Day 2: What is faith?

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1

“I will walk by faith, not by sight.” (2 Corinthians 5:7)

“The eleventh chapter of Hebrews deals exclusively with the theme of faith. “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.’” (Hebrews 11:1 NKJV).

This verse tells us two main things about faith:

“Faith is the substance of things hoped for.” Faith is so real that it is actually called a substance.

The Greek word literally means “that which stands under” something else or “provides the basis for” something else. We may say that faith is the “underlying reality” of things hoped for.

Faith is “the evidence of things not seen.” Faith deals with things we cannot see.

There is a contrast between the things that are seen and the things that are not seen. That’s why we need faith:

“By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.” (Hebrews 11:3)

Our senses connect us to the visible world, to “what is seen.” But faith takes us behind the visible to the invisible—to the underlying reality by which the whole universe was formed, that is, the Word of God.

Thus, faith relates to two eternal, invisible realities: to God Himself and to His Word. In secular speech we speak of faith in many other contexts. We can talk about having faith in the economy, in a medicine, or in a political leader. But in the Bible faith is related solely and exclusively to two realities we cannot see with the natural eye: to God and to God’s Word.