hebrews-11:1-6,-hebrews-11:2-niv

Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible - Hebrews 11:3

‘ By faith we understand (know in our minds) that the worlds (the ages) have been framed by the word of God, so that what is seen has not been made out of things which appear.’ So it is by faith that we accept that the world which endures through the ages was created by God; that it was His word that framed things as we know them; and that matter, and things as they are, were not made up of things which can be seen, but were His creation out of what was invisible, and were His handywork. It is... read more

Peter Pett

Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible - Hebrews 11:3-6

The Foundations of Faith In The Antedeluvian World (Hebrews 11:3-6 ). Faith is seen as giving us an understanding of the world as it is, and why it is as it is. Faith says it is like it is because God created it and is its invisible basis, and because God has revealed it to be so through His prophet. It also enables us to recognise that whether men die through persecution (Abel), or are translated without dying (Enoch), they share the same hope. Here the writer establishes the foundations. read more

Peter Pett

Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible - Hebrews 11:4

‘By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he had witness borne to him that he was righteous, God bearing witness in respect of his gifts. And through it he being dead yet speaks.’ The first to reveal his faith was Abel. He was a ‘righteous one’ (Matthew 23:35) who ‘lived by faith’, and because he was righteous he offered a more excellent sacrifice than Cain who did not ‘do well’ (Genesis 4:7). Abel offered the firstlings and the fat. He made his many... read more

Peter Pett

Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible - Hebrews 11:5

‘By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and he was not found, because God translated him: for he has had witness borne to him that before his translation he had been well-pleasing to God.’ Enoch too was a ‘righteous one’. He too was well-pleasing to God. He walked with God (Genesis 5:22). In Genesis 5:21; Genesis 8:9 LXX translates ‘walked with God’ as ‘was well pleasing to God’, so the ideas were seen as similar. He was thus not of those who draw back in whom God has no... read more

Peter Pett

Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible - Hebrews 11:6

‘And without faith it is impossible to be well-pleasing to him; for he who comes to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of those who seek after him.’ The introduction to the chapter and these examples bring out that without such faith we cannot please God. The one who comes to God must believe that He exists and is interested in those who are His, and must believe that He responds graciously to those who seek Him, because He has revealed it to be so. They must believe in... read more

Arthur Peake

Arthur Peake's Commentary on the Bible - Hebrews 11:1-3

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... read more

Arthur Peake

Arthur Peake's Commentary on the Bible - Hebrews 11:4-7

Hebrews 11:4-Judges : . Examples of faith from the primitive history, as given in the early chapters of Genesis.— Abel, on account of his faith, was not only accepted by God in his lifetime ( Genesis 4:4-Ruth :), but even after his death his blood made its appeal to God for vengeance on his murderer ( Genesis 4:10 *). Enoch passed into the other world without suffering death, and is commemorated in Scripture as the man who “ walked with God” ( Hebrews 11:5). Indeed there can be no religion... read more

Matthew Poole

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

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,... read more

Matthew Poole

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible - Hebrews 11:2

This is a proof of the first part of faith’s description, that it is the substance of things hoped for; for all the fathers were testified of to have this work of faith in realizing their hopes. πρεσβυτεροι were the fathers and ancestors of these Hebrews, run up through their genealogies to Adam, the special instances of whom follow. These received a testimony or witness, truly and fully from God himself, in some signal acceptance of them, eminent appearances and providences to them, with a... read more

Matthew Poole

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible - Hebrews 11:3

This proves the second part of faith’s description, Hebrews 11:1, that it is the evidence of things not seen; for by it only we understand the creation, which no eye saw. It is the same Divine faith as described before, but as evidencing invisible truths, it communicates a marvellous light to the understanding, and leaves real impressions of it from the word of God, whereby it arriveth unto a most certain knowledge of what is above the power of natural reason to convey, and gives a divine... read more

Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible - Hebrews 11:3

Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible - Hebrews 11:3-6

Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible - Hebrews 11:4

Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible - Hebrews 11:5

Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible - Hebrews 11:6

Arthur Peake's Commentary on the Bible - Hebrews 11:1-3

Arthur Peake's Commentary on the Bible - Hebrews 11:4-7

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

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible - Hebrews 11:2

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible - Hebrews 11:3

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