SUBSTANCE

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1).

“Substance” refers to the essence, core, or the choicest, most essential, or most vital part of something, an idea, or an experience. It’s the real or tangible matter of which something consists or is made. In Hebrews 11:1, it means the concrete essence, assurance, confidence, concrete evidence, or title deed.

So, faith is the “substance” of things hoped for, and that means it is the concrete essence, the confident assurance, the title deed, or concrete evidence that what we hope for or favourably expect shall come to pass.

It is the proof of the existence of something; it connotes the actual evidence that establishes the existence of what we hoped for.

“Substance” in most cases is not seen with the optical eye but the proof of its existence is real and indubitable (Hebrews 11:3).

This means that faith could be described as the proof, essence, assurance, or confidence of that which we favourably expect, even though that thing may not be optically visible.