visible from the invisible

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faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
For by it the people of old received their commendation.
By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.
Heb 11:1-3

Various meanings

Faith as Vision

This chapter teaches that faith enables us to see the divine, spiritual reality behind the physical, visible world. God's Kingdom exists and the King rules in the invisible spiritual reality with total wisdom maximum resources and skills.

God’s creative word

The visible universe was not created from pre-existing matter, but was formed out of nothing (ex nihilo) by God’s word (through the power of His creative/creator word). When we read in the Gospel of John that the Word became flesh (Jn 1:14) —this power took on a visible, physical form in Jesus Christ.

The primacy of the invisible

The spiritual, that is, the invisible reality (God, His kingdom, and His will) is primary, and the physical, visible reality derives from it.
It did not come from “the visible” (in the original Greek: ek phainomenon: “from the visible or apparent things”). The expression implies that the universe was not “assembled” from visible matter, but rather that God’s Word created the matter.

Further meaning and teaching

The sentence also has another meaning. It refers to the workings of God’s kingdom and the believer’s participation in it. In the following verses, the author of the letter lists several heroes of faith from among the biblical forefathers. Their faithfulness and trust became the model for believers throughout the generations. Despite the unseen, they trusted and steadfastly believed that God is able and willing to bring about visible things from the unseen.

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