“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the euidence of things not seen.”
1611 King James Version (KJV)
11:1 The definition of faith given in this verse, and exemplified in the various instances following, undoubtedly includes justifying faith, but not directly as justifying. For faith justifies only as it refers to, and depends on, Christ. But here is no mention of him as the object of faith; and in several of the instances that follow, no notice is taken of him or his salvation, but only of temporal blessings obtained by faith. And yet they may all be considered as evidences of the power of justifying faith in Christ, and of its extensive exercise in a course of steady obedience amidst difficulties and dangers of every kind. Now faith is the subsistence of things hoped for, the evidence or conviction of things not seen - Things hoped for are not so extensive as things not seen. The former are only things future and joyful to us ; the latter are either future, past, or present, and those either good or evil, whether to us or others. The subsistence of things hoped for - Giving a kind of present subsistence to the good things which God has promised: the divine supernatural evidence exhibited to, the conviction hereby produced in, a believer of things not seen, whether past, future, or spiritual; particularly of God and the things of God.
Heb 11:1 Living by Faith SUMMARY OF HEBREWS 11: Faith Explained. The Faith of the Elders. Remarkable Examples of Ancient Faith. All Seeking for a Better Country. The Victories of Faith. The Sufferings Ended by Faith. Christians Exhorted to Follow These Glorious Examples. Now faith is the substance of things hoped for. The old meaning of "substance", as well as of "hupostasis", the Greek word here used, is "stand under", that is, to be a foundation. Faith is the foundation on which all our hopes for the future are built. The evidence of things not seen. Rather, the conviction or persuasion of things not seen. Without faith we would be limited to the very narrow world comprehended by the senses.