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Commentary
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 Hebrews Chapter 11 Faith, by which we approach God is defined here; (v1) for all men of God have shown faith if they have great names from the scriptures accounts. (v2) We see by faith that the aeons ('worlds' is the word here) of history are framed by the continuation of the word of God, and that things do not appear now as they did previously when we consider faith. By faith we have inherited a developing idea of how we approach God. (v3) At first faith was concerned principally with the closeness of the man to God, in that through faith man can please God, when realising He exists. (v4-v6) Then faith takes on the nature of obedience (v7) for hope of reward, that the promises of God are true and are without failure. (v8-v9) By patience in expecting promises to be fulfilled, obedience shows that the faith is not empty. (v10-v12) And more so, when promises are fulfilled they serve to seal the promise and reward of such faith to all who come after. Having often maintained faith for a long time waiting towards the fulfilment of promise, faith developed into the continuing hope for the better promise to be given, (v13-v15) not for the believer to rest on what had been given before, but expectantly awaiting the improving excellence of promises that comes from hope. God has prepared for all that seek Him a final work that awaits all that He has saved. (v16) In this, is the expectation of eternal life. Evidence of the power of God to accomplish all he has promised despite the barrier of death was evidenced in Abraham and Isaac, (v17-v19) which grew into new prophetic vision when the reality of the past ages seemed stacked against the fulfilment of promises. (v20-v22) Even to the recognition by faith of the future events that would accomplish God's promises and the individuals that would do these things (v23) Then in Moses was evidenced the faith that suffering lack for the benefit of God's fulfilment of His promises is better than worldly riches that accomplish the same thing: showing that all men who believe correctly in God are brethren. (v24-v26) He, knowing that God is with them that believe, chose the rewards due faith over the riches and acceptance of this world, even risking death to try to show strength to his brethren of faith. (v27) Faith developed into fear of judgement as the reality of God's people of faith grew, so that faith under the true God of Israel acted as an ultrafilter to separate the sanctified from the unsanctified. (v28) And when that judgement arrived the people of God escaped. (v29) Faith, whilst separating out God's people allowed them to come into claiming the covenanted promises given the patriarchs (v30-v31) with great signs and power of God, as examples to us all: and mighty works of God evidenced men within Israel of great faith, to show as examples to all of us who come after of the merits of obedience, charity, sufferings, patience, temperance and all those things that give faith its strength. (v32-v38) All these men and women followed after the hope of promise, yearning through hope for the better promises of God's final acomplished work to them that seek Him, but had not lived to the day when that promise was finally given its fulfillment. (v39) We, having received these promises in Christ do so today that we should be grafted into receiving these promises, that they of the past should receive them with us; and not for the world (the age - aeon) to be concluded without us being in receipt of them. |
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