Ⅰ
Faith is the substantiation of God's facts:
A
Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is the substantiation of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen”; the word substantiation means the capacity to make something real (colors are substantiated by our eyes, sounds by our ears, etc.); thus, it is one thing for objects to exist, and it is another thing for these things to be substantiated.
B
All of God's facts recorded in the Bible are real; however, these facts can be substantiated only by faith, because faith is the substantiation of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
C
We need faith to substantiate a spiritual, divine fact, just as we need eyes, ears, and hands to substantiate physical objects; faith is not a mental understanding of a truth; it is the seeing of a divine fact and the substantiation of it; the accomplished facts of Christ's person, living, and work must be substantiated by us; that is, they must be made real to us.
D
Believing is exercising our spirit of faith (2 Cor. 4:13) to substantiate the divine facts; once we believe by saying Amen to God's word, we substantiate the divine facts, and we have them; Amen does not mean a wish for something to be accomplished, but a declaration that it will surely be accomplished, and that there is no doubt about it; when we believe, we are accepting what the Lord has already promised to do.
Ⅱ
Faith is the substantiation of the substance of the truth (Heb. 11:1), which is the reality of the contents of God's New Testament economy:
A
Such a faith is allotted to all the believers in Christ as their portion, which is equally precious to all who have received it—2 Pet. 1:1; cf. Col. 1:12.
B
As such a portion from God, this faith is objective to us in the divine truth, but it brings all the contents of its substantiation into us, thus making them all, with itself (faith), subjective to us in our experience.
C
It is like the scenery (truth) and the seeing (faith) being objective to the camera (us); but when the light (the Spirit) brings the scenery to the film (our spirit) within the camera, both the seeing and the scenery become subjective to the camera.
Morning Nourishment
Heb. 11:1 Now faith is the substantiation of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.2 Cor. 4:13 And having the same spirit of faith according to that which is written, “I believed, therefore I spoke,” we also believe, therefore we also speak.
Hebrews 11:1 speaks of the importance of faith. This is the only verse in the whole Bible that gives the definition of faith… The word substantiation means the capacity to make something real. For example, we have the shape of the lamps, the color of the walls, and the sound of the organ. How can these shapes, colors, and sounds become real to us?… Different objects have different shapes: some are cubic, while others are spherical, flat, triangular, or curved. One can only substantiate these shapes by the vision of the eyes or the touch of the hands. Therefore, it is one thing for objects to exist, and it is another thing for the existence of these things to be substantiated. There are millions of objects on the earth, but all of them are dependent upon a certain ability in order to be substantiated. The same is true with faith. (CWWN, vol. 24, “The Overcoming Life,” pp. 115-116)
Today’s Reading
All of God’s facts are real. However, these facts of God can only be substantiated by faith, because faith is the substantiation of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. The Lord has died and shed His blood on the cross for all men. This is a fact. But some have the faith to substantiate this fact of the Lord’s death, and they receive the benefit from it. Some do not have the faith. The death of the Lord on the cross is still a fact, but they are unable to experience it.We need faith to substantiate a spiritual fact just as we need eyes, ears, and hands to substantiate physical objects. In spiritual matters, we need faith to substantiate the reality of everything. The hand substantiates the shape of objects, and the ear perceives sound, but the hand cannot feel nor can the ear hear colors. Colors can only be substantiated by the eyes. This is also true with spiritual matters. For example, the Lord is the Head and we are the members. This union is a fact, and there is no possibility of any separation. In the same way, the Lord is the vine and we are the branches, and there is no possibility of separation. If we believe this, we will receive the benefit of this fact. Some people confess that the Lord is the vine and we are the branches. But they do not have the juice, the life. They cannot bear fruit because they do not have faith.
What is faith? It is not a mental understanding of a truth. It is the seeing of a fact and the substantiation of it… We have heard that the Lord Jesus is our life and living within us, and we may even agree with others that He is our life and living within us. Yet this alone cannot substantiate these facts… We should still substantiate Christ… It only takes a second, and the accomplished facts of Christ will be substantiated in us.
The problem today is that we have heard that the Lord Jesus is the Head, yet we still pray for Him to be our Head. Why would we not rather thank and praise Him, saying, “Lord, You are the Head”? If we would do this, the fact would be substantiated immediately. (CWWN, vol. 24, “The Overcoming Life,” pp. 117-120)
If we want to overcome, we have to lay hold of the Word God has given to us and use it as our handle. When we finish our prayer, or when we like what others pray, we say, “Amen”… We think that amen means “may such a thing be accomplished.” But Mr. Gordon said that the word amen does not mean a wish for something to be accomplished, but a declaration that it will surely be accomplished, and that there is no doubt about it… Today many believers do not understand God’s promise, His fact, and His Word. They beg desperately according to their feelings, but do not receive anything. What they lack is faith. (CWWN, vol. 9, p. 343)
Further Reading: Life-study of 2 Peter, msgs. 1-4; CWWN, vol. 24, “The Overcoming Life,” ch. 7