By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.By faith we understand that the universe has been framed by the word of God, so that what is seen has not been made out of things which are visible.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.By faith we understand that the worlds have been framed by the word of God, so that what is seen hath not been made out of things which appear.
7 sermons cite this verse
Verse 2. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony by faith. We understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God. That means God spoke the world into existence. That's awesome. God, who is spirit, spoke in material creation, came into existence. Wow. That's the God. That's the God of the Bible. That's the God that you love. And so we understand the worlds were framed by the word of God. So that the things which are seen. So church, I want you to hold up your hand and I want you to just tap your other hand. Just touch your other hand. Just do that. And as you're doing that, look at this. That the things, by faith that we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible. Remarkable. We can touch, we can even hear the sound of the touch. And yet, according to God's word, all of it began with that which is invisible. …
… It was the Bible that told us the things that we see are made out of things that we don't see. Hebrews 11.3 says, by faith we understand the entire universe was formed at God's command and what we see now is made out of things we don't see. Everything that we look at right now is made up of protons, neutrons, and electrons, and also croutons. No, those are on your salad. But the idea is God told us that things we see are made of things we don't see. So the Bible was ahead of science in many ways. But listen, the Bible is not a scientific textbook. If it were, it would be much larger and much less comprehensible. The objective of the scripture is not to tell us how the heavens go, but how to go to heaven. Let me say that again. The objective of the Bible is not to tell me how the heavens go, but how to go to heaven and how to know God. …
… I couldn't help myself, guys. Hebrews 11 verses one through three in the message translation says, the fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It's our handle on what we can't see. The act of faith is what distinguished our ancestors, set them above the crowd. By faith, we see the world called into existence by God's word. What we see created by what we don't see. and this is the life of faith. We're believing that there's a God who we can't see, doing works deep down that we also can't see, moving and shaking and wanting to use us in a natural yet supernatural way. This is our faith. Let's let our faith rise up in our hearts. Let's let God move, move us, move in us. Let him move in your life. Let it show in your works. He will do it. The pressure is off of you because it's on him and he can handle whatever you're going through. …
… write some of them down if you can keep up, but I just want to give you a list real quick. Hebrews 11, verse 3 says, God created the world by his word. God spoke in Genesis 1. So Hebrews 11, 3 talks about how God created the world by his word. Mark 4, verse 39, Jesus speaks a word and the storms are calmed, the seas are calmed by the power of his word. Mark 1, verse 25, Jesus speaks a word and demons are cast out just because he spoke the word. Mark 2, verse 10, Jesus speaks and sins are forgiven. Luke 18, verse 42, Jesus speaks and the blind can now see. Luke 7, verse 14, Jesus speaks and a dead guy raises to life. Romans 10, verse 17 talks about how faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of Christ. In other words, the only way we can be saved from our sins is when we hear the word of Christ. So the word of Christ is necessary for all of those things. …
… substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible. By faith, Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained a witness that he was righteous. God testifying of his gifts, and through it, he being dead still speaks. In other words, even though he's died, he still is prophesying to us how truth works. Verse 5, by faith, Enoch was taken away. That's just one of the weirdest things in all of history. Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death and was not found because God had taken him. For before he was taken, he had this testimony that he pleased God. Is that amazing? Faith, faith provided a walk for him with God. I heard a little girl explain this once, a repeat story of a little girl who said that God and Enoch went for a long walk and finally God said, you know, you're closer to my house than to yours. Why don't you just come home with me? So I don't know if, you know, that works for me. I'm going with the little girl's story. So that's how she saw it. But here's this last phrase, so that he pleased God. …
… of nothing. So the invisible world was here first. Again, let me read that scripture to you. 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. That is, the visible is made out of the invisible. Now not only was the invisible world here first, but the invisible world will be here last. It's going to outlast the visible world. As a matter of fact, the scripture that we just read to you, 2 Corinthians chapter 4 and verse 18, Paul says, while we look not at the things which are seen, but the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are what? Temporal. It is temporal. It deals with time. It is passing away. Everything around you is changing, winding down, and decaying. It is temporary. What is more real, therefore, that which is passing away or that which can never pass away? What I'm trying to say, the things that are not seen are eternal. …
… Well, pay attention. Through faith we understand that the worlds, that is the universes, were framed, that is brought into being, by the word of God. That is God spoke and God made something out of nothing. So that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. Now, Moffat translates that this way, the visible is made out of the invisible. Things that are seen were first made of things that can't be seen. That is, the invisible was here before the visible. Before there was anything that you could touch or taste or hear or smell, there was the invisible Spirit of God and the Word of God that brought all of these things here. The invisible was here before the visible. Now, sometimes people try to deny the idea of God because they say it all just happened. But God made everything out of nothing. Do you believe that? I believe that. God made everything out of nothing. So the invisible world was here first. Again, let me read that scripture to you. …