Gospel Guidebook: Getting and Keeping It Right 
Belief or Trust?
Equivalent Meanings of "Believe" Expressions
I interpret the biblical words "to believe" (πιστεύειν), "to believe that" (πιστεύειν ὅτι), and "to believe in" (πιστεύειν εἰς) as being equivalent expressions that mean "to be persuaded that a proposition is true, a person is truthful, etc." In this article, I will attempt to show that the biblical data, especially in the Gospel of John and the First Epistle of John, supports my hypothesis. This is important because there are many theologians, scholars, and preachers who are teaching that "to believe in" (πιστεύειν εἰς) has a more profound meaning than "to believe" (πιστεύειν) and "to believe that" (πιστεύειν ὅτι) in salvific passages, such as John 3:16. This assertion allows them to turn simple "belief" into a mystical and elusive act of "trust" that carries all sorts of requisites, including commitment, surrender, and allegiance. After establishing my hypothesis that there is no difference between these words, I will further explain why the word "to believe" is to be preferred over the word "to trust."
(UPDATE: Several months after writing this article, I learned that the scholar Rudolf Bultmann came to a similar conclusion on page 203 of Volume 6 of the Theological Dictionary of the New Testament. He wrote, "Particularly distinctive is the common πιστεύειν εἰς (→ II, 432, 31 ff.) in the sense "to believe in," which is neither Gk. nor LXX.220 This can hardly be regarded as a development of πιστεύειν c. dat. == "to trust." On the contrary, πιστεύειν c. dat. is used more after the analogy of πιστεύειν εἰς for "to believe in." The fact that πιστεύειν εἰς is equivalent to πιστεύειν ὅτι shows rather that πιστεύειν εἰς arises out of the use of πιστεύειν for "to regard as credible, as true." πιστεύειν εἰς Χριστὸν Ἰησοῦν (Gl. 2:16), εἰς αὐτόν and εἰς ἐμέ (often in Jn.) etc. simply means πιστεύειν ὅτι Ἰησοῦς ἀπέθανεν καὶ ἀνέστη … (1 Th. 4:14; cf. R. 10:9) or ὅτι Ἰησοῦς ἐστιν ὁ χριστός (Jn. 20:31) etc. In Jn. esp. πιστεύειν εἰς and πιστεύειν ὅτι are constantly used interchangeably in the same sense." END)
As an initial observation, we see that πιστεύειν + a noun in the dative case (e.g., to believe him) parallels πιστεύειν + the preposition εἰς + the noun in the accusative case (e.g., to believe in him) in John 6:29-30 and John 8:30-31. In contrast, we see the reverse in John 14:11-12 and Romans 4:3-5.
John 6:29-30 ἀπεκρίθη ὁ Ἰησοῦς καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς, Τοῦτό ἐστι τὸ ἔργον τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἵνα πιστεύσητε εἰς ὃν ἀπέστειλεν ἐκεῖνος (you believe in him whom he has sent). εἶπον οὖν αὐτῷ, Τί οὖν ποιεῖς σὺ σημεῖον, ἵνα ἴδωμεν καὶ πιστεύσωμέν σοι (we may believe you); τί ἐργάζῃ;
John 8:30-31 ταῦτα αὐτοῦ λαλοῦντος πολλοὶ ἐπίστευσαν εἰς αὐτόν (they believed in him). Ἔλεγεν οὖν ὁ Ἰησοῦς πρὸς τοὺς πεπιστευκότας αὐτῷ (them having believed him) Ἰουδαίους, Ἐὰν ὑμεῖς μείνητε ἐν τῷ λόγῳ τῷ ἐμῷ, ἀληθῶς μαθηταί μου ἐστέ·
John 14:11-12 πιστεύετέ μοι (believe me) ὅτι ἐγὼ ἐν τῷ πατρί, καὶ ὁ πατὴρ ἐν ἐμοί· εἰ δὲ μή, διὰ τὰ ἔργα αὐτὰ πιστεύετέ μοι (believe me). ἀμὴν ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν, ὁ πιστεύων εἰς ἐμέ (the one who believes in me), τὰ ἔργα ἃ ἐγὼ ποιῶ κἀκεῖνος ποιήσει, καὶ μείζονα τούτων ποιήσει· ὅτι ἐγὼ πρὸς τὸν πατέρα μου πορεύομαι.
Romans 4:3-5 τί γὰρ ἡ γραφὴ λέγει; Ἐπίστευσε δὲ Ἀβραὰμ τῷ Θεῷ (he believed God), καὶ ἐλογίσθη αὐτῷ εἰς δικαιοσύνην. τῷ δὲ ἐργαζομένῳ ὁ μισθὸς οὐ λογίζεται κατὰ χάριν, ἀλλὰ κατὰ τὸ ὀφείλημα. τῷ δὲ μὴ ἐργαζομένῳ, πιστεύοντι δὲ ἐπὶ τὸν δικαιοῦντα τὸν ἀσεβῆ (the one who believes on the one justifying the ungodly), λογίζεται ἡ πίστις αὐτοῦ εἰς δικαιοσύνην.
More importantly, in 1 John 5:10, we see that πιστεύειν + a noun in the dative case (e.g., to believe him) is equivalent to πιστεύειν + the preposition εἰς + the noun in the accusative case (e.g., to believe in him), but then we immediately see the reverse where the latter is equivalent to the former. Later on in this article, we will see that this verse is basically a proof-text for my assertion regarding πιστεύειν + the preposition εἰς + the noun in the accusative case (e.g., to believe in him) paralleling πιστεύειν + a noun in the dative case (e.g., to believe him).
1 John 5:10 ὁ πιστεύων εἰς τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ (the one who believes in the Son of God) ἔχει τὴν μαρτυρίαν ἐν ἑαυτῷ· ὁ μὴ πιστεύων τῷ Θεῷ (the one who believes God), ψεύστην πεποίηκεν αὐτόν, ὅτι οὐ πεπίστευκεν εἰς τὴν μαρτυρίαν (the one who has not believed in the testimony), ἣν μεμαρτύρηκεν ὁ Θεὸς περὶ τοῦ υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ.
In addition to the above, we also see that the usage in John 6:47 parallels that in John 5:24.
John 5:24 ἀμὴν ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν ὅτι ὁ τὸν λόγον μου ἀκούων, καὶ πιστεύων τῷ πέμψαντί με, ἔχει ζωὴν αἰώνιον·(the one who believes the one who sent me has eternal life) καὶ εἰς κρίσιν οὐκ ἔρχεται, ἀλλὰ μεταβέβηκεν ἐκ τοῦ θανάτου εἰς τὴν ζωήν.
John 6:47 ἀμὴν ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν, ὁ πιστεύων εἰς ἐμὲ, ἔχει ζωὴν αἰώνιον. (the one who believes in me has eternal life)
In contrast with Classical Greek, Koine Greek uses "prepositions with a particular case" (e.g., verb πιστεύειν + preposition εἰς + accusative noun αὐτὸν, meaning "to believe in him") more frequently than "cases without a preposition" (e.g. verb πιστεύειν + dative noun αὐτῷ, meaning "to believe him") in order to improve explicitness and convey subtle nuances. According to Daniel B. Wallace on page 164 of The Basics of New Testament Syntax, "Therefore, the use of a particular preposition with a particular case never exactly parallels—either in category possibilities or in relative frequency of nuances—the use of a case without a preposition" (italics and bold text are Wallace's). However, in saying this, Wallace is speaking of the whole semantic range of "a particular preposition with a particular case" versus "a case without a preposition." This is clear from the chart he shows immediately under this statement. Here is the chart:
According to Wallace's chart, we see that although the entire semantic range never exactly parallels each other, specific use cases certainly do parallel each other.
In terms of what I said above about interpreting ὁ πιστεύων εἰς αὐτὸν (the one who believes in him) in John 3:15 as "the one who believes Him," I think it is important to think this through logically. Even if ὁ πιστεύων εἰς αὐτὸν (the one who believes in him) parallels ὁ πιστεύων αὐτῷ (the one who believes him) in some passages, such as John 3:15, that doesn't mean that ὁ πιστεύων εἰς αὐτὸν (the one who believes in him) necessarily means or always means ὁ πιστεύων αὐτῷ (the one who believes him). It is simply a possibility. However, the opposite is also a possibility, namely, that ὁ πιστεύων αὐτῷ (the one who believes him) could mean ὁ πιστεύων εἰς αὐτὸν (the one who believes in him). Finally, it is possible that ὁ πιστεύων εἰς αὐτὸν (the one who believes in him) and ὁ πιστεύων αὐτῷ (the one who believes him) are not parallel at all. In such a case, their meanings are distinct and cover different semantic ground. I mention all of this as a disclaimer. Having said that, however, I do believe there is evidence that ὁ πιστεύων εἰς αὐτὸν (the one who believes in him) parallels ὁ πιστεύων αὐτῷ (the one who believes him).
In a couple of my previous articles, I pointed out that the meaning of "believe" is explained to us in the context of John 3:15. More precisely, in John 3:11-12, we read, Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak that which we know, and bear witness of that which we have seen; and you do not receive our witness. If I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how shall you believe if I tell you heavenly things? In this passage, we clearly see that "to believe" is equivalent to "receiving witness." In addition to John 3:11-12, we have a few other passages that convey this same meaning of "believe," including John 3:32-33 (in the context of John 3:36), John 12:47-48, and 1 John 5:9-10.
Let's now take a look at 1 John 5:9-10 because I think this passage is highly relevant to this discussion. In those verses in Young's Literal Version, we read, "9 If the testimony of men we receive, the testimony of God is greater, because this is the testimony of God that He hath testified concerning His Son. 10 He who is believing in the Son of God, hath the testimony in himself; he who is not believing God, a liar hath made Him, because he hath not believed in the testimony that God hath testified concerning His Son;" (I underlined the relevant parts.)
For starters, in 1 John 5:9 we see that the main issue at hand is receiving God's testimony. John compares receiving God's testimony to receiving a man's testimony. They entail the same passive act of accepting a proposition as being true, with the exception that God's testimony is much more authoritative. In 1 John 5:10, we see that "believing in the Son of God" equates to "having the testimony in oneself" (i.e., believing in Jesus equates to receiving his testimony as being true into one's heart or mind). This observation alone provides evidence for my assertion. However, we have even greater evidence for it if we keep reading 1 John 5:10. What we find is that "believing God" (without the preposition) parallels "believing in the Son of God" (with the preposition), but then that "believing in the testimony" parallels "believing God." What is especially important here is that "believing in the testimony" follows the exact pattern of πιστεύειν + the preposition εἰς + a noun in the accusative case. It is important to notice that "believing in testimony" with the preposition is semantically the same as "believing testimony" without the preposition, and that, according to the Apostle John, "believing in the testimony" is the same as "believing God," which is the same as "believing in the Son of God."
In addition to 1 John 5:9-10, in John 1:11-12, we see that being born again is a passive act of receiving: 11 to his own things he came, and his own people did not receive him; 12 but as many as did receive him to them he gave authority to become sons of God—to those believing in his name. In John 1:12 we see that "to receive" means "to believe in" (πιστεύειν εἰς, as in John 3:15, etc.). Again, this is highly relevant. It suggests that "to believe in" is a passive act, not an active act.
Belief or Trust?
When it comes to the Bible, many people seem to have the impression that the English words "to believe" and "to trust" mean the same thing, even though they don't. In fact, these English words represent different words in Greek New Testament. In salvific passages, the word "to believe" is the word that is used exclusively (100% of the time) in the New Testament. For example, in the the Gospel of John the word "to believe" (πιστεύειν) occurs nearly 100 times (dozens of which are salvific), while the word "to trust" (πείθειν or ελπίζειν) occurs only one time in a passage that is not salvific. Now, I understand that in English "to trust" can be construed to mean "being persuaded that a proposition [such as the Gospel] is true," but as mentioned above in the first paragraph of this article, it can also (and most often) be construed to mean a lot of other things, too. "To believe" simply refers to intellectual assent to a proposition, whereas in theological circles, "to trust" (i.e., the primary element of what theologians call fiducia) has somewhat of an elusive and mystical meaning to it. It can mean "to rely on," "to commit," "to surrender to," or "to pledge allegiance to" depending on who you ask. And what is even worse, the Greek words that can be translated as "to trust" (πείθειν or ελπίζειν) hardly mean any of these things. The Greek word πείθειν can be translated as "to rely on," "to be persuaded of," "to be convinced of," and "to be confident in," and the Greek word ελπίζειν means "to hope." But for the theologians who insist on "trust" (fiducia in the Latin), the word is mystical and elusive because none of those theologians can explain how much "trusting" must be done or what exactly "trust" entails. For example, Louis Berkhof in his famous Systematic Theology explains fiducia as consisting in "personal trust in Christ as Saviour and Lord, including a surrender of the soul as guilty and defiled to Christ, and a reception and appropriation of Christ as the source of pardon and of spiritual life." Notice how carefully he worded this: "personal trust [that includes] a surrender..." So, fiducia is a "trust" that includes a lot of other things. I'd like to ask him how much "personal trust," how much "surrendering," and how much "reception and appropriation" are required, and what exactly do those things entail anyway? It is for this reason that I insist that the English word "to trust" must be avoided in describing salvific passages in the New Testament. In salvific passages, belief (i.e., persuasion of or intellectual assent to a proposition) is the only necessity and cannot be supplemented by anything else.
In addition, when viewed temporally and functionally, "to believe" also takes precedence over "to trust" (when construed merely as "to rely on"). Temporally speaking, I suggest that it is much more likely that a person "believes the propositions of another person as being true" before he or she actively starts to "trust" such a person. In other words, a person usually trusts someone because he or she is already persuaded that such a person is truthful. It is kind of hard to imagine trusting someone who we regard to be a liar. Functionally speaking, in addition to the passages cited in the above paragraphs, we have Jesus' testimony in John 10:38, But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him. When this verse (as well as John 14:11) is compared with John 5:36, we see that the issue at hand is not trust. The main issue is believing the works that testify that the Father is in Him and that the Father sent Him (see John 5:36). In this case, even if someone does not "trust Jesus" or "receive Jesus' personal witness as being true" (see John 8:13), Jesus is still telling His hearers to "be persuaded by the works as truthful testimony." In other words, despite what anyone thought of Jesus personally, all they needed to do was "believe" (i.e., be persuaded of) the works the Father was doing in Him. "Trust" is irrelevant.
My opinion is that "trust" can be an implication (although not a necessary one) of "belief." Nearly everyone who "believes Jesus' propositions as being true" goes on to "trust Him." However, "trust" is not an element of saving faith. To be saved, a person must "believe the saving proposition" about Jesus being the Christ, the Son of God (John 20:31) "as being true." And this coincides well with the Gospel described in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4. In those verses we read, Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures (NASB). Notice that the Apostle Paul "received" this historical record (i.e., the Gospel) and anyone else who "receives" this historical record as being true is saved. The Gospel presents a historic fact that has already been completed. We just need to accept it as true. There is no need to trust that Christ will save us. He already accomplished salvation for sinners and we simply need to accept it as being true.