Faithful in Colossae

I'm working my way through Colossians (translation and commentary) and I'm convinced that a number of the references to pistis should be translated as "faithfulness" rather than "faith". Consider the following:

1. Pistos as "faithful"

• Colossians 1:2 - To the holy and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father.
• Colossians 4:7, 9 - Tychicus will tell you all about my activities. He is a beloved brother and faithful minister and fellow servant1 in the Lord ... and with him Onesimus, our faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They will tell you of everything that has taken place here.
• Colossians 1:7 - just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf.

This is the standard adjectival use of pistos, but it is prominent in describing members of the Pauline circle. The Colossians are also lauded as "faithful" and I wonder if much of Paul's instruction is going to hedge up this point in light of the Colossian "philosophy".

2. Pistis as "faithful"

• Colossians 1:4-5 - since we heard of your faithfulness in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel. This could be "faith" but the surrounding description clearly sees the faith as something that is or becomes displayed in action, i.e. in love.
• Colossians 1:23 - if indeed you continue in faithfulness, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister. Again "faith" does make sense here, but the surrounding description sounds far more like "faithfulness".
• Colossians 2:5-7 - For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faithfulness in Christ. Same as above, "faith" could work, but "faithfulness" seems supported by the context.

3. Pistis as "faith" or "believing"

• Colossians 2:7 - rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.
• Colossians 2:12 - having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead.

These seem to be clearer expositions of faith as the act of believing (2.12) or that which is believed (2.7).

What does this mean: Colossians is not simply about right doctrinal belief, but about a life lived in faithfulness to the Lord under adverse circumstances. It is also about ministers of the gospel remaining faithful to their calling. It evidently does include a reference to believing and that which is believed, even if that does not become the primary focus.

The Virtue of Faithfulness

In doing some sermon prep of my own I came across this illustration that I thought rung true:

Clarence Jordan was a man of unusual abilities and commitment. He had two Ph.D.s, one in agriculture and one in Greek and Hebrew. So gifted was he, he could have chosen to do anything he wanted. He chose to serve the poor. In the 1940’s, he founded a farm in Americus Georgia, and called it Koinonia Farm. It was a community for poor whites and poor blacks. As you might guess, such an idea did not go over well in the Deep South of the ’40’s. Ironically, much of the resistance came from good church people who followed the laws of segregation as much as the other folks in town. The town people tried everything to stop Clarence. They tried boycotting him, and slashing worker’s tires when they came to town. Over and over, for fourteen years, they tried to stop him. Finally, in 1954, the Ku Klux Klan had had enough of Clarence Jordan, so they decided to get rid of him once and for all. They came one night with guns and torches and set fire to every building on Koinonia farm, except Clarence’s house, which they riddled with bullets. And they chased off all the families except one black family, which refused to leave. Clarence recognized the voices of many of the Klansmen, and, as you might guess, some of them were church people. Another was the local newspaper’s reporter. The next day the reporter came out to see what remained of the farm. The rubble still smoldered and the land was scorched, but he found Clarence in the field, hoeing and planting. "I heard the awful news," he called to Clarence, "and I came out to do a story on the tragedy of your farm closing." Clarence just kept hoeing and planting. The reporter kept prodding, kept poking, trying to get a rise from this quietly determined man who seemed to be planting instead of packing his bags. So, finally, the reporter said in a haughty voice, "Well, Dr. Jordan, you got two of them Ph.D.s and you’ve put fourteen years into this farm, and there’s nothing left of it at all. Just how successful do you think you’ve been?" Clarence stopped hoeing, turning toward the reporter with his penetrating blue eyes, and said quietly but firmly, "About as successful as the cross. Sir, I don’t think you understand us. What we’re about is not success, but faithfulness. We’re staying. Good day." Beginning that day, Clarence and his companions rebuilt Koinonia and the farm is still going strong today.

- Tim Hansel, Holy Sweat, pp. 188-189.