Daily Reading: Hebrews 11:1-3
“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for. By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.”
Chapter 11 begins with a definition of faith that links it with hope and then goes on to show how this trust in God enabled radical obedience.
Faith (pistis)
A: conviction or belief respecting man's relationship to God
B: a strong and welcome conviction or belief that Jesus is the Messiah, through whom we obtain eternal salvation in the kingdom of God
A conviction that Jesus is the Messiah, and that because of His work our relationship is in right standing with God, is the assurance of things hoped for.
Hoped for (elpizō) hopefully to trust in
How is Faith "Evidence"?
In Romans 1:20 it says, "we understand the invisible attributes of God by what has been made." And here in Hebrews 11:3 it says, we understand the invisible word of God behind creation by faith. Romans 1:20 seems to say that the evidence that God made the world is the things made - they clearly point to a Maker.
A facet of faith is the spiritual seeing or perceiving of the fingerprints of God on the things He has made.
Real faith is based on real truth. It looks deeply at the world God has made - and by the grace of God, it sees the glory of God (Psalm 19:1). The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Faith doesn't create what we hope for, as that would be that a mere mind game. Faith is a spiritual apprehending or perceiving or tasting or sensing of the beauty and sweetness and preciousness and goodness of what God promises. This includes above all His own fellowship, and the enjoyment of His own presence.