Faith and Complex Greek Words

Which is the more difficult word, "love" or "antidisestablishmentarianism?"  At first glance, many would say the latter, but that is because long, multisyllabic words seem scary.  When you get right down to it, "antidisestablishmentarianism" is easy to break down into its etymological roots, and the definition is quite narrow and specific.  It means the belief that a church that has received government support should continue to do so and should not be disestablished.  "Love," on the other hand, is a word applied to a romantic interest, a favorite type of pizza, devotion to one's country, and the driving force behind the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.  Through constant use and familiarity, it has taken on so many meanings as to be nearly meaningless, and the same is true of another common word, "faith."  It has come to have a sort wispy sense, something light and delicate and otherworldly, but, as we will see, it is a concrete, robust word capable of supporting the massive edifice of a human life.

Etymology and Theology

Trinity, Andrei Rublev, 1425

Hebrews 11:1 is a well known verse that states in the King James Version, "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."  The Greek word translated substance is ὑπόστασις (hypostasis), which breaks down into two parts meaning to stand beneath.  The English word "substance" is itself little more than a transliteration of the Latin word used in the Vulgate translation substantia, which means the same thing as the Greek.  The light may be starting to dawn for you as you think, "How nice!  Faith is that which stands beneath my hopes.  It is the foundation on which hope is built."  If you stopped here, you would certainly be blessed with a good understanding.  Hope indeed is not merely a fanciful wish, but something with a strong foundation, but as infomercials on late-night television used to say, "But wait!  There's more!"

That Greek word hypostasis took on new meaning in the fourth century A.D. with the Cappodocian Fathers Basil the Great, Gregory of Nyssa, and Gregory Nazianzen.  Their thinking, along with the Holy Spirit-led work at the First Council of Constantinople in 381, led to a phrase that summarizes the orthodox Christian understanding of the Trinity, μία οὐσία, τρεῖς ὑποστάσεις (mia ousia, treis hypostaseis), a phrase that is typically translated, "one being/essence, three persons."  In Christian theology, the idea of hypostasis goes beyond that which stands beneath.  It contains more than the notion of a foundation.  Hypostasis expresses the very idea of God the Father qua Father, God the Son qua Son, and God the Holy Spirit qua Spirit.

Look again at Hebrews 11:1.  Faith is the hypostasis of things hoped for.  Suddenly we see something real about faith, taking "real" in the literal sense from its Latin root res, meaning "thing."  When something has been realized or has become real, it has been "thingified."  It is more than just an abstract thought.  Faith is not fancy, but the real foundation of hope, as real as the three persons of the Holy Trinity.

Etymology and Philosophy

The second half of that verse expands on this idea by stating that faith is the evidence of things not seen.  The word translated "evidence" is ἔλεγχος (elenchos), and any student of philosophy in general or Socrates in particular will know that this word carries a lot of freight.  Most commonly seen in its latinized spelling, elenchus is the method by which Socrates would test the ideas of others in an effort to find the truth.  It involved the vigorous back-and-forth discussion that we find in the dialogues of Plato, dialogues that were in essence a verbal crucible in which the dross of falsehood was burned away until only the pure truth of a matter remained.

This is what faith is, according to Hebrews 11:1.  It is the unsparing process that arrives at truth, even when that truth cannot be grasped by the physical senses.  

Putting It All Together

Faith is something robust and vigorous.  It is solid and alive.  Because it is hypostasis and elenchos, it is capable of supporting hope and indeed our very lives.  Foundations, of course, can be composed of many materials, so the real question is about what our faith is made of.  The kind of faith that Hebrews 11:1 is referring to is the kind best described in the words of the 1834 hymn by Edward Mote.

My hope is built on nothing less

Than Jesus' blood and righteousness.

I dare not trust the sweetest frame,

But wholly lean on Jesus' name.

On Christ the solid rock I stand.

All other ground is sinking sand.

All other ground is sinking sand.