Faith as a Substance

Hebrew 11v1 Now Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. The topic of faith is a spiritual anchor well understood by some while treated with levity by some. With this post, I will attempt to be as emphatic as I have been intuitively instructed. This blog will be in series of several posts so as to do proper justice as instituted by the Spirit of God Elohim. What a way to start the new year!

To properly understand what faith is, we have to understand the definition of the word substance. According to the dictionary, a substance could be any one of the two definitions:
   1. a particular kind of matter with uniform properties.
   2. the real physical matter of which a person or thing consists and which has a tangible, solid presence.
 

Going with these definitions, a substance is the building blocks, or properties, or components, or fabric of a particular thing. By properties I mean the essence of a thing for example, the substance of most cloth fabrics is cotton. The substance of a delicious burger is beef and flour with other condiments. Without a substance you cannot get a finished product. Therefore, Hebrew 11v1 can be rephrased as Faith is a building block of what we hope for or expect and the legitimate proof and fact that materializes the tangible from the intangible. To put it in the language of a true system engineer, faith is the confidence that codifies the explicit from the tacit form. Without faith it is impossible to accomplish anything. For the Bible later puts it that even our journey of pleasing God is so impossible without the fabric of faith. 

I know this post lays emphasis on the first characteristic of faith as a substance. Before we go further, let me give a little illustration of the second characteristic of faith to pacify our thirst till due justice can be done on it. The second characteristic of faith according to Hebrews 11v1 is faith as an evidence. Imagine being gifted a cheque with a heavy amount that embarrasses poverty by Dangote or Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos or Bill Gates or Warren Buffet or all of them combined, though you are yet to catch the cheque you demeanor changes immediately. Automatically, your confidence resurfaces, you start walking about with the majesty of a king with your head fixed on a neck loaded with precious jewelries. So faith as an evidence is similar to this experience. Just like with the cheque, you have an evidence that you are intangibly rich meanwhile you are yet to have the tangible money. So faith as an evidence gives you the same validation of majesty that your heavenly Father has granted your request and that (it is only a matter of time) you will see it physically just as you have said it.

Now I will proceed to the topic by highlighting the outcomes of faith as depicted in Hebrews 11:

V2: Faith produces good reports as an open source specialist, this points to the significance of faith to document the believer's experience which in the layman's term is known as testimony. Testimonies are pointers to the immortality of God's Omnipotence to re-enact what He has done for others that we have read or heard about in our lives. For the Bible also points to the testimony of Jesus being the Spirit of prophecy (Rev 19v10). 

V3: Faith brings the topic of creation to the real perspective to us. So faith has a creative ability. The numerous questions posed by those with the supposed heightened intellectual ability about the creation of the world according to this verse is nothing but a perfect depiction of the lack of faith. By faith we know that in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God, and the Word fashioned the world from things unseen (John 1v1). 

V4: Faith enables us to give an offering or sacrifice befitting to God's Shekinah glory, which enables a lasting documentation process which outlives those done in a Cainian way. Which is also a pointer to the offering and sacrifices of these three women. 1. Mary the mother of our Saviour Jesus Christ. 2. The widow with the 2 mites and 3. Mary the sister of Lazarus when she emptied up all the contents of her alabaster box on the feet of Jesus. One would have thought that she would have understood that good perfumes are put on the chest and not the feet. Just to show you how much faith Mary had when showing an ideal way to offer a sacrifice that ascends as a sweet smelling savour to the King of glory. That is why the Bible mentioned in Isaiah 60v13c that I (YHWH) will make the place of my feet glorious. The Holy Spirit really espoused and exposed Mary to do that. Hence the reason Jesus corrected his account manager (Judas) from stopping her. 

V5: Faith translates from one state of existence to a higher state of existence. As mentioned, it was Enochs faithfulness to Jehovah Adonai in an obstructive decadent world (even back then, because the offsprings of the sexual escapades of the fallen with the Beyonces and Lady Gaga of those era resulted in the birth of children of promiscuity such as Anak (source of anarchy) and Rephaims) that enabled him to be granted an everlasting victory over death because God is always faithful to His Word. If you have read wide for example the patriarch of our fathers, you'll understand how faithful Enoch truly was. The reason for his translation was nothing more than the glorious pleasure he brought unto God in this perilous world. Hence the reason why v6 had to be written to unveil the raison d'être of all believers, which is to please God The Father, any other reasons are secondary and should be treated as such. Which is not surprising to see the level of faith or faithfulness portrayed by my grandfather in the faith, Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, popularly known as Daddy GO. You should really be expectant for my unpublished blog about the significance of name to ones destiny.

I will close this first post with Jude 1vs24-25 (KJV) Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen. I wish you a very blessed and prosperous 2024! I will rest my hands now and proceed in the next blog post in the coming week.

Shalom aleichem brothers and sisters

Babasile Daniel I