A Few Thoughts About Faith

"And without faith impossible to please ..." - Hebrews 11:6a ESV

I put in brackets the words that don't appear in the Greek but the translators added so it would make sense to our English speaking minds.

In the passage before this, the writer talks about the pleasure God had in Enoch so we know that the the writer is referring to is God by context but we can also say that this is a universal principle. The word impossible is adynatos (Strong's G102) is a negation of the word dynatos (Strong's G1415) which can be translated possible or mighty or able. It is an adjective. You could translate this:

'... without faith powerless to please...'

Enoch had faith and God was pleased with him.

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." - Hebrews 11:1 KJV

Another universal principle this time describing what faith is. We may not be able to see the wind but we can see the effects the wind has on something like a tree waving back and forth and we see evidence that the wind is active.

"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me." - Galatians 2:20 KJV

Whose faith do we live in? What faith gives pleasure to God? What is the evidence that Heaven is at work and that we have a reason to have hope? The faith we want is Jesus' faith. It is the faith 'of the Son of God'. We internalize His belief system and make it ours. We trust in Him as He trusts the Father.

Ok. Last passage...

"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." - John 14:6 KJV

Faith brings pleasure in relationships but Jesus is the only way we can interact with God. This faith is linked to Heaven's King. When people witness this faith they see something happen that only interacting with Heaven could produce.

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