Quotes & Notes
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John Wesley's Notes:
The definition of faith given in this verse, and exemplified in
the various instances following, undoubtedly includes justifying faith,
but not directly as justifying. For faith justifies only as it refers
to, and depends on, Christ. But here is no mention of him as the object
of faith; and in several of the instances that follow, no notice is
taken of him or his salvation, but only of temporal blessings obtained
by faith. And yet they may all be considered as evidences of the power
of justifying faith in Christ, and of its extensive exercise in a course
of steady obedience amidst difficulties and dangers of every kind.
Now faith is the subsistence of things hoped for, the evidence or
conviction of things not seen-Things hoped for are not so extensive as
things not seen. The former are only things future and joyful to us; the
latter are either future, past, or present, and those either good or
evil, whether to us or others.
The subsistence of things hoped for-Giving a kind of present subsistence
to the good things which God has promised: the divine supernatural
evidence exhibited to, the conviction hereby produced in, a believer of
things not seen, whether past, future, or spiritual; particularly of God
and the things of God.
- Treasury of Scripture Knowledge:
1 What faith is.
6 Without faith we cannot please God.
7 The worthy fruits thereof in the fathers of old time.
* faith. Heb 11:13; 10:22,39; Ac 20:21; 1Co 13:13; Ga 5:6; Tit 1:1; 1Pe
1:7; 2Pe 1:1
* is the. Ps 27:13; 42:11
* substance. or, ground, or, confidence. Heb 2:3; 3:14; 2Co 9:4; 11:17*Gr:|
* hoped. Heb 6:12,18,19
* the evidence. Heb 11:7,27; Ro 8:24,25; 2Co 4:18; 5:17; 1Pe 1:8
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Adam Clarke's Commentary:
Faith is the substance of things hoped for] esti de pistiv elpizomenwn
upostasiv. Faith is the SUBSISTENCE of things hoped for; pragmatwn
elegcov ou blepomenwn. The DEMONSTRATION of things not seen. The word
upostasiv, which we translate substance, signifies subsistence, that
which becomes a foundation for another thing to stand on. And elegcov
signifies such a conviction as is produced in the mind by the
demonstration of a problem, after which demonstration no doubt can
remain, because we see from it that the thing is; that it cannot but be;
and that it cannot be otherwise than as it is, and is proved to be. Such
is the faith by which the soul is justified; or rather, such are the
effects of justifying faith: on it subsists the peace of God which
passeth all understanding; and the love of God is shed abroad in the
heart where it lives, by the Holy Ghost. At the same time the Spirit of
God witnesses with their spirits who have this faith that their sins are
blotted out; and this is as fully manifest to their judgment and
conscience as the axioms, "A whole is greater than any of its parts;"
"Equal lines and angles, being placed on one another, do not exceed each
other;" or as the deduction from prop. 47, book i., Euclid: "The square
of the base of a right-angled triangle is equal to the difference of the
squares of the other two sides." elegcov is defined by logicians,
Demonstratio quae fit argumentis certis et rationibus indubitatis, qua
rei certitudo efficitur. "A demonstration of the certainly of a thing by
sure arguments and indubitable reasons." Aristotle uses it for a
mathematical demonstration, and properly defines it thus: elegcov de
estiv o mh duvatov allwv exeiv, all' outwv wv hmeiv legomen, " Elenehos,
or Demonstration, is that which cannot be otherwise, but is so as we
assert." Rhetor. ad Alexand., cap. 14, peri elegcou. On this account I
have adduced the above theorem from Euclid.
Things hoped for] Are the peace and approbation of God, and those
blessings by which the soul is prepared for the kingdom of heaven. A
penitent hopes for the pardon of his sins and the favour of his God;
faith in Christ puts him in possession of this pardon, and thus the
thing that was hoped for is enjoyed by faith. When this is received, a
man has the fullest conviction of the truth and reality of all these
blessings though unseen by the eye, they are felt by the heart; and the
man has no more doubt of God's approbation and his own free pardon, than
he has of his being.
In an extended sense the things hoped for are the resurrection of the
body, the new heavens and the new earth, the introduction of believers
into the heavenly country, and the possession of eternal glory.
The things unseen, as distinguished from the things hoped for, are, in
an extended sense, the creation of the world from nothing, the
destruction of the world by the deluge, the miraculous conception of
Christ, his resurrection from the dead, his ascension to glory, his
mediation at the right hand of God, his government of the universe, &c.,
&c., all which we as firmly believe on the testimony of God's word as if
we had seen them. See Macknight. But this faith has particular respect
to the being, goodness, providence, grace, and mercy of God, as the
subsequent verses sufficiently show.
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Family Bible Notes:
At the close of the preceding chapter, mention was made of "them
that believe to the saving of the soul." Now follows a description of
faith and an illustration of its power from the example of the ancient
worthies. Substance; the Greek word has two distinct meanings: first, as
rendered by our version, substance; the meaning will then be, that faith
is that which gives to things hoped for subsistence in the views and
feelings of the soul, and leads it to regard and treat them as real;
secondly, confidence, as in 2Co 11:17. According to this, faith is the
firm persuasion of things hoped for. The evidence of things not seen;
their demonstration, that which sets before the mind unseen realities as
if they were seen. Faith is a glorious reality and mightily efficacious.
It works powerfully, and produces effects which nothing else can. It is
in the highest and best sense rational, and is as essential with regard
to things unseen, as the eye is to things seen.
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People's New Testament Commentary:
SUMMARY OF HEBREWS 11: Faith Explained. The Faith of the Elders.
Remarkable Examples of Ancient Faith. All Seeking for a Better Country.
The Victories of Faith. The Sufferings Endured by Faith. Christians
Exhorted to Follow These Glorious Examples.
Faith is the substance. The old meaning of "substance," as well as of
hupostasis, the Greek word here used, is "stand under," that is, to be a
foundation. Faith is the foundation on which all our hopes for the
future are built.
The evidence. Rather, the conviction or persuasion of things not seen.
Without faith we would be limited to the very narrow world comprehended
by the senses.
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Robertson's Word Pictures:
Now faith is (estin de pistis). He has just said that "we are of
faith" (Heb 10:39), not of apostasy. Now he proceeds in a chapter of
great eloquence and passion to illustrate his point by a recital of the
heroes of faith whose example should spur them to like loyalty now. The
assurance of things hoped for (elpizomenôn hupostasis). Hupostasis is a
very common word from Aristotle on and comes from huphistêmi (hupo,
under, histêmi, intransitive), what stands under anything (a building, a
contract, a promise). See the philosophical use of it in Heb 1:3, the
sense of assurance (une assurance certaine, Ménégoz) in Heb 3:14, that
steadiness of mind which holds one firm (2Co 9:4). It is common in the
papyri in business documents as the basis or guarantee of transactions.
"And as this is the essential meaning in Heb 11:1 we venture to suggest
the translation 'Faith is the title-deed of things hoped for'" (Moulton
and Milligan, Vocabulary, etc.). The proving of things not seen (pragmatôn
elegchos ou blepomenôn). The only N.T. example of elegchos (except
Textus Receptus in 2Ti 3:16 for elegmon). Old and common word from
elegchô (Mt 18:15) for "proof" and then for "conviction." Both uses
occur in the papyri and either makes sense here, perhaps "conviction"
suiting better though not in the older Greek.
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Albert Barnes' Commentary:
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for. On the general nature
of faith, See Barnes for Mr 16:10. The margin here is, "ground, or
confidence." There is scarcely any verse of the New Testament more
important than this, for it states what is the nature of all true faith,
and is the only definition of it which is attempted in the Scriptures.
Eternal life depends on the existence and exercise of faith, (Mr 16:16,)
and hence the importance of an accurate understanding of its nature. The
word rendered substance --upostasiv--occurs in the New Testament only in
the following places. In 2Co 9:4; 11:17; Heb 3:14, where it is rendered
confident and confidence; and in Heb 1:3, where it is rendered person,
and in the passage before us. Comp. See Barnes for Heb 1:3. Prof. Stuart
renders it here confidence; Chrysostom, "Faith gives reality or
substance to things hoped for." The word properly means that which is
placed under, (Germ. Unterstellen;) then ground, basis, foundation,
support. Then it means, also. reality, substance, existence, in
contradistinction from that which is unreal, imaginary, or deceptive, (tauschung.)
Passow. It seems to me, therefore, that the word here has reference to
something which imparts reality in the view of the mind to those things
which are not seen, and which serves to distinguish them from those
things which are unreal and illusive. It is that which enables us to
feel and act as if they were real, or which causes them to exert an
influence over us as if we saw them. Faith does this on all other
subjects as well as religion. A belief that there is such a place as
London or Calcutta, leads us to act as if this were so, if we have
occasion to go to either; a belief that money may be made in a certain
undertaking, leads men to act as if this were so: a belief in the
veracity of another leads us to act as if this were so. As long as the
faith continues, whether it be well-founded or not, it gives all the
force of reality to that which is believed. We feel and act just as if
it were so, or as if we saw the object before our eyes. This, I think,
is the clear meaning here. We do not see the things of eternity. We do
not see God, or heaven, or the angels, or the redeemed in glory, or the
crowns of victory, or the harps of praise; but we have faith in them,
and this leads us to act as if we saw them. And this is, undoubtedly,
the fact in regard to all who live by faith, and who are fairly under
its influence.
Of things hoped for. In heaven. Faith gives them reality in the view of
the mind. The Christian hopes to be admitted into heaven; to be raised
up in the last day from the slumbers of the tomb; to be made perfectly
free from sin; to be everlastingly happy. Under the influence of faith
he allows these things to control his mind as if they were a most
affecting reality.
The evidence of things not seen. Of the existence of God; of heaven; of
angels; of the glories of the world prepared for the redeemed. The word
rendered evidence elegcov occurs in the New Testament only in this place
and in 2Ti 3:16, where it is rendered reproof. It means, properly,
proof, or means of proving, to wit, evidence; then proof which convinces
another of error or guilt; then vindication or defence; then summary or
contents. See Pussow. The idea of evidence which goes to demonstrate the
thing under consideration, or which is adapted to produce conviction in
the mind, seems to be the elementary idea in the word. So when a
proposition is demonstrated; when a man is arraigned, and evidence is
furnished of his guilt, or when he establishes his innocence; or when
one by argument refutes his adversaries, the idea of convincing argument
enters into the use of the word in each case. This, I think, is clearly
the meaning of the word here. "Faith in the Divine declarations answers
all the purposes of a convincing argument, or is itself a convincing
argument to the mind, of the real existence of those things which are
not seen." But is it a good argument? Is it rational to rely on such a
means of being convinced? Is mere faith a consideration which should
ever convince a rational mind? The infidel says no; and we know there
may be a faith which is no argument of the truth of what is believed.
But when a man who has never seen it believes that there is such a place
as London, his belief in the numerous testimonies respecting it which he
has heard and read is, to his mind, a good and rational proof of its
existence, and he would act on that belief without hesitation. When a
son credits the declaration or the promise of a father who has never
deceived him, and acts as though that declaration and promise were true,
his faith is to him a ground of conviction and of action, and he will
act as if these things were so. In like manner the Christian believes
what God says. He has never seen heaven; he has never seen an angel; he
has never seen the Redeemer; he has never seen a body raised from the
grave; but he has evidence which is satisfactory to his mind that God
has spoken on these subjects, and his very nature prompts him to confide
in the declarations of his Creator. Those declarations are, to his mind,
more convincing proof than anything else would be. They are more
conclusive evidence than would be the deductions on his own reason; far
better and more rational than all the reasonings and declarations of the
infidel to the contrary. He feels and acts, therefore, as if these
things were so--for his faith in the declarations of God has convinced
him that they are so. The object of the apostle, in this chapter, is not
to illustrate the nature of what is called saving faith, but to show the
power of unwavering confidence in God in sustaining the soul, especially
in times of trial; and particularly in leading us to act, in view of
promises and of things not seen, as if they were so. "Saving faith" is
the same kind of confidence directed to the Messiah--the Lord Jesus--as
the Saviour of the soul.
{1} "substance" "ground"
{a} "things" Ro 8:24,25
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Jamieson-Faussett Brown:
Description of the great things which faith (in its widest sense: not
here restricted to faith in the Gospel sense) does for us. Not a full
definition of faith in its whole nature, but a description of its great
characteristics in relation to the subject of Paul's exhortation here,
namely, to perseverance.
substance, &c.--It substantiates promises of God which we hope for, as
future in fulfilment, making them present realities to us. However, the
Greek is translated in Heb 3:14, "confidence"; and it also here may mean
"sure confidence." So ALFORD translates. THOMAS MAGISTER supports
English Version, "The whole thing that follows is virtually contained in
the first principle; now the first commencement of the things hoped for
is in us through the assent of faith, which virtually contains all the
things hoped for." Compare Note, see on JFB for Heb 6:5, "tasted ...
powers of the world to come." Through faith, the future object of
Christian hope, in its beginning, is already present. True faith infers
the reality of the objects believed in and honed for (Heb 11:6). HUGO DE
ST. VICTOR distinguished faith from hope. By faith alone we are sure of
eternal things that they ARE: but by hope we are confident that WE SHALL
HAVE them. All hope presupposes faith (Ro 8:25).
evidence--"demonstration": convincing proof to the believer: the soul
thereby seeing what the eye cannot see.
things not seen--the whole invisible and spiritual world: not things
future and things pleasant, as the "things hoped for," but also the past
and present, and those the reverse of pleasant. "Eternal life is
promised to us, but it is when we are dead: we are told of a blessed
resurrection, but meanwhile we moulder in the dust; we are declared to
be justified, and sin dwells in us; we hear that we are blessed,
meantime we are overwhelmed in endless miseries: we are promised
abundance of all goods, but we still endure hunger and thirst; God
declares He will immediately come to our help, but He seems deaf to our
cries. What should we do if we had not faith and hope to lean on, and if
our mind did not emerge amidst the darkness above the world by the
shining of the Word and Spirit of God?" [CALVIN]. Faith is an assent
unto truths credible upon the testimony of God (not on the
reasonableness of the thing revealed, though by this we may judge as to
whether it be what it professes, a genuine revelation), delivered unto
us in the writings of the apostles and prophets. Thus Christ's ascension
is the cause, and His absence the crown, of our faith: because He
ascended, we the more believe, and because we believe in Him who hath
ascended, our faith is the more accepted [BISHOP PEARSON]. Faith
believes what it sees not; for if thou seest there is no faith; the Lord
has gone away so as not to be seen: He is hidden that He may be
believed; the yearning desire by faith after Him who is unseen is the
preparation of a heavenly mansion for us; when He shall be seen it shall
be given to us as the reward of faith [AUGUSTINE]. As Revelation deals
with spiritual and invisible things exclusively, faith is the faculty
needed by us, since it is the evidence of things not seen. By faith we
venture our eternal interests on the bare word of God, and this is
altogether reasonable.
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1599 Geneva Bible Notes:
Now (1) faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of
things not seen.
(1) An excellent description of faith by the effects, because it
represents things which are but yet in hope, and sets as it were before
our eyes things that are invisible.
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Spurgeon Devotional Commentary:
None for Hebrews 11:1.
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William Burkitt's Notes:
The thing described, or the subject spoken of, and that is faith; that
faith whereby the just man lives, the apostle here speaks of, though not
as justifying, but as it is effectually useful in our whole life,
especially unto constancy and perseverance in the Christian profession,
which was the great duty urged and enforced in the foregoing chapter.
Observe, 2. The description itself, it is the substance of things hoped
for.
1. That is, it is a confident and firm expectation of the good things
which God has promised, giving the good things hoped for, a real
subsistance in our minds and souls.
2. It is the evidence of things not seen; that is, it evidences the
reality and certainty of future things, it realizes the invisible
realities of another world unto our minds, and causes us to believe them
as strongly as what we see with our bodily eyes.
Learn hence, That a lively faith gives such a reality, certainty, and
present being to things hoped for, and yet to come, as if they were
visibly seen and actually enjoyed.
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Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary:
Faith always has been the mark of God's servants, from the beginning of
the world. Where the principle is planted by the regenerating Spirit of
God, it will cause the truth to be received, concerning justification by
the sufferings and merits of Christ. And the same things that are the
object of our hope, are the object of our faith. It is a firm persuasion
and expectation, that God will perform all he has promised to us in
Christ. This persuasion gives the soul to enjoy those things now; it
gives them a subsistence or reality in the soul, by the first-fruits and
foretastes of them. Faith proves to the mind, the reality of things that
cannot be seen by the bodily eye. It is a full approval of all God has
revealed, as holy, just, and good. This view of faith is explained by
many examples of persons in former times, who obtained a good report, or
an honourable character in the word of God. Faith was the principle of
their holy obedience, remarkable services, and patient sufferings. The
Bible gives the most true and exact account of the origin of all things,
and we are to believe it, and not to wrest the Scripture account of the
creation, because it does not suit with the differing fancies of men.
All that we see of the works of creation, were brought into being by the
command of God.
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