4104. pistoó

Lexical Summary

pistoó: To make faithful, to establish as trustworthy, to confirm

Original Word: πιστόω
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: pistoó
Pronunciation: pis-to'-o
Phonetic Spelling: (pis-to'-o)
KJV: assure of
NASB: convinced
Word Origin: [from G4103 (πιστός - faithful)]

1. to assure

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

assure

From pistos; to assure -- assure of.

see GREEK pistos

NAS Exhaustive Concordance

Word Origin
from pistos
Definition
to make trustworthy, hence to establish
NASB Translation
convinced (1).

Thayer's Greek Lexicon

STRONGS NT 4104: πιστόω

πιστόω, πιστῷ: 1 aorist passive ἐπιστωθην; (πιστός);

1. to make faithful, render trustworthy: τό ῤῆμα, 1 Kings 1:36; τινα ὅρκοις, Thucydides 4, 88; universally, to make firm, establish, 1 Chronicles 17:14.

2. Passive (the Sept. in various senses for נֶאֱמָן) and middle to be firmly persuaded of; to be assured of: τί (Opp. cyn. 3, 355. 417; Lucian, philops. 5), 2 Timothy 3:14; Hesychius ἐπιστώθη. ἐπείσθη, ἐπληροφορήθη. (In various other senses in secular authors from Homer down.)

Topical Lexicon

Essential Meaning

Strong’s Greek 4104 speaks to the state of being firmly convinced or assured. It describes a settled, reasoned certainty produced by evidence that can be trusted. In the New Testament it is applied to Timothy’s conviction about the gospel and the Scriptures.

Scriptural Occurrence

2 Timothy 3:14 – “But as for you, continue in the things you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know from whom you learned them.”

Paul reminds Timothy that his assurance is grounded in the trustworthy witnesses who taught him (Paul, his mother Eunice, and grandmother Lois) and in the sacred writings that follow immediately in verses 15–17.

Theological Themes: Assurance of the Truth

1. Scripture as the source of certainty – The very next verse states that the “sacred Scriptures…are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 3:15). Assurance is inseparable from God-breathed revelation (3:16).
2. Faith rooted in reliable testimony – Timothy’s confidence rests on character-proven teachers and on the continuity of apostolic doctrine (Acts 16:1-2; 2 Timothy 1:5, 13-14).
3. The work of the Holy Spirit – While the verb highlights rational persuasion, full assurance is ultimately a Spirit-wrought conviction (1 Thessalonians 1:5; 1 John 5:6-10).
4. Perseverance – Paul commands Timothy to “continue” (menō), linking assurance with steadfast obedience. Conviction is meant to anchor the believer through increasing opposition (2 Timothy 3:1-13).

Pastoral Implications

• Discipleship: Mentors should aim not only to inform but to cultivate deep conviction in their pupils, as Paul did with Timothy.
• Preaching: Expository preaching that exposes listeners to the text’s divine authority fosters the same settled assurance.
• Counseling: Believers struggling with doubt are best stabilized by returning to Scripture’s sufficiency and recalling credible testimonies of the faith.
• Leadership development: Churches should test and commend workers whose lives embody what they teach, reinforcing corporate confidence in the truth.

Historical Insights

Early church tradition notes that 2 Timothy was penned during Paul’s final imprisonment in Rome, when persecution was intensifying. Timothy, facing false teachers and societal hostility in Ephesus, needed more than information; he needed unwavering conviction. Paul’s single use of this verb in the pastoral letters underscores the urgency of possessing a firmly anchored faith amid an atmosphere of deception (2 Timothy 3:13).

Connection to Broader Biblical Teaching

• Hebrews 11:1 – “Now faith is the assurance of what we hope for and the certainty of what we do not see.”
• Luke 1:4 – Luke writes “so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.”
• Colossians 2:2 – Paul prays that believers reach “all the riches of full assurance of understanding.”
• Romans 4:21 – Abraham was “fully convinced that God was able to do what He had promised.”

Each passage couples assurance with God’s character, His promises, and the veracity of His Word.

Practical Application for Ministry

1. Encourage personal Bible intake; conviction grows where Scripture is regularly read, studied, and memorized.
2. Highlight testimonies of credible believers, past and present, to show the continuity of the faith once for all delivered.
3. Cultivate doctrinal clarity; vague belief rarely produces strong assurance.
4. Pray for the Spirit’s confirming work, remembering that intellectual persuasion and spiritual illumination go hand in hand.

Illustrative Cross-References

• 1 Thessalonians 1:5 – The gospel came “not only with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit, and with deep conviction.”
• 2 Corinthians 1:20 – “For all the promises of God are ‘Yes’ in Christ.”
• Acts 17:11 – The Bereans examined the Scriptures daily “to see if these teachings were true,” resulting in settled belief.

Conclusion

Strong’s Greek 4104 captures the dynamic by which believers become unshakeably persuaded of gospel truth. Paul charges Timothy—and, by extension, every servant of Christ—to remain in the doctrine he has learned, to keep feeding that conviction with Scripture, and to model it before others so that the church may stand firm in every generation.

Forms and Transliterations

επιστώθη επιστωθης επιστώθης ἐπιστώθης επιστώθησαν επλαγίασαν πίον πίονα πίονες πίονι πιόνων πίοσι πίοσιν πιστωθήσεται πιστωθήτω πιστώσαι πίστωσον πίτυες πίτυν πίτυς πιών πίων πλάγια πλαγιάση πλάγιοι πλαγίω πλαγίων epistothes epistōthēs epistṓthes epistṓthēs

Englishman's Concordance

2 Timothy 3:14 V-AIP-2S
GRK: ἔμαθες καὶ ἐπιστώθης εἰδὼς παρὰ
NAS: you have learned and become convinced of, knowing
KJV: and hast been assured of, knowing
INT: you did learn and were assured of having known from

Strong's Greek 4104
1 Occurrence

ἐπιστώθης — 1 Occ.