The Challenge:
Keep “fixing your eyes on Jesus, the founder and
perfecter of faith.” Hebrews 12:2
When it comes to
the Person of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, there is always more
beyond. There will always be more to discover. As we keep looking
unto Jesus in His Word, there is always more beyond what we presently know. When it comes
to the knowledge of our gracious Master and Savior, Jesus Christ,
there will always be more to learn (cf. 2 Peter 3:18).
Before the days of
Christopher Columbus in the latter part of the fifteenth century, the
Spanish proclaimed on their coins the Latin words Ne Plus Ultra,
which meant “No More Beyond.” As they looked to the ocean and
saw nothing beyond, their conclusion was there was nothing more than
more water. But after the explorations of Columbus, the Spanish
changed the inscription on their coins to read Plus Ultra,
“More Beyond.” This inscription is found on a monument in honor
to Columbus:
In Valladolid, Spain, where
Christopher Columbus died in 1506, stands a monument commemorating
the great discoverer. Perhaps the most interesting feature of the
memorial is a statue of a lion destroying one of the Latin words that
had been part of Spain’s motto for centuries. Before Columbus made
his voyages, the Spaniards thought they had reached the outer limits
of earth. Thus their motto was “Ne Plus Ultra,” which means “No
More Beyond.” The word being torn away by the lion is “ne” or
“no,” making it read “Plus Ultra.” Columbus had proven that
there was indeed “more beyond.” (http://bible.org/node/10347)
Leading up to the
challenge in Hebrews 12:2 to keep “fixing our eyes on Jesus,”
we find what has been called “the great hall of faith.” We have
our “Halls of Fame” throughout our land that have been
established to honor those who have had success in sports arenas.
But in Hebrews 11 we have a “Hall of Faith.” The believers of
the days before Christ proclaim to us their success before God as
they lived out their faith. Just before the Spirit moved the author
of Hebrews to write of some of the specific acts of their living
faith, he provides a definition of faith in 11:1.
Now faith is the reality
of what is hoped for, the proof
of what is not seen. Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
Now faith is the substance
of things hoped for, the evidence
of things not seen. New King James Version (NKJV)
Now faith is the assurance
of things hoped for, the conviction
of things not seen. New American Standard Bible (NASB)
Now faith is being sure of
what we hope for and certain of
what we do not see. New International Version (NIV)
Notice that the
underlined words are variously translated in Hebrews 11:1. Whenever
this is observed among good translations of the Bible, it is a safe
assumption that the translators are wrestling with the meaning of the
Greek terms. The words “substance,” “assurance,”
“reality” and “being sure” are
translations of hupostasis. This word is used of God’s Son,
Jesus Christ in Hebrews 1:3, where it is translated “nature”
(NASB, HCSB), “being” or “person”
(NKJV) (cf. Hebrews 3:14). The words translated “conviction,”
“certain,” “proof” and “evidence”
are from elenkos. Each of these translations is helpful in
gaining an appreciation for the meaning of the words used. Each
translation therefore provides more insight so that we can appreciate
the meaning and application of this verse.
There is a
progression of thought from the order of the translations given
above. The truth of God and His Word provides for the objective
“reality” of our faith (HCSB). Therefore our
faith may have “substance” (NKJV). It then may
become that which provides “assurance” (NASB). The
NIV expands upon this idea and presents the strongest statement about
faith. Faith is “being sure” and “certain”
that what God has promised will come true. This was the testimony of
the believers of Hebrews 11. Their behavior, their living faith,
provides the “proof” (HCSB) of their strong
confidence in the Lord and His promises. Underlying their actions
was their faith in God and His Word
Since the
believers of the Old Testament had the assurance that God was a God
of truth and since they had convictions about their future with God
beyond this life, they acted upon what they understood about God and
His plan. These believers were sure of God's promises and were
certain about what they could not see. And their lives revealed the
quality of their faith.
Their faith had
substance. The faith in their souls was an attitude or way of
thinking that was based upon reasonable evidence. They counted on
the reality of things they could not see physically. They had good
reason to believe that they were not laying down their lives for
nothing. What they did by faith would matter forever. God would
reward them for their faith in Himself and in His Word (11:6, 16-17).
Because of the quality of their faith they were truly successful in
life from God’s view.
These acts of
faith of the Old Testament believers recorded in Hebrews 11 were
built upon their knowledge of God. Gresham Machen offers this
concerning faith and knowledge:
That knowledge of God is
regarded by the Bible as involved in faith and as the necessary
prerequisite of faith. We can trust God, according to the Bible,
because He has revealed Himself as trustworthy. The knowledge that
God has graciously given us of Himself is the basis of our confidence
in Him; the God of the Bible is One whom it is reasonable to trust.
These seven
principles are drawn from Hebrews 11 and 12 about having a
faith that endures unto maturity in Christ:
(1) Having a
faith that endures is essential in pleasing God for “without
faith it is impossible to please” Him.
Now without faith it is impossible to
please God, for the one who draws near to Him must believe that He
exists and rewards those who seek Him. Hebrews
11:6, HCSB
(2) Having a
faith that endures is revealed in doing “the will of
God,” acting upon our faith in deeds done in the power
of the Spirit to the glory of God. Hebrews 10:36 – 11:38; cf.
John 14 – 16
(See
information below under, “Keep Looking to the Son and Have a Faith
that Endures.”)
(3) Having a
faith that endures may mean letting go of certain things in life.
11:24-26, 35-38; 12:1
(4) Having a
faith that endures is encouraged by the witness of the Old Testament
faithful. 12:1
The testimony of the acts of faith of the “great cloud of
witnesses” (believers of Old Testament times) is especially
encouraging because they “did not receive what was promised”
(11:39-40). They lived before the coming of the promised Messiah.
Hebrews 11:40
states from the NKJV, “. . . they should not be made perfect
apart from us.”
(5) Having a
faith that endures means that we keep on laying aside “the
sin …” in our lives. 12:1
(6) Having a
faith that endures may result in a longer life. 12:4-11; cp.
10:36-39
(7) In order
to have a faith that endures unto maturity in Christ we must keep
“fixing our eyes on Jesus, “the founder and perfecter
of faith.” 12:2-3; cp. 3:1
Jesus is our supreme example of living by faith. He is the “founder,
author, leader,” or “source” of faith.
These are all possible translations of the original archegon (cf.
Hebrews 2:10). It has been said that Jesus is the “one who has in
his own person raised faith to its perfection and so set before us
the highest example of faith” (searchgodsword.org). The noun
translated “perfecter” is teleiotes, which only occurs
here in the New Testament. However the verb form, teleioo,
occurs three times in Hebrews with reference to Jesus (2:10; 5:9;
7:28; cp. 7:19; 9:9; 10:1, 14; 11:40; 12:23).
Jesus is the founder or author of faith in that He established it
from the beginning. He is the One that enabled people to live by
faith--from Abel to those who first read and studied the Epistle to
the Hebrews. So the faith that Jesus authored and completed is a
reference to the living faith that was within Him and should be within us that results in the
application of the truth in our walk with God.
Because the Christ Jesus has perfected faith in His life and ministry, we should look to Him and endure in our confidence in Him and live by faith in the application
of His Word.*
We may endure
or persevere in our faith more and more as we keep prominent in our
thinking the Person of Christ and what He endured for us on the cross
of Calvary. Keep looking to Jesus in whom there will always be more beyond!
