SEV Biblia, Chapter 11:1
¶ Es pues la fe, la sustancia de las cosas que se esperan, la demostracin de las cosas que no se ven.
Clarke's Bible Commentary - Hebrew 11:1
Verse 1. Faith is the substance of things hoped for] esti de pistiv elpizomenwn upostasiv? Faith is the SUBSISTENCE of things hoped for; pragmatwn elegcov ou blepomenwn? The DEMONSTRATION of things not seen. The word upostasiv, which we translate substance, signifies subsistence, that which becomes a foundation for another thing to stand on. And elegcov signifies such a conviction as is produced in the mind by the demonstration of a problem, after which demonstration no doubt can remain, because we see from it that the thing is; that it cannot but be; and that it cannot be otherwise than as it is, and is proved to be. Such is the faith by which the soul is justified; or rather, such are the effects of justifying faith: on it subsists the peace of God which passeth all understanding; and the love of God is shed abroad in the heart where it lives, by the Holy Ghost. At the same time the Spirit of God witnesses with their spirits who have this faith that their sins are blotted out; and this is as fully manifest to their judgment and conscience as the axioms, "A whole is greater than any of its parts;"Equal lines and angles, being placed on one another, do not exceed each other;" or as the deduction from prop. 47, book i., Euclid: "The square of the base of a right-angled triangle is equal to the difference of the squares of the other two sides." elegcov is defined by logicians, Demonstratio quae fit argumentis certis et rationibus indubitatis, qua rei certitudo efficitur. "A demonstration of the certainly of a thing by sure arguments and indubitable reasons." Aristotle uses it for a mathematical demonstration, and properly defines it thus: elegcov de estiv o mh duvatov allwv exeiv, all outwv wv hmeiv legomen, " Elenehos, or Demonstration, is that which cannot be otherwise, but is so as we assert." Rhetor. ad Alexand., cap. 14, peri elegcou. On this account I have adduced the above theorem from Euclid. Things hoped for] Are the peace and approbation of God, and those blessings by which the soul is prepared for the kingdom of heaven. A penitent hopes for the pardon of his sins and the favour of his God; faith in Christ puts him in possession of this pardon, and thus the thing that was hoped for is enjoyed by faith. When this is received, a man has the fullest conviction of the truth and reality of all these blessings though unseen by the eye, they are felt by the heart; and the man has no more doubt of God's approbation and his own free pardon, than he has of his being.
In an extended sense the things hoped for are the resurrection of the body, the new heavens and the new earth, the introduction of believers into the heavenly country, and the possession of eternal glory.
The things unseen, as distinguished from the things hoped for, are, in an extended sense, the creation of the world from nothing, the destruction of the world by the deluge, the miraculous conception of Christ, his resurrection from the dead, his ascension to glory, his mediation at the right hand of God, his government of the universe, &c., &c., all which we as firmly believe on the testimony of God's word as if we had seen them. See Macknight. But this faith has particular respect to the being, goodness, providence, grace, and mercy of God, as the subsequent verses sufficiently show.
John Gill's Bible Commentary
Ver. 1. Now faith is the substance of things hoped for , etc..] The faith here spoken of is not a mere moral virtue, which is a branch of the law; nor a bare assent to anything revealed, declared, and affirmed in the Gospel; nor a faith of doing miracles; nor an implicit one; nor a mere profession of faith, which sometimes is but temporary; nor the word or doctrine of faith; but that which is made mention of in the preceding chapter, by which the just man lives, and which has the salvation of the soul annexed to it: and it does not so much design any particular branch, or act of faith, but as that in general respects the various promises, and blessings of grace; and it chiefly regards the faith of Old Testament saints, though that, as to its nature, object, and acts, is the same with the faith of New Testament ones; and is a firm persuasion of the power, faithfulness, and love of God in Christ, and of interest therein, and in all special blessings: it is described as the substance of things hoped for; and which, in general, are things unseen, and as yet not enjoyed; future, and yet to come; difficult to be obtained, though possible, otherwise there would be no hope of them; and which are promised and laid up; and in particular, the things hoped for by Old Testament saints were Christ, and eternal glory and happiness; and by New Testament ones, more grace, perseverance in it, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal life. Now faith is the substance of these things; it is the ground and foundation of them, in which there is some standing hope; in which sense the word upostasiv is used by Septuagint in ( Psalm 69:2). The word of promise is principal ground and foundation of hope; and faith, as leaning on the word, is a less principal ground; it is a confident persuasion, expectation, and assurance of them. The Syriac version renders it, the certainty of them; it is the subsistence of them, and what gives them an existence, at least a mental one; so with respect to the faith and hope of the Old Testament saints, the incarnation, sufferings, and death of Christ, his resurrection, ascension, and session at God's right hand, are spoken of, as if they then were; and so are heaven, and glory, and everlasting salvation, with regard to the faith and hope of New Testament saints: yea, faith gives a kind of possession of those things before hand, ( John 6:47). Philo the Jew says much the same thing of faith; the only infallible and certain good thing (says he) is, that faith which is faith towards God; it is the solace of life, plhrwma crhstwn elpidwn , the fulness of good hopes, etc..
It follows here, the evidence of things not seen ; of things past, of what was done in eternity, in the council and covenant of grace and peace; of what has been in time, in creation, and providence; of the birth, miracles, sufferings, death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ; of things present, the being, perfections, love, etc.. of God; of the session of Christ at God's right hand, and his continual intercession; and of the various blessings of grace revealed in the Gospel; and of future ones, as the invisible realities of another world: faith has both certainty and evidence in it.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 1-3 - Faith always has been the mark of God's servants, from the beginning of the world. Where the principle is planted by the regenerating Spirit of God, it will cause the truth to be received, concerning justificatio by the sufferings and merits of Christ. And the same things that ar the object of our hope, are the object of our faith. It is a fir persuasion and expectation, that God will perform all he has promise to us in Christ. This persuasion gives the soul to enjoy those thing now; it gives them a subsistence or reality in the soul, by the first-fruits and foretastes of them. Faith proves to the mind, the reality of things that cannot be seen by the bodily eye. It is a ful approval of all God has revealed, as holy, just, and good. This view of faith is explained by many examples of persons in former times, wh obtained a good report, or an honourable character in the word of God Faith was the principle of their holy obedience, remarkable services and patient sufferings. The Bible gives the most true and exact accoun of the origin of all things, and we are to believe it, and not to wres the Scripture account of the creation, because it does not suit with the differing fancies of men. All that we see of the works of creation were brought into being by the command of God.
Greek Textus Receptus
εστιν 2076 5748 δε 1161 πιστις 4102 ελπιζομενων 1679 5746 υποστασις 5287 πραγματων 4229 ελεγχος 1650 ου 3756 βλεπομενων 991 5746
Vincent's NT Word Studies
1. Faith (pistiv). Without the article, indicating that it is treated in its abstract conception, and not merely as Christian faith. It is important that the preliminary definition should be clearly understood, since the following examples illustrate it. The key is furnished by ver. 27, as seeing him who is invisible. Faith apprehends as a real fact what is not revealed to the senses. It rests on that fact, acts upon it, and is upheld by it in the face of all that seems to contradict it. Faith is a real seeing. See Introduction, p. 363.
Substance (upostasiv). See on ch. i. 3 and iii. 14. On the whole, the Rev. assurance gives the true meaning. The definition has a scholastic and philosophic quality, as might be expected from a pupil of the Alexandrian schools. The meaning substance, real being, given by A.V., Vulg., and many earlier interpreters, suggests the true sense, but is philosophically inaccurate. Substance, as used by these translators, is substantial nature; the real nature of a thing which underlies and supports its outward form or properties. In this sense it is very appropriate in ch. i. 3, in describing the nature of the Son as the image or impress of God's essential being: but in this sense it is improperly applied to faith, which is an act of the moral intelligence directed at an object; or a condition which sustains a certain relation to the object. It cannot be said that faith is substantial being. It apprehends reality: it is that to which the unseen objects of hope become real and substantial. Assurance gives the true idea. It is the firm grasp of faith on unseen fact.
Evidence (elegcov). N.T.o . Quite often in LXX for yakach, to reprove, rebuke, punish, blame. See Prov. i. 23; Wisd. ii. 14; Sir. xxi. 12. See especially on the kindred verb ejlegcein, John iii. 20. Rend. conviction. Observe that uJpostasiv and elegcov are not two distinct and independent conceptions, in which case kai would have been added; but they stand in apposition. Elegcov is really included in uJpostasiv, but adds to the simple idea of assurance a suggestion of influences operating to produce conviction which carry the force of demonstration. The word often signifies a process of proof or demonstration. So von Soden: "a being convinced. Therefore not a rash, feebly-grounded hypothesis, a dream of hope, the child of a wish."
Of things (pragmatwn). Pragma is, strictly, a thing done; an accomplished fact. It introduces a wider conception than ejlpizomenwn things hoped for; embracing not only future realities, but all that does not fall under the cognizance of the senses, whether past, present, or future.
