who can be relied on."

     The reader may remark that in all of the definition no attention seems to have been paid to the origin of faith; how it is

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produced. No, that matter does not pertain strictly to the direct meaning of the word, except as it may justly be gathered from the idea that a person cannot be convinced (have faith in) of a proposition unless some testimony has been offered pertaining to it. Such a conclusion would require the evidence that would be in the nature of a witness, either personal or written. And such a situation of thought calls for consideration of the second term of our heading.

     The English word "sight" comes from no less than 15 Greek words in the New Testament, and they present quite a variety of meaning. It will not serve the main purpose of this article to deal with all that array. Instead, I shall restrict my comments to the one used in the passage quoted in the beginning of this article, since that is the passage aimed at as the ultimate of this offering. The Greek word for our second term is EIDOS. It has been rendered in the King James Version by appearance 1 time, fashion 1, shape 2 and sight 1. It is the word for "appearance" in the much perverted passage of 1 Thessalonians 5:22. I shall next give Thayer's definition of the word. "The external appearance, form, figure, shape; by sight i.e., beholding; vision; form, kind." In his explanation of the definition he says, "properly that which strikes the eye, which is exposed to view." Hence it may be understood that in strictness of meaning, the two terms in our heading are exact opposites. We cannot have faith without evidence or testimony from those who know about it. But it does not require testimony to enable us to be aware of what is in our sight. When expressions are made to the contrary they are only figurative deductions. We hear such expressions as "seeing by the eye of faith," or "looking back by our mind's eye" and such like. But the simple fact that such combinations are used is proof that the actions referred to are not possible in a literal sense.

     The foregoing paragraphs should prepare us for the ultimate or proper sense of the terms of our heading, and hence hold our serious attention to the all important passage which I will again quote: "For we walk by faith, not by sight." As it pertains to the kind of life necessary for salvation, it can truly be said that we walk by faith only. Someone is shocked and protests against salvation by faith only. Certainly, I would protest against it also. There is a wide difference between being saved by faith only and walking by faith only. For the man who walks by faith is walking, isn't he? And if so he is doing something, and that doing is what the Lord has told him to do, hence it is by faith. (See Romans 10:17.)

     It all gives the conclusion that life will be pleasing to God only when it is according to faith as per reference just cited. The revelation from God has been completed and not another syllable is needed or will be added for our guidance. From now until the day of judgment there will not be an utterance from heaven. All will be as silent as the grave for nothing is necessary. Hence all characters who will be found prepared for the celestial abode when Jesus comes will have become so through a life of faith. Human beings will be born and die, seasons will come and alternate in their long wonted routine, wicked and righteous men will continue to be opposed to each other, false prophets will continue to disturb unstable souls, wild declarations will continue to be uttered by visionaries. But God will still rule in heaven until it is time to break the silence with the shout by the divine Son of God.