Author and Finisher of Faith

Hebrews 12:2 (NKJV)
looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Hebrews 12:2 (NASB)
looking only at Jesus, the originator and perfecter of the faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Obviously the Greek words have not been consistency translated, leading some to hold differing views as to the meaning of the statement.

The Greek word translated above as author or originator is "archēgos" (G747) and refers to furnishing the first cause of something. Thus our belief in the attributes of Jesus (God the Son, Messiah, Savior and Lord) has as its first cause Jesus, His birth, life, death and resurrection.

The second Greek word translated above as finisher or perfecter is "teleiōtēs" (G5051) and refers to furnishing the completed end-point of something.

Or in other words Jesus is the beginning and the end of our faith. He provides the attributes in which we trust, and the model of how deeply our trust is rooted, i.e. Christ faithfulness to the point of death.

 

A captain or leader then needs an explanation as to what those titles mean. I posted what the Greek word actually means in this context.

The Greek word translated above as author or originator is "archēgos" (G747) and refers to furnishing the first cause of something. Thus our belief in the attributes of Jesus (God the Son, Messiah, Savior and Lord) has as its first cause Jesus, His birth, life, death and resurrection.​

 

More titles signifying nothing...

 

Is the claim made that translations that encrypt meaning are not demonic. Who knows?

The Greek word translated as "prince," "captain," "author, "pioneer," "initiator," "leader," "founder," "source," "creator," "ruler," or "originator" is "archēgos" (G747) and refers to furnishing the first cause of something. Thus our belief in the attributes of Jesus (God the Son, Messiah, Savior and Lord) has as its first cause Jesus, His birth, life, death and resurrection.

Therefore, in the context of Hebrews 12:2, the most common translation choices should be "initiator, founder, source, creator or originator." The other choices simply encrypt the actual message in a title that must be explained.

 

The second Greek word translated as "finisher" or "perfecter," refers to Christ modeling the end point or completion of our faith, which results in faithfulness to the point of death. The issue with these words is that they can be taken to mean Christ is altering
our faith, making it perfect, lacking nothing. Wrong idea!

Better, Jesus is the initiator and end point example of faith in Christ, in that He was faithful to God even to the point of death.