Hanningfield Green
Lawshall
Bury St Edmunds
Suffolk
IP29 4QD
Hebrews 11: 3
Matthew 17: 20 & Luke 17: 5
We’re looking at ‘faith’ and no-other chapter in the Bible addresses the topic of faith as fully and as in-depth as Hebrews Ch11. Previously we looked at questions from verses 1 - 2 that humanly speaking are impossible to answer and we did indeed leave them unanswered. If true biblical faith deals with realities that we cannot see, how do we know what is real and what is not? How do we know what to believe in?
Today however as we go into v3 we are looking to answer these impossible questions!
We saw that verse one gives us a working definition of faith stating: ‘Faith is a deep conviction or certainty about realities that we cannot see’.
These may be present spiritual realities that we cannot see because they are not visible to human eyes, such as the forgiveness of our sins, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit or even the presence of angels amongst us. Or they may be future realities which we cannot see such as the second coming of Christ, the resurrection from the dead, and eternal life in heaven.
So, faith deals both with unseen present realities which are spiritual in nature, and unseen future realities that have not yet happened. As we said last time, if you can see it, then it’s not faith. And if it’s not real, then it’s not faith. Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of realities that we do not see.
These Old Testament believers did not live perfect lives. In-fact they failed miserably in many ways, but each of them were commended for their faith.
And the writer proceeds to work his way through the major individuals and events of the Old Testament to show how this faith operated in each of their lives, which leads us to verse three, which begins where the Old Testament begins – with the creation of the world. “By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.”
This verse will answer a very important question for us about faith that we left unanswered last time. If true biblical faith deals with realities that we cannot see, how do we know what is real and what is not?
So how do we therefore know what to believe in?
For example, we said that “being sure of what we hope for” refers to future realities that we cannot see. We can’t see them because they haven’t happened yet. If they haven’t happened yet, how do we know they are real? How do we know they will happen?
“Being certain of what we do not see” refers to present realities that we cannot see. We cannot see them because they are spiritual in nature, and we are physical beings who discern reality through our physical senses, as Isaiah 55: 8-9 reminds us, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, says the Lord”.
So, being limited in our ability to discern reality, if we cannot actually see these spiritual realities, how do we know they are real?
On what basis therefore do you exercise faith as a Christian? That’s the question we are exploring today.
Verse three points us to the answer. True faith is always based on the word of God. Romans 10:17 says: “Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.”
If it was not for the word of God, you could not have saving faith in Jesus Christ. You would know from history that a man named Jesus lived about two thousand years ago. You would know that he performed many miracles, and that he was hailed by the people as a prophet. You would know that he was crucified and then seen alive again, but you would not know what any of that means.
It is only when we read or hear the word of God that we understand that Jesus is the Son of God who died to pay the penalty for our sins. It is through the word of God that we are told the unseen reality behind the historical events. And through this we can exercise faith in Christ and be saved.
True faith is always based on the word of God. That is how we know the reality of things unseen, because our faith is based on the absolute certainty of God’s word.
So, how do you know that you can trust God’s word?
You begin with creation. Do you want to grow in your faith as a Christian? Then first of all, understand the power of God’s word in creation. Understand that God created the whole world out of nothing by the power of his word.
Look at verse 3 again: “By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.” Those two words, “by faith,” compose the chorus of our whole chapter. Nineteen times in Hebrews 11 we read those two little words, “by faith.” They may be small words, but they represent giant accomplishments, giant works of God in the lives of the Old Testament believers.
Each section begins with those two little words “by faith.” And each section tells us what that specific person did or accomplished by their faith. And so, as we study these sections, we learn more of what faith means in our lives and how we also should live by faith.
This first section deals with the creation of the world. By faith we understand that God created the universe out of nothing by the power of his word. That means he did not need or use any pre-existing material. That which is seen – the physical world, the entire universe as we know it – was created out of absolutely nothing. And Hebrews 11:3 says that we understand this by faith.
And the reason we understand this by faith is because none of us was here to see it. (Perhaps looking around one or two may have been). Seriously though, We have no eyewitnesses of creation amongst us. There were no historians or scientists writing down each step of creation as it happened. There were no news teams filming the event to show it on the 6 o’clock news.
God’s creation of the world out of nothing by the power of his word is an unseen reality which we really only know because God has told us about it. Once again, faith is always a response to God’s word, and so we understand this creation event by faith.
Hebrews 11:3 says: “By faith we understand that the universe was formed.” The word “formed” here means something that is completed or accomplished. We find a similar word in Genesis 2:1 “Thus, the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.”
And how was the universe formed or completed? Hebrews 11:3 says, “at God’s command.” At first, there was nothing but God. Then God spoke, and the universe came into being by the power of his word.
So, how do we know this is true? Did God really create the world out of nothing by the power of his word? We may not have been around to witness the creation of the world, but God has given us some strong confirmations concerning this truth.
Our faith is strengthened by the fact that God’s word bears a consistent testimony to the truth that God created the world out of nothing by the power of his word. For example, just look at the creation account in Genesis 1. Just as the words “by faith” are the continuing chorus in Hebrews 11, so the words “and God said” are the continuing chorus in Genesis 1. We read in Genesis 1: 1-9 “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth . . . And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light . . . And God said, ‘Let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water from water.’ . . . And it was so . . . And God said, ‘Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.’ And it was so.” Again and again throughout Genesis 1 we hear God speak, and as he speaks, the world is created and formed.
Other Scripture passages also confirm this truth. Psalm 33:6,9. says this: “By the word of the LORD were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth . . . he spoke, and it came to be, he commanded, and it stood firm.” Or Psalm 148:1-5 “Praise the LORD - for he commanded, and they were created.” These are only two examples of many!
How do we know God created the world out of nothing by the power of his word? First of all, the Bible confirms it.
And then secondly, nature confirms it. Romans 1:20 says this: “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.”
And so, the creation itself testifies to God’s eternal power and divine nature. The vastness of creation is a testimony to God’s infinite power. The detailed order of the universe bears testimony to God’s divine nature. Everywhere you look in nature, you see intelligence, purpose, and design.
Isaac Newton was a scientist who was also a firm believer in God. And in his study Newton had this beautiful replica of the known solar system of the time made perfectly to scale. There was a large golden ball in the centre representing the sun, and then the known planets revolved around it through a series of cogs, belts, and rods. It was apparently an amazing machine. One day a friend who didn’t believe in God stopped by for a visit. The man marvelled at the machine and asked, “Who made this?”
Newton replied, “Nobody.” “Nobody?” his friend asked.
“That’s right,” Newton said, “all of these balls and cogs and belts and gears just happened to come together, and wonder of wonders, by chance they began revolving in their set orbits with perfect timing.”
What was Newton’s point? If it was obvious that even just a scaled-down model of the solar system had to be made by somebody, how much more obvious is it that the real solar system also had to be designed by somebody. The more we learn about the complexity of design in the universe today, whether on the grand scale of spinning galaxies and rotating planets, or on the microscopic scale of cells and atoms, the more nature confirms what the Bible has revealed. This world is the product of an intelligent, purposeful creator and not by just a big accident.
So, how do we know God created the world out of nothing by the power of his word? Firstly, The Bible confirms it. Secondly, Nature confirms it. And Thirdly, science also confirms it. One of the sayings of science was that in the physical world nothing can come from nothing. So immediately scientists who do not believe in God have a problem. If nothing can come from nothing, then where did everything come from?
Scientists have said in the past that, “The universe didn’t come from anywhere; it just always existed.” Now in a sense they had to believe this, because if the universe had a beginning, then that would mean that something came from nothing. So that would mean the universe came into being from something outside of the universe, and that would mean God.
Well, this idea of an eternal universe may have worked fine for a while, but scientists have discovered that the more they examined the universe everything in the universe points to the fact that it did have a beginning. All the evidence demonstrates that the universe is not eternal but that it began at a point in time. This means that matter is not eternal but came from somewhere. And science cannot explain that. Science can do a lot of things, but it cannot explain how something from nothing. Hence the ‘big bang’ theory!!
There’s a tongue in cheek joke which I think illustrates this point pretty well. One day a group of scientists got together and decided they no longer needed God, so they picked one scientist to go and tell him. So, he said to God, “God, we don’t need you anymore. We can cure diseases, we can clone people, we can create life, so why don’t you just pack up your things, go on your way and leave us be?” God listened to the man and said, “Very well. But first let’s have a man-making contest. We’ll do it just like I did back in the old days with Adam.” “Sure, no problem,” the scientist said as he bent down to scoop up a handful of dirt. God stopped him and said, “Oh no you don’t, go get your own dirt!”
Hebrews 11:3 tells us that God created the world out of nothing. He did not use any pre-existing material because there was nothing to use. God simply spoke, and the universe came to be.
The Bible confirms it. Nature confirms it. And science confirms it. We weren’t there to see it, but that does not make it any less real. It is an unseen reality that we understand by faith. Remember, if you want to grow in your faith as a Christian then you must understand the power of God’s word, because true faith is always based on the word of God.
So that’s our first point: Understanding the power of God’s word in creation. And then our second point is really an application of the first point. Understand the power of God’s word in your own life.
One of the ways God’s word acts in our lives as believers, is through the promises of God. As Christians we need to learn to trust God’s promises.
Now you or I might make promises and not keep them for a variety of reasons. Perhaps we never intended to keep the promise. Or perhaps we made the promise with good intentions but later changed our minds. Or perhaps we tried to keep the promise but future events which we could not foresee at the time intervened.
If God says something however, then we know that it is true. It is impossible for God to lie, so God’s promises are certain. Numbers 23:19 tells us this: “God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?” The Bible is full of God’s promises to you as a believer. And when God makes a promise, you may trust God to fulfill it. Remember, faith is your response based on God’s word.
Future events foretold by the power of God’s word are just as real as past events which took place because of the power of God’s word. The Bible is filled with examples of fulfilled prophecy which demonstrate the power of God’s word over and over again.
And that leads us to our final point. We not only need to learn to trust God’s promises. We also need to learn to trust God’s power. Sometimes we look at the situations in our life and we don’t see any answer. We don’t see any way out. Your problems in life may seem pretty big, but they are dwarfed by the size of the universe. If God can speak and cause the entire universe to come into being, God can take care of you as well.
Abraham in the Bible is a good example of this. God promised Abraham a son, but there was two problems. Sarah was barren, and Abraham was an old man. But Romans 4: 17-21 tells us that: “[Abraham believed in] the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were…. Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead – since he was about a hundred years old – and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.”
Abraham believed in the God who “calls things that are not as though they were.” Why can God do that? Because God can speak that which is not into existence.
We also read that Abraham was “fully persuaded.” There’s that deep conviction and certainty that we looked at last time in Hebrews 11:1. Abraham’s faith was not a blind faith based on his own hopes and wishes. Abraham’s faith was based on the promise and power of God. Abraham was strengthened in faith and gave glory to God because he was “fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.”
Once again, this is such an important principle. True biblical faith is always based on the word of God. It is not a shot in the dark, but it is a reasonable response to the sure and certain word of God, that same word which had the power to create the entire world out of nothing. Do you want to grow in your faith? Then understand the power of God’s word in creation, understand the power of God’s word in your own life.
Let me summarise this.
First of all, you are accountable to God as your creator. Creation testifies to God’s existence, his eternal power and divine nature. Therefore, the Bible says that you are without excuse. If you live in this universe, then you have evidence of God all around you. You can try and suppress the truth. You can try and forget that God created the world by the power of his word, but you are still accountable to God.
Romans 1:18-20 says this: “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.”
We read in 2 Peter 3: “In the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, ‘Where is this `coming’ he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.’ But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens existed and the earth was formed.”
So, our first application is, You are accountable to God as your creator.
And then our second application is this. You can trust God’s word even when you cannot see it. If God made the whole world out of nothing just by speaking, then you can trust God’s word – even when you cannot see it. Remember, what we learned from Hebrews 11:1. Humanly speaking if you can see it, it’s not faith! But, when God speaks something into existence, it is real, whether you can see it or not.
Of course, this is especially true when it comes to Jesus Christ because God sent his Son Jesus to die for your sins so you could be saved, so that you could be forgiven. Yes, you are accountable to God for your life. You are accountable to God for your sin, but Jesus died for that sin. Maybe you can’t see it! Maybe you don’t understand how it all works. But by faith you can receive Jesus Christ as your Saviour.
So, what is faith? Faith is being certain of realities we cannot see. And how do we know these realities are true? Because of the word of God.
By faith we therefore understand the power of God’s word in creation and in our lives.
By faith we trust God’s promises and his power in our own lives, even when we cannot see the solution.
Humanly impossible questions therefore become answerable if we have God given faith because faith is being certain of realities you cannot see. And faith is always based on the word of God. So, lets finish with a word from 1John 5: 4 which says, “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world – our faith. Who is he that overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?”
