Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. (Heb 11:1)
Without faith, it is impossible to please GOD...
The word “faith” is more than “love” by a long shot in the bible. The word in the New Testament, the way you would say it in the English, is "Pistis", and that's translated 245 times. And then there are two words for faith in the Old Testament. You will only find the actual word "faith" in the Old Testament 2 times, but 245 times you have the word "pistis" translated as “faith” in the New Testament. "Belief," in both old and new testaments is 301 times, "trust" 183 times, and "hope" 137 times for a total of 868 times.
The bible tells us, "Now abideth faith, hope and charity (which is agape love there), the greatest of these is charity (or love)." So, love is greatest but faith is first. You can't have love without faith. You can't have anything from God without faith. Everything you receive is by faith, "…not by works of righteousness which we have done but according to his mercy he saved us" and faith is not of ourselves. It is the gift of God.
FAITH IS A FRUIT
Galatians 5:22, speaks about faith as a fruit. We talk a lot about faith as a gift, but it is also spoken about as a fruit. After it is given you, it is to grow. This word, “faith,” here is one of those 245 times in the New Testament that comes from the word "pistis.” So it is the correct translation for faith. Now, it does not say, "The fruit(s) of the spirit are love." It says, "The fruit of the spirit is love" because we're not talking about nine different things or you would have to say, "The fruit(s) of the spirit are love." But since love is a singular collective noun, it's "The fruit of the spirit is love." It's the joy of love. It's the peace of love or the longsuffering of love. These are all eight aspects of the love of God.
Galatians 5:22, speaks about faith as a fruit. We talk a lot about faith as a gift, but it is also spoken about as a fruit. After it is given you, it is to grow. This word, “faith,” here is one of those 245 times in the New Testament that comes from the word "pistis.” So it is the correct translation for faith. Now, it does not say, "The fruit(s) of the spirit are love." It says, "The fruit of the spirit is love" because we're not talking about nine different things or you would have to say, "The fruit(s) of the spirit are love." But since love is a singular collective noun, it's "The fruit of the spirit is love." It's the joy of love. It's the peace of love or the longsuffering of love. These are all eight aspects of the love of God.
