Faith of Our Fathers

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. – Hebrews 11:1

Hebrews 11 gives a definition of faith and illustrations of faith in the lives of those who lived by faith. Earlier in this epistle, the author quoted God’s words from Habakkuk 3: “My righteous one will live by faith” (Heb. 10:38). Then he exhorted, “But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but those who believe and are saved” (v. 39). Now in Hebrews 11 the author says, “Without faith it is impossible to please God” (v. 6). To be saved, we must believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible says he who believes has eternal life.

The author previously said the Israelites perished in the wilderness because they did not believe the gospel. Because they did not mix the word of God with faith (Heb. 4:2) and were unbelieving (Heb. 3:12, 19) and disobedient (Heb. 3:18), they did not enter into God’s rest. Even today we see people who are restless because of their unbelief in the gospel.

In this study we want to examine the definition of faith, the substance of faith, the commendation of faith, and the understanding of faith.

The Definition of Faith

According to Scripture, faith is not faith in ourselves or faith in faith itself. Biblical faith has an object-we must believe in God and in his Son, Jesus Christ. This type of faith, therefore, first requires knowledge of the object of faith, who is God. Faith comes by hearing the gospel preached clearly. We must know that Christ Jesus, the only Son of God, died on the cross for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, that he appeared to many, that he is seated on the right hand of the Father, that Christ alone is the King of kings and Lord of lords, that he is the head of the church, his body, the fullness of him that fills all and all, and that he is coming again to judge the living and the dead, and save his people with the fullness of salvation.

Peter preached this gospel on the day of Pentecost, and three thousand believed and were saved. Paul preached it to a group of women in Philippi, and God opened the heart of Lydia so that she believed. The Philippian jailer heard the gospel, believed, and was saved in the middle of the night. True faith requires information. That is why every Christian must proclaim the gospel by life and word. The purpose of our lives in this world is to point others to the Savior.

Second, we need agreement, assensus, to this information about Jesus Christ. Cognition must lead to conviction. Those who hear the gospel must understand the gospel intellectually and agree with it, not only that it is true, but that it is applicable to them. They must say, “We need Jesus to save us.”

Yet even that is not true saving faith. Conviction should, in turn, lead to commitment. Roman Catholics have taught that faith is mental assent to the gospel, and many of today’s evangelicals would heartily agree with that position. They would say that we do not have to commit our lives to Jesus or live the gospel life; mental agreement to the facts of the gospel is sufficient.

Mere mental assent, however, is not true faith but the faith of demons. Demons believe that God exists and tremble (Jas. 2:19). Demons are quite orthodox in their faith. But let me assure you, demons will never repent and commit themselves to serve the true and living God.

Those who hear the gospel must move from cognition to conviction, and then to commitment to Christ. They must commit to live for him forever. The Reformers had the saying, Fides est fiducia, faith is trust. Biblical faith is the entrustment of all that we are and have to Jesus Christ now and forevermore.

Faith means that we move our center from ourselves to Jesus Christ. Faith declares Jesus Christ as Lord of our life. Faith in its essence is committing ourselves to Christ that we may be saved. John Murray says that we rest not in what is done by us, but upon the almighty Savior. Jesus Christ saves us through faith. Saving faith includes cognition, conviction, and commitment.

True saving faith, unlike the devil’s faith of mental assent, will always and necessarily issue in good works of obedience. James declares, “Faith without works is dead” (Jas. 2:20, KJV). Faith without works only simulates the spiritual grace of faith. It is plastic, artificial, and demonic. Paul says faith expresses itself in love (Gal. 5:6). Jesus said, “If you love me, you will obey what I command” (John 14:15). Believers devote themselves to doing what is good. Faith works and perseveres to the end.

Such faith, the Scripture teaches, is a supernatural gift. It cannot be produced by humans but is a consequence of the miracle of regeneration. It is a living and persevering that pleases God. It is the faith of our fathers-Abraham, Moses, Gideon, Peter, Paul, Luther, Calvin, Knox, Wesley, Whitefield, Spurgeon, Lloyd-Jones, and others. It is a faith that expects and endures trials gladly.

Such faith is faith in God, and it is through this faith we inherit what has been promised (Heb. 6:1, 12). By this faith and in the full assurance of it we can draw near to God in worship (Heb. 10:22). It is a faith that knows we have better and abiding possessions, so that we can gladly suffer the loss of all things, even our lives (Heb. 10:34). This faith is not a one-time occurrence; it is living and continuing trust in Jesus. Faith and repentance are the two wings by which a Christian lives all the days of his life.

The Substance of Faith

What is the substance of saving faith? The author gives us a partial definition in Hebrews 11:1: Faith is the hupostasis of things longed for, of things future, and theelenchos of things not seen. Hupostasis can have both an objective and a subjective sense. The New International Version translates subjectively: “Now faith is being sure of things hoped for,” while the King James Version chooses the objective meaning: “Faith is the substance of things hoped for” (italics added). Both meanings are valid because the objective provides the subjective.

This gift of supernatural faith is the foundation of things hoped for. It substantiates the objective future reality we hope for in the present. Hupostasis means that which “stands under.” It is speaking about a rock-solid, sure foundation. The word was found in ancient papyri to mean something that guarantees a transaction. Hebrews 11:1 can be translated, “Faith is the title deed to things hoped for.”

Faith provides a firm ground we can stand on while we await the fulfillment of God’s promises. By faith we can be sure all God’s promises to us will be fulfilled. Faith is assurance in the present. It gives the object hoped for a present power in the soul as if it were already possessed. Faith gives us a vision of things future. It is like a telescope that enables us to see distant objects and be energized by that sight to live our lives in the present. Paul says, “We live by faith and not by sight” (2 Cor. 5:7). By faith we see spiritual realities now and deal with the present in the light of that reality. Matthew Henry says, “Faith demonstrates to the eye of the mind the reality of those things which cannot be discerned by the eye of the body.” Again, Paul declares, “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen” (2 Cor. 4:18).

Such statements may seem contradictory, but they are true of faith. Hebrews 11:1 tells us we can see by faith what is unseen by our eyes. Faith sees and hopes in the unseen, which, in turn, energizes us in the present to deal with our problems.

Then we read that faith is the elenchos of things not seen. The word elenchos has the objective meaning of “proof,” “guarantee,” or “evidence.” Faith is the proof of unseen things God has promised and the evidence of things future. Faith demonstrates to us things unseen, and therefore we have conviction of things unseen. We are certain and assured of unseen things that we shall see in the future.

Although faith leads us to know realities beyond the ability of reason to discover, faith also has reason. The Greeks thought faith was the characteristic of the uneducated and unsophisticated. But biblical faith is not blind. It does not require a leap in the dark or the sacrifice of our intellect. Biblical faith is reasonable because it rests on the greatest possible reason-the infinite, personal God and his word.

Therefore, we as believers in Jesus Christ declare, “God said it, I believe it, and that settles it.” We place our trust in God, who cannot lie or die. Concerning Abraham, the author says that God promised and confirmed his promise with an oath “so that, by two unchangeable things in which is impossible for God to lie, we . . . may be greatly encouraged” (Heb. 6:17-18).

Noah had never seen any rain, let alone a flood. Yet when God said he was going to destroy the world by a flood and told Noah to build an ark, he did so, believing what God said is true: “By faith Noah, when warned about things not seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family” (Heb. 11:7).

The writer says, “All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised. They only saw them and welcomed them from a distance” (Heb. 11:13). Faith sees the invisible, and the believer is certain that God will do what he has promised.

God told Abraham to go and sacrifice his son. Abraham obeyed God, and the Hebrews author explains why he did it: “Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead” (Heb. 11:19). Abraham believed that as soon as the sacrifice was done, God would raise his son from the ashes because God had promised a nation and a messiah through Isaac, the son of promise. By faith he reasoned that God cannot lie and so can be trusted.

Paul speaks more about the faith of Abraham: “As it is written: ‘I have made you a father of many nations.’ He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed-the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were . . . without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead-since he was about a hundred years old-and that Sarah’s womb was also dead” (Rom. 4:17, 19). Abraham looked upon these things that were visible and interpreted them in the light of God’s promise of a son. What, then, was his response? “Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised” (v. 20).

Observe how Moses exercised his faith: “By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger.” Moses left Egypt, with all its glories, power, and position. “He persevered because he saw him who is invisible” (Heb. 11:27). Faith is substance, proof, demonstration, evidence. Faith sees the invisible and is energized by that sight to obey God.

Faith sees the mighty operations of God in the fulfillment of his promises. Jesus said to Martha, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” (John 11:40). Paul wrote concerning his impending death, “For I am already being poured out like a drink offering and the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing” (2 Tim. 4:6-8). This is the substance of faith. It is not shifting sand, but a solid rock that we can stand upon. It is the conviction and certainty that God will do what he has promised.

The Commendation of Faith

Hebrews 11:2 says this faith “is what the ancients were commended for.” The author is saying the faith of the Hebrew church is like that of “the ancients.” The word means “elders”; it has the same meaning as “forefathers” (Heb. 1:1). The people of God are one, and they are all characterized by this constant-they all possess saving faith that is living, persevering, sacrificing, and death-defying.

Notice that God himself commended the elders for their faith. Our testimonies about ourselves do not matter. These ancients were certified by God, which is the greatest testimony we can have.

The one thing characterizing all believers throughout history is the faith without which it is impossible to please God. The author illustrates such faith through the examples of Abel, Enoch, Noah, and others who all lived by faith in the promises of God. They were sure of things future and convinced of things they did not yet see with their physical eyes. They trusted implicitly in God’s promises. By their lives of faith, they bore witness to God’s goodness; therefore, God commended them and bore witness to them by recording their names in the holy Scriptures: “By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man when God spoke well of his offerings . . . By faith Enoch was taken from this life so that he did not experience death; he could not be found because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God . . . These were all commended for their faith” (vv. 4, 5, 39, italics added).

Do you live by faith? Do you witness to God’s goodness by living according to the word? If you live for God’s glory, he will testify concerning you on the last day: “Well done, good and faithful servant . . . enter . . . into the joy of thy Lord” (Matt. 25:21, 23, KJV). He so testified concerning his own Son, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased; hear ye him” (Matt. 17:5, KJV). Jesus lived by faith, always pleasing his Father. When tempted, he said, “It is written,” and obeyed God, not the devil (cf. Matt. 4:1-11). I urge you to live such a life that God may commend you and invite you into his eternal kingdom.

The Understanding of Faith

How do we understand the origin of the universe? The author says we understand by faith: “By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible” (Heb. 11:3). The author now speaks of the faith of himself and of his church, especially about cosmology and cosmogony.

There was no human witness to creation. God asked Job, “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you understand” (Job 38:4). By faith in God’s revelation we understand how the world was made. God revealed this to us in Genesis, and we must study this divine disclosure with all our intellect, that we may understand divine cosmogony and cosmology. (PGM) Modern, sophisticated people may laugh at it because they look upon faith and understanding as being mutually exclusive. But faith and understanding complement each other.

A Christian should never sacrifice his mind but use his intellect to its full capacity, both in studying God’s revelation in the Scriptures and in studying God’s revelation in creation. No philosopher or scientist can speak correctly of the origin of the universe if he rejects the biblical revelation. By faith God’s people understand intellectually that the universe was created by divine command. God’s word is powerful, creative, and formative. It always accomplishes the purpose for which it is sent (cf. Is. 55:11).

“By faith we understand.” No doubt the author is referring to Genesis 1:3, 6, 9, 11,14, 24, 26, where the phrase “and God said” to refer to the creation of the world. The whole universe came into existence at his command: “By the word of the Lord were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth. . . For he spoke, and it came to be” (Ps. 33:6, 9).

In Hebrews 1 the author wrote, “But in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things and through whom he made the universe” (1:2). Not only did God make the universe, but the next verse says that he upholds the universe by the word of his power. The powerful word that brought forth the universe also maintains and preserves the universe, including us.

Paul spoke about Christ’s role in the creation of all things: “For by him all things were created, things in heaven and things on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers, rulers or authorities-all things were created by him and for him” (Col. 1:16; cf. John 1:3).

God intended for all people to understand that God created all things by his powerful word: “For since the creation of the world, God’s invisible qualities-his eternal power and divine nature-have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse” (Rom. 1:20). It is not that the unbelievers do not know, but that they are enemies of God. They suppress the truth and exchange it for a lie so that they do not have to bow down and serve this great God.

The reason that all people do not come to this understanding is sin. Unbelievers are dead in trespasses and sins. Untouched by the Spirit of the living God, their minds are not quickened. God has revealed these things to us by his Spirit (1 Cor. 2:10). Paul writes, “We have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us . . . The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him and he cannot understand them because they are spiritually discerned” (2 Cor. 2:12, 14). In 2 Corinthians 4:4 he says the god of this world blinds the eyes of the unbelieving. Unbelievers are blind, dead, and at enmity with God. They know the truth, yet they suppress it. They refuse to surrender and worship God: “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness . . . For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal men-birds and animals and reptiles” (Rom. 1:18, 21-23).

From Scripture we whose eyes have been opened by the mighty operation of the Holy Spirit understand that the universe was created and maintained by the word of God. The visible universe was not made out of what is visible; what is seen is not made out of what is seen. The author is declaring that the universe was not made out of pre-existing matter.

When Plato spoke of cosmogony, he said the creator fashioned the world by pre-existing, formless matter. Philo the Jew also believed this view. But here our author is deliberately denying Platonic and Philonic cosmogonies and cosmologies. He denies the eternity of matter and the Greek thought that matter is evil. He denies the dualistic view of good and evil. He denies pantheism and affirms the Creator/creature distinction. He also denies all present day explanations of the universe including the evolutionary hypothesis and the big bang theory, which requires pre-existing matter. The author affirms that God alone created the universe out of nothing by his creative powerful command.

The universe is not a self-existent reality but the work product of the self-existing, self-sufficient, infinite, personal triune God of the holy Scriptures. Only believers in Jesus Christ know the true origin of the universe. Those who say in their hearts there is no God may call us fools, but the Scripture calls them fools. An unbeliever cannot affirm the true origin of the universe. He knows the truth, but he suppresses it. He exchanges it for a lie because he refuses to bow down before the almighty God.

Not only did God create the universe by his powerful word, but he also recreates us by his powerful word, making us new creations in Christ. Paul writes, “For God who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness’ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ” (2 Cor. 4:6). To us who were dead in our sins he said, “Let there be light,” and light flooded into our souls. Our eyes were opened, we saw the reality that we are sinners and God is God, and we cried out, “O God, have mercy upon us.”

James writes, “He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits for all he created” (Jas. 1:18). In 1 Peter 1:23 we read, “For you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable through the living and enduring word of God.”

Jesus himself spoke about this re-creative activity of God: “I tell you the truth, the time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live . . . Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out. Those who have done good will rise to live” (John 5:25, 28-29). Everyone who is in Christ Jesus is a new creation. The old is gone, the new has come (2 Cor. 5:17).

Have you experienced the miracle of new creation? Have you been given the gift of godly repentance and saving faith? Then you will understand all miracles of the Scriptures. You will not question the biblical account of the origin of the universe or the resurrection of Christ. The idea of an iron ax head floating, or of all people being raised from the dead, will be clear to you.

I have no problem believing every miracle in the Bible because they all are reasonable. The mighty, infinite personal God is the reason behind them. When we exercise faith in God, we will understand the divine revelation. Then we will be sure of things hoped for and certain of things yet unseen. Then we will know that nothing can separate us from the love of God, that our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit, that Jesus Christ is with us always, that he is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and that we are going to heaven to be with him forever. In his presence there is fullness of joy and on his right hand, pleasures forevermore. This Savior is coming again, and he will make a new heaven and a new earth by his powerful word for us to dwell in with him, and he will give us a body like unto his glorious body.

By faith we also know that there is going to be a final judgment. Every unbeliever will be cast into hell, the lake of fire, irrevocably entering eternal punishment. By faith we see and understand these things. By faith we understand from Scripture not only the origin of the first creation, but also the new creation. May God, therefore, help us to be his new creations that we may show love by faithful obedience to God’s word and give witness to God’s goodness in this world.

Only God can perform miracles. He has already performed the miracles of creation and exodus, and, more than that, the perfect miracle of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Now he is performing the miracle of raising dead people from the dead to life. May God grant repentance and faith even now that those people of his eternal election may repent and believe in Jesus Christ today and be saved.