Understanding Faith: Definition and Significance

Bible faith, as defined in Hebrews 11:1, is “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” This signifies that faith transcends mere hope. While hope assures us of the future event, faith is now. Faith gives present-day substance to the things we hope for. Hope secures the future, but faith deals with the present. it is a confident assurance and conviction of things not visible to the human eye. Moffatt’s translation elaborates on this, stating faith is the “confidence of what we hope for” and the “conviction of what we do not yet see.”

What is the definition of Bible faith, and how does it differ from belief?

Bible faith is a strong belief in something without physical proof, often associated with things of God. It differs from just believing in that faith involves a corresponding action to the deep conviction. Faith goes beyond just accepting something as true; it involves trust, loyalty to that belief, and performing actions that demonstrate the belief even in the absence of tangible evidence.

Bible faith, as defined in Hebrews 11:1, is “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” This signifies that faith transcends mere hope; it is a confident assurance and conviction in the reality of things not visible to the human eye.

This definition is further emphasized in Romans 4:17-21, where Abraham is presented as a model of unwavering faith. He was nearly a hundred years old, and Sarah was also old and barren. Yet Abraham continued to believe God’s promise that he would be the father of many nations. He did not weaken in faith or consider his body and Sarah’s barrenness as obstacles.

Instead, he was fully convinced that God was able to do what He had promised. This steadfast belief, without relying on physical evidence, encapsulates the essence of Bible faith.

My dear friend, let’s pause here. Consider that need that you have, that urgent request, which you have placed before God in prayer based on God’s promises in the Bible. Please Ask yourself these questions:

Am I fully convinced that God is able to perform what I have requested? If your answer is Yes!, Ask yourself a follow-up question:

Am I convinced it’s God’s will to do what I requested? If your answer is yes! Then start thanking Him for granting your request. And begin to make room for what you asked for from God because it’s undoubtedly coming your way. Start expecting the solution to your problem to show up. According to God’s word, your miracle is heading your way. It will soon knock on your door. Be on the lookout to open the door to receive the physical delivery. Even if it delays a little, don’t relax expectations; they will surely come. Wait for it; it will soon come. For “God is not a man that He should lie, neither the son of man that He should repent: hath He said, and shall he not do it? or hath He spoken, and shall He not make it good?” (Numbers 23:19).

What to Do in the Interim– Between Belief and Manifestation

You have just finished praying. There’s an urgent need in your family concerning which you earnestly sought the face of God. You know very well that your request is in line with the Word of God, and you know in your spirit that it is His will to perform what you have requested. You have prayed, and you believe that you received what you have requested from the Father. You just finished confessing with a heart full of faith, praising God, and saying, “Amen, I believe I have received.” And the heavens say so as well.

But I need not tell you, my dear fellow believer, that there is usually a time interval between when you say “Amen, I believe I have received” and when you actually see the physical manifestation of your request. This time interval may be a second, a minute, an hour, a day, a week, a month, a year, or even more.

The question is, in the interim, when we are between the “believe that ye receive” and the “ye shall have it,” what shall we do? How shall we behave ourselves during this time? What shall we hold on to before the physical substance arrives? These and many other questions are what we shall, by the grace of God, meditate upon in these few pages.

Find Out What the Will of God Is

First, we must find out what the Word of God says about our situation and resolve in our spirit that our request is in line with His will. We then bring it before Him. It could be regarding our finances, our family, our health, the economy, or whatever our present needs may be. The Lord said in this passage that when we pray, we should believe that we receive and we’ll have it.

We would all prefer to have the physical manifestation of our prayers take place the instant we say “Amen,” but it’s not always so. Therefore, during this waiting time, when the substance we prayed for is still in the invisible realm, we have to hold on to something, something invisible yet tangible.

Building Confidence in God’s Word During Waiting Periods

If there is ever a time in your life when you need to have an unshakable trust in God, it’s during that interval of time. And you can be sure that the ultimate opportunist, the devil, will try to shake your confidence in God’s Word during that time interval when the answer is in transition between the spiritual realm and the physical.

“And this is the confidence that we have in him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us: And if we know that he hears us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him” (1 John 5:14-15).

Scripture tells us in the passage above that we can have confidence in God. It states that if we ask Him anything according to His will, He hears us. The passage goes on to say that if we know He hears us, then we are confident that we’ll have what we asked Him for, even before it manifests.

So We have already begun to discuss faith in the preceding paragraphs. But first and foremost, What faith is acting like God told you the truth because He is alive today. It affirms the integrity of God and His Word. Faith? is based on the Word of God, and if God hasn’t spoken, there is absolutely no basis for faith.

We have already begun to discuss faith in the preceding paragraphs. But first and foremost, faith is acting like God told you the truth. It affirms the integrity of God and His Word. Faith is based on the Word of God, and if God hasn’t spoken, there is absolutely no basis for faith.

The eleventh chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews teaches us what faith is. The Spirit of God opens this chapter by telling us that faith is not a leap in the dark, not an unreal make-believe empty vapor, but a well-grounded substance and the assurance of that for which we hope, even though it’s not yet visible.

A man of God spoke of a little girl who was asked to define faith. “Well,” she replied, “faith is believing what you know ain’t so.” That’s what faith means to many people, including many churchgoers. They profess faith with their mouths but do not think much of it in their hearts, and their actions reveal this.

Down in their hearts and minds, they think it’s some sort of gamble. And therefore, they cannot and will not stake their lives on it. But faith is a substance that relies totally on the integrity of God and rests on the Word that He has spoken. And the Scripture tells us that:

“God is not a man, that He should lie; neither the son of man, that He should repent: hath He said, and shall He not do it? Or hath He spoken, and shall He not make it good?” (Numbers 23:19). “For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen” (2 Corinthians 1:20).

The Amplified Bible renders this first verse of Hebrews 11 as, “Faith is the assurance (the confirmation, the title deed) of the things we hope for, being the proof of things we do not see and the conviction of their reality. (Faith perceives as real what is not revealed to the senses.)” So, faith gives substance to what we’ve prayed for while it is not yet physically in our hands.

Faith is a Substance, It’s Real

The Greek word translated as “substance” in this verse under consideration from the NAS Exhaustive Concordance Dictionary means support, substance, or steadiness. It is something substantial, not some sort of hypothesis or theory. It is a proven fact, a support that rests upon the foundation of the Word of God.

The Amplified Bible renders the first verse of Hebrews Chapter 11 as saying that faith is the “title deed” of the things we hope for and the proof of the things we do not see. If someone were to send you a title deed to a 1000-acre property in the luxurious San Fernando Valley of Southern California, you would be instantly rich. You might not set your feet on it for days or weeks, depending on how long it took you to travel there, but that notwithstanding, you would know that the property was yours. Every time you looked at the title deed, you would know that the property was yours and that you were rich. You would begin to talk and act like a rich man. Even though you haven’t seen the property or physically touched it, you have the title deed: the title deed is the substance representing that property and tells you that it’s yours. So, it is with faith.

“Now faith is a well-grounded assurance of that for which we hope, and a conviction of the reality of things which we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1, Weymouth).

Faith is Evidence

Faith is real, and it’s the evidence of the things in the invisible realm. Faith is not a hope-so. It is a substance that we can hold on to in the interim between when we say “Amen, I believe, I receive” and when the substance requested manifests in the physical. Faith temporarily takes the place of the physical things that we’ve requested from God while the request is in the process of being made manifest. Once the thing petitioned for manifests in the physical, the work of faith concerning that petition is done.

Evidence is something you can take to court to prove your case. Faith is proof and a ground for conviction that the things in the unseen realm that God has promised are real and are legally yours. Faith is substance and evidence; therefore, by it, we can confidently rely on the Word of God.

To Please God, We Must Walk By Faith

Without faith, we cannot please God (Hebrews 11:6). This is because if we act in unbelief, we’re essentially, by our actions, making Him a liar. We are honoring what we see in the physical above what He has said. We may say we believe a million times, but when we act differently from what the Word says, we are dishonoring Him. No wonder the Lord said of the hypocrites, “Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, These people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me” (Mark 7:6). Therefore, to truly please God, we must live in obedience to His teachings and walk by faith.

Faith is of the heart. It is a product of and grows in the heart of man. Faith is not the product of reason or human intelligence, so leave human logic and philosophy out of it. Believers are not to be led by logic or by good sense. We are to be led by the Spirit and walk by faith. The world says, “Seeing is believing.” God says, “Believing is seeing,” as the Scripture declares, “If you believe, you shall see the glory of God.” Reason and logic are the products of knowledge that comes from the senses, or sense-knowledge. Faith comes by hearing the Word of God. Reason comes from sense-knowledge, which itself has been and can be corrupted by Satan, the god of this world. That’s why we are not to be led by reason or even “good sense,” because of the corruption that is in the world. Faith is the product of God’s Word revealed by His Spirit to our spirit, empowered by the Holy Spirit. Faith is a product of revelation knowledge.

Applying Faith for Salvation

The process of receiving salvation through faith is rooted in hearing and believing the Word of God. Romans 10:15-17 emphasizes this process: “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Salvation stems from the proclamation of the Gospel, which instills faith in the hearts of listeners. It is this faith, as highlighted in Ephesians 2:8 (Eph), that enables a person to believe in the redemptive work of Jesus Christ. For instance, when Paul preached in Acts 14, the man at Lystra heard the message, believed, and was healed. This example shows how hearing and believing the Word can lead to the ultimate salvation experience.

Applying Faith for Healing

Faith not only applies to salvation but also to physical healing from sickness. The Bible recounts numerous instances where individuals received healing through their faith, including references that can be found within the teachings of Peter. One notable example is the woman with the issue of blood in Mark 5. She had suffered for twelve years and had spent all she had on treatments without improvement. Having heard about Jesus, she believed that touching His garment would heal her. Acting on this faith, she touched His cloak and was immediately healed. Jesus acknowledged her faith, saying, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.” This story illustrates how faith, manifested through action, can bring about healing.

What Jesus Taught About Faith

In Mark 11:22-24, Jesus provides profound teaching on the power of faith. He tells His disciples, “Have faith in God,” and explains that if anyone says to a mountain, “Go, throw yourself into the sea,” and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. He further states, “Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” This teaching underscores that faith involves not doubting but believing wholeheartedly in the power and promises of God. It emphasizes the importance of speaking and acting in alignment with that belief, trusting that God will fulfill His Word.

Definition of Faith: Faith is described in Hebrews 11:1 as the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. It is a confident assurance in God’s promises and the conviction in the unseen reality, bolstered by a strong faith.

Key Takeaways

1. Definition of Faith: Faith is described in Hebrews 11:1 NIV as the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. It is a confident assurance in God’s promises and the basics of faith as the conviction in the unseen reality.

2. Trust in God’s Timing: There is often a time interval between believing in God’s promises and seeing their physical manifestation. During this period, maintaining unwavering faith is crucial.

3. Confidence in God’s Word: Scripture reassures us that if we ask anything according to God’s will, He hears us, and we can be confident that we will receive what we have asked for (*1 John 5:14-15*).

4. Acting on Faith: Genuine faith involves acting as if God has already answered your prayers, affirming the integrity of God’s Word, embracing the concept of forgiveness, and understanding the different types of faith.

5. Faith Applied in Lives: Faith can be applied to various aspects of life, including salvation, healing, and receiving answers to prayers. Notable biblical examples include Abraham, the woman with the issue of blood, and Jesus’ teachings in Mark 11:22-24.

6. Faith Versus Reason: Faith is based on God’s Word, not human logic or senses. Believers are called to walk by faith and not by sight, trusting in God’s unseen promises over visible circumstances.

7. Role of Faith in Pleasing God: Without faith, it is impossible to please God. Faith honors God by trusting His Word over physical evidence, thus showing genuine reliance on His promises.

Benefits

– Strengthened Relationship with God: Cultivating faith based on God’s Word strengthens your relationship with Him, as it demonstrates trust and reliance on His promises.

– Peace and Assurance: Faith provides peace and assurance during waiting periods, knowing that God’s promises are reliable and will manifest in due time.

– Empowerment to Overcome Challenges: Faith empowers believers to overcome life’s challenges by holding on to God’s promises with perseverance and certainty irrespective of present circumstances.

– Manifestation of God’s Promises: Acting in faith ensures the manifestation of God’s promises in your life, as strong faith brings unseen hopes into reality.

– Spiritual Growth: Consistently practicing faith leads to spiritual growth, as it aligns you closer with God’s will and His Word.

Response to This Message

Our response to this message of faith should be proactive. Here are the steps to take:

1. Study God’s Word: Regularly immerse yourself in the Scriptures to understand His promises and will for your life. Romans 10:17 states, “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.”

2. Pray with Confidence: When you pray, do so with the absolute belief that God hears and answers according to His will. Hold onto the assurance given in 1st John 5:14-15.

3. Act on Your Faith: Demonstrate your faith through actions that align with God’s promises. Just as Abraham believed and acted upon God’s word, we should also act as though our prayers were already answered.

4. Maintain Unwavering Trust: During the waiting period between believing and receiving, do not let doubt creep in. Trust in God’s perfect timing and His ability to fulfill His promises.

5. Resist Doubt and Temptation: Recognize that the devil may attempt to sow doubt during your waiting period. Stand firm in your faith and rebuke any thoughts that contradict God’s Word.

6. Confess Positive Affirmations: Speak positively about God’s promises over your life. Confession aligns your words with your faith, reinforcing your trust in God’s Word.

7. Live by Faith, Not by Sight: Prioritize “Faith” over “Sight.” Put your trust in the unseen assurances of God’s Word, as highlighted in Hebrews 11:1.

By embracing these steps, we align our actions with our beliefs, demonstrating unshakable faith in God’s Word and ensuring His promises manifest in our lives. This approach not only pleases God but also brings His blessings into tangible reality in our lives.