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fixed confidence in its object. (b) Construction with epi and the dative. It is found only in the
quotation from Isa. 28:16, which appears in three passages, namely, Rom. 9:33; 10:11; I Pet.
2:6, and in Luke 24:25; I Tim. 1:16. It expresses the idea of a steady and restful repose, a
reliance on its object. (c) Construction with epi and the accusative. This is used seven times in
the New Testament. In a couple of cases the object is God, as He operates in the saving of the
soul in Christ; in all the others it is Christ. This construction includes the idea of moral motion,
of mental direction towards the object. The main idea is that of turning with confident trust to
Jesus Christ. (d) Construction with eis. This is the most characteristic construction of the New
Testament. It occurs forty-nine times. About fourteen of these instances are Johannine, and the
remainder Pauline. Except in one case, the object is always a person, rarely God, and most
commonly Christ. This construction has a very pregnant meaning, expressing, as it does, “an
absolute transference of trust from ourselves to another, a complete self-surrender to God.” Cf.
John 2:11; 3:16,18,36; 4:39; 14:1; Rom. 10:14; Gal. 2:16; Phil. 1:29.
B. FIGURATIVE EXPRESSIONS USED TO DESCRIBE THE ACTIVITY OF FAITH.
There are several figurative expressions of the activity of faith in Scripture. The following are
some of the most important.
1. It is spoken of as a looking to Jesus, John 3:14,15 (comp. Num. 21:9). This is a very
appropriate figure, because it comprises the various elements of faith, especially when it refers
to a steadfast looking to anyone, as in the passage indicated. There is in it an act of perception
(intellectual element), a deliberate fixing of the eye on the object (volitional element), and a
certain satisfaction to which this concentration testifies (emotional element).
2. It is also represented as a hungering and thirsting, an eating and drinking, Matt. 5:6; John
6:50-58; 4:14. When men really hunger and thirst spiritually, they feel that something is
wanting, are conscious of the indispensable character of that which is lacking, and endeavor to
obtain it. All this is characteristic of the activity of faith. In eating and drinking we not only have
the conviction that the necessary food and drink is present, but also the confident expectation
that it will satisfy us, just as in appropriating Christ by faith we have a certain measure of
confidence that He will save us.
3. Finally, there are also the figures of coming to Christ and receiving Him, John 5:40; 7:37 (cf.
vs. 38); 6:44,65; 1:12. The figure of coming to Christ pictures faith as an action in which man
looks away from himself and his own merits, to be clothed with the righteousness of Jesus
Christ; and that of receiving Christ stresses the fact that faith is an appropriating organ.