Word 13: Pistis

Greek: πίστις (pistis) – faithfulness, loyalty, trust
Hebrew: אֱמוּנָה (emunah) – faithfulness, steadfastness, trust

Not Belief, Not Faith—But Covenant Loyalty

“Pistis Christou”: Not “faith in Christ,” but the faithfulness of the Anointed King—

and the covenantal response of trust, fidelity, and loyalty to Him as Lord.

“The righteousness of God is revealed… through the pistis of Jesus Christ for all who are in pistis.”

— Romans 3:22

❌ Mistranslated & Misunderstood

In nearly every English Bible, the Greek word pistis is translated as faith—but this has tragically reduced one of Scripture’s most robust, relational, and powerful words to a matter of mere mental assent.

“Just believe!” we say.

But pistis is not about what you think.

It’s about who you belong to.

When modern readers see “faith,” they often imagine:

An internal belief or conviction A general trust in God’s existence A private decision to “accept” Jesus

But in the first-century world—especially under the Roman Empire—pistis was a public, relational, and political word. It meant covenant fidelity, loyalty to your lord, and allegiance to the one you called King.

It was the kind of vow made in royal courts and on wedding days.

Not just belief about someone—

but faithfulness to someone.

📜 What Pistis Actually Meant

In the Greco-Roman world, pistis was used to describe loyalty in formal, relational covenants:

Between kings and citizens Between generals and soldiers Between patrons and clients Even between husband and wife, as a pledge of marital fidelity

In other words, pistis was how relationships of trust and devotion were maintained.

Likewise, in the Hebrew imagination, the equivalent word is ’emunah—a deep, relational trustworthiness and covenantal commitment.

So when Scripture speaks of pistis, it often refers to:

God’s pistis — His unwavering covenant faithfulness

Jesus’ pistis — His obedience unto death, loyal to the Father’s mission

Our pistis — A relational response of faithfulness and trust

In fact, Paul doesn’t usually say “faith in Jesus” but instead:

“The pistis of Jesus the Christ”

Meaning: His loyalty and faithfulness as King—and the covenant fidelity He invites us into.

🤯 The Theological Consequences of Mistranslation

Reducing pistis to belief has led to a distorted gospel:

We’ve made salvation about checking mental boxes We’ve turned covenant into contract We’ve preached private belief instead of public allegiance

But pistis was never just about internal conviction.

It was about where you place your trust,

whose reign you live under,

and what kingdom your life now serves.

💍 Pistis as Pledge of Loyalty & Love

In the empire of Rome, declaring pistis in Jesus the Christ was radical and dangerous. It was like taking marriage vows to a new Lord—right in the face of Caesar.

To declare pistis meant:

Rejecting all other gods and allegiances

Denouncing Caesar’s so-called “lordship”

Defying the culture’s idols of power, wealth, and violence

It was to say:

“I belong to God’s Kingdom of agape and to His anointed King Jesus now.

I trust His rule of agape love

I will walk in His way of agape love even if it costs me my life just as it did my King’s

Early Christians weren’t persecuted for having personal “faith.”

They were persecuted because they gave their loyalty to a different King.

Pistis wasn’t a belief system.

It was a public declaration of love and loyalty

in response to the Kingdom of Love.

🧬 Pistis Is the Heart of the Relationship

Here’s what this looks like:

In God: pistis is His covenant faithfulness—steady, trustworthy, unwavering.

In Jesus: pistis is His loyal obedience, even unto death.

In Us: pistis is our relational fidelity—our “yes” to God’s covenant loving Kingdom rule coming on earth.

This is no cold contract.

It’s a living relationship—fueled by agape, sealed in pistis, a pledge of loyalty love.

The verb form, pisteuō, literally means:

“To entrust yourself to someone in relationship—confident enough to act on it.”

This is the faithfulness of Abraham, who left everything behind.

This is the loyalty of the early church, who followed Christ to the cross.

This is pistis—embodied, relational, faithful love.

🔄 Pistis & Metanoia

This is why pistis naturally follows metanoia in the Gospel.

Jesus doesn’t say, “Just believe.”

He says:

“Repent and entrust yourselves to the Good News of God’s reign of love.”

— Mark 1:15 (paraphrased)

The turning of metanoia (returning to God’s path and loving reality) becomes the living trust of pistis—

a realignment of the heart,

a re-vowing of our loyalty,

a daily pledge to walk in the King’s way of agape love.

🔐 Pisteos: Owning the Vow

The possessive form, pisteos, makes it personal.

It’s not just about general “faith”—

it’s your own vow, your own pledge of fidelity.

Think:

A wedding vow that binds your life to your Beloved

A citizenship oath that declares where your loyalty lies

A covenantal response to a King who rules in love

Your pisteos is not about “trying harder.”

It’s about trusting deeper—and living faithfully in a relationship already secured by God’s grace.

Which leads us to the next word…

🧠 Word Summary: Pistis

Literal Meaning: Loyalty, faithfulness, covenant fidelity Biblical Function: The relational bond that ties us to God and His reign through trust, love, and loyalty Theological Meaning: Not belief alone, but a life-giving vow of relational faithfulness to the King of Love In Our Words:

Pistis is not intellectual assent.

It’s a covenantal pledge of love and loyalty—faithfulness in response to His faithfulness.

🔜 Next Word: Charis

But how can fragile humans live out this kind of love and loyalty?

How do we stay faithful in a world that constantly pulls us away?

The answer is found in the empowering grace of charis.

Mistranslated Series: Word 14 – Charis – Does Grace require effort?