What does it mean that faith is the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1)?

"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by this the elders obtained witness."

"Faith is the substance," or "the substantiation of things hoped for;" that which makes the "things hoped for" a reality in the present. It is "the evidence," or, as it should be, "the conviction," — that which is borne into the soul in the power of divine truth as a reality, "of things not seen."

These two things show us what faith has to do with, and are especially appropriate to the saints whom he was addressing. We have already spoken of Christianity as "the good things to come," and saw that the coming of those "good things" was even yet postponed in a certain way, because we have nothing visible, or tangible, yet. The "good things" are still to come, save as faith has made them a living reality now. "What a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?" It is just as real as when we shall behold it in glory, but that which makes it actual to the soul is not something visible that we can hold up for the world to see. It is faith only which can see the blessings which are ours now. One day all the world will see it.

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." This is not a definition, but shows us something of what faith does. It is that which, to the individual, gives solid substance to things hoped for. It is no mere fanciful imagination, but an honest trust in the living God, by which the things of God are made a definite, clear reality to the heart, and are thus recognized to be more truly substantial than all material substance-for the latter will pass away. Also it has that peculiar power of evidencing to us "things not seen." Faith in the living God is not blind, but the actual opening of the eyes, accepting unquestionable evidence of the reality of unseen, spiritual things.

The first verse defines, not what faith is in the abstract, but what it does in practice. It is "the substantiating of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." The New Translation gives this rendering together with a footnote saying that the words "assurance," or "firm conviction," might be substituted for "substantiating." Faith then is the telescope that brings into our view the unseen verities of which God speaks; making them real to us, giving us assurance of them, and turning them into solid substance in our hearts.

Before however we are led to review how faith wrought in "the elders," we find one word is to ourselves. Verse 3 begins, "Through faith WE understand …" and the things seen in creation are brought before us. This is a very significant statement! In apostolic days it was evidently the common faith of Christians that "the worlds were framed by the Word of God." Is it the faith of all Christians today? We have just seen that faith is "the conviction of things not seen." We now discover that only faith can give us a proper understanding of the things that we do see. Nineteen centuries ago the philosophic world was full of weird theories as to the origin of creation. Equally weird theories fill philosophic minds today. All these theories, both ancient and modern, take it for granted that things that are seen were made of things that do appear; and the process, by which they think they were made, has received the name of evolution. The philosophers are very clever men, and they have provided themselves — especially in these modern days — with a really wonderful equipment for their researches. They only lack one thing. But that one thing is the only thing that counts! They lack the faith that enables anyone to understand. Through faith we understand the origin of creation. Without faith we do not understand it at all.

401 The apostle goes on in our chapter to shew the power of faith. It is not a definition, but a description of its effects. It is "the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Perfect certainty of realisation is the effect of faith. The definition of faith is that it "sets to its seal that God is true." It remains that, what we hope for, we with patience wait for. The promise is just as certain as if we had the fulfilment of it. We do not see it. If we saw it we should not hope for it, but we realise things not seen. This is the power of faith in the soul.

Faith is the divinely-given perception of things not seen, wrought through the word of God by the Spirit. Hence it is the substance of things hoped for; the evidence of things not seen. The examples in Hebrews 11 are not given to shew all that faith is, but how it works in man in active life or patient endurance, because God's word is believed. If the word reveals a divine person in grace, He becomes the object of trust; if a work, its efficacy becomes the ground of confidence. But the trust and the confidence is not the faith. Indeed, though there will always be attraction, and so far trust in Him as a person worthy of it, and drawing it, in the revelation of God in love, it does not at first always produce confidence, properly speaking, and, speaking of Christ, "a full reliance upon Him and upon His work;" because that revelation, if it attracts the confidence of the heart, awakens the conscience; and, till this is purged by a clear knowledge of redemption, we cannot trust. The element of it is there, but we cannot do so. When Peter preached to the Jews, the effect of the power of the word, convincing them that Jesus was the Messiah — making them believe — was to make them say, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" They had crucified Him. This was not trust; but faith was wrought in their hearts as to who Jesus was. Not that scripture was true — that they believed before; not assent to a proposition — but true faith that Jesus was the Christ. The answer to the need of soul this produced was Peter's shewing them the path of peace. They were to have remission of sins, and receive the Holy Ghost.

"Now faith is substance (or, confidence) of hoped-for things, conviction of matters not seen. For in virtue of this the elders were testified of. By faith we apprehend that the worlds have been framed by God's word, so that what is seen hath not been made out of things that appear" (verses 1-3).

Thus is laid down, what every intelligent believer knows to be true experimentally, that faith realises things hoped for, is a demonstration to the soul of matters not seen. It is no new principle, though it shines as all that is morally noble does in Christianity. All of whom the world was not worthy, all who honoured God and looked above the present and the visible, were marked by it. The O.T. as the N.T. is full of its blessing, and the lack of it opens the door to all ruin. As it inspires with present confidence in the future we hope for, so it affords demonstration of matters not seen: we look, according to the word and in the Spirit of God, at the things not seen and eternal. There is not only certainty but present enjoyment.

Some have made a difficulty for themselves by the mistaken assumption that we have here a definition of faith. This is clearly not the object, but rather a description of its power, range, and effect. Faith scripturally in itself is simply believing God, accepting His word because He says it, not on visible evidence or on reasoning but on God's authority. Now, under the gospel because of its all-importance, it is receiving the testimony of God which He has testified about His Son (1 John 5:9), believing (not exactly "on," but) Him that sent the Son (John 5:24); or, as in John 3:33 it is expressed, he that receives His testimony sets to his seal that God is true; while he that does not believe God has the awful guilt of making Him a liar (1 John 5:10).

Before presenting the bright array of believers, the great truth of creation is set out as a question for faith. And so it truly is. Among the heathen all was as confused as the chaos they generally made co-eternal with deity. Yet the fact was once known but got corrupted and lost, notwithstanding the testimony to God's invisible power and divinity in the things that were made. It might seem a necessary inference that there must be an Almighty Creator; yet who drew it plainly? Nothing but Scripture reveals it simply, suitably, and solemnly; and faith received it of old as now. And it becomes all the more needful to heed it, when the course of this evil age runs strongly toward the darkness of heathen thought, and men find their Bible in science which knows not a single truth of God, being too self-satisfied to sit at Jesus' feet and hear His word. Yet even the proudest and most hostile of these modern philosophers is constrained to confess, that they can only investigate phenomena, and are absolutely ignorant of the originating power which gave birth to them. Only the mind cannot but own that such there must have been. It is an "unknown God" still, though they are hardly as candid as the Athenians in erecting an altar and inscribing their ignorance. Yet there is no excuse now, where not only the Scripture is read, but the Son of God come has given the amplest proof of the truth.

The first statement speaks of faith, not so much as a definition, but as a declaration of the action and power of faith. The Revised Version is better in its rendering than the King James translation. "Now faith is the assurance (or substantiation) of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." Faith makes real to the soul that which we hope for and is a demonstration of that which we do not see. It is therefore assurance and a settled conviction respecting things hoped for, though unseen. "it is the soul's hand that grasps the promised blessings and makes them its very own. Faith lays hold on what is future, but sure, and brings it into the life of the believer, so that in the presence and power of it he lives and walks. It is far-sightedness. It sees and foresees. It pierces into the unseen, it seizes the promised riches of God and makes them a present reality, and therefore the life of the believer may become opulent with noble deeds, because ruled and stimulated by a great motive."

It is by faith we know that the worlds were framed by the Word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. God called all things into existence. Matter is not eternal; the universe is not a producing cause. God has created all things by Him and for Him, who is the eternal Word (Heb. 1:2; John 1:1). Man is unable by searching to solve the mystery of creation. How ridiculous have been the cosmogonies of ancient nations. The evolution theories are equally absurd.

(V. 1). The introductory verses present the great principles of faith. The first verse is hardly a definition of faith, but rather a statement of the effect of faith. It tells us what faith does, rather than what faith is. Faith substantiates things hoped for. It makes very real to our souls the things to which we look forward. It gives us the conviction of things not seen. The unseen things become as real to the believer as though present to sight, “yea, much more so because there is deception in things seen” (J.N.D.).

Hebrews 11. It is not a definition of this principle, that the epistle gives us at the commencement of Hebrews 11, but a declaration of its powers and action. Faith realises (gives substance to) that which we hope for, and is a demonstration to the soul of that which we do not see.

The eleventh of Hebrews begins not exactly with a definition of faith, not what faith is in its essence, but with what faith is in its practice. "Now faith is the substance (substantiating) of things hoped for, the evidence (conviction) of things not seen." Faith is that which turns "things hoped for" into positive "substance" today, and this, of course, is the main argument of this letter to the Hebrews. Some of the Hebrew Christians were beginning to think that they had lost the real thing. Imagine a Jew who had become a follower of that Jesus who was crucified as a malefactor some thirty years before. His old friends say to him, "You are surely a fool. Here is our Temple, with the sacrifices going up and silver trumpets sounding; we have the ancient God-instituted worship and the priests descended directly from Aaron. You can see our religion; you can smell it; you can hear it; we have the real thing. You have got only a little upper room, where your Master gathered His disciples together; but now He is gone, and where has He gone? Really you have got nothing, you are running after mere ideas." This is the language of the world, but the language of the Epistle to the Hebrews is, "Your sacrifices are shadows, you have only a shadow temple. Your priests are shadows, and your altar is only a shadow altar." A few years after the epistle was written the Roman armies came and swept the whole shadow system off the map. We Christians have got the substance, that of which the shadows when first they were ordained of God spoke, but it is no good to us except there is faith that lays hold of the unseen things and turns them into real "substance" in our hearts and lives. The writer goes on immediately to speak of creation: "By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God." No one can prove it nor fully understand it. In the same way as by faith we understand that the Bible is the Word of God, we understand this truth of Creation. Faith can and does receive it. Faith is the eye of the soul, or, as I think we shall see in a moment, is more like a telescope which, applied to the eye, brings into evidence things beyond the reach of mortal eyes. I am not speaking of something that only appeals to very advanced Christians; you are not a Christian at all if you have not got faith. If Christ is not a reality to you, you can hardly claim the name of Christian. I am speaking of that with which you have begun, and I want you to see that faith is not only that with which you start, but the operating force on your side that is going to carry you through. Your life in this grand faith-succession comes down from Abraham, Moses and Paul, and. here we are today blessed in the Lord Jesus Christ. However humbly you start, you are in this grand faith-succession. Faith saves the soul, and this comes out in the opening instances of Abel, Enoch and Noah. Faith was that which respectively put them in right relations with God, translated them, saved them from the judgment. Faith does save the soul, but it would not do that were it not that faith is sight that sees the thoughts of God and enables us to hold them: "By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain"; it was not by accident, but by faith. How could he have done it by faith except there had been some "light"? I have no question in my own mind that it was the first action of the Lord God in the garden in the day when sin came that was the object of Abel's faith. Again and again he must have heard that story of the ineffectiveness of the aprons and how the Lord God made coats of skin, thus indicating His way of covering.