Hebrews 11:1-7 (WEB) Now faith is assurance of things hoped for, proof of things not seen. 2 For by this, the elders obtained testimony. 3 By faith, we understand that the universe has been framed by the word of God, so that what is seen has not been made out of things which are visible. 4 By faith, Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he had testimony given to him that he was righteous, God testifying with respect to his gifts; and through it he, being dead, still speaks. 5 By faith, Enoch was taken away, so that he wouldn’t see death, and he was not found, because God translated him. For he has had testimony given to him that before his translation he had been well pleasing to God. 6 Without faith it is impossible to be well pleasing to him, for he who comes to God must believe that he exists, and that he is a rewarder of those who seek him. 7 By faith, Noah, being warned about things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared a ship for the saving of his house, through which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.
V1 “Now faith is assurance of things hoped for, proof of things not seen.” The Greek word for “faith” is (G4102) πίστις pistis, which means a confidence and conviction of something. It usually is a person, religion, philosophy, etc. Faith is an assurance. The Greek word for “assurance” is (G5287) ὑπόστασις hupostasis, which means something that is under, so the foundation of a building, etc. Faith is that foundation of things hoped for and proof of things not seen. Why? In short, it is because God said so. This is reasonable. For me, it starts with Jesus. Was there a man walking around the Middle East 2,000 years named Jesus? It is most reasonable. What was this Jesus like? What did He believe? There are scant references but secular and religious enemies of this Jesus reference him as a “god” of Christians and a magician possessed by demons. So, the secure and religious enemies of this Jesus acknowledge something unusual about this man. Also, there are the 4 gospels which speak of him as being God and doing miracles. It seems that what is described in the 4 gospels is most reasonable. If what Jesus says and does is most reasonable and his followers are willing to die for Him, it seems to me to be most reasonable. Thus, is my conviction about Jesus. If what Jesus says is true about creation, history, etc. then it is most reasonable that all of Christianity is truth.
V2 “For by this, the elders obtained testimony.” The elders refer to the people in this list (not exclusively). Robertson’s Word Pictures: “More nearly like “the fathers,” not the technical sense of elders (officers) usual in the N.T., but more like “the tradition of the elders.” Obtained a good witness refers to the words and deeds of the people in this list.
V3 “By faith, we understand that the universe has been framed by the word of God, so that what is seen has not been made out of things which are visible.” Faith because it is most reasonable according to my brief note in V1. If Jesus speaks of creation which is the same as the first 2 chapters of Genesis, then it is faith, in fact, faithful testimony of one who was there (Mark 13:19 and Hebrew 1:10 (quoting Psalm 102:25). Compare John 1:3, John 1:10, and Colossians 1:16.
The Greek word for “framed” is (G2675) καταρτίζω katartizō, which means (Vincent Word Studies) “Put together; adjusted; the parts fitted to each other.” The creation is ex nihilo (from nothing). This is creation where God made the basic laws and particles of the building blocks, then assembled them.
Holman Commentary): “These verses present two illustrations of the use of faith. First, faith enabled the heroes of the Old Testament to receive a good standing with God. God gave his approval to the faith of these saints.
Second, believing that God created the world involves a leap of faith. Faith points to an unseen power who made the world we see. The universe involves more than the physical world. It includes the ages that God had planned, beginning with the act of creation and extending to the consummation of all things in Christ. By faith we know that all we see around us and all that takes place on earth came from one we cannot see.
“By observing creation we may learn of God’s power. We learn the manner of God’s creation only by responding in faith to the statements of Scripture.”
The “word of God” may refer to Jesus (as in Revelation 19:13 and the Word (John 1:1)), it may refer to the authoritative speaking of God (as in Hebrews 11:3), the Gospel (being God’s Good News–Acts 8:14 and Acts 17:13), or the Scriptures (2 Corinthians 4:2 and Ephesians 6:17).
The creation is ex nihilo (from nothing).
V4 “By faith, Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he had testimony given to him that he was righteous, God testifying with respect to his gifts; and through it he, being dead, still speaks.” The history of Cain and Abel is in Genesis 4:1-17 with Genesis 4:3-5. Abel offered in faith; Cain did not. Abel offered the sacrifice as God had instructed Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:21 which implies animal death most likely from a sacrifice). Cain offered a sacrifice that was not accepted because the creator had shown Adam and Eve that an animal sacrifice was necessary. Abel believed God; Cain did not. Genesis 3:21.
V5 “By faith, Enoch was taken away, so that he wouldn’t see death, and he was not found, because God translated him. For he has had testimony given to him that before his translation he had been well pleasing to God.” Enoch had the same faith, believing God. The Greek word for “taken away” is (G3346) μετατίθημι metatíthēmi, which means (Word Study Dictionary): denoting change of place or condition.” (Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (Abridged – Little Kittel)): “to put in another place.” He did not die but was taken alive from earth to heaven. See Genesis 5:21-24. “Was not found” refers to the possibility of people searching for him and could not find him. Many believe that the Two Witnesses of Revelation 11:3 are Elijah and Enoch. Two witnesses are needed to confirm witness (Deuteronomy 19:15). He was pleasing to God. Faith pleases God. Enoch must have had such faith that God rewarded for it.
V6 “Without faith it is impossible to be well pleasing to him, for he who comes to God must believe that he exists, and that he is a rewarder of those who seek him.” The importance of believing God cannot be dismissed. It starts with believing the Scriptures in their plain, normal sense consistently from Genesis to Revelation. When people consider the Scriptures to have a deeper meaning, they often turn to allegorical interpretations or symbolic interpretations, redefine words, twist words out of context, etc. A summary of Scriptural Twisting is here: https://www.apologeticsindex.org/5849-scripture-twisting
Note the seriousness of the words “without faith it is impossible to please Him (God).” We begin with faith in the Gospel regarding Jesus Christ and His message. Consider the basic Gospel here: a Living Waters, Ray Comfort video about 5.5 minutes: https://livingwaters.com/three-minutes-to-live-video/
God rewards faith. Faith results in loyalty, love, faithfulness, fellowship with God, etc. Faith with love is seen in obeying the Law of Christ (Galatians 6:2).
V7 “By faith, Noah, being warned about things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared a ship for the saving of his house, through which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.” Noah showed his life faith by his actions. God said, “Build the Ark,” and Noah did. God said that the world would be destroyed by water, Noah believed and warned everyone he could. Noah condemned the world in that he had faith, the rest did not. He acted and did what God commanded.
We learn:
- The importance of faith
- Faith is believing God, who has given us the only 100% truth.
- Faith seen is genuine faith