Faith in the New Testament

A Study in Biblical Theology

Adolf Schlatter

Translated by Joseph Longarino

Faith in the New Testament: A Study in Biblical Theology

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Print ISBN 9781683596196

Digital ISBN 9781683596202

Library of Congress Control Number 2022933804

Lexham Editorial: Derek Brown, Jessi Strong, Danielle Thevenaz, Mandi Newell, Lynsey Stepan

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Table of Contents

TRANSLATOR’S INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION

The fruitlessness of the secondary literature on faith; the historical task; a look back on the pre-Christian period; the portrayal of the church alongside that of the apostles; the relationship between historical analysis and faith.

I. FAITH BEFORE JESUS

First Chapter: Faith in the Palestinian Synagogue

The concept of אמן, נאמן, אמת, האמין; the relationship in the Old Testament between faithfulness and faith toward God; the Aramaic equivalents of אמת and האמין; faith in the law; the divided heart; faith in the teaching; the coordination of faith and works; the postulate of unconditional assurance; hindrance to faith and its consequences; the hidden God; the double result.

Second Chapter: Faith among the Greeks and in the Greek Synagogue

The basic notion of πίστις and πιστεύειν; Polybius’s linguistic usage; juridical and philosophical πίστις; the detachment of πίστις from the gods; the Greeks’ political education; the parallels between Polybius’s linguistic usage and the Semitic word; the Septuagint; the entry of ἀλήθεια into Jewish Greek; faith in Josephus; the definition of faith in Philo; the antitheses of faith; the unity between faith and faithfulness; faith as the recompense for piety; the relation of faith to Scripture; the portrayal of faith in the figures of Abraham and Moses; the subordinate place of faith in the entirety of the system; the Jewish character of faith.

II. FAITH IN THE WORDS OF JESUS

Third Chapter: John the Baptist

The subordination of faith to repentance in the baptismal preaching.

Fourth Chapter: The Words of Jesus about Faith in the Synoptic Gospels

Jesus’s acceptance of the baptismal preaching; the linguistic usage of πίστις; faith as absolute power over the world; limitless assurance; faith in the natural sphere of life; the plea directed to Jesus; the relation of faith to the messianic expectation; faith as the goal and condition of healing; the relation of faith to the whole activity of Jesus, to Jesus’s death, to future salvation; repentance and faith; faith and love; the origin of faith if from God.

Fifth Chapter: Faith in the Fourth Gospel

Linguistic usage; the truth; the affirmation of Jesus’s messiahship; the relation of faith to Jesus’s words and works, to Scripture, ...