FAITH IS….THROUGH FAITH….WITHOUT FAITH
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen…Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear….But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him” (Heb. 11:1, 3, 6).
When man is born from above, a new life begins. Breath is imparted, and man passes “from death unto life.” It is a spiritual birth, affecting man’s spiritual nature, bringing about spiritual life. It is wrought through the work of the Spirit of God, and this new life is fed and nurtured by the Spirit through the use of that which is itself spiritual. All is spiritual.
Consequently, there is a spiritual life which requires spiritual sustenance, resulting in a spiritual walk. All of this is completely alien to the thinking of “the natural man [‘the soulical man’],” “dead in trespasses and sins” (Eph. 2:1).
Eph 2:1
2:1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
KJV
He does not have spiritual life. His experiences relative to “life” pertain only to the natural; and, resultingly, “the things of the Spirit of God,” having to do with spiritual life, are “foolishness unto him” (1 Cor. 2:9-14).
1 Cor 2:9-14
9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
10 But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.
11 For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.
12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.
1.
13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
KJV
They are “spiritually discerned,” and he has no capacity to comprehend these things, for, spiritually, he is dead. There is no breath from God within that person. He is as the bones in the Valley in Ezek. 37 – very dry, without breath.
The spiritual man, within his spiritual walk, is to act in only one realm. He is to act in the realm of “faith.” The interrelated realms of “sight,” “man’s wisdom,” “the arm of flesh,” are all alien to the realm of “faith.” Faith alone has to do with “the spiritual”; all else has to do with “the natural.”
“Faith” is simply believing God. Acting or walking “by faith” is simply acting or walking on the basis of what God has said about a matter. “…who hath believed our report?" So then faith cometh by [‘out of’] hearing, and hearing by [‘through’] the Word of God (Rom. 10:16, 17).
Rom 10:16-17
16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?
17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
KJV
God has spoken, redeemed man within his spiritual capacity is to avail himself of that which God has stated, and he is then to act accordingly.
1. FAITH IS
Heb. 11:1 is not a definition of faith. Rather the verse, continuing from the preceding chapter, provides that which results in the spiritual life from one’s exercise of faith (especially in things related to the saving of the soul:
Heb 10:39-11:1
39 But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.
KJV
The word “believe” in verse thirty-nine and the word “faith” in the next verse (11:1) are from the same word in the Greek text (pistis). Also note “faith” (pistis) in: Heb 10:38
38 Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.
KJV
The thought from verses concluding chapter ten continues right on into chapter eleven, and this chapter should be so understood.
In verse thirty-eight, the “just [redeemed]” person is to “live by faith.” He is to believe God as he exercises “patience[‘patient endurance’]” under present trial and testings, knowing that a promised inheritance lies out ahead and knowing that one day (“yet a little while”) “he that shall come will come” and will bring to pass that which has been promised:
Heb 10:36-37
36 For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.
37 For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry.
KJV
cf. Heb 6:12
12 That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
KJV
James 1:2-4
2 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;
3 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.
4 But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.
KJV
3.
James 1:12
12 Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.
KJV
If he (that “just” person who is presently believing God and acting on that basis) draws back from such a life, the Lord states, “my soul shall have no pleasure in him.” That is, if the person draws back (stops believing God and acting on that basis), God will not be pleased or delighted at all with that person.
God delights in an individual living in one realm only – the realm of belief, faith. God delights in an individual, by faith, keeping his eyes fixed on the revealed goal out ahead and moving towards that goal. God delights in an individual, by faith, fixing and keeping his attention centered on that which He Himself has revealed to be of utmost importance.
That is exactly what is in view in these closing verses of Hebrews, chapter ten, leading into chapter eleven. Closing chapter ten, the writer states, “But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition [those ceasing to walk by faith, resulting in their own ruin (in relation to the matter at hand – the promised inheritance, the saving of the soul]); but of them that believe [continue walking by faith] to the saving of their soul.”
Those in the former group take their eyes off the goal, begin looking around, and God has no delight in them. Those in the latter group though, keep their eyes fixed on the goal, they don’t look to one side or the other, and God delights in them. One is unfaithful to the saving of the soul, and the other is faithful to the saving of the soul.
Could there be a relation then to the state Judas found himself:
John 17:12
12 While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.
KJV
That’s the backdrop for Hebrews chapter eleven; and when one begins at the first verse, it is simply a continuation of that which has preceded. Verse one should be understood in the sense of, “Now believing God to the saving of the soul [10:39] is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
“Substance” is the translation of the Greek word hupostasis. This is a compound word, comprised of hupo (“under”) and stastis (“to stand”). The word thus, in its literal sense, means “to stand under.” In this respect, it is used in the sense of “a foundation,” that which stands under and support the structure above.
Believing God (with particular reference to the saving of the soul) is that which stands under all else. Believing God is that which forms this foundation. In this respect, believing God and the foundation of matters at hand are, in reality, one and the same. Thus, apart from such belief, the structure above will have no foundation below. If the structure ever existed in the first place (note those who draw back [10:38, 39]), it can only collapse; and if it never existed at all, it cannot be built.
Some English translations or word studies will use terms such as “firm confidence” or “assurance” in an effort to convey the meaning of hupostesis. These are good and well, but they are only efforts of translators to convey into English that which is set forth in the Greek text as a firmly fixed foundation upon which all must be built, if it is to be built.
In the preceding respect, believing God to the saving of the soul is the firm confidence (the unshakable foundation) “of things hope for, the evidence [a ‘bringing to light’ so that we have proof] of things not seen.”
Believing God is the firm confidence of one day realizing the hope set before us: That’s what Paul was saying to Titus 1:2
2 In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;
KJV
Titus 2:12-13
12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
KJV
Titus 3:7
7 That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
KJV
Heb 3:6
6 But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.
Heb 6:12-20
12 That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
13 For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself,
14 Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee.
15 And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.
16 For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife.
17 Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath:
18 That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:
19 Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil;
20 Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.
Believing God brings to light all the things which God has promised after such a fashion that we have proof. He has promised these things in the God-breathed Word, and His Word fails not.
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen…Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear….But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him” (Heb. 11:1, 3, 6).
When man is born from above, a new life begins. Breath is imparted, and man passes “from death unto life.” It is a spiritual birth, affecting man’s spiritual nature, bringing about spiritual life. It is wrought through the work of the Spirit of God, and this new life is fed and nurtured by the Spirit through the use of that which is itself spiritual. All is spiritual.
Consequently, there is a spiritual life which requires spiritual sustenance, resulting in a spiritual walk. All of this is completely alien to the thinking of “the natural man [‘the soulical man’],” “dead in trespasses and sins” (Eph. 2:1).
Eph 2:1
2:1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
KJV
He does not have spiritual life. His experiences relative to “life” pertain only to the natural; and, resultingly, “the things of the Spirit of God,” having to do with spiritual life, are “foolishness unto him” (1 Cor. 2:9-14).
1 Cor 2:9-14
9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
10 But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.
11 For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.
12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.
1.
13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
KJV
They are “spiritually discerned,” and he has no capacity to comprehend these things, for, spiritually, he is dead. There is no breath from God within that person. He is as the bones in the Valley in Ezek. 37 – very dry, without breath.
The spiritual man, within his spiritual walk, is to act in only one realm. He is to act in the realm of “faith.” The interrelated realms of “sight,” “man’s wisdom,” “the arm of flesh,” are all alien to the realm of “faith.” Faith alone has to do with “the spiritual”; all else has to do with “the natural.”
“Faith” is simply believing God. Acting or walking “by faith” is simply acting or walking on the basis of what God has said about a matter. “…who hath believed our report?" So then faith cometh by [‘out of’] hearing, and hearing by [‘through’] the Word of God (Rom. 10:16, 17).
Rom 10:16-17
16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?
17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
KJV
God has spoken, redeemed man within his spiritual capacity is to avail himself of that which God has stated, and he is then to act accordingly.
1. FAITH IS
Heb. 11:1 is not a definition of faith. Rather the verse, continuing from the preceding chapter, provides that which results in the spiritual life from one’s exercise of faith (especially in things related to the saving of the soul:
Heb 10:39-11:1
39 But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.
KJV
The word “believe” in verse thirty-nine and the word “faith” in the next verse (11:1) are from the same word in the Greek text (pistis). Also note “faith” (pistis) in: Heb 10:38
38 Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.
KJV
The thought from verses concluding chapter ten continues right on into chapter eleven, and this chapter should be so understood.
In verse thirty-eight, the “just [redeemed]” person is to “live by faith.” He is to believe God as he exercises “patience[‘patient endurance’]” under present trial and testings, knowing that a promised inheritance lies out ahead and knowing that one day (“yet a little while”) “he that shall come will come” and will bring to pass that which has been promised:
Heb 10:36-37
36 For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.
37 For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry.
KJV
cf. Heb 6:12
12 That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
KJV
James 1:2-4
2 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;
3 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.
4 But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.
KJV
3.
James 1:12
12 Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.
KJV
If he (that “just” person who is presently believing God and acting on that basis) draws back from such a life, the Lord states, “my soul shall have no pleasure in him.” That is, if the person draws back (stops believing God and acting on that basis), God will not be pleased or delighted at all with that person.
God delights in an individual living in one realm only – the realm of belief, faith. God delights in an individual, by faith, keeping his eyes fixed on the revealed goal out ahead and moving towards that goal. God delights in an individual, by faith, fixing and keeping his attention centered on that which He Himself has revealed to be of utmost importance.
That is exactly what is in view in these closing verses of Hebrews, chapter ten, leading into chapter eleven. Closing chapter ten, the writer states, “But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition [those ceasing to walk by faith, resulting in their own ruin (in relation to the matter at hand – the promised inheritance, the saving of the soul]); but of them that believe [continue walking by faith] to the saving of their soul.”
Those in the former group take their eyes off the goal, begin looking around, and God has no delight in them. Those in the latter group though, keep their eyes fixed on the goal, they don’t look to one side or the other, and God delights in them. One is unfaithful to the saving of the soul, and the other is faithful to the saving of the soul.
Could there be a relation then to the state Judas found himself:
John 17:12
12 While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.
KJV
That’s the backdrop for Hebrews chapter eleven; and when one begins at the first verse, it is simply a continuation of that which has preceded. Verse one should be understood in the sense of, “Now believing God to the saving of the soul [10:39] is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
“Substance” is the translation of the Greek word hupostasis. This is a compound word, comprised of hupo (“under”) and stastis (“to stand”). The word thus, in its literal sense, means “to stand under.” In this respect, it is used in the sense of “a foundation,” that which stands under and support the structure above.
Believing God (with particular reference to the saving of the soul) is that which stands under all else. Believing God is that which forms this foundation. In this respect, believing God and the foundation of matters at hand are, in reality, one and the same. Thus, apart from such belief, the structure above will have no foundation below. If the structure ever existed in the first place (note those who draw back [10:38, 39]), it can only collapse; and if it never existed at all, it cannot be built.
Some English translations or word studies will use terms such as “firm confidence” or “assurance” in an effort to convey the meaning of hupostesis. These are good and well, but they are only efforts of translators to convey into English that which is set forth in the Greek text as a firmly fixed foundation upon which all must be built, if it is to be built.
In the preceding respect, believing God to the saving of the soul is the firm confidence (the unshakable foundation) “of things hope for, the evidence [a ‘bringing to light’ so that we have proof] of things not seen.”
Believing God is the firm confidence of one day realizing the hope set before us: That’s what Paul was saying to Titus 1:2
2 In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;
KJV
Titus 2:12-13
12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
KJV
Titus 3:7
7 That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
KJV
Heb 3:6
6 But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.
Heb 6:12-20
12 That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
13 For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself,
14 Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee.
15 And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.
16 For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife.
17 Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath:
18 That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:
19 Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil;
20 Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.
Believing God brings to light all the things which God has promised after such a fashion that we have proof. He has promised these things in the God-breathed Word, and His Word fails not.
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