Faith, Hope, and Vision

Hebrews 11:1-3

Key Verse 11:1

** This passage sums up what the author discusses in chapters 1-10. 

** Title: Faith, hope and vision - faith is faith in Jesus the Son, sent by God; hope is the purpose God desires to fulfill in the lives of those who put trust in the Lord Jesus, that is, perfect redemption of his children, which consists of each believer receiving a resurrected body, the Lord God making everything new, and the privilege for the redeemed to live in the presence of God for good, so that all who believe have life and have it to the full. Vision refers to what is invisible coming into the realm of visibility via one living by faith in the Lord. 

1. Read verse 1. What does "faith" (as used in the book of Hebrews) refer to? (1:1-3; 4:2,14; 6:1,12; 10:39)

** Faith is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ whom God sent. At the outset of the book of Hebrews the author says that God revealed himself fully through Jesus, the Son. Heb 1:1-3. We came to believe in Jesus, as the Son of God, who is the author of life and everything in the universe, because God sent his messengers (or speakers such as the Prophets or the Bible teachers) to us, witnessing about Jesus being the Savior of the World (like John the Baptist preaching, "Look the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world!"). Then Jesus indeed came, and proved his deity, the God of creation and redemption. 

2. Read verse 1 again. Consider the "hope" referred to in the book of Hebrews (3:6; 6:11; 6:16-20; 7:18-19; 10:15-23). What is this hope all about? In what respect is it difficult for anyone to be "sure of" this hope? Yet, why is it important for us (who believe in the Lord) to be "sure" of what we hope for? (2:1; 6:19; Acts 28:20; 1Co 15:19) 

** This hope is the hope to restore the broken relationship between God and men. Essentially it is for sinners to overcome the cause of brokenness, that is, the sin problem, and via Jesus, the Way (to God the Father), get re-connected with God for life to the full. In Hebrew terminology this hope is the hope to enter into the eternal presence of the eternal God where we find all that are needed for eternal life such as true rest, peace, joy etc. 

** It is not easy (if not impossible) all due to the fallen conditions, such as the darkness built inside of man, for anyone who sins, due to the effect of sins, one gets effectively severed from God, so that as he remains disconnected from God, he ends up living without God's light, so he lives as the living dead, thinking what is dark. His spiritual eyes remain blinded. His heart gets darkened. He claims to be wise, but he becomes foolish. This thinking becomes futile. Rom 1:21

** This hope is the only hope which is worth living or even dying for, because without this hope (for the life in God's eternal presence) we remain condemned to suffer from eternal loss. The only destiny those who do not have this hope are subjected to is to live for a while in a physical body, then to die, only to see his disembodied soul being locked up in an unsaved state (called hell) only to be plunged into the fiery lake of burning sulfur on the day of judgment (which will take place when Jesus comes again.) 

But God had mercy on fallen sinners, sent Jesus, so that for those who believe in Jesus, this hope would become a reality for them. This hope is for real, because when one believes in Jesus, as John 1:12 says God gives him the right to become a child of God. Practically God forgives him of his sins, pours God's Spirit in his heart, so he could call God "Abba Father." 

The Apostle Paul is a good example. At first he did not know Jesus. But by God's grace he came to know Jesus so he became a believer. Then he even braved to be in chains for this gospel. Tradition says that in the end he suffered martyrdom defending his faith in Jesus, and he did it all because of this hope of Israel (which is the whole point of the book of Hebrews).

Assurance of this hope has other effects on our life, such as keeping us from falling into temptations. If you are not sure of this hope, the temptations of this world (such as materialistic or humanistic ways of life) get the best of you, exploiting you and causing you to fall victim to the corruption of this world.  

3. Verse 1 says that it is "by faith" that we can be sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. Compare this statement with the discussions in Chapters 1-10, and EXPLAIN in your own words how faith works and produces such a result.

** Jesus works as the High Priest, to have our sins wiped away from God's memory bank, so we can approach God without any sense of guilt (that is, without feeling condemned or "with a clear conscience"). This is what the idea of believers entering into the Most Place is all about, the idea [for all believers] to enter into the Most Holy Place (which denotes the presence of God] via Jesus their representative. 

As discussed above (under Q. 2 and in other places of the Bible such as the book of Romans or the four gospels or the book of Acts like Acts 5:31 or 10:43), when we believe in Jesus, God forgives us of our sins, whereupon God grants us his gift that is the Holy Spirit, who in turn assures us that this hope (for the life in the presences of God) is for real. Read Heb 2:4; 2Co 5:5; Eph 1:14     

4. Read verse 2 and think about the expression "commended for".  What does "commend" mean? Why is it important for one to be "commended" (by God)? (11:4,5,39; Ecc 11:9; 12:14; 1Co 4:5) The ancients were commended for their "faith" (rather than other qualities). What does this indicate about the significance of "faith" (in the Lord)? 

** Commend - speak well of

** It is like a man after going through a period of schooling graduating from the session with honors. The school principle/instructor speaks well of him so to speak, saying, "Wow, you've done a good job." 

It is important because no sinners can be commended by God; rather all of us deserve eternal condemnation. Yet, when we believe in Jesus God helps us to bounce back from our failures. Blessing our faith God forgives us of our sins, and cleanses us of our sins, empowering us to live as His children obeying God's will, praising God's name. 

This is important because getting commended by God constitutes ultimate success, for no one can tell for sure whether or not he has become truly successful (or victorious) until he stands at the seat of God's judgment where God can say, "Wow, you've done a good job." 

** Faith that earns ultimate victory over all of our enemies (such as our sinful nature, Satan, death, demons, materialism, hedonism, fatalism, pessimistic ideas, etc.) is the faith in Jesus Christ, for Jesus alone was able to overcome and conquer all the enemies such as sin and death. 

5. Read verse 3 and compare (1) the first part ("By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command") and (2) the second part ("so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible"). How are the two statements related to each other? (Think about the logical" connection between the two.) Can you think of any examples in real life, of anything in the visible realm coming out of the realm of the invisible? Why is it important to understand that the universe was formed "at God's command"? 

** 1) The first statement is made to support the second statement. The author's intent is to state the second by stating the first. 

2) The second statement is a corollary of the first statement, in that when the first statement is true the second statement will have to be true, because the universe and everything in it such as galaxy system or planet earth, is physically visible, whereas God and his commands (i.e., his Word) are invisible. If the visible universe did come from the invisible Word, then what is seen was not made out of what is visible; rather the visible is the product of the unseen. 

** Examples include a man "desiring" and "willing" to create something, so that while the desire and will stay on an invisible realm, he works on the idea and plan such as drawing or spec, so that as he himself or someone else like a general contractor go out, secure resources and means, and he gets what he had in mind to come into the realm of physical visibility. For example, a man can plan to build a house. While the plan exists in his mind, the house remains invisible. But when he eventually builds one, the house becomes seen, so that what is seen (house) came out of what is unseen (the will to build a house).

** It is important to not only know but "understand" this truth because without this understanding you end up not knowing the "origin" (or author) of the universe. 

It is also important so that as one understands this truth, one is able to function as he was created to function, that is, to function as God's steward, called to rule over God's creation, rather than being dominated by God's creation. 

This understanding is the key to becoming truly fruitful, for as we come to understand this, we are motivated to obey the Lord, willingly and intelligently, so that we can effectively and joyfully conquer the environment by looking at, learning, and obeying God's command. God's command refers to the Word of God. So the universe obeys God's command. If you disobey God's command, you are running against the principles according to which all (like you and all of your faculties such as mind, body, and all other functionalities such as sexuality) are designed to operate in the best way possible; figuratively speaking God's command is like an operation manual of a car. Just as your car needs to follow the owner's manual, so also the universe and everything in it has to follow its operation manual, namely the word of God. Otherwise, even human beings, as sophisticated as they are, esp. due to the free will to make a choice, will go dysfunctional.  

6. Verse 3 says that it is "by faith" that we can understand that the universe (and everything in it) was formed at God's command. Explain the way it (faith) produces the result (understanding). 

** Again, faith is faith in Jesus. As one believes in Jesus, Jesus enables him to be connected with God. As he stays connected with God, he has access to the source of what he needs for a fruitful life, such as the Spirit of understanding and wisdom, the ability to distinguish good from evil, the capability to reject evil and do what is good, the deep understanding and appreciation of the purposes and meaning of all that have been created by God,  etc. The end  

---