Understanding Faith
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Hebrews 11:3 English Standard Version
Hebrews 11:3 By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seenwas not made out of things that are visible.
Just as verse 1 defined faith:
· Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
verse 3 gives us an example to help us understand faith.
We understand that the universe was created:
1. By faith.
a. Hebrews 11:3 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.
b. Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
c. 2 Corinthians 5:7 for we walk by faith, not by sight.
d. The scientific method
i. The scientific method is the process of objectively establishing facts through testing and experimentation. The basic process involves making an observation, forming a hypothesis, making a prediction, conducting an experiment and finally analyzing the results. https://www.techtarget.com/whatis/definition/scientific-method
e. The theory of evolution
2. By the word of God.
a. Hebrews 11:3a By faith we understandthat the universe was created by the word of God,
b. Romans 1:20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, [same Greek word translated at “understand” in Hebrews 11:3] ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
c. Psalm 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
d. Psalm 19:7 The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple;
e. Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the convictionof things not seen.
f. 2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,
g. Genesis 1:1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
h. Genesis 1:2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
i. Genesis 1:3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
j. Genesis 1:4 And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness.
k. Genesis 1:5 God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.
l. Hebrews 1:1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets,
m. Hebrews 1:2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.
n. Hebrews 1:3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
o. Hebrews 11:3a By faith… by the word of God,
p. Romans 10:17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
3. Out of nothing
a. Hebrews 11:3 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.
i. create, i.e., make something that has not been in existence before (Ge 1:1);[1]
b. Psalm 90:2 Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
c. The Bible clearly requires us to believe that God created the universe out of nothing. (Sometimes the Latin phrase ex nihilo, “out of nothing” is used; it is then said that the Bible teaches creation ex nihilo.) This means that before God began to create the universe, nothing else existed except God himself.[2]
Work It Out
1. To live by faith is to live by God’s word.
a. Hebrews 11:3a By faith… by the word of God,
2. The word of God creates faith in us and assures us of our faith (Romans 10:17; Hebrews 11:1; 2 Timothy 3:16).
3. We can trust God’s word even when we cannot yet see what we are looking for.
a. Romans 4:17 as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.
b. Romans 4:18 In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, “So shall your offspring be.”
c. Romans 4:19 He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb.
d. Romans 4:20 No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God,
[1] James Swanson, Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains : Hebrew (Old Testament)(Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997).
[2] Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine, Second Edition. (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Academic, 2020), 338.