We love you. Paul is talking about the ‘reality or essence’ of his actual boasting, and not his ‘confidence’ of boasting. If the word ‘assurance’ does that for you, good, it does not for me. I’m very interested in this topic and between your article and some students’ questions I wrote an article recently on the topic (https://stmarysuga.org/2016/04/19/can-someone-be-faithful-without-being-baptized/) so thank you for the inspiration! (20th Cen., Tentative) Faith is confidence in the realization of one’s hopes; it is a conviction regarding things which are not yet visible. The medium of communication partly depends on what the content is. This would of course require a way to participate in Christ as a Person. -------------------- Faith comes to the heart the moment a promise comes alive, and the promise becomes ‘real’ to the individual. We as Christians say things like by faith we understand and go on. Faith is important for living. (Way) Faith is that attitude of mind which is the foundation-rock on which hope stands, that which satisfies us of the reality of things as yet beyond our ken. “Christ in me the hope of glory. We have confidence because of faith, not faith because of confidence. Johannine Writings Faith is not an extremely convincing thought, but rather, a tangible God given confidence in His speaking. If the simple concept of confidence was the intended meaning, there were at least four other Greek words more suitable for the writer to use: Strong’s #3954 ‘parrhsia’ – used 31 times in the N.T., 4 times in Hebrews. (TEV) To have faith is to be sure of the things we hope for, to be certain of the things we cannot see. The main reason he had for this recommendation is that it was “faith” not “trust” that is the qualification God uses for justifying the sinner to the place of acceptance into the Beloved. Thanks, by the way. Faith is now the evidence of hope’s future seeing. Recognizing the value of consistent reflection upon the Word of God in order to refocus one's mind and heart upon Christ and His Gospel of peace, we provide several reading plans designed to cover the entire Bible in a year. Verily, Christ called the Apostles the ‘little-faithers.’ If this is done by something intangibly and abstract, say like a relationship, then we don’t need the body of the Son to die on a cross. (New Berkeley) But faith is an assurance of what is hoped for, a conviction of unseen realities. Well, let’s consider if I should say “Light ONLY comes from my desire.” Well then we’d have a problem, for my desire is not sufficient to make the light turn on; we also need the circuitry, my finger, electrons, etc. Can you expand on Heb 11.1. Is that ok? It apprehends reality: it is that to which the unseen objects of hope become real and substantial. A: Read St. John’s Gospel, chapter VI. We have to become part of him tangibly and intangibly, in body and soul. (Laubach) Faith means being sure of the thing we hope for. “Amen” means, “verily”, “truly”, “so be it,” etc. I want to absorb this and respond intelligently. When you own property, you are given a ‘title-deed’ to prove your ownership . Confidence has nothing to do with it. A person does not have to agree that the whole of the Letter to the Hebrews was originally written in Hebrew, (if, perhaps, also in Greek), in order to understand that the Jewish audience would have understood that the author was talking about emunah being the יש (yesh)*/ hupostasis/substance/reality, etc. I don’t think it is ‘active’ in that hope does not do the actual work. But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. This is taking the word, hupostasis, in its traditional sense of ‘material substance’ and using it metaphorically to mean spiritual treasure.) It was used in such expressions as “Out of this estate I declare that my husband owes me,” or, “more land than I actually possess,” the italicized words being the translation of the word. Instead I want to focus on, Indeed, we might say “Faith comes from hearing” and cite the Scriptures to support this. Our faith to his Faith. Faith is an assurance by God of our hopes. Our website uses cookies to store user preferences. Reina-Valera 1960, And faith means knowing that something is real even if we don’t see it. Historical Books One of the reasons for this difficulty is the use of the Greek word ‘hupostasis’. It is that which gives substance to our hopes, which convinces us of things we cannot see. E. Can I say Heb 11:1 this way watching the tenses of the verse? So glad that in 2018 I found your comments. We see that faith is a vehicle of trust in God, that the anointed word Christ that leaves our mouth based on covenant promises shall come back fulfilled because God the Father is active and watching over His word to fulfill it. I am not an expert on the Greek and the tenses. Rex, I’ll hold off on your first question about how the virtue of the Person of Christ is transferred. Eemie – You are correct – Faith is the undergirding of my continuous earnest expectation. New King James Version (NKJV) Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. If Hope itself is a virtue, along with Faith & Charity, then it cannot be by hope alone that sustains me, but The Hope of Christ. By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks.