Letter to the Hebrews Volume 120

 Faith is how We Believers Understand Part 2

Hebrews 11:2-3 For by it (faith) the elders obtained a good report. 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. KJV

The elders spoken of here next by the writer of Hebrews refers to all the Hebrew men and women detailed, declared, and documented for us in the Old Testament like Enoch, Noah, Abraham, and Sara just to list a few who were faithful to Jehovah-Elohim-Adonai despite never seeing the actual visible Messiah having come in the flesh to the earth and most specifically to the Hebrew Nation and people. These elders and their faith however were seen and known by God the Father, as it is written here with these words, "For by it (faith) the elders obtained a good report." (Hebrews 11:2) (KJV). The little English phrase 'obtained a good report' is translated by the Greek word martureō meaning to bear witness to; to testify or give evidence of God by faith; to be well reported of because of their faith/trust in God. In other words, these elders had unbendable, unfaultering, and unshakeable faith in Elohim despite living in and under some very trying, treacherous, and terrible circumstances that cost many of them their very earthly lives as we will be reminded by the writer of Hebrews very shortly in some of the coming verses of Scripture in this very Chapter. The devil cannot snatch faith in God from any true believer, but he can and he does work hard (through the army of demons and humans at his command) to intimidate those of us back then and now and of every era and generation of humanity who have this 'like precious faith' (2 Peter 1:1) into giving up our confidence in God and all His promises to us. Here is what Albert Barnes had to say of Hebrews 11:2, "That is, by that faith which gives reality to things hoped for, and a certain persuasion to the mind of the existence of those things which are not seen. The ancients; the Hebrew patriarchs and fathers. Literally, 'were witnessed of;' that is, an honorable testimony was borne to them in consequence of their faith. The idea is, that their acting under the influence of faith, in the circumstances in which they were, was the ground of the honorable testimony which was borne to them in the Old Testament. In the cases which the Apostle proceeds to enumerate in the subsequent part of the Chapter, he mentions those whose piety is particularly commended in the Old Testament, and who showed in trying circumstances that they had unwavering confidence in God."

The writer of Hebrews takes us back to the very beginning of Creation by bearing witness here again of the Majesty, Magnificents, and Might of our Great God Jesus Christ (Titus 2:13) when He made all things (including we human beings) that are now visible by His spoken Words, as it is written in Genesis with these words, "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day." (Genesis 1:1-5) (KJV). Read the rest of Genesis Chapter 1 and 2 for the full documentation for all of creation. It testifies that the Universe does not have Divine intelligence, nor did it make itself from nothing into the complex thing that it truly is and has been since God spoke it into existence. The writer of Hebrews now wants to remind those Hebrew believers back then and all believers today and of every era and generation of time of what their/our faith gives us access into or understanding of that the non-believer/human being devoid of this 'gift of faith in God' cannot understand with these words, "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." (Hebrews 11:3) (KJV). Note: "This verse of Scripture and the very beginning verses of the Bible are the turmoil, threat, and terror of the non-believer who only has faith or confidence in what he or she can see and prove in a laboratory/scientific process that gives them solid and sure results, however, God is not the One to be put into a laboratory to be proven, but simple faith is the KEY to knowing Him and proving His very existence."

Here is what Adam Clarke had to say of Hebrews 11:3, "By worlds, we are to understand the material fabric of the universe; for worlds can have no reference here to age or any measurement of time, for he speaks of the things which are Seen; not being made out of the things which do Appear; this therefore must refer to the material creation: and as the word is used in the plural number, it may comprehend, not only the earth and visible heavens, but the whole planetary system; the different worlds which, in our system at least, revolve round the sun. The apostle states that these things were not made out of a pre-existent matter; for if they were, that matter, however extended or modified, must appear in that thing into which it is compounded and modified, consequently it could not be said that the things which are seen are not made of the things that appear; and he shows us also, by these words, that the present mundane fabric was not formed or reformed from one anterior, as some suppose. According to Moses and the apostle we believe that God made all things out of nothing. See the note on Genesis 1:1, etc. At present we see trees of different kinds are produced from trees; beasts, birds, and fishes, from others of the same kind; and man, from man: but we are necessarily led to believe that there was a first man, who owed not his being to man; first there were beasts, etc., which did not derive their being from others of the same kind; and so of all manner of trees, plants, etc. God, therefore, made all these out of nothing; his word tells us so, and we credit that word." Here also is what John Wesley had to say of Hebrews 11:3, "By faith we understand that the worlds - Heaven and earth and all things in them, visible and invisible. Were made - Formed, fashioned, and finished. By the Word - The sole command of God, without any instrument or preceding matter. And as creation is the foundation and specimen of the whole divine economy, so faith in the creation is the foundation and specimen of all faith. So that things which are seen - As the sun, earth, stars. Were made of things which do not appear - Out of the dark, unapparent chaos, Genesis 1:2. And this very chaos was created by the divine power; for before it was thus created it had no existence in nature."
 
If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...


Sincerely in Christ,


Clifford D. Tate, Sr.


Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reade, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…