Hebrews 11:1 f. The chapter opens with a definition of faith as the assurance whereby we lay hold of things still in the future, and the proving i.e. the inward certainty which is stronger than any outward proof of things which lie beyond the evidence of the senses. Thus faith enables us on the one hand to believe in a salvation yet to come; and on the other hand, to apprehend a higher world, of which this visible world of change is only the shadow. For Paul the object of faith is the Cross of Christ, with its supreme revelation of the gracious will of God. The writer to the Hebrews conceives of faith in a more comprehensive manner as the power by which we hold fast to the unseen, in spite of the illusions and temptations of this passing world. The elders i.e. the men of the old covenant could therefore exercise faith no less than the believers in Christ, and as a reward for their constancy in faith had their names enrolled with honour in the word of God (Hebrews 11:2).
Hebrews 11:3. Before proceeding to review those names in order, the writer touches on the record with which the Bible opens. God created all things by His word, so that the visible world is only the expression of the Divine energy and purpose that brought it into being. Religion is grounded in the knowledge that the ultimate reality is spiritual, and this knowledge is made possible to us by faith. not made out of things which do appear: this does not mean the world was made out of nothing, but rather the visible was the outcome of the invisible (Genesis 1:1 *).