background image
3
power to deliver from trouble."
8
They also indicate that faith is not used in the Christological
sense, namely, trust in Jesus for one's salvation.
Moreover, an investigation of the Pauline letters also confirms that the concept of faith is not
uniformly used in a Christological way. Bultmann declares:
At the outset, it may be simply said that "faith" is the condition for the receipt of "righteousness,"
taking the place of "works," which in the Jewish view constitute that condition. It may also be simply
said at the outset such "faith" is the acceptance of the Christian message--following a usage that
developed in the missionary enterprise of Hellenistic Christianity.9
He maintains that this Christological notion of faith is given a characteristic and decisive
stamp by Paul himself.
10
However, he also brings out other aspects of faith. First, faith is
obedience. Bultmann correctly takes the phrase uJ
pakoh;
piv
stew"
(obedience of faith) as the
genitive of apposition, and understands it as "obedience, which is faith" (Rom 1:5).
11
Second,
faith is the hope that points toward the future (e.g., Gal 3:11; Rom 1:17; 6:8). Third, faith is
confidence in the sense that hope which is based on grace does not disappoint (Rom 5:5), namely,
since we have such a hope (2 Cor 3:12), we also have such confidence (3:4).
12
Fourth, Paul's
notion of faith also includes faith as a charismatic gift. For example, his mention of faith in 1
Corinthians 12:9 is in the context of the spiritual gifts. Therefore, faith in this verse must be
understood as one of the spiritual gifts. Certainly, justifying faith is not meant here, because "it is
distinct from `the utterance of wisdom' and `the utterance of knowledge' which are mentioned
previously (1 Cor 12:8)."
13
A brief study of the Pauline literature and the Synoptic Gospels
clearly demonstrates that there are many different strands of faith in these writings. Thus one
cannot dogmatically assert that the Christological notion of faith is the normative interpretation in
stories) is not Christological. He also notices that there are only two passages in Matthew (18:6; 27:34) which express
the Christological notion of faith.
8 Ibid., 599­600. This reference will be abbreviated as NIDNTT.
9 Rudolf Bultmann, Theology of the New Testament, trans. Kendrick Grobel (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons,
1951), 1:314.
10 Ibid.
11 Ibid.
12 Ibid., 1:322­23.