Expert: John Zalewski - 2/20/2011

Question
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1) I Actually have two questions about this verse. 1) since substance is a physical thing, what exactly is that physical substance we are hoping for? 2)And what are the things 'not seen' What things are those? Thankyou very much.

Answer
Hello, Pete.

When we study the Bible carefully, we find that faith is not an nebulous kind of thing; the Bible defines faith as work. It is therefore 'something.' It has substance.

I Thessalonians 1:3: Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father.

II Thessalonians 1:11: Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness, and the work of faith with power.

Notice the phrase 'work of faith' in both passages. Furthermore, the faith of salvation which Hebrews 11:1, and other passages is referring to is the faith of Christ. It is His faith, His work, which makes the difference whether or not a person becomes saved. Galatians 2:16 teaches that we are saved by the faith of Christ.

2) The 'things not seen' would be, for example, Heaven, God, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, our new soul which we receive upon salvation, etc. We can see none of these with our naked eye, but if we have faith, then we know that they exist, and our faith is the evidence of the reality of these objects.

II Corinthians 4:18 (speaking about a saved person): While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.

"To look" at the things which are not seen means to focus our attention on eternal things, not to literally look at them.

I Corinthians 2:9: 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.

I hope this helps.

May God bless you,
John

Exodus 3:1: Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb.