Faithfulness

and Being Faithful as the Spirit Is

the Holy Spirit Fruits Of the Holy Spirit Faithfulness and Being Faithful

What Is Faithfulness?
Faithfulness : [ < Latin fides < assumed Indo-European bheidh- (to trust, have faith
in, abide in)] The quality of being faithful. The word 'faithful' means loyal, full of
faith or trust; firmly and resolutely staying with a person, group, cause, belief, or
idea, without waver, despite the circumstances.
Other words in the word-field of 'faithful' include true, constant, loyal, steadfast,
devoted, staunch, and trusty. Words like 'faithfulness': fidelity, loyalty. A key verbal
phrase is "being true to (something/someone)"; it connects faithlessness with being a
lie. 'Faithful' is often said to be much more often used about dogs than people.
The Greek word translated as 'faithfulness' in the spiritual fruits list at Galatians
5:22 is pistis, which at its root is about holding fast or steady. 'Pistis' is considered
one of God's strongest personal characteristics. God is a covenant-maker, who is
faithful to the Divine end of the covenant even when we don't stick to ours.
Faithfulness is shown, in the Bible:
in declaring God's will
by testifying
to the duties of one's task or office
in declaring God's will
in helping others
in delivering messages

in declaring God's will

in lesser matters
Who was faithful, in the Bible?
Abraham
Joseph
Moses
David
Elijah
Isaiah
Jeremiah
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego
John the Baptizer
Peter
Paul
Abijah
Micaiah
Azariah
Hanani and Hananiah
a centurion in Capernaum
a servant of Abraham
A roll call of the faithful

God's Faithfulness
Faithfulness, like other spiritual fruit in us, is also a part of God's own
character -- one side of what God's all about. That means faithfulness is
a part of what is meant when speaking of our being made "in the image
of God". God's faithfulness is :
unfailing
infinite
beyond compare
God is faithful:
to promises

to the Covenant and its people.

in forgiving sins
in giving counsel.
There is no one word in ancient Hebrew that consistently corresponds with
'faithfulness'. Hebrew meaning, like English, is much determined by context. When
used in parallel or context with Heb. chesed ('steadfast love', 'lovingkindness'), Heb.
emet and sometimes emn (both meaning 'truth') refer to how true and loyal
God is to the covenant people -- that is, God's faithfulness. The word Chesed itself
implies faithfulness or steadfastness. This combination is very common in the
Hebrew Scriptures, for example, Psalm 100:5, 2 Samuel 2:6, Lamentations 3:22-23,
Psalm 40:10-11, and Hosea 2:19-20.
In 2 Timothy 2, pistos is used twice to convey the sense of secure, true faithfulness.
The first use is that "The saying is sure (pistos)" -- in this case, a lyric/parallel-saying
that was already in existence, which the letter's readers knew and trusted. The
second use is about God's faithfulness (pistos) in the face of our faithlessness.

Faithful quotes
"You can trust us to stick to you through thick and thinto the bitter end. And you
can trust us to keep any secret of yours closer than you yourself keep it. But you
cannot trust us to let you face trouble alone, and go off without a word. We are your
friends, Frodo. Anyway: there it is. We know most of what Gandalf has told you. We
know a good deal about the ring. We are horribly afraid but we are coming with
you; or following you like hounds."
----- from J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring
"Success certainly isnt achievement of popularity. Success in Gods kingdom is
loving God, loving one another, and being faithful to what Hes called us to do."
----- Gabriel Wilson
"The ragamuffin who sees his life as a voyage of discovery and runs the risk of
failure has a better feel for faithfulness than the timid man who hides behind the
law and never finds out who he is at all."
----- Brennan Manning, The Ragamuffin Gospel
Faithfulness is part of a broad harvest of spiritual fruit. Next, check these out :

love (agape);
joy (chara);
peace (eirene);
self-control (egkrateia).
patience (makrothumia).
kindness (chrestotes);
goodness (agathosune);
gentleness (prautes);
Also, see humility.

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spiritual discernment

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Orig. 2008-07-08, ver.: 2012-06-09.

Faithfulness. Copyright 2012 by Robert Longman.