Created to Respond to the Word of God

By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible. (Hebrews 11:3)

The world was created by the Word of God. They are also upheld and sustained by the Word of God, the “Word of His power” (Hebrews 1:3). Therefore the world will always respond to the Word of God, which is its source.

The prophet Isaiah understood this, for He recorded these words from the Lord:

For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven,
And do not return there,
But water the earth;
And make it bring forth and bud,
That is may give seed to the sower
And bread to the eater,
So shall My Word be that goes forth from My mouth;
It shall not return to Me void,
But it shall accomplish what I please,
And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.

(Isaiah 55:10-11)

The natural elements of snow and rain fall from the heavens and do not return to return to heaven without accomplishing their intended purpose on earth. The Word of God is the same: It will aways do what God desires for it to do; it will always be fulfilled. The earth will always respond to it.

The apostle Paul also understood that the world responds to the Word of God. He gives the example of Abraham, who staked his destiny on that fact.

Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all (as it is written, “I have made you a father of many nations”) in the presence of Him whom he believed — God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did; who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, “So shall your descendants be.” (Romans 4:16-18)

Though Abraham had no children, and he and his wife were long past childbearing years, God spoke the promise, Abraham believed it , then the old, fruitless bodies of Abraham and Sarah responded to the Word, and their son Isaac was born to them, who became the father of many nations. That is how the Word of God works — it is creative! God calls those things that do not yet exist as though they did, and they come into existence. The whole world responds to His Word.

Everything consists of the Word of God and must always respond to it.

Framing Your World: The Word of God

By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible. (Hebrews 11:3)

The Bible says that the worlds were framed by words, more specifically, by the Word of God. The Greek word for “frame” means to render, fit together, equip, arrange, adjust, put in order, perfect, complete thoroughly. The worlds — the heavens and the earth — were put in order and brought to completion through the command of God. The word for “word” here is rhema and refers to the acutely articulated and precisely particularized word spoken by God. For example, when darkness covered the face of the deep, God said, “Light, be!” and there was light (Genesis 1:3). His rhema brought the darkness into order by establishing light.

Because the world was created and framed by the spoken word, it also responds to the spoken word. For example, Jesus rebuked the fever in Peter’s mother-in-law and commanded the wind and the waves. He also taught His disciples about the power of their words:

Have faith in God. For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, “Be removed and be cast into the sea, and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. (Mark 11:22-23)

The key, of course, is faith in God. Rendered literally, the Greek text has “faith of God.” That is, the God-kind of faith, or the kind of faith that comes from God. The Bible in Basic English translates it as “Have God’s faith.” The faith that comes from God comes by hearing the Word of God. Paul said, “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word [rhema] of God” (Romans 10:17). When we have the faith that comes from God, and we believe in our heart, then the words we speak with our mouth will be done.

That is how God made us to function. He created man in His image and likeness, that is, to be like Him. When he form Adam from the dust of the ground, He puffed His breath into Adam’s nostrils, and Adam became a “living being” (Genesis 2:7), or as ancient an Jewish commentary put it, a “speaking spirit.”

God created us to speak, and He gave us the mandate to subdue the earth and bring it into divine order (Genesis 1:28). The first assignment He gave Adam was to name the animals, that is, to bring them into divine order by the words with which he would call them (Genesis 2:19). God created the animals, but by naming and calling them, Adam determined what they were going to be about. By words, he established their purpose and destiny within the plan of God. To put it another way, Adam framed his world — the realm of his existence and the sphere of his influence — by the words of his mouth.

Of course, we know that Adam and Eve rebelled in the Garden of Eden, and by their disobedience disconnected from the life of God. From that day on, man began calling forth all sorts of things that God never intended to be upon the earth, framing the world by faithless, fearful words. But that is why Jesus came, to deliver us from the curse. Even in the Old Testament, God promised that a Redeemer would come, a Messiah who would rule and reign and restore the order of God’s kingdom on earth.

We are now living in that time. When the Lord Jesus Christ came two thousand years ago, He sacrificed Himself for our sins, then was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit and seated at the right hand of the Father in heaven (Ephesians 1:19-23).

Because of Jesus the Messiah, we can now speak words of faith, words that come from God’s own mouth. We can frame our world through rhema words and bring it into the order God in which God intended us to live.

Created and Upheld by the Power of Words

By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible. (Hebrews 11:3)

God … has in these last days spoken to us by His Son … who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the Word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. (Hebrews 1:1-3)

Notice that not only are the worlds created and upheld by the Word of His power, but our sins have been purged by the very one who spoke everything into existence. Our Creator has also become our Redeemer.

Truly, as the Scriptures say, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4; see also Deuteronomy 8:3)

The Restoration of Glory

For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. (Hebrews 2:10)

We were created to bear the glory of God. Indeed, we were created to be the glory of God on the earth. That is why we were created in the image of God, given the breath of God, and made to be “speaking spirits.” Adam and Eve were covered in divine glory, until the day they disobeyed God.

Then the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?”

So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and hid myself.” (Genesis 3:9-10)

Look again at why Adam was afraid. He did not say, “I was afraid because I disobeyed,” but “because I was naked.” When Adam sinned, he disconnected from God, and he immediately became aware that he was no longer clothed — the glory of God had departed!

Think of a light bulb that has been unscrewed from its socket. It is cut off from the power source and cannot function as it was intended. When that happens, we say that the lights are dead.

That is what happened with Adam and Eve. The day they sinned was the day they died. And that is the legacy they passed on to all of us. We are the heirs of their death. That is why the Bible says, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23) and “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23).

But, thank God, there is also another inheritance they left behind — the promise of restoration. God immediately had a plan to deliver them from their terrible predicament, but it would require a terrible price.

Adam and Eve, seeing that the glory was gone, tried to replace it with something sewn together out of fig leaves, but that crude covering could never do. A divine solution was needed, so God made tunics of skin, and that required the shedding of blood (Genesis 3:21). This was just a stopgap measure, but it pointed toward a divine covering. To the deceiving serpent, God said, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel” (Genesis 3:15).

This is the first promise of Messiah, the coming Deliverer, who save His people from their sins. And so, though the wages of sin is death, the Bible goes on to say, “but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

How does this happen? The Bible says, “For He [God] made Him [Jesus] who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21). A great exchange has taken place, and it happened on the cross:

Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”), that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might received the promise of the Spirit through faith. (Galatians 3:13-14)

Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. (Hebrews 2:14-15)

This is the message of the Gospel — the Good News. It is the return of the righteousness of God in our lives, and that is the restoration of the glory. That is why Paul declared,

But we are bond to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Thessalonians 2:13-14)

Therefore I endure all things for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. (2 Timothy 2:10)

For all those who receive the Lord Jesus Christ and trust in Him, that glory is now present, though it is not fully apparent. We are being conformed to the image of Jesus Christ, but it will not be fully revealed until He returns at the end of this present age. The apostle John said,

Beloved, now we are the children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. (1 John 3:2)

We were created to wear the glory of God. Though we have fallen far short, God has given His Son, Jesus, to bring us back to the Father and clothe us in His righteousness, to restore us to glory.

Giving Substance to Hope

Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1)

Many people have hope, but no faith, so their hope is vain. Hope without faith has no substance, no underlying reality to it. It is merely a wish, a desire which may or may not be fulfilled. It is faith that lays a foundation and gives substance to hope. Faith gives evidence about what is going on in the spiritual realm and must one day appear in the natural.

The Bible says that faith comes by hearing the Word of God (Romans 10:17). If you need real hope — hope that has substance, hope that has evidence — get into the Word of God and believe His promises. For whatever God says, comes to pass, and He has many wonderful things to say about those who turn to Him in faith.

Faith gives substance to hope.

A Covenant Without Curse

But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises. (Hebrews 8:6)

The old covenant God made with Israel was a marvelous covenant with many wonderful provisions and blessings for all who kept it (see Deuteronomy 28:1-14 for a good summary of these benefits). Alas, Israel was unable to keep the Law of Moses, so all that was left was the curse (see Deuteronomy 28:15-68). For God said,

I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and our descendants may live. (Deuteronomy 30:19)

The covenant that was meant for life and blessing became a covenant of cursing and death. However, Israel was not without hope. For the Mosaic Law made provision for sacrifices which would cover willful sin and inherent iniquity. These sacrifices were types which pointed toward a greater fulfillment that would one day come in the person and work of the Messiah (see Isaiah 53, where the prophet describes this work).

In his letter to the church at Galatia, Paul speaks directly to the issue of the blessing and the curse, and what Messiah (Christ) has done about them:

Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”), that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. (Galatians 3:13-14)

Where there is curse, there is no blessing, but where there is blessing, there is no curse. Jesus has freed us from the curse of the law and brought us into the blessing of Abraham (which predates the law by 400 years). Therefore, the curse has no right to be on those whom God has blessed.

Once we were under the curse, dead in trespasses and sins. But now we have a new and better covenant with God, mediated to us by the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. This covenant does not come up short in any way. It does not lack any of the benefits of the Old Covenant, but adds to them. In the New Covenant, there is no curse, for Jesus has completely taken all of the curses and nailed them to the Cross. In effect, He has cursed the curse, for the Bible says, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree.”

The curse no longer applies to those who have become the children of God through faith in Jesus Christ. The devil may try to tell you that you are still cursed, but you can be free from his deceit by reminding him that Jesus the Messiah has redeemed us from the curse. You may still find the effects of the curse still operating in your live (see Deuteronomy 28:15-68 for a thorough listing of these effects), but you now have the right to bring them under submission to the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. The power of the curse has been broken, and its right to be on you has been revoked.

Dear Lord Jesus,
I thank You that You have redeemed me from every curse, so that the wonderful blessing of Abraham can come upon me. Thank you for the Holy Spirit, who comes to empower and teach me how to walk in the life of blessing You have provided for me. Thank You for the new and better covenant You have established by Your blood on my behalf. I trust Your provision, and I receive this New Covenant and all its blessings. And now, in the authority of Jesus’ name, I tell the devil, the curse and all its effects to take a hike — they no longer have any right to be in my life. Thank You, Lord. Amen.

To go along with this article, listen to Choosing Life, a free MP3 download from our CD, Healing Scriptures and Prayers Vol. 2: New Testament Scriptures (Actually, it is based on an Old Testament passage, but it is a bonus track on CD 2).

Being Holy

By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. (Hebrews 10:10)

Many people think that holiness is about what we do: If we do enough good deeds, we are holy. But the truth is, you can no more become holy by your good works than you can become a banana by painting yourself yellow and hanging from a tree. It just doesn’t work that way.

The Bible says that we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ. It is not our doing but His doing that matters. He offered His body as a sacrifice so that we could be sanctified — made holy — before God. The Greek word for “holy” means to be set apart. To be holy means to be set apart for God’s special purposes.

Being holy does not flow forth from doing holy deeds. Holy deeds flow forth from being holy.

Consider the banana again. It is a banana, not because of what it does, but because it flows forth from the life of the tree. It begins as a bud, then flowers, then begins to come forth as fruit. It does not strive, it does not strain. It does not try to create itself. It simply receives the life of the tree, and that life does the work within it. It does not try to color itself yellow. Being yellow does not make it a banana, but the banana is yellow because that is its nature.

Holiness is the same way. We do not strain to become holy. We simply enter into the work of Jesus, and He makes us holy. As we allow His life to flow through us, we begin to live and act in ways that reveal God’s special purpose, the destiny He has prepared for us.

Holiness is all about Him, not about us. Jesus said, “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).

The Bible says that Jesus has offered His body “once for all.” That means that there is nothing else anybody can add to it. He has already done all that is necessary for us to be holy.

Stop trying to be holy — you’ll never make it. Instead, by faith enter into the holiness of King Jesus the Messiah. Then let His life work in you to bring forth the fruit of a powerful, world-changing destiny. For without Him, you can do nothing.

Seeing the Invisible

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

Rabbi Daniel Lapin describes faith in a very similar way:

The word faith itself simply means the ability to see something presently still invisible as clearly as if it were already here. (Buried Treasure: Secrets for Living from the Lord’s Language, p. 107)

This makes perfect sense when you consider what the world is made up of. For as the author of Hebrews says:

By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible. (Hebrews 11:3)

The Word of God is invisible — it cannot be perceived with our physical senses. Yet, it is the substance, the underlying reality of the entire universe. The invisible Word of God is what faith is all about--faith is believing that Word. Therefore, when we walk in faith in God’s Word, we are relating to the world in the most effective way. That is why Paul said that we walk by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). That is why Oral Roberts said that when we learn to see the invisible, we will be able to do the impossible.

Learn to see the invisible, by faith in the Word of God, and you will change the world.

Faith and Sight

For we walk by faith, not by sight. (2 Corinthians 5:7)

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

Faith is not about seeing in the natural; it is about seeing beyond the natural. The problem many people have is that they are trying to see with their senses instead of with their spirit. Faith is seeing in the spirit.

In Hebrews 11, the author addresses the matter of faith and sight. In verse 1, faith is the substance, the underlying reality, the “title-deed” of things we expect to see but do not yet appear.

In verse 3, we see that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which are visible. The very nature and origin of the universe is such that what is seen is fully dependent upon something that cannot be seen, the Word of God.

In verse 5, we learn that Enoch was translated to glory with God, “so that he did not see death.” He pleased God because He had faith, believing what God said. He came to such a place in his life and in his walk with the Lord, and was so tied into the Spirit of life, that he saw completely past death, and it did not touch him.

For without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. (Hebrews 11:6)

Enoch received the reward because, instead of trying to perceive reality with his senses, he decided to seek after God. He saw with his spirit, by faith.

Of Abraham — “by faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country” (v.9) It was given to him in promise, but by all appearances it did not look anything at all like it belonged to him. But he was able to patiently abide there because he was looking “for the city which has foundations, whose builder is God” (v. 10). He saw in the spirit that it was so.

Neither Abraham nor Sarah looked at their aged, worn bodies, but believed the promise of God that she would conceive and give birth to a son. “Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born as many as the stars in the sky in multitude — innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore” (v. 12).

Of Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, and Jacob —

These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. (vv. 13-14)

In this life, they did not see the full achievement of all that was promised. But they saw past the natural, even past the age in which they were living. The promises were far off, but they saw them anyway. They were assured, persuaded, convinced of them. They embraced and welcomed them. They confessed that it was so, that it fully belonged to them, even though they had no personal experience of it. They declared that they were strangers here because they were seeking a homeland in the promises of God. They saw it all in the spirit and rejoiced.

By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received promises, offered up his only begotten son … concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead. (vv. 17-19)

Abraham had never seen a dead man raised before. But he was through following his senses. He was now following the promises of God.

By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come. (v. 20)

Isaac did not see these things in the natural, but in the spirit. He spoke them by faith. In their turn, Jacob and Joseph saw by faith and declared what they saw (vv. 21-23). And it all came to pass.

By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward. By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible. By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, lest he who destroyed the firstborn should touch them. By faith they passed through the Red Sea as by dry land, whereas the Egyptians, attempting to do so, were drowned. (vv. 24-29)

In the natural, Moses could see the pleasures of sin and all the treasures of Egypt. He could also see the reproach of Christ, and Pharaoh’s wrath. But he looked past those things to the reward that comes by faith, not by sight. He endured because he looked in the spirit and saw the invisible God, by whom all things were created.

In the natural, he had never before seen the events which are described in the Passover. He had never before seen the Red Sea part, leaving a pathway of dry ground all the way to the other side. But he believed and obeyed the Word of God, so He saw it all come to pass.

Oral Roberts said, “When you can see the invisible, you can do the impossible.” That is what happened with all these heroes of faith. They looked past the natural and into the spirit. They saw by faith all the things God promised them. His invisible words were more real to them than all they experienced by their senses, their emotions, their thoughts. They saw the invisible, so they were able to do the impossible.

Walk by faith, not by sight. Look into the spirit and see all that God has promised in His Word. Embrace it joyfully and, with every word that comes out of your lips, confess that it belongs to you.

Faith Brings Expectation

Expectation is the sign that your faith has been activated. The Bible says that “Faith is the substance of things hoped for” (Hebrews 11:1). The word for “hope” means to have an anticipation, a positive expectation.

Jesus also related faith to expectation. He said, “Whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says” (Mark 11:23).

If you get down and pray about something, then get up and have no expectation that it is going to happen, then you have not activated your faith for it. If you pray and then say, “Well, I guess we’ll see what happens,” you don’t have a living expectation, and you have not yet released your faith into the situation.

Faith is the substance, the underlying reality of the things you expect to see come to pass. Expectation is the evidence that your faith has been activated as is powerfully at work to bring it to pass.

Faith is Word-based. It comes by hearing the Word of God, and God’s Word is completely trustworthy. So when we take God at His Word, and release it into our lives by what we say, we can be confident that we will have whatever we say. That expectation is the sign of a lively and active faith at work. If you have no expectation, the answer is simple. Go back to the Word until faith comes, then turn it loose by your words.

Faith Partners With Patience

Imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. (Hebrews 6:12)

Faith and patience go together. That is part of the nature of faith. Faith is not about what you can see right now, it is about what you cannot yet see. Remember, “Faith is the substance of things hoped [expected], the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1).

Faith is expecting that which you do not yet see, and so it takes some time between the believing and the seeing.

Faith is a seed. Have you ever heard of a seed that you can plant and immediately see harvest? Of course not. You plant the seed, then go about your business, letting the seed do its work in the soil. It germinates, then it sprouts, then it comes up on stem, then it puts forth its leaf, then it flowers, then it comes into fruit, and then the fruit is ready for the harvest. The rate at which this all happens varies from seed to seed, but every seed goes through this process. That takes time, and so what really we need is patience.

Hebrews 11 is often called the “Hall of Fame of Faith” because of its litany of Old Testament saints who walked by faith and saw it through to the end. But did you know that the context of this great chapter is about patience?

The author of Hebrews was writing to scattered Jewish believers who were suffering persecution because of their faith in Christ. They were severely tempted to give up and go back to their old ways. Hebrews was written to encourage them to continue in their faith. That’s why, in chapter 6, the author called for them to “imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”

Directly on either side of Hebrews 11, almost serving as bookends, we discover the theme of patience still at work. We find it under the term “endurance.” The Greek word is hupomone, which is elsewhere translated “perseverance” and “patience.”

Near the end of chapter 10, we find:

Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance [hupomone], so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise. (Hebrews 10:35-36)

Then immediately after chapter 12, we read:

Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance [hupomone] the race that is set before us. (Hebrews 12:1)

Patience is very important to the faith process. When Jesus spoke to the fig tree, in Mark 11, He immediately received what He said. For Jesus said, in that same passage, “Whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them” (v. 24). Notice that “receive” is in the present tense. The NASB says, “have received.” In any case, the receiving is not future tense.

So Jesus immediately received what He said. But He did not immediately see what He said. Seeing it would come later. So Jesus, knowing that faith requires patience, simply went on about His business, and continuing to believe what He said. It was not until the next day, when He and the disciples were passing by again, that they saw that the fig tree had indeed withered.

• When did Jesus receive what He spoke it out in faith? Immediately.
• When did Jesus see it come to pass? Not until the next day.
• In between there was patience.
  

If you believe the Word and walk by faith, exercising patience, you will eventually see the fulfillment of what you have believed. But if you walk by sight, letting circumstances and emotions dictate how you are going think and what you are going to expect, then you will probably never see what you believed for come to pass — all for lack of patience.

When you have exercised your faith in the promises of God, keep yourself focused on His Word. Don’t let anything else that you see or hear move you or trouble you in any way. Your circumstances must eventually line up with the Word of God and your faith in it, so be patient, knowing that you will see it happen.

Faith Pleases God

But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those diligently seek Him. (Hebrews 11:6)

Faith pleases God. In fact, without faith, it is impossible to please Him. But the Bible says that, by faith, “the elders obtained a good testimony” (Hebrews 11:2). That is, God was pleased because they believed Him.

This is what happened with Enoch. “By faith Enoch was translated so that he did not see death … for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God” (v. 5). This is the evidence that Enoch was full of faith: He pleased God.

The Greek word “please” is emphatic. It is not about being merely pleased, but being well-pleased, fully and entirely gratified. God takes the greatest pleasure when we believe Him. Biblical faith arouses God’s pleasure and fully satisfies Him.

Faith is the only basis by which we may approach God. We do not come on the strength of who we are and what we have done. We come because of who He is and what He has done.

He does not delight in the strength of the horse;
He takes no pleasure in the legs of a man.
The LORD takes pleasure in those who fear Him,
In those who hope in His mercy. (Psalm 147:10-11)

The Bible says that those who call on the name of the LORD shall be saved (Joel 2:32; Acts 2:21). We call on His name, with faith that He is there, and that He is who He says He is. We call on His name, trusting that He will do what He says He will do.

So, faith is not about us and our works, but about God and His Word. Faith is believing the Word of God, for that is how faith comes, by hearing the Word (Romans 10:17). God is fully pleased with those who believe His Word and greatly displeased with those who don’t.

God rewards those who diligently seek Him, that is, those who seek Him by faith. This means that our focus is on God alone — His will, His way, His Word — and not on ourselves. The heart that diligently seeks God says:

• God’s ways are higher than my ways; I want God’s ways.
• God’s thoughts are higher than my thoughts; I want God’s thoughts.
• God’s works are greater than my works; I want God’s works.

At Lakewood Church, in Houston, Texas, Pastor Joel Osteen begins every service by holding up his Bible and making this powerful declaration: “This is my Bible. I am what it says I am; I have what it says I have; I can do what it says I can do.”

This is the kind of faith that pleases God and lays hold of His reward.

Faith — taking God at His Word — pleases God. Trust completely in Him, and in yourself not at all. Believe that He is who He says He is and that He will do for you what He says He will do. That simple faith will please God, and His pleasure will result in your delight.

Faith is Evidence

Faith is … the evidence of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1)

The Greek word for “evidence” is elegchos, which means proof or conviction. A. T. Robertson translates this phrase as “the proving of things not seen.”

The English word “evidence” refers to that which is obvious or can be seen. This might seem to be a funny way for the author of Hebrews to talk about things which are not seen. But he is making a point about things which can be seen with the natural eye, and things which are seen apart from the natural eye. He is talking about seeing things in the Spirit.

Just as faith is the substance, or underlying reality, of the promises of God which we expect to see fulfilled, faith also makes evident, or obvious to our spirit, the things which we cannot yet see in the natural. Faith is able to make it obvious to us on the spiritual level because faith is itself a spiritual matter. It comes from the Spirit of God by hearing the Word of God (Romans 10:17).

The Greek word used here for “things” is pragma, which is where we get our English word “pragmatic.” It refers to things which are under consideration, things which have been, or are being accomplished.

These things are accomplished on the spiritual level even though they are not yet visible on the natural level. This is the true nature of things — first the spiritual, then the natural. The natural comes forth from the spiritual, because all the natural realm was created by God, who is Spirit.

Hebrews 11:3 says, “By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.” In other words, everything that is now seen comes from that which is invisible, namely, the Word of God.

Faith lays hold of the Word of God, and makes it obvious to us that what God has promised is being accomplished at the spiritual level, even though we do not yet see it at the natural level.

Paul understood this well, for he instructed the Corinthian believers, “We walk by faith, not by sight.” First comes faith, then comes sight.

Jesus taught the disciples this same principle, although in a bit different way. “Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them” (Mark 11:24).

Notice the tense of Jesus’ words. He did not say, “Believe that you will receive” (future tense) but rather, “Believe that you receive” (present tense). The NASB has this as “believe that you have received.”

This is significant. The receiving does not happen when we see it manifest in the natural. The receiving occurs when we pray believing. First comes believing, then comes receiving.

Believing leads to receiving; faith leads to sight; the spiritual leads to the natural. The pattern is consistent throughout. What we see by faith in the spiritual, we will eventually see by sight in the natural. Faith is the evidence.

Faith is Substance

Faith is the substance of things hoped for. (Hebrews 11:1)

The Greek word for substance is hupostasis and refers to the underlying (hupo) state (stasis) of a thing. Similarly break down the English word “substance” and we find: sub (under) and stance (stand). Substance is that which stands under a thing.

In Greek, the word hupostasis had a legal meaning which signified a foundational document, such as a title-deed. That is why Greek scholars Moulton and Milligan rendered this translation: “Faith is the title-deed of things hoped for.”

A title-deed is an important document. It shows ownership. For example, I have a car sitting in my driveway. I know that it is my car because I possess the title-deed, which demonstrates my ownership. If anybody wants to do anything with my car, they have to come and see me, because the car belongs to me. If I decide to sell the car or give it away to somebody, I will have to sign the title-deed over to them, because that will be their proof of ownership

If I have the title-deed to a piece of property, I do not even have to see the property to know that it belongs to me. I know it is mine by reason of the title-deed. As long as I possess that title-deed, there is no question that I am the owner.

Let’s talk a little bit about hope. Today we often use the word “hope” in a wavering, doubtful sort of way: “Gee, I certainly hope such and such will happen, but maybe it won’t.” Not so in the Bible. The Greek word for “hope” in the New Testament is elpis. It refers to an anticipation, a positive expectation. The same is true of the Hebrew word for “hope” in the Old Testament. In the Bible, “hope” is not a word of doubt, but of confidence, and that is how it is used in Hebrews 11:1.

Now, let’s put it all together: Faith is the substance, the underlying reality, the title-deed of things we are expecting.

Remember that we are talking about Biblical faith, that is, the kind of faith the Bible talks about. It is the faith that comes by hearing the Word of God, the faith that believes the promises of God.

When we believe what God has promised in His Word, we possess the title-deed to whatever it is that He has promised. That thing is ours, it belongs to us. Because we have believed God’s promise, we have every right and expectation to see it come to pass. It makes no difference whether or not we have seen it yet, it belongs to us anyway.

Do you have faith that what God says is true? What promises of God are you specifically believing Him for? Do you expect to see them happen, or are you still uncertain? Remember that faith (believing the Word of God) is your title-deed to what God has promised, then your hope will be sure.