Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Hebrews 11:3

Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

3. Through faith ] In this chapter we find fifteen special instances of the work of faith, besides the summary enumeration in the 32nd and following verses.

we understand ] ‘we apprehend with the reason’. See Rom 1:20.

that the worlds were framed ] The word for “worlds” means literally ages (Heb 1:2), i.e. the world regarded from the standpoint of human history. The “time-world” necessarily presumes the existence of the space-world also. See Heb 1:2.

were framed ] “have been established” (Heb 13:21; Psa 74:16; LXX.).

by the word of God ] Rather, “by the utterance ( rhemati) of God,” namely by His fiat, as in Genesis 1; Psa 33:6; Psa 33:9; 2Pe 3:5. There is no question here as to the creation of the world by the Logos, for he purposely alters the word used by the LXX. in Psalms 33 into rhemati.

so that things which are seen ] The true reading and literal translation are “so that not from things which appear hath that which is seen come into being,” a somewhat harsh way of expressing that “the visible world did not derive its existence from anything phenomenal.” In other words, the clause denies the pre-existence of matter. It says that the world was made out of nothing, not out of the primeval chaos. So in 2Ma 7:28 the mother begs her son “to look upon the heaven and earth and all that is therein, and consider that God made them out of things that are not ” ( ). If this view be correct, the writer would seem purposely to avoid Philo’s way of saying that the world was made out of , “things conceived as non-existent,” by which he meant the “formless matter” (as in Wis 11:17 ). He says that the world did not originate from anything phenomenal. This verse, so far from being superfluous, or incongruous with what follows, strikes the keynote of faith by shewing that its first object must be a Divine and Infinite Creator. Thus like Moses in Genesis 1 the verse excludes from the region of faith all Atheism, Pantheism, Polytheism, and Dualism.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed – The first instance of the strength of faith which the apostle refers to is that by which we give credence to the declarations in the Scriptures about the work of creation; Gen 1:1. This is selected first, evidently because it is the first thing that occurs in the Bible, or is the first thing there narrated in relation to which there is the exercise of faith. He points to no particular instance in which this faith was exercised – for none is especially mentioned – but refers to it as an illustration of the nature of faith which every one might observe in himself. The faith here exercised is confidence in the truth of the divine declarations in regard to the creation. The meaning is, that our knowledge on this subject is a mere matter of faith in the divine testimony. It is not that we could reason this out, and demonstrate that the worlds were thus made; it is not that profane history goes back to that period and informs us of it; it is simply that God has told us so in his word. The strength of the faith in this case is measured:

(1)By the fact that it is mere faith – that there is nothing else on which to rely in the case, and,

(2)By the greatness of the truth believed.

After all the acts of faith which have ever been exercised in this world, perhaps there is none which is really more strong, or which requires higher confidence in God, than the declaration that this vast universe has been brought into existence by a word!

We understand – We attain to the apprehension of; we receive and comprehend the idea. Our knowledge of this fact is derived only from faith, and not from our own reasoning.

That the worlds – In Gen 1:1, it is the heaven and the earth. The phrase which the apostle uses denotes a plurality of worlds, and is proof that he supposed there were other worlds besides our earth. How far his knowledge extended on this point, we have no means of ascertaining, but there is no reason to doubt that he regarded the stars as worlds in some respects like our own. On the meaning of the Greek word used here, see the notes on Heb 1:2. The plural form is used there also, and in both cases, it seems to me, not without design.

Were framed – It is observable that the apostle does not here use the word make or create. That which he does use – katartizo – means to put in order, to arrange, to complete, and may be applied to that which before had an existence, and which is to be put in order, or re-fitted; Mat 4:24; Mar 1:19; Mat 21:6; Heb 10:5. The meaning here is, that they were set in order by the Word of God. This implies the act of creation, but the specific idea is that of arranging them in the beautiful order in which they are now. Doddridge renders it adjusted. Kuinoel, however, supposes that the word is used here in the sense of form, or make. It has probably about the meaning which we attach to the phrase fitting up anything, as, for example, a dwelling, and includes all the previous arrangements, though the thing which is particularly denoted is not the making, but the arrangemenent. So in the work here referred to. We arrive at the conviction that the universe was prepared or arranged in the present manner by the Word of God.

By the word of God – This does not mean here, by the Logos, or the second person of the Trinity, for Paul does not use that term here or elsewhere. The word which he employs is rema – rema – meaning properly a word spoken, and in this place command; compare Gen 1:3, Gen 1:6,Gen 1:9, Gen 1:11, Gen 1:14, Gen 1:20; Psa 33:6. By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth. In regard to the agency of the Son of God in the work of the creation, see the notes on Heb 1:2; compare the notes on Joh 1:3.

So that things which are seen – The point of the remark here is, that the visible creation was not moulded out of pre-existing materials, but was made out of nothing. In reference to the grammatical construction of the passage, see Stuart, Commentary in loc. The doctrine taught is, that matter was not eternal; that the materials of the universe, as well as the arrangement, were formed by God, and that all this was done by a simple command. The argument here, so far as it is adapted to the purpose of the apostle, seems to be, that there was nothing which appeared, or which was to be seen, that could lay the foundation of a belief that God made the worlds; and in like manner our faith now is not to be based on what; appears, by which we could infer or reason out what would be, but that we must exercise strong confidence in Him who had power to create the universe out of nothing. If this vast universe has been called into existence by the mere word of God, there is nothing which we may not believe he has ample power to perform.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

Heb 11:3

The worlds were framed by the word of God

Spirit in matter:

The whole order of the natural world and mans physical being may be said to be the expression of chemical combination, and of the various forces resulting therefrom.

The whole is presented to us, after scientific examination, as a most elaborate and exquisite piece of mechanism. Some would also explain mans mental and moral life as only a higher development of this same mechanism. To prevent misunderstanding, I may state that, while I am willing to admit that these higher parts of mans life are affected by, and partly dependent upon, this mechanism of things, it seems to me certain that the phenomena of human life require us to believe that there is, over and above that which is mechanical, a free spirit. What I seek at present is a common ground with scientists, from which to start in an inquiry; and that I find in admitting the mechanism of all physical being. This mechanical and orderly system of being is generally known as the material world. All parts of the universe are in an intimate relation with each other. This relation is commonly conceived of as government by laws. There are, for example, what are termed the laws of gravitation and magnetic attraction, and the laws of combining proportion. Now, it is necessary to keep before us the strictly scientific idea of the laws of nature; that they are in fact nothing more than the observed mode of action of the forces in nature. They have no real existence of themselves, apart, that is, from the things in which they are observed. For example, there is, so far as science teaches, no material bond between the stone and the earth which are attracted to each other; no link like a string reaching from the one to the other. The stone is not drawn by an elastic-like band which connects it with the earth; but something in the inner nature of the matter causes them to approach. The same is true of magnetic attraction, and also of chemical affinity. So far we have kept strictly to the results of science. It is now that we proceed a step further by inference from what science has taught explicitly to something which its teaching implies. We find that the stone and the earth, the magnet and the iron, and also chemical atoms, enter into those relations which result from attraction or affinity only by reason of what is in them. What, then, is in them by which they can do these things? The earth attracts the stone which has been thrown a distance from it, and the stone, instead of continuing to ascend, comes back of itself towards the earth. This attraction is because the stone is affected by the earth, by a body of matter which is in a certain direction. The effect of the earths presence is sufficient to direct the stone to itself; i.e., the earth so affects the inner state of the stone that it is sensible of an attraction of a certain degree and in a particular direction. It knows it is attracted, and its movement is the result of that consciousness. And it knows in what direction it is attracted, and so takes the right path. The phenomena of gravitation and magnetism evidence therefore a degree of conscious life in matter. But the most comprehensive and fundamental kind of attraction is chemical affinity, since all material organisation is built up from it. And it is also the most wonderful, and even skilful, in operation. The atoms which combine by affinity to form water must have a sense of affinity sufficient to cause them to unite; they must be aware of the effect upon them of the others presence, or they would remain unmoved. And so with all chemical combinations, both of atoms and molecules; they must have a degree of consciousness to enter into union, to remain in union, and also to allow them to be disunited chemically. The action and reaction of all parts of the physical universe, because it is from the inner states of matter, necessitates the existence of a certain measure and kind of consciousness and intelligence in all matter. We have thus crossed the boundary into a spiritual sphere; but we must advance yet further. That these inner states of atoms, which we find to be conscious states, are not separate and independent of each other, science shows most clearly. All atoms of any given element act exactly alike and are affected exactly alike. There is then one conscious mind in each kind of element. But to go another step we observe in the chemical combinations of various elements that they have all an inner relation to each other, according to which each element is affected, and affected in one particular way, by its combinations with others. There is, in other words, a necessity in the relations of all chemical elements to each other–a necessity which is the ruling of their inner states. All these inner states and their movements and combinations are in some sort Of unity. And as it is the unity of conscious being in manifoldness, there is a large consciousness which is inclusive of all. But we must examine these atoms a little closer. What they are we have seen to some extent. Can we find out more about them? Can we discover their origin? We are informed that atoms–all atoms–are vortices of ether. Ether is something which pervades all space and permeates all things. It is, and yet is itself non-phenomenal–it has none of the properties of matter. It is therefore the invisible substans, or that which stands under all atomic being as its cause and foundation. It is a living entity, with consciousness and will, and the power to create out of itself an order of life different from itself. Here we come to the fact of spiritual Being as the basis and origin of the vast mechanism of nature; for mechanism never makes mind, but always proceeds from mind. And yet we do not say that ether is God, or that God is ether; but we say that it is essential to those functions which ether is credited with, that it shall be pervaded by that living and moving consciousness which demands the idea of God. We see, then, how science permits us, and indeed requires us, to believe that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear; and that the position to which faith leads us is borne out by the facts of science–that the worlds were framed by the word of God. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth, is still, and ever will be, true for us; as also that He upholdeth all things by the word of His power. His works rivet our gaze and excite our wonder; yet not they, but He is the object of our worship and our chief good. Before Him, higher than all creation, yet present in all, so that He is not far from any one of us–before Him we bow in deep adoration. (R. Vaughan, M. A.)

The mystery of creation revealed to faith

The word rendered worlds means life, then that through which life extends–an age, a cycle of ages, and next the stage on which life appears–the world. Of course the author of this Epistle was not thinking of the worlds which modern astronomy has discovered in the heavenly bodies, but of this world in its successive ages, and possibly of unseen worlds inhabited by spiritual intelligences. To frame means to found or create, as a city may be said to be created by its founder. Things which do appear, is the translation of a word which is naturalised in our own language as phenomena. We might, then, read the text thus: Through faith we understand that the worlds were created by the word of God, so that that which is seen–the visible universe–did not originate from existing phenomena. The present order of things–the configuration of rocks and hills, of rivers, seas, and plains–has been brought about by the altered disposition of previous land andwater; the vegetation which clothes the earth, and the living creatures which roam upon it or swarm in its waters, are all descended from former generations of vegetable and animal life–the whole of that which is now seen has sprung immediately from similar phenomena; but it has not always been so. The living world we see around us was originally founded by the Word of God. This is one way of reading the text. Another is, to understand it as denying the eternity of matter, and affirming the creation of the world out of nothing. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth, when there was nothing to make them with. He spake and it was done, He commanded and it stood fast. But whether we understand the phrase, things which do appear, to stand for natural phenomena or for the material elements, the conclusion is the same, that the visible order of creation came into existence by the simple fiat of the Almighty. Our knowledge of such a fact may be a spiritual intuition or it may rest solely on the testimony of revelation. Either way, it is knowledge of a thing not seen and only perceived by faith. The origin of all we behold around and above us must ever be an undiscoverable secret to the researches of the astronomer, the geologist, and the chemist. For though science may some day learn to read the changeful history of our globe with tolerable accuracy, it can never extract from it the story of its birth. All it can do is to take things to pieces. But simply taking a watch to pieces will tell us nothing of the nature and origin of the metals and gems of which it is made; neither will anatomy discover the nature of life, nor chemical analysis explain the origin of the ultimate forms of matter. They are as inscrutable by such analysis as metals and gems are by the tools of the mechanic. Creation out of nothing is at once inexplicable and incomprehensible. No strictly creative act comes under our observation in any of the phenomena of nature. Philosophy, unaided by the higher teaching of faith, has always taken for granted the eternity of matter. It has uniformly declared that things which are seen were made of things which do appear. The first philosopher with whose speculations we are acquainted maintained that water was the origin of all things. The substitution of gases for water is the necessary result of modern chemistry; it does not make the speculation one whit the wiser, nor, again, the resolution of these gases into primordial atoms. The later speculation which ascribed the origin of all things to fire or heat is just as plausible and just as false. The authors of these theories, ancient or modern, were all on the wrong track. They were seeking in the paths of observation and inductive reasoning the answer to a question which is beyond their range. The only certain answer is that which faith may have guessed, and which revelation endorses. The most illiterate peasant who hears and ponders the declaration of Gods Word, In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth, is as wise in this matter as the most learned scientist the world contains. Observe, how strictly practical revelation is. That which no science could discover, which only minds finely organised and deeply imbued with spiritual feeling could guess, but which still was necessary for men to know, that they might give to God the glory due to His name, it reveals; but what human intelligence and perseverance would be sure in time to discover, it leaves untouched. The Scripture account of creation is a retrospective prophecy, turning its gaze towards an unknown past instead of towards an unknown future. I regard the Mosaic narrative as a sublime poem on Gods creative work, as accurate in the letter of it as was consistent with its being intelligible to minds unacquainted with scientific discovery, and truer to the real moral significance of creation than any account which science has yet been able to render. But I am concerned to give this subject a more practical bearing. To doubt the opening words of Scripture, In the beginning, &c., is not your temptation; but it is your temptation, for it is every mans, to feel and act as though the things that are seen were made of things which do appear. In one sense, indeed, they are, but in another and more important sense, they are not. In one sense, all you see has come from things like them whence you can trace their origin; and, whatever the forms of animate or inanimate objects around you, they all consist of materials which were in existence before them. Properly speaking, no new materials have been called into existence since God first weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance. The original atoms of our globe still exist. They are neither more nor fewer than in the first moment of creation. Ever entering into fresh combinations, they are either held in solution in the air and form the rainbow arch, or having fallen and mingled with the soil they appear in the lowly herb and spreading tree; thence they are assimilated to nourish or protect animal life, and are cast off again to pursue the same round of endless change. But the power which gives them substance and form, the force which imparts to light, heat, and electricity their characteristic energies, the plastic power which possesses plants and animals, so that they appropriate surrounding materials and mould them after their own form and structure–in short, the vital energy which fills all nature, is a thing unseen, by which all we behold is made and sustained in existence. By the Word of God the worlds were made, and by that Word they stand fast. Things seen are not made of things that appear, in anything more than the order of their appearance. They spring from the unseen creative energy of God, operating through those familiar methods which His wisdom has adopted. (E. W. Shalders, B. A.)

The work of creation:

I. WHAT SCRIPTURE IS TO BE ACTUALLY CONSIDERED AS TEACHING US RESPECTING THIS SUBJECT.

1. Let us set out by remarking that the object of this inspired account of the worlds framing or formation is not scientific, but religious. The Bible is meant for the instruction of those of every age, country, and class; it is not meant to teach only a few superior minds, but to afford spiritual food for the whole human race. It is meant to be a book of duty, not a system of natural philosophy.

2. It is also to be borne in mind that the sacred narrative of the creation is chiefly and prominently to be regarded as of a moral, spiritual, and prophetical kind. Mans original relation to his Maker, as a responsible being, is directly taught; his restoration from moral chaos to spiritual beauty is figuratively represented; while, as a prophecy, it has an extent of meaning which will only be fully unfolded at a period yet future; perhaps that spoken of as the times of the restitution of all things.

II. THE MANNER IN WHICH GODS WORK IN CREATION DISPLAYS AND CALLS UPON US TO CONSIDER HIS PERFECTIONS.

1. Creation exhibits to us God as supreme in power. When we reflect how much labour and difficulty generally accompany the forth-putting of human power, the idea of creative power becomes peculiarly impressive. Surely reverence and adoration should be prompted, together with humility and trust.

2. The work of creation also exhibits to us God as supreme in wisdom. Everywhere we trace the working of One who is perfect in knowledge. In even the smaller parts of the Creators workmanship we trace the operation of a wisdom, alike in larger and in smaller objects; in the star, and in the insect; in the elephant, and in the fly; in the mightiest of forest trees, and in the smallest tuft, or even blade of grass. There is nothing lost sight of; nothing has been imperfectly done; each thing answers a defined end. This wisdom of God shown in creation is assuredly not meant to be devoid of influence upon His rational, responsible creatures; it should teach submission on the part of man, and beget pious trust in his heart.

3. The work of creation likewise exhibits to us God as supreme in goodness. Most justly is the earth said to be full of the goodness of the Lord; inasmuch as throughout the system of things we behold what must, at the least, be pronounced, on the whole, to be fitted to promote the good of both rational and animated beings. There are what may seem to be defects; but the latter arise out of the infirmity, sinfulness, and dereliction of the creature. (A. R. Bonar.)

Faith revealing God as Creator

I. CONSIDER THE STATEMENT THAT IT IS ONLY THROUGH FAITH WE KNOW THAT THE WORLD WAS CREATED BY GOD.

1. Reason could not discover the Creator.

2. Scripture reveals the Creator.

3. Faith knows God as Creator by her simple dependence on

Scripture declaration.

II. CONSIDER THE PRACTICAL USES OF THIS TRUTH.

1. It teaches the nature of faith.

2. It teaches the character of God.

3. It teaches the consolation of the saints.

4. It teaches the condemnation of the impenitent. (C. New.)

Faith apprehending the mystery of creation

The province of faith is the unseen. The past and the future lie all out of sight, and are therefore its undisputed domain. The present is a mixed and compound thing–shared between faith and sight. The apostle takes his first example of faith from the past. Everything that we ourselves have not seen, though it be the most strongly attested of all facts is apprehended by us through faith alone. That which the senses cannot tell us can only be accepted on testimony. The facts of history come to us in books. In many cases there is a conflict of testimony, occasioning either a perpetual difference of opinion or an occasional reversal of opinion with regard to the events or the characters of a past nearer or more remote. Christian faith also rests upon testimony.
In this it is like all belief in things not seen. The difference lies in the source of the testimony. History is written and received on what professes to be human testimony. Christian faith believes itself to have the word of God Himself for its evidence and its authority. To ascertain this Divine testimony is an anxious and responsible task. First of all these disclosures for which faith is demanded, is that one of which the text speaks–the creation of the universe by the fiat of Almighty God. We have here–none can dispute it–a subject lying altogether in the province of faith. Either faith, or nothing, can apprehend this fact. Not only is it a thing out of sight, as all the past is; not only is it a thing belonging to the most remote past, inasmuch as it involves that fact which is the condition of all facts: more than this–it is that one fact of which by the nature of the case there can be no human testimony; the origination of the creature itself is the very subject of the revelation, and if it be true–in other words, if it have any witness–that truth must be one of Gods mysteries, that witness must be God alone. We will look for a moment into the particulars of the statement. By faith. It is by an exercise of that principle which has been called above the assurance of things unseen. By faith we understand, we apprehend, or grasp with the mind, that fact which follows. Here mind is set in motion by faith. And that as to a fact–a fact of the pre-Adamite past–a fact which may lie long millenniums before human existence–but a fact, of which the results and consequences still are and are mighty. What is this fact? That the worlds have been framed, settled, or fitted in order and coherence, by a word of God. The word here used for the worlds is very peculiar. It is that word which, properly meaning ages or periods, is applied to the material universe as an existence not in space only but in time–having a vast succession of ages and periods inside eternity, as well as a vast expansion of parts and substances inside immensity. The same word occurs in the first chapter–By whom also He made the worlds. Now the point of the statement lies in this–not that faith apprehends the existence of matter, or the order, the beauty, the variety, the adaptation of matter, or even the fact, taken by itself, of the non-eternity of matter: these things are not in the special province of faith; some of them are matters of sight, others are matters of theory; the action of faith is this–she grasps the revealed fact, that the material universe, seen to exist, surveyed by the senses in its manifoldness and its harmony, was originally framed by a word of God. Once more, the end and result of this framing by a word. So that things which are seen–or, according to the true reading, the thing which is seen–speaking of the whole sum of created being, the vast mass and aggregate of the material universe–the thing which is seen hath not come into being out of things which appear. The original of the universe was itself created. God Himself is the alone eternal, as He is the alone self-existent. The subject before us is deeply important, specially seasonable, and directly practical.

1. First of all, it is essential to the right posture of the creature towards the Creator.

2. Not only the posture of the soul, but the whole management of the life, depends upon this primary principle. A thousand motives of self-interest and of gratitude conspire to teach the duty of obedience. We disparage none of these–we want them all. But there is one groundwork of duty which lies at the root of all–and that is, the living vital apprehension of the relationship which cannot be modified of the creature to the Creator.

3. Finally, it is this faith in creation which furnishes the strongest presumption of the truth of redemption itself. He who thought it worth while, having a clear foresight of everything, to call into existence, out of nothing, a world that should be the theatre, and a creature that should be the agent, of sin, may be believed when He says (though we durst not have said it for Him) that He counts us worth redeeming–that He intends to restore to holiness and happiness lives and souls made originally in His image–nay, by a process most wonderful to beings nearest His throne, to introduce a dispensation of the fulness of times, in which to gather together all the scattered elements in Jesus Christ, and in the ages to come to show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in the Son of His love. It is thus that faith in an unseen past allies itself with faith in an invisible future, and breathes forth in one petition the whole of its confidence and the whole of its hope–I am Thine: oh save me! (Dean Vaughan.)

Understanding Gods works:

This chapter teaches much by what it omits as well as by what it includes. There is no mention of Adam, or of Lot, or of faith during the forty years in the wilderness (see the gap between Heb 11:29-30). There are several most suggestive associations. Faith is associated with hope (Heb 11:1), with righteousness (Heb 11:4), with holiness (Heb 11:5), with diligence (Heb 11:7), with trial (Heb 11:17), and with conflict (Heb 11:32-37). The element of assured confidence runs right through the chapter. Abel obtained witness; Enoch received a testimony; Abraham looked for a city, and many of the patriarchs were persuaded (Greek, –the same word in Rom 8:38) that there was reality in Gods promises, and that they would be fulfilled. The evidence (R. V., the proving) of things not seen. Those who believe in Gods Word are not in doubt as to the existence of the things He has promised. His Word is proof positive of their reality, and if we believe that Word they become realities to us. We are just as sure of their existence as we should be if we could see them.

I. FAITH WELL GROUNDED. The Hebrews knew of but one ground of faith. It was their habit to ask, What saith the Scriptures? (Joh 7:42). The writer of this Epistle would know this, and when he spoke of faith he meant faith in the declarations of the Old Testament. This chapter from beginning to end takes us back to this Divine standard, and, without discussing the question, assumes, what every Jew would readily grant, that its statements are absolutely true. The faith of this chapter is therefore belief in the testimony of God.

II. FAITH ENLIGHTENING THE MIND. Through faith we understand (Greek, ). Atheism is folly (Psa 14:1). To be without faith in Gods Word is to be void of understanding respecting His works. The history of human philosophy consists largely of a series of records of the vain efforts of men to account for the universe apart from the true cause of its origin. The variety of opinions expressed by sceptics upon the subject of the origin of the world casts discredit upon the whole of these opinions, just as half a dozen discordant testimonies in defence of a prisoner would cast discredit upon the whole case for the defence. By the light of philosophy we guess, we speculate; but by faith we understand. Well, might the Psalmist say, The entrance (or opening) of Thy Word giveth Psa 119:130). Faith sees a beginning of the universe (Joh 1:1). It sees in the beginning God (Gen 1:1). It sees God as a Creator (God created Gen 1:1). It sees Him as the author of order (the worlds were framed; Greek, , to make thoroughly right or fit). It sees His continuous working (the world; Greek, –age. The birth of worlds was the birth of time, and therefore the history of worlds is fitly called that of the ages).

III. FAITH CONSONANT WITH REASON. The understanding approves what faith makes clear, just as the eye takes in the minute objects revealed by the microscope. It could not have seen those objects without the aid of the microscope, but, having seen them, it can admire them, and the mind, instructed by the eye, can realise and rejoice in the beauty and fitness of what is so revealed. There is much in what faith reveals that reason demands and requires. Reason tells us, for instance, that there can be no effect without a cause, and that no cause can give to an effect what it has not in itself. If we see personality in an effect, reason says there must have been personality in the cause. We see personality in man, and therefore we infer that the author of his being must have been a person. Faith satisfies this demand of reason by the revelation of a personal God. Reason connects order with the operations of mind. Type set up for the printing of a book must, it cannot but infer, have been set up by a person possessed of an amount of intelligence equal to the task. A thousand infidels could not convince a rational being that the setting up of the type was the result of chance, or that it could have been brought about in any way without the direction of a mind. Reason sees in nature the most absolute order, and it infers that if a mind is required to produce order in the setting up of the type, it is much more required in this vaster display of order which is apparent everywhere in the material universe. Faith endorses the wisdom of this inference as it gazes at nature in the light of revelation, and says with Milton:

These are Thy glorious works,

Parent of good, Almighty!

Thine this universal frame.

Faith speaks of God ordering things according to the good pleasure of His Eph 1:5), and reason hears and is satisfied.

IV. FAITH ABOVE REASON. Reason has no opportunity of observing the process by which something is made out of nothing, and so it has made the rule, Ex nihilo, nihilfit–out of nothing nothing comes, Now in opposition to this axiom faith recognises God as a Creator. Faith sees more than reason does, as a man looking at the stars through a good telescope sees more than another who looks with his unaided sight. One sees farther than the other, but the view spread out before the one is not necessarily in conflict with that seen by the other.

V. FAITH REGARDING THE UNSEEN. He who believes in God as the framer of the universe believes in what he has not seen. He was not present at the time of the creation. (Note the question in Job 38:4.) He has not seen, and yet he believes. This is, however, what men are doing every day. A man takes a ticket on a steamer bound for New Zealand. He has never seen New Zealand, but he so thoroughly believes in its existence that he spends his money and enters upon a long voyage that he may get there. Sight doesnt always secure certainty, and there may be the most absolute certainty without it. (H. Thorne.)

Faiths attitude towards the creation:

I. IT IS A NECESSARY EXERCISE FOR THE CHILDREN OF GOD TO TURN THEIR MINDS TO THE CREATION.

1. It discovereth much of God.

(1) His essence.

(2) His attributes, goodness, power, wisdom.

2. It is a wonderful advantage to faith to give us hope and consolation in the greatest distresses.

3. It puts us in mind of our duty.

(1) Reverence.

(2) Humility.

(3) Kindness.

II. WE UNDERSTAND THE TRUTH AND WONDERS OF THE CREATION BY FAITH, AND NOT BY REASON.

1. There are three sorts of lights which God hath bestowed upon men: the light of nature, the light of grace, and the light of glory. There is the daylight of glory, which is the sun when it arises in its strength and brightness; and there is the light of faith, which is like the moon, a light which shines in a dark place; then there is the weak and feeble ray of reason, which is like the light of the lesser stars. By the first light, we see God as He is in Himself; by the second, God as He hath discovered Himself in the Word: by the third, God as He is seen in the creature.

2. In this world reason had been enough, if man had continued in his innocency. His mind then was his only bible, and his heart his only law; but he tasted of the tree of knowledge and hereby he and we got nothing but ignorance. It is true, there are some relics of reason left for human uses, and to leave us without excuse (Joh 1:9). But now in matters of religion, we had need of external and foreign helps. Man left to himself would only grope after God.

3. The only remedy and cure for this is faith, and external revelation from God. The blindness of reason is cured by the Word; the pride of reason is cured by the grace of faith. Revelation supplies the defect of it; and faith takes down the pride of it, and captivates the thoughts into the obedience of the truths represented in the Word; so that reason now cannot be a judge; at best it is but a handmaid to faith.

4. The doctrine of the creation is a ,nixed principle; much of it is liable to reason, but most of it can only be discovered by faith. If by faith only we can understand the truth and wonders of the creation, then

(1) It informs us, that reason is not the judge of controversies in religion, and the doubts that do arise about the matters of God are not to be determined by the dictates of nature. If then we leave the written Word and follow the guidance of our own reason, we shall but puzzle ourselves with impertinent scruples, and leave ourselves under a dissatisfaction.

(2) It informs us that the heathens had never light enough for salvation. Certainly they are blind in the work of redemption, since they are so blind in the work of creation.

(3) It shows us the great advantage that we have by faith, and by the written Word.

(4) It informs us that religion is not illiterate. Grace doth not make men simple, but rather perfects human learning. None discern truths with more comfort and satisfaction than a believer; it solves all doubts and riddles of reason.

(5) We learn hence the properties of faith to have knowledge, assent, and obedience in it; therefore it is not a blind reliance, but a clear, distinct persuasion of such truths, concerning which human discourse can give us no satisfaction.

(6) It is the nature of faith to subscribe to a revelation in the Word, though reason give little assistance and aid. It serves to stir you up to act faith. What is the use of faith upon the creation? To answer all the objections of reason, and settle the truth in the soul, and to improve it for spiritual uses and advantages, and to facilitate the belief of other truths upon this ground; did He make the world out of nothing? Many truths are less wonderful than this. (T. Manton, D. D.)

Of the work of creation

I. WHAT WE ARE TO UNDERSTAND BY CREATION, or what it is to create.

1. It is not to be taken here in a large sense, as sometimes it is used in Scripture, for any production of things wherein second causes have their instrumentality, as Psa 104:30.

2. We are to take it strictly for the production of things out of nothing, or the giving a being to things which had none before.

(1) There is an immediate creation, as when things are brought forth out of pure nothing, where there was no pre-existent matter to work upon.

(2) There is a secondary and mediate creation, which is the making things of pre-existing matter, but of such as is naturally unfit and altogether indisposed for such productions, and which could never by any power of second causes be brought into such a form. Thus all beasts, cattle, and creeping things, and the body of man, were at first made of the earth and the dust of the ground; and the body of the first woman was made of a rib taken out of the man.

II. THAT THE WORLD WAS MADE, THAT IT HAD A BEGINNING AND WAS NOT ETERNAL. This the Scripture plainly testifies (Gen 1:1). And this reason itself teacheth: for whatsoever is eternal, the being of it is necessary, and it is subject to no alterations. But we see this is not the case with the world; for it is daily undergoing alterations.

III. WHO MADE THE WORD AND GAVE IT A BEGINNING? That was God, and He only.

1. The world could not make itself; for this would imply a contradiction, namely, that the world was before it was: for the cause must always be before its effect.

2. The production of the world could not be by chance.

3. God created all things, the world, and all the creatures that belong to it. He attributes this work to Himself, as one of the peculiar glories of His Deity, exclusive of all the creatures (Isa 44:24; Isa 45:12; Isa 40:12-13).

None could make the word but God, because creation is a work of infinite power, and could not be produced by any finite cause: for the distance between being and not being is truly infinite, which could not be removed by any finite agent, or the activity of all finite agents united.

IV. WHAT GOD MADE. All things whatsoever, besides God, were created Rev 4:11). The evil of sin is no positive being, it being but a defect or want, and therefore is not reckoned among the things which God made, but owed its existence to the will of fallen angels and men. Devils being angels, are Gods creatures; but God did not make them evil, or devils, but they made themselves so.

V. OF WHAT ALL THINGS WERE MADE. Of nothing; which does not denote any matter of which they were formed, but the term from which God brought them; when they had no being He gave them one (Col Rom 11:36).

VI. How ALL THINGS WERE MADE OF NOTHING. By the word of Gods power. It was the infinite power of God that gave them a being; which power was exerted in His Word, not a word properly spoken, but an act of His will commanding them to be (Gen 1:3; Psa 33:6; Psa 33:9).

VII. IN WHAT SPACE OF TIME THE WORLD WAS CREATED.

VIII. FOR WHAT END GOD MADE ALL THINGS. It was for His own glory Pro 16:4; Rom 11:36). And there are these three attributes of God that especially shine forth in this work of creation, namely, His wisdom, power, and goodness.

IX. IN WHAT STATE WERE ALL THINGS MADE? I answer, They were all very good (Gen 1:31). The goodness of the creature consists in its fitness for the use for which it was made. In this respect everything answered exactly the end of its creation. Again, the goodness of things is their perfection; and so everything was made agreeable to the idea thereof that was formed in the Divine mind. There was not the least defect in the work; but everything was beautiful, as it was the effect of infinite wisdom as well as almighty power. Inferences:

1. God is a most glorious being, infinitely lovely and desirable, possessed of every perfection and excellency. Whatever excellency and beauty is in the creatures is all from Him, and sure it must be most excellent in the fountain.

2. Gods glory should be our chief end. And seeing whatever we have is from Him, it should be used and employed for Him: For all things were created by Him and for Him (Col 1:16).

3. God is our Sovereign Lord Proprietor, and may do in us, on us, anal by us, what He will (Rom 9:20-21).

4. We should use all the creatures we make use of with an eye to God, and due thankfulness to Him, the Giver; employing them in our service, soberly and wisely, considering they stand related to God as their Creator, and are the workmanship of His own hands.

5. There is no case so desperate, but faith may get sure footing with respect to it in the power and Word of God. Let the people of God be ever so low, they can never be lower than when they were not at all (Isa 65:18).

6. Give away yourselves to God through Jesus Christ, making a cheerful and entire dedication of your souls and bodies, and all that ye are and have, to Him as your God and Father, resolving to serve Him all the days of your life: that as He made you for His glory, you may in some measure answer the end of your creation, which is to show forth His praise. (T. Boston, D. D.)

The fact of creation an object of faith

Our object is to inquire what is implied in our really believing the fact of the creation. There is the widest difference between your believing certain truths as the results of reasoning or discovery, and your believing them on the mere assertion of a credible witness, whom you see and hear, especially if the witness be the very individual to whom the truths relate. The truths themselves may be identically the same. But how essentially different is the state of the mind, and how different the impression made on it!

I. WE MAY ILLUSTRATE THE DIFFERENCE BY A SIMPLE AND FAMILIAR EXAMPLE. Paley makes admirable use of an imaginary case respecting a watch. He supposes you to be previously unacquainted with such a work of art. You hold it in your hand; you begin to examine its structure, to raise questions in your own mind, and to form conjectures. How did it come there, and how were its parts so curiously put together? You at once conclude that it did not grow there, and that it could not be fashioned by chance. You feel assured that the watch had a maker. You gather much of his character from the obvious character of his handiwork. You search in that handiwork for traces of his mind, his heart. You speculate concerning his plans and purposes. But now, suppose that while you are thus engaged, with the watch in your hand, a living person suddenly appears before you, and announces himself, and says, It was I who made this watch–it was I who put it there. Is not your position instantly changed? Your position, in fact, is now precisely reversed. Instead of questioning the watch concerning its maker, you now question the maker concerning his watch. You hear not what the mechanism has to say of the mechanic, but what the mechanic has to say of the mechanism. You receive, perhaps, the same truths as before, but with a freshness and a force unknown before. They come to you, not circuitously and at second hand, they come straight from the very being most deeply concerned in them.

II. NOW, LET US APPLY THESE REMARKS TO THE MATTER IN HAND. YOU are all of you familiar with this idea, that, in contemplating the works of creation, you should ascend from nature to natures God. It is most pleasing and useful to cultivate such a habit as this. Much of natural religion depends upon it, and holy Scripture fully recognises its propriety. The heavens declare the glory of God; the firmament showeth his handicraft. All Thy works praise Thee, Lord God Almighty. Lift up your eyes on high, and behold, Who hath created these things. O Lord, how manifold are Thy works! in wisdom hast Thou made them all: the earth is full of Thy riches. It is apparent, however, even in these and similar passages, that created things are mentioned, not as arguments, but rather as illustrations; not as suggesting the idea of God, the Creator, but as unfolding and expanding the idea, otherwise obtained. And this is still more manifest in that passage of the Epistle to the Romans which particularly appeals to the fact of creation, as evidence of the Creators glory evidence sufficient to condemn the ungodly (Rom 1:20-21). So that the Scriptural method on this subject is exactly the reverse of what is called the natural. It is not to ascend from nature up to natures God, but to descend from God to Gods nature; not to hear the creation speaking of the Creator, but to hear the Creator speaking of the creation. We have not in the Bible an examination and enumeration of the wonders to be observed among the works of nature, and an argument founded upon these that there must be a God, and that He must be of a certain character and must have had certain views in making what He has made. God Himself appears and tells us authoritatively what He has done, and why He did it. Thus through faith we understand that the worlds were made by the Word of God; so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. We understand and believe this, not as a deduction of reasoning, but as a matter of fact, declared and revealed to us. For this is that act of the mind which, in a religious sense, is called faith.

III. But it may be said, ARE WE, THEN, NOT TO USE OUR REASON ON THIS SUBJECT AT ALL? That cannot be, for the apostle himself enjoins you, however in respect of meekness you are to be like children, still in understanding to be men. Certainly you do well to search out all those features in creation which reflect the glory of the Creator. Nay, you may begin in this way to know God. It is true, indeed, that God has never in fact left Himself to be thus discovered. He has always, as He did at first, revealed Himself, not circuitously by His works, but summarily and directly by His Word. We may suppose, however, that you are suffered to grope your way through creation to the Creator. In that case you proceed to reason out from the manifold proofs of design in natures works the idea of an intelligent Author, and to draw inferences from what you see respecting His character, purposes, and plans. Still, even in this method of discovering God, if your faith is to be of an influential kind at all, you must proceed, when you have made the discovery, just to reverse the process by which you made it; and having arrived at the conception of a Creator, you must now go back again to the creation, taking Him along with you, as one with whom you have personally become acquainted, and hearing what He has to say concerning His own works. He may say no more than what you had previously discovered. Still, what He does say, you now receive not as discovered by you, but as said by Him. You leave the post of discovery, the chair of reasoning, and take the lowly stool of the disciple; and then, and not before, even on the principles of natural religion, do you fully understand what is the real import, and the momentous bearing of the fact, that a Being, infinitely wise and powerful, and having evidently a certain character as just and good, that such a Being made you, and is Himself telling you that He made you, and all the things that are around you; that the things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

IV. THUS, IN A RELIGIOUS VIEW, AND FOR RELIGIOUS PURPOSES, THE TRUTH CONCERNING GOD AS THE CREATOR MUST BE RECEIVED, NOT AS A

DISCOVERY OF YOUR OWN REASON, FOLLOWING A TRAIN OF THOUGHT, BUT AS A DIRECT COMMUNICATION FROM A REAL PERSON, EVEN FROM THE LIVING AND PRESENT GOD. This is not a merely artificial distinction. It is practically most important. Consider the subject of creation in the light simply of an argument of natural philosophy, and all is vague and dim abstraction. But consider the momentous fact in the light of a direct message from the Creator Himself to you. Are you not differently impressed and affected?

1. More particularly–see, first of all, what weight this single idea, once truly and vividly realised, must add to all the other communications which He makes on other subjects to you. Does He speak to you concerning other matters, intimately touching your present and future weal? Does He tell you of your condition in respect of Him, and of His purposes in respect of you? Does He enforce the majesty of His law? Does He press the overtures of His gospel? Oh! how in every such case is His appeal, in its solemnity, and its power, enhanced with tenfold intensity, if you regard Him as, in the very same breath, expressly telling you, I who now speak to you, so earnestly and so affectionately, I created all things–I created you.

2. Again, on the other hand, observe what weight this idea, if fully realised, must have, if you regard the Lord Himself as saying to you, in special reference to each of the things which He has made: I created it, and I am now testifying to you that I created it. What sacredness will this thought stamp on every object in nature, if only you are personally acquainted with the living God; and especially if you know Him as the Lawgiver, the Saviour, the Judge. (R. S. Candlish, D. D.)

That the world was framed in an accurate, orderly, and perfect manner

I. To ILLUSTRATE THIS BY SOME SIMILITUDES OUT OF SCRIPTURE.

1. The perfection and order of the world is compared to the body of a man (1Co 12:12).

2. It is compared to an host or army (Gen 2:1).

3. It is compared to a curious house (Job 38:4-6).

II. WHEREIN THIS ORDER AND BEAUTY OF THE WORLD DOTH CONSIST.

1. In the wonderful multitude and variety of creatures, distributed into so many several excellent natures and forms, they all do proclaim the beauty and order of the whole world.

2. The beauty and artificial composition of all things.

3. The disposition and apt placing of all things.

4. The wonderful consent of all the parts, and the proportion they bear one to another.

5. The mutual ministry and help of the creatures one to another.

6. The wise government and conservation of all things according to the rules and laws of creation.

III. IF GOD MADE THE WORLD IN SUCH HARMONY AND ORDER, WHENCE CAME ALL THOSE DISORDERS THAT ARE IN THE WORLD? We see some creatures are ravenous; other creatures are poisonous; all are frail, and still decaying and hasting to their own ruin. Whence come murrains, sicknesses, and diseases? Whence come such dislocations, and unjointings of nature by tempests and earthquakes? All these confusions and disorders of nature are the effects of sin. Our sins are as a secret fire that hath melted and burnt asunder the secret ties and confederations of nature.

1. It discovers the glory of God. The whole world is but Gods shop, where are the masterpieces of His wisdom and majesty; these are seen very much in the order of causes, and admirable contrivance of the world.

(1) The wisdom of God and His counsel is mightily seen. The world is not a work of chance, but of counsel and rare contrivance.

(2) The majesty and greatness of God.

2. It showeth us the excellency of order; how pleasing order and method is to God: God hath always delighted in it. All order is from God; but all discord and confusion is from the devil. Order is pleasing to Him in the state and civil administrations in the Church, and in the course of your private conversations.

3. It discovers the odiousness of sin that disjointed the frame of nature. (T. Manton, D. D.)

Faith realising the invisible Creator:

In that beautiful part of Germany which borders on the Rhine there is a noble castle which lifts its old grey towers above the ancient forest, where dwelt a nobleman who had a good and devoted son, his comfort and his pride. Once when the son was away from home, a Frenchman called, and, in course of conversation, spoke in such unbecoming terms of the great Father in heaven as to chill the old mans blood. Are you not afraid of offending God? said the baron, by speaking in this way. The foreigner answered with cool indifference, that he knew nothing about God, for he had never seen Him. No notice was takes of this observation at the time; but the next morning the baron pointed out to the visitor a beautiful picture which hung on the wall, and said, My son drew that! He must be a clever youth, returned the Frenchman, blandly. Later in the day as the two gentlemen were walking in the garden, the baron showed his guests many rare plants and flowers, and, on being asked who had the management of the garden, the father said, with proud satisfaction, My son; and he knows every plant almost, from the cedar of Lebanon to the hyssop on the wall! Indeed! observed the other. I shall soon have a very exalted opinion of him. The baron then took his visitor to the village and showed him a neat building which his son had fitted up for a school, where the children of the poor were daily instructed free of expense. What a happy man you must be, said the Frenchman, to have such a son! How do you know I have a son? asked the baron, with a grave face. Why, because I have seen his works; I am sure he must be both clever and good, or he would not have done all you have shown me. But you have never seen him! returned the baron. No, but I already know him very well, because I can form a just estimate of him from his works. I am not surprised, said the baron, in a quiet tone; and now oblige me by coming to this window and tell me what you see from thence. Why, I see the sun travelling through the skies and shedding its glories over one of the greatest countries in the world; and I behold a mighty river at my feet, and a vast range of woods, and pastures, and orchards, and vineyards, and cattle and sheep feeding in rich fields. Do you see anything to be admired in all this? asked the baron. Can you fancy I am blind? retorted the Frenchman, Well, then, if you are able to judge of my sons good character by seeing his various works, how does it happen you can form no estimate of Gods goodness by witnessing such proofs of His handiwork?

Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell

Verse 3. Through faith we understand] By worlds, , we are to understand the material fabric of the universe; for can have no reference here to age or any measurement of time, for he speaks of the things which are SEEN; not being made out of the things which do APPEAR; this therefore must refer to the material creation: and as the word is used in the plural number, it may comprehend, not only the earth and visible heavens, but the whole planetary system; the different worlds which, in our system at least, revolve round the sun. The apostle states that these things were not made out of a pre-existent matter; for if they were, that matter, however extended or modified, must appear in that thing into which it is compounded and modified, consequently it could not be said that the things which are seen are not made of the things that appear; and he shows us also, by these words, that the present mundane fabric was not formed or reformed from one anterior, as some suppose. According to Moses and the apostle we believe that God made all things out of nothing. See the note on “Ge 1:1“, c.

At present we see trees of different kinds are produced from trees beasts, birds, and fishes, from others of the same kind; and man, from man: but we are necessarily led to believe that there was a first man, who owed not his being to man; first there were beasts, c., which did not derive their being from others of the same kind and so of all manner of trees, plants, c. God, therefore, made all these out of nothing his word tells us so, and we credit that word.

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

This proves the second part of faiths description, Heb 11:1, that it is the evidence of things not seen; for by it only we understand the creation, which no eye saw. It is the same Divine faith as described before, but as evidencing invisible truths, it communicates a marvellous light to the understanding, and leaves real impressions of it from the word of God, whereby it arriveth unto a most certain knowledge of what is above the power of natural reason to convey, and gives a divine assent to it, such its as is real, clear, sure, and fruitful, different from that of the Gentiles, Rom 1:19-23.

The worlds; touv aiwnav the word noteth sometimes ages, Luk 16:8; the garb and corrupt habit of men who live in them, Eph 2:2; eternity: but there, as Heb 1:2, it is a word of aggregation, signifying all kinds of creatures, with their several places, times, and periods; things celestial, terrestrial, and subterrestrial; angels, men, and all sorts of creatures, together with all the states and conditions in which they were made.

Were framed by the word of God; heaven, earth, and seas, with all their hosts of creatures, the visible creation and the invisible world, were put into being and existence, placed in their proper order, disposed and fitted to their end, by the mighty word of God: Trinity in Unity the Creator, his powerful fiat, without any pain, or trouble, or assisting causes, instantly effected this miraculous, glorious work; He spake, and it was done, Gen 1:3,6,9,11,14, &c.; Psa 33:6,9.

So that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear; the visible world, and all visible in it, were made all of nothing; this reason could never digest. All was produced of that formless, void, dark chaos which was invisible, Gen 1:2; which void, formless, dark mass itself, was made of no pre-existent stuff, matter or atoms, but of nothing; which differenceth the operative power of God from that of all other agents. See Gen 1:1; Psa 89:11,12; Psa 148:5,6, &c.; Isa 42:5; 45:12,18.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

3. we understandWe perceivewith our spiritual intelligence the fact of the world’s creation byGod, though we see neither Him nor the act of creation as describedin Ge 1:1-31. The naturalworld could not, without revelation, teach us this truth, though itconfirms the truth when apprehended by faith (Ro1:20). Adam is passed over in silence here as to his faith,perhaps as being the first who fell and brought sin on us all; thoughit does not follow that he did not repent and believe the promise.

worldsliterally,”ages”; all that exists in time and space, visible andinvisible, present and eternal.

framed“fitlyformed and consolidated”; including the creation of the singleparts and the harmonious organization of the whole, and the continualprovidence which maintains the whole throughout all ages. As creationis the foundation and a specimen of the whole divine economy, sofaith in creation is the foundation and a specimen of all faith[BENGEL].

by the word of Godnothere, the personal word (Greek, “logos,“Joh 1:1) but the spoken word(Greek, “rhema“); though by theinstrumentality of the personal word (Heb1:2).

not made, c.Translateas Greek, “so that not out of things which appear haththat which is seen been made” not as in the case of all thingswhich we see reproduced from previously existing and visiblematerials, as, for instance, the plant from the seed, the animal fromthe parent, c., has the visible world sprung into being from apparentmaterials. So also it is implied in the first clause of the versethat the invisible spiritual worlds were framed not from previouslyexisting materials. BENGELexplains it by distinguishing “appear,” that is, beginto be seen (namely, at creation), from that which is seenas already in existence, not merely beginning to be seen sothat the things seen were not made of the things which appear,”that is, which begin to be seen by us in the act of creation.We were not spectators of creation; it is by faith we perceive it.

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God,…. The celestial world, with its inhabitants, the angels; the starry and ethereal worlds, with all that is in them, the sun, moon, stars, and fowls of the air; the terrestrial world, with all upon it, men, beasts, c. and the watery world, the sea, and all that is therein: perhaps some respect may be had to the distinction of worlds among the Jews [See comments on Heb 1:2], though the apostle can scarce be thought to have any regard to their extravagant notions of vast numbers of worlds being created: they often speak of three hundred and ten worlds, in all which, they say, there are heavens, earth, stars, planets, c. f and sometimes of eighteen thousand g; but these notions are rightly charged by Philo h with ignorance and folly. However, as many worlds as there are, they are made “by the Word of God”; by Christ, the essential Word of God, to whom the creation of all things is ascribed in Joh 1:1. And this agrees with the sentiments of the Jews, who ascribe the creation of all things to the Word of God, as do the Targumists i, and Philo the Jew k. And these are “framed” by the Word, in a very beautiful and convenient order; the heavens before the earth; things less perfect, before those that were more so in the visible world, or terraqueous globe; and things for men, before men, for whom they were; and it is by divine revelation and faith that men form right notions of the creation, and of the author of it, and particularly of the origin of it, as follows:

so that things which are seen: as the heaven, earth, and sea, and in which the invisible things of God, the perfections of his nature, are discerned:

were not made of things which do appear; they were not made from pre-existent matter, but out of nothing, out of which the rude and undigested chaos was formed; and from that invisible mass, covered with darkness, were all visible things brought into a beautiful order; and all from secret and hidden ideas in the divine minds; and this also is the faith of the Jews, that the creation of all things is , “out of nothing” l. There seems to be an allusion to the word , used for creation, which signifies to make appear a thing unseen; and is rendered in the Septuagint version by , Nu 16:30 and

, Isa 40:26 to show, or make appear; and thus God created, or made to appear, the heavens and earth, which before were not in being, and unseen, Ge 1:1 and created to make, as in Ge 2:3 that is, made them to appear, that he might put them into the form and order they now are.

f Misn. Oketzim, c. 3. sect. 12. Targum Jon. in Exod. xxviii. 30. Kettoreth Hassamim in Targum Jon. in Gen. fol. 4. 4. Lex. Cabel. p. 60, 61. g T. Bab. Avoda Zara, fol. 3. 2. Yalkut, par. 2. fol. 50. 4. h De Opificio, p. 39. i Targum Oak. in Deut. xxxiii. 27. & Ben Uzziel in Isa. xlviii. 13. k De Opificio, p. 4. & Leg. Alleg. l. 1. p. 44. l Tzeror Hammor, fol. 1. 1. Kettoreth Hassamim in Targ. Jon in Gen. fol. 5. 1, 2.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

By faith (). Instrumental case of which he now illustrates in a marvellous way. Each example as far as verse 31 is formally and with rhetorical skill introduced by . After that only a summary is given.

We understand (). Present active indicative of , old verb (from , intellect) as in Matt 15:17; Rom 1:20. The author appeals to our knowledge of the world in which these heroes lived as an illustration of faith. Recent books by great scientists like Eddington and Jeans confirm the position here taken that a Supreme Mind is behind and before the universe. Science can only stand still in God’s presence and believe like a little child.

The worlds ( ). “The ages” as in 1:2 (cf. Einstein’s fourth dimension, time). Accusative case of general reference.

Have been framed (). Perfect passive infinitive of , to mend, to equip, to perfect (Lu 6:40), in indirect discourse after .

So that ( ). As a rule with the infinitive is final, but sometimes as here it expresses result as in Ro 12:3 (Robertson, Grammar, p. 1003).

Hath been made (). Perfect active infinitive of .

What is seen ( ). Present passive articular participle (accusative case of general reference) of .

Of things which do appear ( ). Ablative case with (out of) of the present passive participle. The author denies the eternity of matter, a common theory then and now, and places God before the visible universe as many modern scientists now gladly do.

Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament

Neither does this verse belong to the list of historical instances from Genesis, in which men exercised faith. It is merely the first instance presented in O. T. history of an opportunity for the exercise of faith as the assurance and conviction of things not seen. Like ver. 2, it is closely connected with the definition. It contains the exposition of the nature of faith, by showing that in its earliest and most general expression – belief in the creation of the visible universe by God – it is a conviction of something not apprehensible by sense. 225 We understand [] . Noein signifies to perceive with the nouv or reflective intelligence. In Class. of seeing with the eyes, sometimes with ojfqalmoiv expressed; but as early as Homer it is distinguished from the mere physical act of vision, as perception of the mind consequent upon seeing. Thus, ton de ijdwn ejnohse and seeing him he perceived (Il. 11. 599) : oujk idon oujd’ ejnohsa I neither saw nor perceived (Od. 13. 318). In N. T. never of the mere physical act. Here is meant the inward perception and apprehension of the visible creation as the work of God, which follows the sight of the phenomena of nature.

The worlds [ ] . Lit. the ages. The world or worlds as the product of successive aeons. See on ch. Heb 1:2.

Were framed [] . Put together; adjusted; the parts fitted to each other. See on Gal 6:1; Mt 21:16; Luk 6:40. Of the preparing and fixing in heaven of the sun and moon, LXX, Psa 73:16; Psa 88:37 : of building a wall, 2 Esdr. 4 12, 13, 16. See also Psa 39:6. Rend. have been framed. The A. V. gives the impression of one giving his assent to an account of creation; but the perfect tense exhibits the faith of one who is actually contemplating creation itself.

By the word of God [] . Comp. Genesis 1; Psa 33:6; Psa 118:5. So that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear [ ] . For things which are seen, rend. that which is seen. For were not made rend. hath not been made. jEiv to followed by the infinitive signifies result, not purpose. We perceive that the worlds have been framed by the word of God, so that (this being the case) that which is visible has not arisen out of that which is seen. 226 Mh not negatives the remainder of the clause taken as a whole. In other words, the proposition denied is, that which is seen arose out of visible things. By many early interpreters mh was transposed, and construed with fainomenwn alone, signifying “that which is seen has arisen from things which do not appear.” These things were explained as chaos, the invisible creative powers of God, etc.

Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament

1) “Through faith we understand,” (pista’ nooumen) “By (the gift of) faith we understand,” recognize or realize, not of the flesh, 1Co 2:14-15; Eph 2:8-9; 1Co 13:13. Faith not only enables one to. carry a good report, testimony, or witness for the Lord, but also gives Godly, Superior understanding or comprehension of Spiritual things and moral and ethical values, Act 1:8; Eph 5:16-18; 2Pe 3:18.

2) “That the worlds were framed by the word of God,” (katertisthai tous aionas hremati theou) “That the ages(of time) were adjusted by a word (rhetoric mandate or pronouncement) of God,” of the Creator, apart from whom nothing came to exist, Joh 1:1-3; 1Co 8:6; Col 1:16-17. The purpose of God for the ages was arranged or laid out by their Creator, then gradually disclosed to men by prophecy of the Holy Spirit, Heb 1:1-3; 1Pe 1:18-20; 2Pe 1:19-21; Rev 5:9-14.

3) “So that things which are seen,” (eis to blepomenon) “So that the thing visible (being seen),” present order of earthly things. Visible things existing and consisting of matter (material elements) of visible creative compounds and mixtures have not always been visible. They became visible in Creation and formation of all things, Psa 19:1-4; Rom 1:20.

4) “Were not made of things that do appear,” (me gegonenai ek phainomenon) “Has not come to be (exist) out of things (now) appearing,” as they are visibly manifested. Whether all existing, singular elements of matter are eternal in their singular invisible form, or whether all invisible elements were brought into existence in the creation, then all visible things formed from God’s compounding and mixing them in the creation of the heavens and the earth is a matter of wide philosophical and theological conjecture. But of this there is no ground for supposition or conjecture – that God thru Christ made all visible things in heaven and on earth, Col 1:16-17.

Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary

3. Through, or by, faith we understand, (205) etc. This is a most striking proof of the last verse; for we differ nothing from the brute creation, if we understand not that the world has been created by God. To what end have men been endued with understanding and reason, except that they might acknowledge their Creator? But it is by faith alone we know that it was God who created the world. No wonder then that faith shone forth in the fathers above all other virtues.

But it may be here asked, Why does the Apostle assert that what even infidels acknowledge is only understood by faith? For the very appearance of heaven and earth constrains even the ungodly to acknowledge some Maker; and hence Paul condemns all for ingratitude, because they did not, after having known God, give him the honor due to him. (Rom 1:25.) And no doubt religion would not have so prevailed among all nations, had not men’s minds been impressed with the convictions that God is the Creator of the world. It thus then appears that this knowledge which the Apostle ascribes to faith, exists without faith.

To this I reply, — that though there has been an opinion of this kind among heathens, that the world was made by God, it was yet very evanescent, for as soon as they formed a notion of some God, they became instantly vain in their imaginations, so that they groped in the dark, having in their thoughts a mere shadow of some uncertain deity, and not the knowledge of the true God. Besides, as it was only a transient opinion that flit in their minds, it was far from being anything like knowledge. We may further add, that they assigned to fortune or chance the supremacy in the government of the world, and they made no mention of God’s providence which alone rules everything. Men’s minds therefore are wholly blind, so that they see not the light of nature which shines forth in created things, until being irradiated by God’s Spirit, they begin to understand by faith what otherwise they cannot comprehend. Hence most correctly does the Apostle ascribe such an understanding to faith; for they who have faith do not entertain a slight opinion as to God being the Creator of the world, but they have a deep conviction fixed in their minds and behold the true God. And further, they understand the power of his word, not only as manifested instantaneously in creating the world, but also as put forth continually in its preservation; nor is it his power only that they understand, but also his goodness, and wisdom, and justice. And hence they are led to worship, love, and honor him.

Not made of things which do appear. As to this clause, all interpreters seem to me to have been mistaken; and the mistake has arisen from separating the preposition from the participle φαὶνομένων. They give this rendering, “So that visible things were made from things which do not appear.” But from such words hardly any sense can be elicited, at least a very jejune sense; and further, the text does not admit of such a meaning, for then the words must have been, ἐκ μὴ φαινομένων: but the order adopted by the Apostle is different. If, then, the words were rendered literally, the meaning would be as follows, — “So that they became the visible of things not visible,” or, not apparent. Thus the preposition would be joined to the participle to which it belongs. Besides, the words would then contain a very important truth, — that we have in this visible world, a conspicuous image of God; and thus the same truth is taught here, as in Rom 1:20, where it is said, that the invisible things of God are made known to us by the creation of the world, they being seen in his works. God has given us, throughout the whole framework of this world, clear evidences of his eternal wisdom, goodness, and power; and though he is in himself invisible, he in a manner becomes visible to us in his works. (206)

Correctly then is this world called the mirror of divinity; not that there is sufficient clearness for man to gain a full knowledge of God, by looking at the world, but that he has thus so far revealed himself, that the ignorance of the ungodly is without excuse. Now the faithful, to whom he has given eyes, see sparks of his glory, as it were, glittering in every created thing. The world was no doubt made, that it might be the theater of the divine glory.

(205) That is “We, by faith in God’s word which gives the record, understand, or know how the world was made.” This the heathens did not know by the light of reason, and yet they might have known this, as the Apostle declares in Rom 1:20. The reference here, according to this view, is to the fact, to the case as it was, but in the Romans to what ought to have been the case.

Why “worlds?” the same word, though in the plural number is rendered “world” in Rom 11:36 and 1Co 10:11, and so here by Beza and others. The universe, the whole visible creation, is what is meant, as it appears from “seen” in the next clause: and the word αἰὼν, in the singular number, says Stuart, is not employed to designate the “world” that is the universe. It is said to be used plurally to express the various parts of which the world is composed. But the term “world” in our language comprehends the whole: it means the whole visible creation.

The verb “framed,” is rendered “compacted” by Beza — “adjusted” by Doddridge — “produced” by Macknight — and “formed” by Stuart. Calvin has “fitted” or joined together, aptata, the word used by the Vulgate. It is justly said by Leigh, that the verb properly means to compact or knit together disjointed parts, either of a body or a building. But it is used also in the sense of adjusting, fitting, preparing, setting in order, and perfecting, or completing. It is most commonly used in the sense of making perfect or complete. But we may render the words “the world was set in order by the word of God.” — Ed.

(206) Moderns no less than the ancients differ from Calvin as to this clause; and yet his explanation is more suited to the passage, and especially to εἰς τὸ which means properly, to the end that, or, in order to, denoting the object or final cause. But there is no authority for making ἐκ and φαινομένων one word as he proposes: yet if the transposition of μὴ be admitted, which both ancient and modern critics allow, the meaning advocated by Calvin may still be defended: “in order that of things not apparent there might be things visible;” the things not apparent or visible being the power, wisdom and goodness of God, in exact harmony with Rom 1:20, where God’s power and divinity are said to be “invisible things ” — τὰ ἀόρατα: they are things not apparent.

Again, the verb κατηρτίσθαι denotes not creation, but the fitting or adjusting, or setting in order of things previously created: it seems to designate the work done, not as described in the first verse of Genesis, but in the following verses: so that the object or design of this adjustment or arrangement is what is expressed in this clause; it was, that there might be visible things as evidence or manifestations of things invisible.

It may be further said, that the world is said to have been set in order by the word of God: and so it is recorded in Genesis: but this word or fiat is not mentioned in the first verse of that book, in which the heavens and the earth are said to have been created. It hence appears that the reference here is to the setting in order of this world, and not to the first creation of its materials; and if so, the second clause cannot refer to the creation of the world out of nothing, as it is necessarily connected with what the first clause contains.

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Faith” then refers here, if this view must be taken, not to the fact that the world was made by God, which even heathens admitted, but to the design of God in creation, the manifestation of his own glory. “The heavens,” says the Psalmist “declare the glory of God,” etc. — Ed.

Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary

(3) Through faith.Rather, By faith, as in the following verses. The first place is not given to the elders, for the writers object is to set forth the achievements of faith. With these, he would say, the Scripture record is filled. Even where there is no mention of this principle we must trace it in the lives of Gods servants; even where there is no history of men, there is a necessity for the exercise of faith by ourselves, and the first words of Scripture teach this lesson.

That the worlds were framed.Literally, that the ages have been prepared. The remarkable expression which was used in Heb. 1:2 is here repeated. The complete preparation of all that the successive periods of time contain is the idea which the words present. The narrative of the first chapter of Genesis ascribes the whole creation of the heaven and the earth to God; and associates with a word of God every stage in the preparation and furnishing of the earth. (See Note on Heb. 1:2.) This is the first lesson of that record. But it does not stand alone, as is taught more plainly still by the next clause.

So that things which are seen.A slight alteration in the Greek is necessary herethe thing seen (or what is seen) being the true reading. A more important point is a change in the aspect of the whole clause, which the Greek seems to require. As the English words stand, they point out the significance of the statement of Scripture respecting the creative act: we believe the writer intended rather to state the divine purpose in relation to that first creation and all subsequent acts that are included in the preparing of the ages. In order that what is seen should not have come into being out of things which appear. This is probably the true meaning of the clause. In the narrative of the first chapter of Genesis God would have us learn a lesson for the whole course of human history and development. As the visible universe did not take its being out of what was apparent, so what from time to time is seen does not arise of itself out of what is manifest to mans natural perceptions. Not only is the eternity of matter denied, but from the beginning a warning has been given against a materialistic philosophy. The first page of Scripture is designed to teach the constant presence and work of the Creator. This lesson we learn and apply by faith; and the result of its application is seen in many points of the history which follows. In that history the operation of faith is twofold. The writers most obvious design is to call attention to the faith possessed by the elders, and its wonderful triumphs; but it is in many cases by the same faith that we interpret the Scripture record so as to discover this to have been their guiding principle. But seldom does the Old Testament directly speak of faith, and hence the importance of this verse (which some have thought incongruous, since it retards the exhibition of the elders faith) as throwing light on our interpretation of the teaching of Gods word.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

3. Through faith As instrument, or means. We Lunemann justly notes, that while this example commences the series with the creation, it does not form one example in the line of elders; for it is we who entertain this faith, and not the elders alone, though, perhaps, the we is inclusive of the elders. The proper reasons why our author begins with this instance are: 1. That it is at the chronological beginning of the series, namely, at the very creation itself; and, 2. It exemplifies the last clause of the definition; it shows how faith is demonstration of the unseen, of the supermundane. What this faith is, we know, for we all entertain it.

We understand The Greek verb expresses action of the higher, or intuitive, faculties of man, the spirit; that is, we intuitize. This intuitive faculty sees the invisible truth by direct looking at it, as the eye sees a visible object. See note on 1Th 5:23.

Were framed Were brought to completion from crude conditions. The word does not designate absolute creation from nothing, but an adjusting of parts and a construction of a symmetrical whole.

By the word of God By the divine command, as in the first chapter of Genesis a figurative expression for the divine energy in action. There is here no reference to the personal Word, nor to the mediation of the Son in the creation, as in Heb 1:2, but an affirmation that God is maker.

So that Rather, to the end that. God’s word, or active energy, framed the worlds purposely, so that the visible sprung not from things appearing.

Things which are seen The completed system of definite things making up the visible world. Or, as the singular is used in the Greek, , literally, the seen, the visible, it means the whole system taken as a complex unit.

Things that do appear The difference between the seen, or the visible, and the appear, or apparent, is, that the former is considered as perceived by only the one sense of sight, the latter by any sense or perceptive power; and if by any perceptive power, divine as well as human, then the non-apparent would be about equivalent to the non-existent; for what omniscience cannot perceive must be non-existent. It is disputed whether the not connects with made, so as to say that the visible was not made, or did not come from the apparents, or with appear, so as to say that the visible came from the non-apparents. Though the order of the Greek words suggests the former, yet Stuart and Delitzsch ably maintain, by good Greek precedents, the latter. And rendering it the visible system was made from non-apparents, the non-apparents Delitzsch holds to be the creative divine powers and forces. In that case the meaning would be, that creation is by omnipotence out of nothing. Stuart, however, ingeniously suggests, that to say that the world was made “out of nothing,” seems to imply that nothing was a something out of which it was made, and he concludes that our author expresses the thought correctly when he says, that the visible was not made out of perceptible antecedents, or, in other words, previous materials. But, note, 1. The force of the word framed, meaning constructed, put together, indicates that our author is describing formation of worlds, not origination of their substance. He is speaking of shaping materials into organisms, not bringing the materials into existence from non-existence. 2. The Greek word for made signifies to begin to exist, to become, to take existence; but to begin to exist as a framed system. We have, then, the rendering: the worlds were framed so that the visible system came into existence from non-apparents. It is, then, of the organizing of the visible system that our writer is speaking. And what are the non-apparents from which it took organic existence? 3. If we rightly understand, they are the primitive elements the chaos of Genesis. Philosophers are generally agreed that the atoms of which things consist, and the worlds were framed, are themselves imperceptible to any human sense. They are, individually, so minute that no eye and no magnifying power can reach them. Nobody ever saw the atom, though every body believes its existence. We see it by the eye, not of sense, but of intuitive reason. That is, by faith we intuitize that the worlds were organized, so that the visible system took organic form from imperceptible elements.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

‘ By faith we understand (know in our minds) that the worlds (the ages) have been framed by the word of God, so that what is seen has not been made out of things which appear.’

So it is by faith that we accept that the world which endures through the ages was created by God; that it was His word that framed things as we know them; and that matter, and things as they are, were not made up of things which can be seen, but were His creation out of what was invisible, and were His handywork.

It is through His revelation in the Scriptures that we know that God lies behind all, that there is an invisible creative power behind all things, God’s powerful creative word, on which all must continue to rely. And that all that we see, and touch, and feel was made by Him. For we have this declared in God’s revelation of Himself in Genesis 1. And it is by this that we know that the world has meaning and must also therefore come to a satisfactory conclusion.

And now having laid the foundation of faith in God, as the Creator and Sustainer and Goal of the Universe (see Heb 1:2-3), he will go on to describe how chosen men and women of God have responded to their Creator’s word throughout history. He does it by selecting positive acts of faith from the past as revealed in the Scriptures and in tradition. But before he does so he first selects two examples which demonstrate from the very beginning that for those who had faith, even in the beginning, their future is in God’s hands, and that life and death are also in His hands. Whether those who have faith die, or whether they are transformed while yet alive, their future is secure with God.

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

The Foundations of Faith In The Antedeluvian World ( Heb 11:3-6 ).

Faith is seen as giving us an understanding of the world as it is, and why it is as it is. Faith says it is like it is because God created it and is its invisible basis, and because God has revealed it to be so through His prophet. It also enables us to recognise that whether men die through persecution (Abel), or are translated without dying (Enoch), they share the same hope. Here the writer establishes the foundations.

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

The Testimony of the Creation Story ( Gen 1:1 to Gen 2:3 ) – Heb 11:3 serves as the testimony of the Creation Story by focusing upon the fact that God spoke the worlds into existence. The phrases “and God said” (used ten times) and “God called” (used three times) are found through the Creation Story, revealing how everything was created by His spoken Word. This passage of Scripture reveals the type of faith that God expects us to live by in order to inherit the promises. In this verse, we see that God fulfilled His purpose and plan by operating in the principle of faith as He spoke the World into existence by His Word. As we hear the testimonies of many men and women from the Old Testament in the following verses (Heb 11:4-40), we realize that God would not have asked us to do something that He is not had to do Himself. He is holding fast to His confession of faith without wavering, as He has also called us to do (Heb 10:23). If He were to waver in His faith, all of creation would come to an end. Heb 11:3 reflects the theme of Heb 10:19 to Heb 11:40, which is perseverance in our divine service.

Illustration: The Power of the Spoken Word – In August 1988 I packed up my belonging in an old pick-up truck and left Panama City, Florida headed to Fort Worth, Texas. The Lord had laid on my heart that He had opened up a door for me to go back to school. I had stepped out of the Southern Baptism denomination and its largest seminary five years earlier in order to join a charismatic church. I did not understand much about these new teachings, but I knew that they seemed more powerful and anointed than the teachings I had been raised on. After a few dreams, the witness of my heart, and some obvious circumstances that confirmed this decision to go to Texas, I said good-by to my family and packed my few belongings. So, here I was, on the road, headed to Fort Worth in an old pick-up that I had paid $300.00 for. And my personal belongings easily fit in the bed, with plenty of room to spare. I had seen in a dream that my brother, who recently graduated from the Baptist seminary in Fort Worth, would soon leave this town. So, by faith, I drove out here and stayed with him and his wife for six months, at which time, they moved back to Florida, our home state. This had given me just enough time to find a steady job and rent a one-bedroom apartment.

I did not have much materially, but I had spent the last five years learning these new “full gospel” teachings, reading books by Kenneth Hagin, John Olsten and the Scriptures and I knew in my heart that I had faith in God. So, when the manager of the apartment complex asked me to work as a maintenance man, I was desperate for a steady job. I had to pick up the grounds in the morning, and work in apartments during the day. Fortunate, this manager was a Christian who believed like I did, so I joined her church.

After about six months, I came to her and suggested that we begin the workday with prayer and give all of the employees an opportunity to join us. We had both been thinking about doing this for several months prior to starting this early morning prayer. She was in agreement. So, I began leading prayer each morning for a few minutes before we began work. About three weeks into this commitment, I was praying along nice and normal so as not to offend some of the backsliders that would reluctantly join us each morning, when these words rolled out of my mouth, “Occupy ’till I come.” I had not been thinking about this passage in Matthew when I prayed it, but had learned enough about the work of the Spirit to realize that the Lord was speaking to me by quickening this verse during prayer. As I went home later that night to re-read this passage, I picked up on the idea that the Lord was wanting me to take spiritual authority over that apartment complex and begin to break the devil’s strongholds off of our work place. So I began to use Scriptures and pray more aggressively than just, “Lord, bless so-and-so,” or, “Lord, help us have a good day at work.”

Several months later, as I was waking up, these words came into my heart, “Prophesy what the men of God in the Bible prophesied and pray for us to be filled with the Holy Spirit.” Of course, I did not know what it really meant. I had heard of gifted ministers who could prophesy and certain men in the Bible and in the church today who were filled with the Holy Spirit. As I simply began to do what I felt was a word from God, this morning prayer endeavor began to take on an entirely new meaning. He seemed to say to me, “Lay hands on others to be filled with the Lord,” and, “David and Samuel, see what they prophesied to those around them and do the same.” Also, study what other men of God prophesied.

As I begin to explain what began to happen, I pray that it will somehow change your life as dramatically as it has changed my life. I did not realize until later that the Lord was teaching me how to set this time of early morning prayer in order and how to pray effectively. I studied the Scripture passages where men of God would speak a blessing over others. I studied Jeremiah, where God set him over nations and kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant. All this was done simply by prophesying. All of a sudden, faith began to rise in my heart to speak the Scriptures in faith believing that they would also come to pass.

This teaching of the Scriptures began to open up to me unlike anything I had ever understood before. I began the workday calling things which were not as though they were. I began to call our apartment a delightsome land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and that nations were rising up and calling us blessed. How could I say this in faith? Because I was a tither and the Bible says that this would happen to those who tithe. Within a few months of praying this every day, the owners came and repaired and painted all of the buildings on the property. The apartment began looking like the Word of God said it should. Prospects would come into the office and comment on how nice this place was beginning to look (nations were rising up and calling up blessed). Out of Romans, chapter four, I began to call this apartment complex “filled with a multitude.” I saw that the Lord began to call Abraham this name long before it came to pass, so I was doing the same.

Every time I would see a Scripture, I would add it to my list of confessions of faith. I knew that few people in our prayer group understood why I was praying like this, especially when the Christian manager and I would have to pray for months at a time with no one else joining in. I guess we looked and sounded pretty strange. However, I was on to something. I would find those passages where the priests in the Old Testament were to bless the children of Israel (Num 6:23-27), or where Boaz would begin the work day by saying to his workers, “The Lord be with you,” and they would respond by saying, “The Lord bless thee,” (Rth 2:4). Or, out of Isaiah, I would call every desolate apartment inhabited. Where the Bible says, “there is none to say restore , ” I began to prophesy restoration, for all of the years that this property had been under the curse and the locust, the cankerworm, the caterpillar and the palmerworm had consumed, I said, “Restore.” I would call to the north to give up, to the south to hold not back and to the east and west to bring good prospect from afar. I world rejoice when people would come from out of state to rent these apartments and they became filled with a multitude with high occupancy. During the mornings when I did not feel like prophesying, I would speak Joe 3:10, “Let the weak say, I am strong.”

Also, I would pray for God to fill each of us with the spirit of wisdom and understanding, of counsel and might, and of the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord, for the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him… that we might know what is the hope of his calling, what is the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe. I prayed for wisdom out of Jas 1:5. I prayed for days, weeks, months, even years before seeing some of these things come to pass. When we are filled with the spirit of God and his wisdom and strength, we can do a better job at work each day. We will have inspired ideas, health and the courage to have a good attitude.

About one year into this commitment, the Lord spoke to me two verses in order to help me understand why the things that I were praying for were coming to pass. He spoke to me Joh 1:1, “In the beginning was the Word.” The Lord said to me that everything begins with the spoken word. And He gave me Gen 1:2, “and the earth was without form, and void: and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said…” The Lord began to say to me that this is what many people’s lives are like, their lives are without form or purpose and their heart are void and empty, that they walk in darkness each day groping about trying to find peace. The Lord also said to me that He would not have asked me to do something that He Himself would not have had to do also. You see, no one has ever faced a worse world of circumstances that God. And the way He handled it was that He began to prophesy and say, “Let there be…” When God spoke, life and circumstances began to conform to the word of God, and life began to take on purpose and direction. We too, are created in the image of God, even down to our tongue and our words. I saw that I no longer had to be ruled in life by circumstances, but rather a confession on faith in God’s word, when spoken in faith, would prevail over any circumstance.

For four years I called Brown Trail Apartments the head and not the tail, above and not beneath. Finally, our property won the “best-overall-property-of-the-year” award and the most-improved-property-of-the-year award. I saw those two awards as a testimony to the power of God’s word mixed with faith. At that time, in May of 1993, I was given a promotion into the regional office where the Lord set me over ten properties to prophesy. Jer 29:7 says, “…seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray unto the Lord for it: for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace.” I had sought and prayed for peace where I worked and was used to walking in that peace. I will never forget the change of atmosphere from a property where God’s presence prevailed to a new office of honky tonk music, swearing and cigarette smoke. No believers worked in this office. So after hours, I would walk my new “city” and take authority over it. All but one of those employees are gone now, there is no worldly music, nor cigarette smoke here, because God’s word prevails.

During the three years that I have been here, the Lord has continually given me favor with the president and vice-president of the company. God is teaching me how to be a Godly leader in this company and has given me much authority. I now have the authority to prophesy over every property in Texas. I have been calling DMJ Management Co. filled with a multitude of residents and new properties. This past year has seen the highest overall occupancies and income in history, and this coming year will be a time of buying more income properties.

I worked under two godly men who lift up my hands each day as I endeavor to lift up their hands. And this journey has taught me that there is nothing in my life that I cannot do or attain, if I base it on God’s word mixed with faith in His word. I live in victory, and not defeat. I have more dreams and visions that I have time to pursue. Life and circumstances are not overcoming me, but rather I have learned to overcome life’s circumstances. Praise be to the glorious name of Jesus.

Heb 11:3  Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

Heb 11:3 “Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God” – Comments – Heb 11:3 refers to the Story of Creation. As we study the Scriptures, we find that there are a number of passages that reveal the events in the Story of Creation. We have the testimony of the Father’s role in Gen 1:1 to Gen 2:4 as the One who has planned and foreknown all things. We have the testimony of the Son’s role in Joh 1:1-14 as the Word of God through whom all things were created. In Pro 8:22-31, we have the testimony of the role of the Holy Spirit in creation as the Wisdom and Power of God. Job 38:1 to Job 39:30 reveals the majesty and glory of God Almighty by describing the details of how His creation came into existence. 2Pe 3:5-7 refers to the story of creation with emphasis upon God’s pending destruction of all things in order to judge the sins of mankind. Heb 11:3 tells us how it is by faith that we understand how the world was created by the Word of God. We can many other brief references to the creation of the earth throughout the Scriptures.

Someone once said that if a person can believe the story of Creation as recorded in Genesis, then he can believe the rest of the Holy Bible. This story serves as a foundation for man’s faith in God.

“so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear” – Comments – Heb 11:3 tells us that the things that we see were created, or made, not by the chemical reactions of elements that are visible, but that they were ultimately created by the Word of faith. In contrast, the theory of evolution states that life was created by chance from the elements of nature rather than by the spoken Word of God

Scripture References – Note other passages on the story of Creation:

Psa 33:6, “By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.”

Psa 33:9, “For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast.”

Psa 119:89-91, “LAMED. For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven. Thy faithfulness is unto all generations: thou hast established the earth, and it abideth. They continue this day according to thine ordinances: for all are thy servants.”

Psa 146:5-6, “Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the LORD his God: Which made heaven, and earth, the sea, and all that therein is: which keepeth truth for ever:”

Pro 3:19, “The LORD by wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding hath he established the heavens.”

Jer 10:11-12, “Thus shall ye say unto them, The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, even they shall perish from the earth, and from under these heavens. He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by his discretion.”

Rom 4:17, “(As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.”

Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures

The example of Abel, Enoch, and Noah:

v. 3. Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

v. 4. By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and by it he, being dead, yet speaketh.

v. 5. By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him; for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.

v. 6. But without faith it is impossible to please Him; for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.

v. 7. By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.

The sacred writer begins his recital with a general reference, purposely ascribed, not to Adam or any individual believer, but to the believers of all times: By faith we perceive that the worlds have been framed by the word of God, that what is seen has not come into being out of things which appear. The existence of the world, its creation and preservation, is not a matter of conjecture, of idle guesswork, with the Christians, as it is with the heathen and with the unbelievers in general, who have astonished the world with theories that challenge the belief even of the credulous. We hold no such vain theories, the products of speculation based upon false assumptions. Had the visible universe really been formed out of materials which were subject to our inspection, or to the observation of any human beings, then our standpoint would bear the marks of foolish speculation. But the entire manner in which the world came into existence, all parts being adapted to one another and the whole to its purpose, is not a matter of reasonable consideration, but of faith. Faith is the knowledge which tells us that it was the almighty word of God which called things into being out of nothing, created something which was not there before. And the result of this creative act on the part of Almighty God is the existence and preservation of all things which make up the visible universe. Note: It is a matter of comfort to us to know that the same almighty God rules the universe today, and that His promise concerning the preservation of the world still stands, Gen 8:22.

In taking up specific instances, the writer now mentions that of Abel first: By faith Abel offered to God a more adequate sacrifice than Cain, through which he was attested to as being righteous, God testifying upon his gifts; and through the same he, though dead, yet speaks. The better, the more excellent, the more adequate sacrifice of Abel, the peculiar value of his offering, was not due to the choice of the materials, but to the fact that he had faith, that he believed in the coming Messiah. It was on account of this faith, also, that God testified of him that he was righteous, Gen 4:3-5; Mat 23:35. God accepted the offering of Abel, indicating His complete satisfaction with the gift and the prayer which accompanied it; He had respect unto him and his offering, as the text in Genesis has it. Thus the faith of Abel was the reason why God imputed to him the righteousness of the coming Messiah, in whom he placed his hope. Just in what way God showed His acceptance of Abel’s sacrifice, whether by having the smoke of its burning arise directly toward the sky, or by having fire fall down from heaven to devour his offering, or by revealing His attitude to Adam, as the priest of the family, we do not know. Of one thing we are sure, namely, that his offering was accepted because of his faith. And another fact is to be noted, namely, that the murder of Abel was not the end of his activity or influence. Though he is dead, yet he is ever speaking to us. His faith is a shining example to all men as to the manner of obtaining justification, as well as to the necessity of being faithful to the Lord, even if hatred and enmity on the part of the nearest relatives is the result, Gen 4:10; Heb 12:24.

Next is cited the example of Enoch: By faith Enoch was translated so that he did not see death, and he was not found because God had translated him; for before his translation he had had this testimony, that he was well pleasing to God. Of Enoch very little is said in Scriptures, See Gen 5:22-24; Jud 1:14-15. Since the earliest days the children of God, the descendants of Adam that trusted in the mercy of the coming Messiah, had caused the proclamation of this Gospel-truth to be made in their midst, and had taught it to their children. Thus Enoch had learned the truth and the way of salvation, thus had he come to faith; and therefore he was well-pleasing to God. In his case, therefore, the Lord determined to manifest His good pleasure in a particularly extraordinary way. He removed him from the earth, in order that he might not see death; in some form or manner the Lord took his body away, up to the abode of the blessed. And all this because he believed and led a godly life in agreement with his faith, because he walked with God, as the Hebrew text has it, Gen 5:22-24. He was translated, he was removed, he was no longer found. It may well be that his relatives searched for him, as the children of the prophets did for Elijah, 2Ki 2:16, and that they eventually received information from the Lord as to the method of their relative’s removal from the earth. All this was the result of his faith: For without faith it is impossible to please God well; for he that comes to God must believe that He exists, and that He becomes a rewarder to those that diligently seek Him. The author again uses the picture of a priest’s or a worshiper’s drawing nigh to God, Heb 7:25; Heb 10:22. Such a person that worships God in truth will not only believe in the existence of God, but will know also that God will in mercy reward those that seek Him, that His gift to them is eternal life through Jesus Christ the Savior. It is he whose Christianity is not a matter of mere form and of outward ceremonies, but a true matter of the heart, he whose faith is of the kind that does not grow weary in seeking the Lord and His holy will, that will become a partaker of the Lord’s merciful reward.

The example of Noah teaches the same lesson: By faith Noah, after being informed by God concerning that which was as yet not seen, with pious reverence constructed an ark for the saving of his household; by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith. Gen 6:8-22; Gen 7:1-24; Gen 8:1-22; Gen 9:1-29. Noah was perfect in his generations, in the midst of a world which blasphemed the Lord and scorned His Word: he walked with God and found grace in the sight of the Lord. For this reason the Lord gave him information, issued a warning to him concerning the plans which he had with regard to the world and its punishment. While Noah, at God’s command, constructed the ark, it was always with trust in things which had as pet not come to pass. It is very probable that he had to endure the scorn and derision of the unbelievers on all sides for his act of building a ship on dry ground. But Noah continued his work in pious reverence, combined with cautious forethought, knowing that this ark would serve for the saving of his household, or family, for since the Lord had first spoken with him, he had married, and his three sons had grown up and taken wives also. By this exhibition of his faith, Noah condemned the unbelieving children of the world, for by this time the congregation of believers had dwindled down to include only his family. The faith of Noah made the unbelief of the scoffers stand out all the more strongly. Incidentally it made him an heir of the righteousness which is given to men by faith. He became the possessor, the owner of its spiritual blessings, the righteousness of the coming Savior was imputed to him by God, not being earned by the act of his faith, but being accepted by this faith. It is the very same process which obtains today in bringing salvation to men.

Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann

Heb 11:3. Through faith we understand, &c. “By faith we understand that the worlds were adjusted by the word of God, and the several revolutions of them directed by the operations of his secret providence; as the whole universe was at first created by his power, wisdom, and goodness, and the things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. It is certain that no visible cause could produce these things, which would be in effect to suppose them to have produced themselves: we therefore by faith refer them to a divine invisible original.” Ihave no doubt but By the word of God, , is meant, by the word of the Divine Logos. This will appear by comparing the present passage with chap. Heb 1:2-3 of this epistle, where the same word is used by the apostle, when he describes the Son as upholding all things by the word of his power, and as the glorious Person by whom the Father made the world. So Philo, speaking of the framing of heaven and earth, says, “God made them both, by his illustrious and splendid Logos, , with a word,” that is, by the word of his power. Now whether this word , be the word of the Father speaking to the Son or Logos, or the word of the Logos himself, saying with power, Let them be made, and they were made, it is hence evident, that this Logos must be a Person, and not an attribute. It was this Logos or eternal Word and Son of God, who by the word of his power produced out of a confused chaos all the visible things of the creation, such as the sun, moon, and stars, the earth, and all the objects of our senses: and that chaos itself he created by the same word of his power, when nothing had existed from eternity but GOD.

Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke

Heb 11:3 . The author is on the point of proving out the truth of Heb 11:2 , in a series of historic instances from the Holy Scriptures of the O. T., when the thought forces itself upon him that the very first section of that sacred book of Scripture relates a fact of which the reality can only be recognised by means of faith. He first of all, therefore, calls attention to this fact, before proceeding, in Heb 11:4 , to the designed enumeration of those historic examples. Certainly not very aptly, since Heb 11:3 cannot, as Heb 11:4 ff., serve in proof of the assertion, Heb 11:2 , but, on the contrary, introduces into the examination something heterogeneous in relation to Heb 11:4 ff. For Heb 11:3 shows only the necessity for on our part in regard to a fact belonging to the past and recorded in Scripture; Heb 11:4 ff. there are placed before our eyes as models historic persons in whom the virtue of , so constituted as the author demands it of his readers, was livingly present. This judgment, that Heb 11:3 forms a heterogeneous insertion, is pronounced, indeed, by Delitzsch, to whom Kluge and Moll have acceded, an “unfair one.” But the counter observation of Delitzsch: “the author had already at Heb 11:2 , in connection with , and particularly in connection with , the O. T. Scripture before his mind; so that the statement, although sounding thus personal, is equivalent to the proposition that the O. T. Scripture concedes no recognition to any mode of life which lies not within the province of faith,” labours under the defect of logical deliquescence; it is a mere rationalizing of the words of Heb 11:2 , simply and clearly preposed as the theme for that which follows.

] Dat. instrumentalis: by virtue of faith .

] we discern . is the inner perception, accomplished by means of the . Comp. Rom 1:20 .

] has been prepared (comp. LXX. Psa 73:16 . Ps. 88:38). More expressive than if had been written. It represents the having been created at the same time as a having been placed in a completed or perfect condition [Heb 13:21 ].

] the world ; see at Heb 1:2 .

] by the word (or authoritative command) of God . Reference to the repeated: “And God said,” Gen 1 Comp. 2Pe 3:5 ; LXX. Psa 38:6 ; Psa 148:5 . Philo, de sacrif. Abel, et Cain . p. 140 D (with Mangey, I. p. 175): , . The supposition of Bleek (comp. also Ewald, p. 123), that the author here too thought of the word of God as a personified property, has nothing in its favour, since the expression is sufficiently explained without it. Nor does the , Heb 1:2 , compel us to adopt this supposition. For above the special mode of mediately effecting the creation of the world there indicated, stands the higher authorship of God, to which the writer here points in general by the expression .

] not: so that , etc. (so still Bhme, Stuart, Bleek, de Wette, Alford, Conybeare, Kurtz, Ewald, M‘Caul, Woerner, and the majority of recent expositors), with the infinitive preserves here, too, its ordinary telic signification, in that it introduces the purpose of God with regard to the . The sense is: that in accordance with the decree of God, the fact should he averted, that from the should have sprung ; consequently that the human race should from the beginning be directed to the necessity for .

] belongs to the whole object-clause. So rightly Beza, Piscator, Seb. Schmidt, Er. Schmid, Bengel, Storr, Schulz, Hut, Bhme, Stuart, Bleek, Stein, de Wette, Bloomfield, Bisping, Riehm [ Lehrbegr. des Hebrerbr . p. 58), Alford, Maier, Kluge, Moll, Kurtz, M‘Caul, and Hofmann; while the Peshito, Vulgate, Chrysostom, Theodoret, Oecumenius, Theophylact, and almost all later expositors, including also Stengel and Ebrard (Delitzsch is undecided), comprehend with , and then interpret this in the sense of . [106] The latter, in favour of which the supposed parallels which have been adduced prove nothing, is by reason of the position of the words (to say nothing of the fact that must have been written in place of ; for neither 2Co 4:18 , as Delitzsch supposes, nor Rom 4:17 , as Maier supposes, decides against this rule. See Meyer ad loc .) a grammatical impossibility.

] that which is seen , or the outward, visible world. The singular represents the same as one complex whole, resumes under another form only the foregoing , whereas the emphasis in the negative final clause rests upon the , which is on that account preposed.

] are things which appear in outward manifestation, and are perceived by the senses. The expression indicates the domain of the corporal, the material, and there underlies it the conception that the universe did not spring forth by the power of nature from earthly germs or substances, but was created by the mere word of God’s omnipotence. In this is contained, it is true, the conception of the creating of the world from nothing. [Cf. 2Ma 7:28 .] The opinion of Estius, Schlichting, Limborch, Michaelis, Baumgarten, and others, that the author, with a reference to Gen 1:2 (specially after the translation of the LXX.: ), thought of a visible arising of the worlds out of the invisible chaos already existing, has for its presupposition the erroneous transposal of the into , and fails to maintain itself in presence of the fact that the , as antithesis to the foregoing , must receive from this latter its nearer defining of signification. Quite untenable is consequently also the opinion of Delitzsch, who, with the assent of Kluge and Kurtz, supplements as opposition to , and in connection with the or if is combined with the verb, in connection with the tacitly assumed opposite of the imagines the author to have thought, in harmony with the Philonian doctrine, of the divine ideas , out of which the world is supposed to have sprung, in that they were called forth by means of the divine word from their seclusion within the Godhead into the outer phenomenal reality. See against this also Riehm, Lehrbegr. des Hebrerbr . p. 59, Obs .

[106] Calvin alone forms an exception, who would have blended together with into a single word, and finds the sense: “ut non apparentium fierent visa h. e. spectacula,” in such wise that the “doctrina” harmonizing with that of Rom 1:20 should result: “quod in hoc mundo conspicuam haheamus Dei imaginem.”

Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary

3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

Ver. 3. Through faith we understand ] It is the nature of faith to believe God upon his bare word, and that against sense in things invisible, and against reason in things incredible. Sense corrects imagination, reason corrects sense, but faith corrects both. Aufer argumenta ubi fides quaeritur. Verba philosophorum excludit simplex veritas Piscatorum, saith Ambrose. I believe, and that is enough, though I cannot prove principles and fundamentals of faith.

That the worlds were framed ] Gr. , affabre facta, ” were neatly made up.”

By the word of God ] By that one word of his, Fiat, Let it be so and so. By the way, take notice, that faith here described is taken in a large sense as it hath not the promises only, but the whole word of God for its object. Look how the Israelites with the same eyes and visual faculty wherewith they beheld the sands and mountains, did look upon the brazen serpent also, but were cured by fastening upon that alone; so by the same faith whereby we are justified, we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, and believe all other truths revealed; and yet faith as it justifieth looks upon Christ alone, not knowing anything here but Christ and him crucified, as is well observed by a learned divine.

Were not made of things, &c. ] Of any pre-existent matter, as Plato held. See Trapp on “ Gen 1:1 “

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

3 .] The Writer now begins his series of examples of the power of faith. But instead of opening them with the example of our first parents, which he probably passes over as not sufficiently recorded in Scripture, he adduces the great and primary postulate of faith which has regard to a fact contemporaneous indeed with them, and holding this first chronological place in the series: viz. the creation of the world itself. By faith ( is the instrumental dative, nearly = , with which indeed it is interchanged in Heb 11:33 ) we perceive (see ref. Rom., where the verb is used in the same sense of intellectual perception, of God being the . The world itself, and the things therein, by us: but the fact of its creation by God , with our rational or spiritual faculties) the ages (see note on ch. Heb 1:2 , where I have maintained that the expression includes in it all that exists under the conditions of time and space, together with those conditions of time and space themselves, conditions which do not bind God, and did not exist independently of Him, but are themselves the work of His word. Chrys. here replaces in his paraphrase by , the universe. Since writing the note above referred to, I have seen Delitzsch’s commentary, which strongly maintains the mere material sense of , but not to me convincingly) to have been framed (so E. V. for : and we cannot perhaps do better. It is rather however, furnished forth , ‘made to be, and to be what we find them:’ see reff. Ps.) by the word of God (so Philo, in Del., . differs from , in being the spoken word , the command, as throughout Gen 1 , whereas may be, as Del., the inward shaping of the thing willed, as well as its outward manifestation. Cf. Philo de Sacr. Abel et Cain, 18, vol. i. p. 175, . must not here be taken for the personal word: ch. Heb 1:2 is on a different matter), so that (it seems necessary here, with almost all Commentators except Hofmann, Lnem., and Delitzsch, to keep to the ecbatic as against the telic. For even granted that we have on the whole a good sense given by the telic, that God’s purpose in framing the was that &c. (which I own I can hardly see), yet there would be two weighty reasons against admitting it here: 1. that it would be unnaturally introduced, because it is not this purpose of God which we apprehend by faith, but the fact which is supposed to testify to this purpose: whereas if we take the telic sense of , we must include the purpose itself in that which we apprehend: 2. that it does violence to , which on that hypothesis ought to have been some subjective word, not, as it is now, a mere record of past fact. It would be philological labour thrown away to shew that the ecbatic sense of is legitimate. The directive force of may lie either in the purpose of the worker, or in the tendency of the result. Cf. esp. Luk 5:17 ) not out of things apparent hath that which is seen (i. e. the visible world) been made (the first and chief difficulty here is in the position of , and the conclusion which we are thence to form as to our rendering. Most of the translations (Syr., D-lat., “ ut ex non apparentibus ,” vulg., “ ut ex invisibilibus ,” Erasmus, Luther, al.) regard it as belonging to , and render as if it were (so Scriv.’s a, a secunda manu ). And so likewise Chrys. ( ), Thdrt. ( , ), c., Thl., Faber Stap., Jac. Cappell., Estius, Calov., Heinrichs, Valcknaer, Tholuck, al. And, thus taking the construction, these render in two different ways: 1. take the as things unseen, in contrast to the things seen; 2. as things non-existent, as contrasted with things existent. The former of these regard the assertion as meaning that God created the world out of the previously non-apparent Chaos, the “Thohu wa-Bohu” of Gen 1:3 ; the latter as referring to the creation out of the ideas in the divine mind, in which (see this ably argued out in Delitzsch’s Biblische Psychologie, pp. 23, 24) all creation prexisted from eternity. As against both these views it is asserted positively by Lnemann, and contended by Bleek and De Wette, that such a transposition of the negative particle is altogether impossible. Delitzsch replies that Chrys. and the Greek interpreters who so transposed it, understood their own language: and argues for the admissibility of the transposition, citing such expressions as , Thuc. i. 5, and , Arrian. Alex. vii. 23. 12, and such opinions as that of Valcknaer here, who calls it “consuetam Grcis transpositionem vocul negantis,” and Rost, 135. 1, “If a single idea expressed by a noun is to be emphatically denied, which noun is preceded by an article or a preposition, then the particle of negation is put before the article or the preposition,” And certainly it does seem difficult to deny the existence of such cases, and to say with Bleek, that no examples have been given where a or belonging to a participle or adjective is separated from it by a governing preposition: the only apparently applicable instance, 2Ma 7:28 , , being struck away by the Vatican reading being . Still, if we grant the legitimacy of the inversion in cases of emphatic denial, it will remain for us to consider, whether such inversion is to be assumed here. And, I own, it seems to me quite unnecessary. The ultimate sense is in the main the same in either case; but the straightforward construction of the words gives by far the more apposite expressed meaning. In all that we see with our sense, of re-creation and reproduction, . The seed becomes the plant: the grub the moth. But that which is above sight, viz. faith, leads us to apprehend, that this has not been so in the first instance: that the visible world has not been made out of apparent materials. On this acceptation of the construction, we need not interpret otherwise than according to its plain meaning, things apparent: nor does the text stand committed to the before-mentioned pr-existence, or to any Philonian scheme of creation: being simply a negative proposition).

Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament

worlds = ages. Greek. aion. App-129.

framed = prepared, as Heb 10:5. Greek. katartizo. App-125.

word. Greek. rhema. See Mar 9:32.

God. App-98.

so = to (Greek. eis) the end.

were . . . made = came into being. Greek. ginomai, to become.

appear. Greek. phaino. App-106. The reference is not to creation, but to the ordering by God of the dispensations, each of which succeeded but did not spring from its predecessor as a plant does from its seed. By rendering aionas as “worlds” here; katertisthai as “framed”, instead of “prepared”; and gegonenai as “made”, instead of “came into being”, or “came to pass”, the meaning of this important statement is lost.

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

3.] The Writer now begins his series of examples of the power of faith. But instead of opening them with the example of our first parents, which he probably passes over as not sufficiently recorded in Scripture, he adduces the great and primary postulate of faith which has regard to a fact contemporaneous indeed with them, and holding this first chronological place in the series: viz. the creation of the world itself. By faith ( is the instrumental dative, nearly = , with which indeed it is interchanged in Heb 11:33) we perceive (see ref. Rom., where the verb is used in the same sense of intellectual perception, of God being the . The world itself, and the things therein, by us: but the fact of its creation by God , with our rational or spiritual faculties) the ages (see note on ch. Heb 1:2, where I have maintained that the expression includes in it all that exists under the conditions of time and space, together with those conditions of time and space themselves, conditions which do not bind God, and did not exist independently of Him, but are themselves the work of His word. Chrys. here replaces in his paraphrase by , the universe. Since writing the note above referred to, I have seen Delitzschs commentary, which strongly maintains the mere material sense of , but not to me convincingly) to have been framed (so E. V. for : and we cannot perhaps do better. It is rather however, furnished forth, made to be, and to be what we find them: see reff. Ps.) by the word of God (so Philo, in Del., . differs from , in being the spoken word, the command, as throughout Genesis 1, whereas may be, as Del., the inward shaping of the thing willed, as well as its outward manifestation. Cf. Philo de Sacr. Abel et Cain, 18, vol. i. p. 175, . must not here be taken for the personal word: ch. Heb 1:2 is on a different matter), so that (it seems necessary here, with almost all Commentators except Hofmann, Lnem., and Delitzsch, to keep to the ecbatic as against the telic. For even granted that we have on the whole a good sense given by the telic,-that Gods purpose in framing the was that &c. (which I own I can hardly see), yet there would be two weighty reasons against admitting it here: 1. that it would be unnaturally introduced, because it is not this purpose of God which we apprehend by faith, but the fact which is supposed to testify to this purpose: whereas if we take the telic sense of , we must include the purpose itself in that which we apprehend: 2. that it does violence to , which on that hypothesis ought to have been some subjective word, not, as it is now, a mere record of past fact. It would be philological labour thrown away to shew that the ecbatic sense of is legitimate. The directive force of may lie either in the purpose of the worker, or in the tendency of the result. Cf. esp. Luk 5:17) not out of things apparent hath that which is seen (i. e. the visible world) been made (the first and chief difficulty here is in the position of , and the conclusion which we are thence to form as to our rendering. Most of the translations (Syr., D-lat., ut ex non apparentibus, vulg., ut ex invisibilibus, Erasmus, Luther, al.) regard it as belonging to , and render as if it were (so Scriv.s a, a secunda manu). And so likewise Chrys. ( ), Thdrt. ( , ), c., Thl., Faber Stap., Jac. Cappell., Estius, Calov., Heinrichs, Valcknaer, Tholuck, al. And, thus taking the construction, these render in two different ways: 1. take the as things unseen, in contrast to the things seen; 2. as things non-existent, as contrasted with things existent. The former of these regard the assertion as meaning that God created the world out of the previously non-apparent Chaos, the Thohu wa-Bohu of Gen 1:3; the latter as referring to the creation out of the ideas in the divine mind, in which (see this ably argued out in Delitzschs Biblische Psychologie, pp. 23, 24) all creation prexisted from eternity. As against both these views it is asserted positively by Lnemann, and contended by Bleek and De Wette, that such a transposition of the negative particle is altogether impossible. Delitzsch replies that Chrys. and the Greek interpreters who so transposed it, understood their own language: and argues for the admissibility of the transposition, citing such expressions as , Thuc. i. 5, and , Arrian. Alex. vii. 23. 12, and such opinions as that of Valcknaer here, who calls it consuetam Grcis transpositionem vocul negantis, and Rost, 135. 1, If a single idea expressed by a noun is to be emphatically denied, which noun is preceded by an article or a preposition, then the particle of negation is put before the article or the preposition, And certainly it does seem difficult to deny the existence of such cases, and to say with Bleek, that no examples have been given where a or belonging to a participle or adjective is separated from it by a governing preposition: the only apparently applicable instance, 2Ma 7:28, , being struck away by the Vatican reading being . Still, if we grant the legitimacy of the inversion in cases of emphatic denial, it will remain for us to consider, whether such inversion is to be assumed here. And, I own, it seems to me quite unnecessary. The ultimate sense is in the main the same in either case; but the straightforward construction of the words gives by far the more apposite expressed meaning. In all that we see with our sense, of re-creation and reproduction, . The seed becomes the plant: the grub the moth. But that which is above sight, viz. faith, leads us to apprehend, that this has not been so in the first instance: that the visible world has not been made out of apparent materials. On this acceptation of the construction, we need not interpret otherwise than according to its plain meaning, things apparent: nor does the text stand committed to the before-mentioned pr-existence, or to any Philonian scheme of creation: being simply a negative proposition).

Fuente: The Greek Testament

Heb 11:3. , by faith) To a certain extent also without faith, Rom 1:20; but much more by faith, which, for example, is put (has scope for exercise), in ch. 1 of Genesis.-, we understand) The Elders, of whom mention is on that account previously made in the second verse, also understood it. Adam also, who was created after all the rest, understood what he did not see done, but believed to have been done; but concerning his faith, Moses maintains a very mysterious silence; and the apostle follows Moses, except that, in mentioning these things before the sacrifice of Abel, he virtually recognises the faith of those who were first created. Adam is only brought into view as the root of our misery; keeping out of view the other things which might have been said of him.-, were framed) , the framing (the putting together), consolidation of the whole world, includes the creation of single parts, and a continual providence throughout all ages, in wonderful harmony.- ) the worlds, the ages. A grand plural, in which is intimated the course onward to the goal of the heaven and the earth, and all things which are in them, visible and invisible, and, subsequently, their everlasting condition when their course is terminated; and whatever change may at length take place, accompanying the termination. And as creation is the foundation and exhibition (a specimen) of the whole Divine economy, so faith in creation is the foundation and exhibition (a specimen) of all faith.-, by the word) by the command, by the power, without matter or instrument. This accords with what immediately follows.- ) so that. Comp. , 2Co 7:3. , the ages, embrace many things which are not seen; and we may be less disposed to wonder at our only understanding by faith, that they were produced by the word of GOD; but that the creation of these things which are seen was thus effected, we best understand by faith alone;-a fact which shows much more the wonderful power of faith. There is an amplification of , were framed, by means of this clause.- ) The distinction of the words must be especially noticed. , I appear, begin to be seen, with the idea of commencement: , l am seen, I am before the eyes. , the things which are seen, exist, and in our days are the light, the sky, the earth, the stars, etc.; but the same things were appearing, or beginning to be seen (), at the time when they were made , out of things not existing, 2Ma 7:28, and were ordered to come forth: and so indeed it might be said, , namely, as to (in) themselves; that is, that the things which are seen to-day, were appearing (commencing to be seen) at the beginning; they were not from eternity, but began to appear and to be conspicuous at some particular time, whereas they formerly did not exist; comp. , from, Rom 6:13. But in respect of us, the apostle, by putting not before it, expresses a different meaning, and declares , …, that the things which are seen were not made of the things which do appear [of things beginning to be seen, viz. by us, in the act of their creation]. For it was when the world was already produced, that both the first man was created and we are born. We were not spectators of the creation. Let that Question of the Creator, Job 38:4, etc., be considered. By faith, therefore, we perceive the creation; faith has, both backwards and forwards, scope for its exercise (materials on which it may be exercised). Hence it is evident, that the particles, , not from, should be explained in their order; although sometimes or , not, with a preposition, is transposed for the sake of softening the expression [imparting and courtesy to the language], without in general affecting the sense, as 1Ch 15:13, , in your not being formerly employed for this service, i.e. before you were employed.

Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament

He enters on the confirmation and exemplification of his proposition by instances; first from an especial object of faith, and then proceeds unto the actings of it in them who by virtue of it did actually and really believe. The former he expresseth in this verse.

Heb 11:3. , .

. Syr., , by faith. So all others, per fidem, by faith; for being put absolutely, it denotes the instrumental cause.

, intelligimus, we understand. is principally in the first place to consider, to agitate any thing in the mind; and consequently to understand, which is the end of that consideration.

. Syr., , were ordained, disposed, ordered. Vulg. Lat., aptata; which the Rhemists render by framed: but aptata is more significant. Others, aedificata, constructa, ornata, praeparata, creata, condita; built, made, adorned, prepared, created. For the word signifies so to make, or be made, as to be prepared, orderly disposed, and adorned. The active is to finish, to complete, to make a thing every way perfect. In the New Testament it is most generally used for to order, prepare, dispose, to set in order, Mat 4:21; Mat 21:16; Luk 6:40; Rom 9:22; 1Co 1:10; Gal 6:1; 1Th 3:10. And it is the word used by our apostle to express the providing, making, or preparation of the body of Christ, Heb 10:5. See the exposition of that place.

. secula, seculum, mundum; the worlds, or world.

. The Syriac, by transposing the words of this latter clause of the verse, makes the sense more plain, that the things which are seen, were, or arose from things that are not seen. Vulg. Lat., ut ex invisibilibus visibilia fierent. That of invisible things visible things might be made, Rhem., improperly; is not might be made, but were made; and is as much as , so that. The Arabic and Ethiopic wholly forsake the text, or sense of the words. Some render the words as if they were, , by a transposition of the negative particle ; and then the negative is to be referred unto , and not to . In the latter way the sense is, as rendered in our translation, the things that are seen were not made of the things that appear; in the other it is, the things that are seen were made of things that do not appear: which may have an understanding coincident with the other.

, quae cernimus, quae cernuntur; which we see,[3] which are seen.

[3] VARIOUS READING. is the reading of the best Mss. The doctrine negatived is that which teaches that each successive condition of the universe is generated () from a preceding condition, (as the plant from the seed,) by a mere material development, which had no beginning in a Creators will. Conybeare and Howson. ED.

Heb 11:3. By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God; so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

In this first instance of the power and efficacy of faith, the apostle hath respect unto the second clause of his general description of it, the evidence of things not seen. For although this world, and the things contained in it, are visible, and are here said to be seen, yet the original framing and making of them hath a principal place among things not seen. And to prove that faith hath a respect unto all unseen things as unseen, he gives an instance in that which was so long past as the creation of the world; all his other instances declare its efficacy in the prospect of unseen things that are future.

1. That which is here ascribed unto faith is, that it is the instrumental cause of it: By faith. And where faith is spoken of as the instrumental cause of any thing, it always takes in or includes its object as the principal cause of the same thing. So where it is said that we are justified by faith, it includes Christ and his righteousness as the principal cause of our justification; faith being only the instrument whereby we apprehend it. And here, where it is said that by faith we understand that the worlds were framed, it includes its object, namely, the divine revelation that is made thereof in the word of God. For there is no other way for faith to instruct us herein, or give us an understanding of it, but by its assent unto divine revelation. The revelation of it being made, faith is the only way and means whereby we understand it, and assent unto it. By faith we understand; that is, by faith we assent unto the divine revelation of it.

The apostle lays here a good foundation of all his ensuing assertions: for if by faith we are assured of the creation of the world out of nothing, which is contrary to the most received principle of natural reason, Ex nihilo nihil fit, Nothing comes of nothing, it will bear us out in the belief of other things that seem impossible unto reason, if so be they are revealed. In particular, faith well fixed on the original of all things as made out of nothing, will bear us out in the belief of the final restitution of our bodies at the resurrection, which the apostle instanceth in as unto some of his worthies.

2. That which is ascribed unto faith subjectively, or unto its operation in our minds, is, that by it we understand. Upon a due consideration of what is proposed in divine revelation concerning this matter, we come not only to assent unto it as true, but to have a due comprehension of it in its cause, so as that we may be said to understand it. Wherefore, understanding here is not opposed only unto an utter nescience or ignorance hereof, but also unto that dark and confused apprehension of the creation of the world which some by the light of reason attained unto.

Obs. 1. Those who firmly assent unto divine revelation, do understand the creation of the world, as to its truth, its season, its cause, its manner, and end. Others do only think about it unsteadily and uncertainly. It was never determined among the ancient sages of the world, the pretended priests of the mysteries of reason. Some said one thing, and some another: some said it had a beginning, some said it had none; and some assigned such a beginning unto it, as it had been better it never had any. Nothing but an assent unto divine revelation can give us a clear understanding hereof. And,

Obs. 2. Then doth faith put forth its power in our minds in a due manner, when it gives us clear and distinct apprehensions of the things we do believe. Faith that gives not understanding, is but fancy.

3. The object of this faith, materially considered, is the worlds; and of them three things are affirmed:

(1.) That they were framed.

(2.) By what means; by the word of God.

(3.) In what manner; so as that the things which are seen, etc.

The object of this faith is the worlds: for the exposition whereof, name and thing, I must refer the reader unto that of Heb 1:2. (1.) Of these worlds, that which we understand by faith is, that they were framed. The word here used doth nowhere signify the original production of any thing, but the ordering, disposing, fitting, perfecting, or adorning, of that which is produced. Nor is it anywhere applied to express the creation, or making of the world. Wherefore, although that be included herein (for that which is framed, fashioned, or fitted, must be first made or created), yet something more is intended; namely, the disposal of all created things into that beautiful order which we do behold. For the apostle hath especial respect unto the things that are seen, as they are orderly, beautiful, and glorious, setting forth the glory of Him by whom they were made; as Psa 8:1; Psa 8:3; Psa 19:1-2; Rom 1:20. So it is said, that God by his Spirit garnished the heavens, Job 26:13, that is, cast them into that curious, glorious frame which we behold; whence they are called the work of his fingers, Psalms 8, from a curious application of power in their frame and order. Hence he is said to fashion this work, Job 10:8, Psa 119:73; that is, to give it shape and order. And the apostle hath in this word respect unto Gen 2:1, , the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished, perfected, completely framed. Being originally, as unto the matter of them, created out of nothing, in the six dayswork they were completely finished and perfected. And,

Obs. 3. As Gods first work was, so all his works shall be perfect. He undertakes nothing but what he will finish and complete in beauty and order. And not only the original production of all things out of nothing, but the framing of them into their present order, is a demonstration of the eternal power of God.

And because the apostle hath respect not merely unto the work of creation, but unto the perfecting and finishing of it in and upon the sixth days work, he ascribes the understanding of it unto faith alone. For although some few had notions of the original creation of all things by a divine power, yet none ever knew any thing of this framing of the world, or the reducing of the matter of it into perfect order, but by divine revelation only. So we understand it by faith.

(2.) The efficient cause of this framing the worlds is the word of God; that exertion of his almighty power which was expressed by his word, Let it be so and so,which was the sign of it, and the indication of its exercise. And the apostle treating of the gradual fashioning of the world into its perfection, hath respect unto the repetition of that word in every days work, until the whole was accomplished. By this word of God, or by the divine power of God, whose gradual operation was signified by the repetition of that creating word, the worlds were made.

And the ineffable facility of almighty power in the production of all things out of nothing, and the framing of them into their perfect state, is intimated in this expression, He spake, and it was made; he commanded, and it stood fast. It is alike easy to him to dispose of all things that are made. And so faith, as unto the disposal of all things by divine Providence, in times of greatest difficulties and insuperable obstacles, is secured by the consideration of the easy production of all things out of nothing by the same power. And this is that which the apostle intends to fix on the minds of believers in this fundamental instance of the work and effects of faith. But whereas that which he exhorts and encourages his Hebrews unto is a patient continuance in the profession of the gospel, against all difficulties and oppositions, giving them assurance that faith will enable them thereunto; this of its assent unto the creation of the world, a thing so long since past, doth not seem to be of any use or force unto these ends. For although we may believe the creation of the worlds by an act of divine power, yet it doth not seem to follow thence that faith will strengthen us, and make us victorious in our sufferings. But two things the apostle aims to evince herein, which are eminently suited unto this design:

[1.] That faith is the evidence of things not seen; thereby to call the Hebrews unto the consideration of its proper object, whereon when it is duly fixed it will carry them comfortably through all their difficulties.

[2.] That they might know how easy it is with God to help, relieve, and deliver them, by changing the nature of all things at his pleasure, who by his word, through an almighty facility, erected and perfected the worlds. And this consideration doth God himself frequently propose for the confirmation of the faith of the church in all their troubles, Isa 40:28; Isa 44:24; Isa 45:12; Isa 51:13.

(3.) The way whereby the worlds were thus framed, is declared in the latter part of the verse: So that things which are seen, etc.

[1.] The subject spoken of is , things that are seen. This is not of the same extent with the , the worlds, which were framed; for they comprise all things visible and invisible, in heaven and earth, Col 1:16. But the apostle restrains the subject spoken of unto those things which are the objects of our senses, and our reason working by them; these aspectable heavens and the earth, with all their host and ornaments; for these are they that in the first place and immediately declare the glory of God, Psalms 8, 19; Rom 1:20. All things that are seen, or that may be seen; the heavenly orbs with all their glorious luminaries, the earth with all that is on it and in it, the sea with all its fullness; all these things that are seen by us, by any of mankind, or that may be so, with these things, their greatness, their glory, their order, their use, the minds of men are and ought to be affected.

[2.] Of these things it is affirmed, that they were not made of things which do appear. Made they were, but not of things which do appear; which seems to be a negation of any pre-existing material cause. Some, as was observed, by the transposition of the negative particle, read the words, were made of things that do not appear; that is, they were made by the invisible power of God. So it answers unto that of the same apostle, Rom 1:20, For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead. These visible things were made by those which are invisible, even the eternal power and wisdom of God. And this sense I would embrace, if the phrase would bear it, which seems rather to respect the material than the efficient cause. But we may observe,

1st. That are things that appear clearly, illustriously, in their shape and order.

2dly. That the apostle doth not speak absolutely of the first original production of all things out of nothing, but of the forming, framing, and fashioning of all things into their proper state and order, called the finishing of the heavens and the earth, with their host, or order and ornaments.

3dly. There is therefore in the words,

(1st.) A negation of any pre-existing material cause unto the creation of these worlds:

(2dly.) An assignation of the only efficient cause of it, which is the power of God; which things are rather supposed than asserted in the words: (3dly.) Respect unto the order of the creation of all things, in bringing them unto their perfection. Now this was, that all the things which we now behold, in their order, glory, and beauty, did arise or were made by the power of God, out of that chaos, or confused mass of substance, which was itself first made and produced out of nothing, having no cause but the efficiency of divine power. For hereof it is said, that it was without form, and void, and darkness was upon it, Gen 1:2; that is, though absolutely, as a material substance, it was visible, yet it did not appear conspicuously in any shape or form, it was void, and without form; no such things at all appeared as the things which we now behold, that were made out of it by the power of God.

Wherefore in these words, which have much of obscurity and difficulty in them, the apostle doth both intimate the original production of all things out of nothing by the efficacy of divine power, and the making or framing of all things as they are in beauty and order to be seen, out of that unaspectable, unappearing matter which was first made out of nothing, and covered with darkness until it was disposed into order.

The understanding hereof we have by faith alone, from divine revelation.: Nothing of the order of the creation can be known or understood any other way. And this the apostle intimates in these particles , that is, , so that. By faith alone we understand that the worlds were made; namely, so as that the things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. And,

Obs. 4. The aids of reason, with the due consideration of the nature, use, and end of all things, ought to be admitted of, to confirm our minds in the persuasion of the original creation of all things; yet are they not to be rested in, but we must betake ourselves unto faith fixed on divine revelation. For,

(1.) If they are alone they will be often shaken with a contrary rational maxim, namely, Ex nihilo nihil fit.

(2.) They can give us re light into the way and manner of the creation of all things, which faith alone discovers.

Fuente: An Exposition of the Epistle to the Hebrews

faith: Heb 1:2, Gen 1:1-31, Gen 2:1, Psa 33:6, Isa 40:26, Jer 10:11, Jer 10:16, Joh 1:3, Act 14:15, Act 17:24, Rom 1:19-21, Rom 4:17, 2Pe 3:5, Rev 4:11

Reciprocal: Deu 32:11 – General Psa 33:9 – For Isa 45:12 – made the earth Joh 1:10 – and the world was Rom 2:27 – judge Heb 11:5 – this testimony

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Heb 11:3. Through faith does not mean that the following things of this verse were accomplished by faith. for God does not have to act on faith. He knows what he can do. It is through faith that we understand about it. Worlds is defined by the lexicon at this place, “The worlds, the universe,” and framed is defined, “To fit out, equip, put in order, arrange, adjust.” Are seen and do appear are both in the present tense, and made is from a Greek word that means “caused to be.” The sentence means that the universe which we see was not made out of anything else that appears to us. But that does not say that God “made something out of nothing.” Such a notion is not taught in any scripture that I have read. Just because we cannot see what God made the universe of does not prove that He made it out of nothing. Word is from RHEMA. which Thayer defines at this place, “The word by which some thing is commanded, directed, enjoined.” This agrees with Psa 33:9, which says, “He spake and it was done; he commanded and it stood fast.” Also the phrase “and God said” occurs nine times in the first chapter of Genesis.

Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary

Heb 11:3. Here begin the examples of the power and nature and effects of faith. By faith we know that the worlds (the universe) have been framed by the word of God. The worldsall that exists in time and space, including time and space themselves (see note on chap. Heb 1:2). Have been framedthe reference is to the preparation and completing of the world according to the design of the Founder. The word is translated established in Psa 89:37prepared in Psa 74:16. By the word of God; i.e His command. The explanation is found in Genesis 1, where nine times we read, God said . . . and it was so. It is by faith we understand that God made the universe. The word understand describes the rational or spiritual act of thought whereby things come to be known: that things had an origin, that they did not originate themselves, that they had an originator whose ability, intelligence, and goodness correspond to the qualities which we see in them, are conclusions to which our rational and spiritual nature lead us (as we are told in Rom 1:20). The conclusions are of the nature of faith; for the process was unseen, and, the conclusions are rather to be believed than demonstrated. When the announcement is made, however, and we believe it, the mystery is comparatively solved; an adequate cause is assigned, and we form a conception of the origin of things which commends itself to our noetic faculty, or perceptive understanding, as certainly as it commends itself to our religious instinct. Faith, therefore, the belief in the unseen, is as certainly a principle of natural religion, in its rudimentary form at least, as it is of revealed religion. It suggests the solution of many problems. Without it the world itself, in its origin and destiny, is a deep mystery, a maze without a plan.

So that what is seen (the true reading, the visible universe as a whole, not many separate things) was not made (hath not come to be) out of the things which appear. Creation abounds in change and in developmentthe plant comes from the seed, and each man from the race that precedes him; but the understanding of faith leads us to the conclusion that at the beginning it was not so. The series is not eternal or self-created; God Himself is the Creator, and to Him and to His word the visible creation is to be ascribed. The clause so that, etc., may mean the tendency of the arrangement; the arrangement itself leads to the conclusion; or it may describe the purpose of the Creator, in order that what is seen might be understood to have come from what does not appearviz., from the Divine mind and plan; but the interpretation given above is the more simple and natural.

Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament

The design of the apostle in these words is to prove, that faith satisfies itself in the world be now visible, and the things contained in it are said to be seen, yet the original framing and making of the world has a principal place among things not seen.

Learn hence, That by faith assenting to divine revelation, and not by reason, we understand the truth and wonders, the seasons and causes, the manner and end of the world’s creation. Reason indeed tells us that there was a creation, consquently a Creator; but reason without divine revelation could never have discovered the circumstances and manner of the creation, which wholly depended upon the will of God.

Reason and nature could never have known them, had not God in his word first revealed them: The old Heathens could never determine who made the world, nor when, nor how it was made, or whence, and out of what it was made. Reason may profound the question, how was the world made, and all things herein? But revelation must resolve it. A poor child learns more by its catechism, than all the philosophers ever learn by their profound researches, and painful studies.

Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed, it follows, by the word of God, that is, both by his external and imperial word, his word of command, saying Let it be; He spake and it was done, Psa 33:9. And also by his essential and substantial word, Jesus Christ, by whom God made the worlds, Heb 1:2 in that order which Moses has historically related.

Observe lastly, How and after what manner the world was made, not out of any prejacent or pre-existent matter, but out of nothing: That which was not at all, could not be seen: The things that are seen, were not made of things that do appear.

Here note, That the power of God framed many things out of nothing, as the heaven of heavens, the dwelling place of God and angels, immediately; other things mediately out of the chaos, that is, such rude, indisposed, and unfit matter, as had no disposition to receive such a form, as it did actually receive from the power of God; and may therefore deservedly be called a creation, out of nothing.

Learn hence, That in the work of creation, though other attributes of wisdom and goodness visibly appeared, yet none were so eminently conspicuous as the power of God. Well might St. Paul say, Rom 1:20 That herein was manifested his eternal power and Godhead.

Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament

Heb 11:3. Through faith we understand that the worlds Although the expression, , generally signifies the ages, yet here the subsequent clause determines its signification to the material fabric of the world, comprehending the sun, moon, and stars, &c., (called by Moses the heaven and the earth, Gen 1:1,) by whose duration and revolutions time, consisting of days, months, years, and ages, is measured; were framed Formed, fashioned, and finished, as the word implies, properly signifying to place the parts of any body or machine in their right order, Eph 4:12. It, however, also signifies to make, or produce, as Heb 10:5, where it is applied to the body made for Christ. And that it here signifies, not merely the orderly disposition of the parts of the universe, but their production, is plain from the following clause. By the word of God The sole command of God, without any instrument or preceding matter. The word , here used, properly signifies a word spoken, or a command. It is nowhere used in Scripture to denote the Son of God. His proper title is , the Word. That the worlds were made by the word, order, or command of God, is one of the unseen things which cannot be known but by divine revelation. The apostle, therefore, doubtless refers to the Mosaic account of the creation, Gen 1:3, &c., where Moses informs us, God said, let there be light, and there was light, &c. As the creation is the fountain and specimen of the whole divine economy, so faith in the Creator is the foundation and specimen of all faith; so that the things which are seen The earth and heavens, with all that they contain; were not made of things which do appear Or, of things appearing, or which did appear, as may be properly rendered; that is, they were not made of any pre-existing matter, but of matter which God created and formed into the things which we see; and having formed them, he placed them in the beautiful order which they now hold, and impressed on them the motions proper to each, which they have retained ever since. This account of the origin of things, given by revelation, is very different from the cosmogony of the heathen philosophers, who generally held that the matter of which the worlds were composed was uncreated and eternal; consequently, being independent of God, and not obedient to his will, they supposed it to be the occasion of all the evil that is in the world. But revelation, which teaches us that the things which are seen were not made of matter which did appear before they were made, but of matter which God had brought into existence; by thus establishing the sovereignty of God over matter, hath enlarged our ideas of his power, and strengthened our faith in his promises concerning the felicity of good men in the life to come. For the creation of the new heavens and the new earth, and the glories of the city of the living God, do not, in order to their formation, require more power than the creation of the present universe; and therefore, if we believe that the worlds were formed by the word of God from nothing, every other exercise of faith will be easy to us.

Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Verse 3

We understand; that is, we believe.

Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament

11:3 {3} Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are {b} seen were not made of things which do appear.

(3) He shows the property of faith, by setting before us most cautious examples of those who from the beginning of the world excelled in the Church.

(b) So that the world which we see, was not made from any matter that appeared or was before, but from nothing.

Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes

However faith is a way of viewing all of life, what lies ahead as well as what is in the past. It involves accepting God’s viewpoint as He has revealed it in His Word. This extends to how the universe came into being (cf. Heb 1:2-3) as well as how it will end.

"Belief in the existence of the world is not faith, nor is it faith when men hold that the world was made out of some preexisting ’stuff.’ (In the first century there were people who did not believe in God but who held to some kind of ’creation.’) But when we understand that it was the Word of God (’God’s command,’ NIV) that produced all things, that is faith." [Note: Morris, p. 114.]

Notice that the writer did not say that God created the universe out of nothing (creation ex nihilo), an idea that the Greeks rejected. [Note: Guthrie, p. 227.] He simply said that the universe did not originate from primal material or anything observable. His description does not rule out creation ex nihilo, but neither does it affirm it. Gen 1:1-3 and logic seem to indicate that God did indeed create the universe, something visible, out of His word, something invisible.

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)

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