“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” (Hebrews 11:3).

The epistle to the Hebrews contains the important statement that “the just shall live by faith” (Hebrews 10:38). As a central theme of Hebrews, living faith is awarded a prominent place in its own chapter (Hebrews 11). No other New Testament book contains such a compelling summary of practical applications of faith in the lives of so many saints.

The first tenet of living faith mentioned in Hebrews 11 is in reference to creation. We are told that it is “through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God” (v.3). This statement about the centrality of faith in respect to understanding creation might seem to be contradictory, for there is an undeniable message about God’s character in the created universe for which men are held “without excuse” (Romans 1:20), and faith with regard to creation is not required; it is proved and “manifest in them” (v.19).

The answer to this apparent contradiction is that the author of Hebrews is communicating how God created (“by the word of God”), which can be understood only by faith. Paul is relating the fact that God created (creation was by a Being with “eternal power and Godhead” [v.20]), which is a self-evident fact.

Our natural way of thinking and reasoning about how God created would be that creation was out of “things which do appear” (Hebrews 11:3), as “all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation” (II Peter 3:4). However, we have the historical record in Genesis 1, telling us it was spoken into existence at God’s command, and did not evolve from preexisting materials by presently observable processes. “For He spake, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast” (Psalm 33:9). SAA