Hebrews 11:1 - Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible

OLBGrk; HERBREWS CHAPTER 11 Hebrews 11:1-40 The nature of faith, and its acceptableness with God, set forth in the examples of many excellent persons of old time. Now faith: the Holy Spirit proceeds in this chapter to strengthen the counsel he had given these Hebrews to continue stedfast in the faith of Christ, to the end that they may receive their reward, the salvation of their souls, Hebrews 10:39 1 Peter 1:9; and so beginneth with a description of that faith, and proves it to be effectual to this end, by instances out of all ages of the world before them, wherein the Old Testament believers had found it to be so. The description of it is laid down, Hebrews 11:1; the proof of it in both parts, Hebrews 1:2,3; and the illustration of its power by examples, Hebrews 11:4-40. The particle de shows this is inferred as a discovery of that faith, which is saving or purchasing the soul; which that none of these Hebrews may be mistaken in, he describeth from its effect, and not from its form and essence. Faith is here a Divine fruit of the Spirit, given and wrought by it in his elect, and is justifying and purchasing the soul to glory, 1 Thessalonians 12:38 Romans 5:1 2 Corinthians 12:9 Ephesians 1:19,20 Ephesians 2:8. Is the substance of things hoped for: upostasiv, in 2 Corinthians 9:4, notes confidence of boasting; Hebrews 1:3, personal subsistence; and Hebrews 3:14, confidence of faith. Here it is a real, present, confident assent of the soul of a believer to the promise of God, (which is the basis or foundation of it), by which the spiritual good things to come, and which fall not under sense, yet with a most vehement and intense desire urged for, are made to have a mental, intellectual existence and subsistence in the soul which exerciseth it, Romans 8:18,26 Joh 3:36. The evidence of things not seen: elegkoi is a demonstrative discovery of that which falleth not under sense, such as is scientifical, and puts matters out of question to a man; and therefore is styled by logicians a demonstration: here it notes faith to be that spiritual space which by God's revelation demonstrates or makes evident all things not seen by sense, or natural reason, without it, as matters of spiritual truth, good and evil in their several kinds, both past, present, and to come, 1 Thessalonians 17:6,8 Eph 1:17,18.