Hebrews 11:3 - Joseph Benson’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Through faith we understand that the worlds Although the expression, τους αιωνας, generally signifies the ages, yet here the subsequent clause determines its signification to the material fabric of the world, comprehending the sun, moon, and stars, &c., (called by Moses the heaven and the earth, Genesis 1:1,) by whose duration and revolutions time, consisting of days, months, years, and ages, is measured; were framed Formed, fashioned, and finished, as the word κατηρτισθαι implies, properly signifying to place the parts of any body or machine in their right order, Ephesians 4:12. It, however, also signifies to make, or produce, as Hebrews 10:5, where it is applied to the body made for Christ. And that it here signifies, not merely the orderly disposition of the parts of the universe, but their production, is plain from the following clause. By the word of God The sole command of God, without any instrument or preceding matter. The word ρημα, here used, properly signifies a word spoken, or a command. It is nowhere used in Scripture to denote the Son of God. His proper title is ο λογος, the Word. That the worlds were made by the word, order, or command of God, is one of the unseen things which cannot be known but by divine revelation. The apostle, therefore, doubtless refers to the Mosaic account of the creation, Genesis 1:3, &c., where Moses informs us, God said, let there be light, and there was light, &c. As the creation is the fountain and specimen of the whole divine economy, so faith in the Creator is the foundation and specimen of all faith; so that the things which are seen The earth and heavens, with all that they contain; were not made of things which do appear Or, of things appearing, or which did appear, as φαινομενων may be properly rendered; that is, they were not made of any pre-existing matter, but of matter which God created and formed into the things which we see; and having formed them, he placed them in the beautiful order which they now hold, and impressed on them the motions proper to each, which they have retained ever since. “This account of the origin of things, given by revelation, is very different from the cosmogony of the heathen philosophers, who generally held that the matter of which the worlds were composed was uncreated and eternal; consequently, being independent of God, and not obedient to his will, they supposed it to be the occasion of all the evil that is in the world. But revelation, which teaches us that the things which are seen were not made of matter which did appear before they were made, but of matter which God had brought into existence; by thus establishing the sovereignty of God over matter, hath enlarged our ideas of his power, and strengthened our faith in his promises concerning the felicity of good men in the life to come. For the creation of the new heavens and the new earth, and the glories of the city of the living God, do not, in order to their formation, require more power than the creation of the present universe; and therefore, if we believe that the worlds were formed by the word of God from nothing, every other exercise of faith will be easy to us.