Jesus Is...

Do you know ABOUT Jesus or do you KNOW Him?

What do you Believe?

The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary (Belief, Believers (NT))

BELIEF, BELIEVERS (NT). In Christian history “believer” is one of the most common terms used to designate individuals who believe or who have “believed” in Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord. In response to the Philippian jailor’s query “What must I do to be saved?” Paul and Silas replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved” (Acts 16:30–31). NT Greek does not have a separate noun for the word “believers”; rather, “believers” is the rendering given by various translations for (1) substantival participial constructions formed from the verb “believe” (hoi pisteuontes, e.g. Acts 5:14; Rom 1:16; 1 Thess 1:7, 2:10; cf. Herm. Sim. 9:19, 1–2) or (2) substantives formed from the adjective “faithful, reliable” (hoi pistoi, Acts 10:45; 2 Cor 6:15; 1 Tim 6:2).The use of “believer” is especially prominent in the post-resurrection community. During the earthly life of Jesus the primary term used to designate his followers was “disciple” (Gk mathētes). While there were many different forms of master/disciple relationships in Israel, Jesus’ disciples were distinguished from others by their response to his call, by following him only, and by listening to and obeying his teaching (Hengel 1981:61). Once Jesus passed from the scene his disciples could no longer physically follow him. The term “disciple” began to recede in usage, so that in the epistolary literature, “disciple” does not occur at all. Other terms were used

to describe the followers of the risen Christ (e.g., “Christians,” “brothers/sisters” “saints,” “imitators”). For the early church, one phrase which naturally expressed the new relationship with the risen Lord was “believer.” Since they could no longer physically follow Jesus, the early church now focused on “belief” as one of the chief characteristics of their relationship with him in the new age.This transition is recognized in the conclusion to the gospel of John. Thomas, who had followed Jesus as his disciple, gives a great confession upon seeing the risen Lord (Jesus is “Lord and God”), but Jesus pronounces blessing on those who will believe without seeing (John 20:24–30). Paul also recognizes “belief” to be the chief characteristic of the new age. In the oft-disputed phrase where Paul says that he no longer knows Christ “after the flesh” (2 Cor 5:16), Paul decries his former “worldly” attitude toward Jesus, which has now passed away by being “in Christ” (Martin 1981:59–60). The transition from “disciple” to “believer” may be one indication of the way in which the developing Christian tradition allowed room for both the tradition of the historical Jesus and Paul’s proclamation of the risen Christ: the follower of Jesus has passed from being a “disciple” who follows Jesus in a physical sense to being a “believer” who is a new creation in Christ (2 Cor 5:17).Paul also expands the focus from “belief in Jesus” to “belief of the truth” (2 Thess 2:13), which for him essentially means belief in all that comprises apostolic Christianity. Elsewhere the noun “faith” (pistis) has the additional objective nuance “belief” and means simply “Christianity” (1 Tim 4:1, 6; Tit 1:4; BTNT 1:90; Guthrie 1981:593–94). Hence the true believer is one who, although no longer able to follow Jesus physically, focuses belief on the reality of a risen Lord and Savior, exercises personal faith unto salvation, and is characterized by a lifestyle consistent with apostolic teaching concerning the Christian life.