The Essence of FAith - Pt. 4

 

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation. By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. (Hebrews 11:1-3 ESV).

 

Today we see a second definition for faith: “it is the conviction of things not see” (v. 1). The word for "conviction" or "evidence" is not used anywhere else in the New Testament. Outside the New Testament, its normal use is "proof" or "argument" or "evidence" - something objective - about the world rather than subjective about how we feel about the world.

 

Most translators don't use the old word, "proof" or "evidence," because it doesn't seem to make sense. How can faith be evidence or proof? Faith needs evidence, doesn't it? But let's look at the illustration of this definition of faith in verse 3. Verse 3 is directly related to this definition of faith as "the evidence of things not seen." It says, "By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible."

 

Do you see the connection? Verse 1 says "faith is the evidence of things not seen," and verse 3 says that faith understands that the world - what is seen - was made from what is not seen - the word of God. However, how do we know that God made the world out of nothing that is seen? Not only were we not there when it happened, but, even if we had been there, we would not have been able to see the act of creation, because you can't see the word of God. So how can we know or "understand" that the worlds were made by the word of God? How can we know that "what is seen was made out of things invisible" - namely the word of God?

 

Sounds confusing, doesn’t it? But the answer is "by faith." "By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God" (v. 3). If "faith is the evidence of things not seen," then it might make sense to say, "By faith (by evidence) we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God." The answer is going to come in the understanding of the “fingerprints of God.” We’’ see more detail tomorrow, however, today we can trust our faith because of the Holy Spirit’s work in revealing this to us. We see the evidence in our experience with Him. God proves Himself to us by working in our daily lives. Faith is not blind, it is proven by experience. That cause me to be struck by the very personal nature of our relationship with God. I have known His love, grace, and forgiveness shown in so many ways, He is undeniable. That is God’s nature!