350. Substance and Evidence
Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
God promises that faith makes real what we can only hope for; He promises that faith makes visible what is invisible; He promises that faith makes present what is still future. Faith alone justifies, saves and gives life. But faith alone has no power in itself. Faith is not a force that makes things happen. Faith is not a virtue or a good work, although it is virtuous and good. Faith has no inherent ability to move mountains or trees. On the other hand, without faith it is impossible to please God; without faith nothing happens, and anything not done in faith is sin. Of course, it is whom the faith is in that has the power, the good, the virtue, and the ability to make things happen. God is “The Force,” and He is personal and alive. Faith does great things, but it is not the faith that does great things, but the God in whom that faith is trusting. Technically, faith does not save; faith receives salvation as a gift. Jesus saves; faith trusts Jesus.
Faith is a passive recipient; faith does not do things. This promise about faith does not say what faith does; it defines what faith is. It is substance and evidence. Faith is the substance of things hoped for. Everything we could ever hope for or dream of as good and blessed is assured. Faith is the substance or reality. We all hope for a peaceful, loving, and prosperous life: and God gives it. Then God, the Holy Spirit, gives the faith to believe it, and when we believe it we have it. All the gifts and blessings of God are real and substantial in spite of appearances. It does not appear yet for it still in the future; it does not appear visibly for it is in the invisible spiritual world, and it is in the invisible center of the self.
Faith is the evidence of things not seen. It is the “things not seen” that are eternal, and they are the things that are substantial, stable and unmovable. It is exactly just because they are not seen that the promise of faith is vitally necessary. “Evidence” is not in itself final proof, but it is all I need to know. Proof cannot come until I see it for myself, but that is what faith does—it sees. We have, by faith, everything we need, and it is all real, not a dream or a fantasy.