Ex Nihilio

2009 is the year of living by faith in our student ministries at church! One of the things we will be doing this year is studying the Hall of Faith from Hebrews chapter eleven. To give you a peek into this exciting study, I’d like to take you to the first example of faith in the Hall of Faith:

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.

- Hebrews 11:3

This is the first character of the Hall of Faith, but it is not a typical character…it is us! The rest of the characters on the list are Old Testament saints who proved their faith by persevering to the end and keeping their eyes on the prize. So it is interesting that he begins with us. This faith that we have in God creating the universe follows the author’s definition of what faith is:

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

- Hebrews 11:1

Notice that faith is the “conviction of things not seen” in verse one. And then in verse three, we understand that God, who is spirit (John 4:24), and cannot be seen, created everything that is seen simply by speaking words: “Let there be…”
All that is sprang into existence out of what is not. God created everything ex nihilio (latin=out of nothing). We have a Creator who is so powerful that a few words spoke us into being. We must learn to fear God for who he is and what he has done. If a few words are that powerful, imagine what he could do by snapping his fingers!

And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

- Matthew 10:28