At this point, many of you may have a lingering scripture in the back of your mind that is seemingly gnawing at this perspective of faith being a position. Obviously, I chose the title Faith Is Not a Substance specifically to counter the common interpretation behind this scripture –
Hebrews 11:1
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
So let’s look at this verse. The first word we see in the verse is “now”, which tells us that the first sentence is connecting an idea to the previous one. So we will start in Hebrews 10:38.
“Now the just (dikaios – righteous) shall live by (ek – out from, directional) faith: but if [any man] draw back (hypostellō - to withdraw one's self, i.e. to be timid, to cover, shrink), my soul shall have no pleasure in him. But we are not of them who draw back unto (eis - towards) perdition (apōleia - a perishing, ruin, destruction); but [of them that] (the phrase “of them that” is added for understanding and not in the Greek per se; the phrase can stay or go) believe (pistis – faith, in the noun form) to the saving (peripoiēsis - a preserving, a preservation) of the soul.”
Heb 10:38-39 Properly understood, this text lines up exactly with what I have already taught. Those who are righteous experience the life in their spirit flowing out from the position of faith toward their soul (the combination of one’s heart and mind). If you withdraw from that position, you are no longer going to experience the source of life in your righteous position, but will instead experience the source of ruin and destruction (the flesh).
We are not of those who draw away from the position of faith, but remain and draw toward and from the position, of faith. This is how we deliver (save) our soul with the life that flows from our righteous spirit. We get that life to flow toward our soul by setting our mind in the spirit and not the flesh. “For to be carnally minded [is] death; but to be spiritually minded [is] life and peace.” Romans 8:6 Hebrews 11:1 (in Greek order)
Ἔ¦στιν δὲ πί¦στις ἐλ¦πι¦ζο¦μέ¦νων
is and faith to expect, to hope
ὑ¦πό¦στα¦σις,
that which is set or stands under, a foundation
πραγ¦μά¦των ἔ¦λεγ¦χος οὐ βλε¦πο¦μέ¦νων.
a thing done proof not seen
Obviously, when we translate this into English we have to add words to fill in the content. But here is the basic idea: And faith is to expect that which is set underneath, that is the foundation [to produce] a thing that proves the unseen. If you continue on with Hebrews 11, what do you find? You find a list of men who did not waver, but rested in God to produce mighty acts. This is commonly called the “Hebrews Hall of Faith.”
It is not about the amount of substance they had; it is about the way they trusted God and his word. They rested in what he said to do regardless of what they saw. They didn’t waver from that position. Even Abraham was willing to kill his son because he knew God could raise him. He trusted God to do everything for him and to keep his word that he would be the father of a great nation through Isaac. They rested on God and his word.
Faith is like the root system set underneath (established in the unseen). It is the foundation that will produce leaves and fruit. Leaves and fruit are then the evidence of the things unseen. You know that a trees root system is well established if it has life in its' branches. You know that the roots are established in their position to bring the nutrients and life in the soil (source) to the trees body. Faith is a position in the source.
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