The Hall of God’s Faithfulness, Part 1: Faith And Testimony (Hebrews 11:1–3)

by on October 29, 2025 | Comment

I grew up in Nebraska, a Husker football fan by necessity. I still remember the first game I attended—my family and I saw our beloved Cornhuskers beat the Southern Miss Golden Eagles on a warm September afternoon in 1998. I was part of a large crowd that day: seventy-some-thousand people decked in red and white, watching and cheering for their team. This used to remind me of Hebrews 11: untold millions of Christians watching you and I run the race set before us, witnessing our triumphs and failures on the way to victory in Christ. As we will see below, however, this is not the best way to interpret this famous chapter.

This essay is the beginning of a series on Hebrews 11, which is often called the Hall of Faith, although it is better thought of as the Hall of Witnesses, or even better the Hall of God’s Faithfulness. We will see that Hebrews 11 presents ordinary men and women with many of the same struggles and sins that we have, and also like us they have an extraordinary Savior.

This is a chapter that is often considered and proof-texted when people consider the definition of faith. The Heidelberg Catechism accurately summarizes the biblical definition of faith in Question and Answer 21:

What is true faith? True faith is not only a sure knowledge by which I hold as true all that God has revealed to us in his Word; it is also a wholehearted trust, which the Holy Spirit works in me by the gospel, that God has freely granted, not only to others but to me also, forgiveness of sins, eternal righteousness, and salvation. These gifts are purely of grace, only because of Christ’s merit.

As Reformed Christians, we confess that this is what true faith is because this is what we believe Scripture says. These are the three elements of true and saving faith: knowledge, assent, and trust. There is knowledge of the facts of the gospel: Christ’s life, death, and resurrection. There is assent (or acknowledgment) that these things are true. Finally, there is trust that these things are true for me. Now that is a very good definition of faith, something that I hope many of us have memorized and can take with us even to the grave. Hebrews 11 does not really define faith. Instead, it shows the characteristics of faith in action, or perhaps we could say faith working out itself.1

Verses 1 and 2 of Hebrews 11 are a bit difficult, especially in light of how some modern English translations have translated them (see the table below). Part of my task in this essay is to tell you what these verses mean and how they mean it.

ESV KJV My translation
1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

2 For by it the people of old received their commendation.

3 By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.

 1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

2 For by it the elders obtained a good report.

3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

 1 Now faith is the reality of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen.

2 For by [their faith] the men of the past were made witnesses [of things hoped for and unseen].

3 [By] faith we understand the world was made through the Word of God, so that the things that are seen were not made from things that are visible.

The Context of Hebrews

It is probably helpful here to give a little bit of a context to Hebrews: The author is writing to a group of Hebrew Christians—Jewish converts to Christianity—who were struggling. They were suffering, probably facing persecution of various kinds, whether officially from the authorities or at the very least from their friends, families, and former communities who had turned their backs on them. As a result, they were being tempted to go back, not just to their friends and families, but to the ancient way that God’s people had worshiped since the time of Moses. They were tempted to go back to the sacrificial system, the priesthood, the temple, and all the rituals that were included with these things—they were tempted to go back to the smells and the bells. Imagine this: You are a first-century Jewish person. When you worshipped at the temple there were things that you touched, things that you smelled, things that you heard, and things that you saw. Then you came to Christ, and all those things went away. Theirs would have been a temptation to think, “What we had previously was better; it felt more real, and it didn’t come with all this pressure and persecution.” In light of this, the author to the Hebrews is writing to these Jewish Christians and telling them that Jesus is better. Jesus is the fulfillment of all the things to which they wanted to go back. He is reminding them about who Christ is—he is encouraging them, exhorting them, to trust in Jesus. Hebrews 10, verses 36 and 39 are important for our context here: “For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. . . . But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls” (ESV). These were people who had need of endurance. I would wager we do as well—we also need endurance in our faith and trust in Jesus Christ.

Participating in the Unseen

In light of this context, what exactly does verse 1 mean? At first glance, it appears to be talking about subjective faith—that is, describing what faith does within us. In this way, faith is really our way of seeing these truths and being assured and convinced of them. I do not believe that is quite what the author is getting at here, however. Consider how the King James Version translates it: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Compare this to the ESV: “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” A number of commentators on the Greek text are convinced that this verse cannot mean what the ESV says.2 Here I am indebted to one of my New Testament professors, Dr. S. M. Baugh, who has done wonderful work on Hebrews 11. He has shown that there is a history of translating it this other way.3 I would suggest to you there is something going on in Hebrews 11 that is even greater than the subjective nature of faith in our hearts: It is objective, and it is showing us that we have the substance of the things for which we hope.

The Hebrew Christians were suffering in various ways, and what was their hope? They were hoping for God and his salvation and all the blessings and benefits that he had promised to his people. So how is faith “the substance of things hoped for?” The message of Hebrews, and indeed the message of much of Scripture, is that through faith we actually participate in the things for which we are hoping. In other words, through faith we are actually participating in the age to come; we are participating in God; we are participating in Christ himself and all of his blessings and benefits (see Eph 1:3–14 for one famous example). It is not just that we are assured of these things, although that is part of it, but that we have the substance, the thing itself. That is because through our faith we have Christ himself and all that he has done and won for us. In other words, the Hebrew Christians should not look back. Why look back to the shadows when you have the substance? That is essentially what he is saying here in verse 1: Do not go back to the things that seemed great but were just shadows of the greater thing to come. Instead, embrace what has actually come. Embrace Christ himself because Jesus is better—he provides all the things that the old system promised.

Faith is also “the evidence of things unseen.” There are a number of things we often think of as the unseen. I often think of the wind as unseen, but I live in Arizona where you can “see” the wind in a manner of speaking because it often carries dust with it. There are other examples of unseen things, of course: translucent things that you can kind of see but cannot really see in their fullness. But the author of Hebrews is not speaking of those things here. Remember, he is talking about Christ and the inheritance given to us.

Really, the two parts of verse 1 are parallel with each other: Both are describing the same thing. You cannot see these future and heavenly blessings; they are not directly available to our senses. So the question is, how can we live according to them? The first-century Hebrew Christians knew how to live according to the things in the old covenant system because that is just what they did. They knew to go to the temple at such-and-such a time, go up to the feasts, have the right meal, and sacrifice in the proper order. All these things were laid out for them, but now how do they live according to the greater things that are unseen? Well, faith itself is evidence that these unseen things are true because faith itself is the supernatural work of God the Holy Spirit, the same one who brings us Christ and all of his blessings (see John 3:8). He is the same one who brings us the kingdom of God in its fullness, and he has brought us to true faith. Do you want evidence for the unseen things of Christ, his benefits, his blessings, his kingdom, and the inheritance that is yours in him? Then recognize that faith itself is that evidence. Look to God’s gift of faith and realize that it is proof that all of these unseen things God has promised are true and are yours in Jesus. We know that one day the things that we want will be here, but those things in their beginnings are here now and they are yours assuredly in Jesus Christ. How do we know this? Because faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 

Testimony From the Past

Now let us examine what is meant by these people of old, these elders (presbuteros is actually the word used here). In this context it means men of the past—the people whose lives were recorded in what we now know as the Old Testament. These witnesses in Hebrews 11 are not spectators at our game—the author to the Hebrews could have chosen different words if he wanted to communicate that. Instead, they are witnessing to us about Jesus Christ, and through their faith they are pointing to him. In other words, the faith of the Old Testament believers is a testimony to us about Jesus Christ. Listen to them and receive their testimony! Look to the one to whom they are witnessing.

In verse 2 there is a better way of translating what the ESV has as “commendation.” Instead, we could say by faith these people “received their testimony” or “were made witnesses.” It is from this word that we get the English term martyr. You probably know that a martyr is someone who is killed for the sake of professing their belief in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Martyr originally meant witness, or someone who gives testimony. So what we see here is that the men of old were made witnesses—they were given testimony. God was witnessing to these people of old and that is why they can turn around and witness to us.

How did they receive this testimony? They received it by faith! They trusted in the promises of their Lord. Each step of the way they were trusting in the promises that God made because they knew that God is inherently trustworthy. We have more complete testimony than they did; in fact, we have a testimony that includes even them. The witnesses of old became witnesses because they received their testimony from God himself, and they are still speaking today. We will look at their stories as we go, and sometimes (if you are like me) you might read these stories and think, Oh, he got in here? Him? We know the stories a bit too well to believe that these saints were perfect, and of course they were not—that is the entire point! It is all by God’s grace through Jesus Christ.

Faith and Creation

Verse three reads, “[By] faith we understand the world was made through the word of God, so that the things that are seen were not made from things that are visible” (ESV). That might seem to you like a strange way to build on what the author to the Hebrews set up in verses 1–2. Now he is talking about creation . . . How did we get here? When you really slow down and think about it, I believe it makes a lot of sense. Here we see evidence of what is seen coming from the unseen. Essentially, if we believe that God created the universe out of unseen things we are already on track because we are already believing that the unseen things are not things that we can access with our senses, yet God’s testimony of them is sure and true. Hebrews 11 is an inspired commentary on the entire Old Testament in brief. It starts the way the Old Testament starts: with God’s creation of all things. Only God was there, and he has testified to us in his Word that these things are true, and by the power of his Word he made the seen things from things that were not seen. If he has done that, then everything else we believe is well within his capability and control.

He is a God who speaks. Have you ever considered what a blessing it is that he is a God who did not just create and sustain but that he is a God who reveals and communicates to us through his revelation? Without that we would be lost, groping about in the dark unable to find him, yet he has spoken to us and given us a record and a witness of himself and what he has done. His Word still gives us testimony today. 

Conclusion

When you are tempted to look to something or to someone other than Jesus, remember that Hebrews 11 is written to you as well. Repent, resist, and look to Christ! Trust the testimony of God’s Word, trust the work of Jesus Christ to save you—to bring you into union with him by his Spirit and to give you all his blessings, including the greatest blessing: Christ himself. The same God is at work today. He is still calling people to believe in Jesus Christ. That is what Hebrews 11 tells us, and next time we will consider the first three witnesses.

Notes

  1. S. M. Baugh, “The Cloud of Witnesses in Hebrews 11,” Westminster Theological Journal 68 (2006), 119.
  2. For one example, see William L. Lane, Hebrews 9–13, Word Bible Commentary 47b, edited by David A. Hubbard, Glenn W. Barker, and Ralph P. Martin (Zondervan, 1991), 329.
  3. S. M. Baugh, “The Cloud of Witnesses,” 119.

©Chris Smith. All Rights Reserved.

You can find the whole series here.

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    Post authored by:

  • Christopher Smith
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    Christopher Smith is originally from Bellevue, Nebraska. A graduate of Westminster Seminary California (M.Div 2019; MA (Historical Theology) 2020). He is associate pastor of Phoenix URC in the United Reformed Churches of North America. He is currently pursuing a ThM in systematic theology at Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary.

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