Bible Strands
Hebrews 11:3
By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — An anonymous author writes to Jewish Christians under pressure to revert to the Mosaic system, listing the "ancients" commended for faith (11:2) as precedents for their own endurance.
The words — Katērtisthai (κατηρτισθαι) is a nautical term meaning "to have been rigged/fitted together," implying deliberate assembly rather than spontaneous emergence. Rhēmati (ῥῆματι) is a specific spoken utterance, not a general "command," and the BSB's "universe" translates aiōnas (αἰῶνας), literally "ages."
The thread — Psalm 33:6 grounds creation in the LORD's word and breath; John 1:3 attributes all making to the Logos; 2 Peter 3:5 recalls the heavens and earth formed by God's word from water.
Why it lands — The visible world is not self-grounding; it depends on an invisible source, so accepting it as a coherent, formed order is itself an act of faith rather than a neutral observation.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.
Cross-references
- Psalms 33:6 By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and all the stars by the breath of His mouth.
- John 1:3 Through Him all things were made, and without Him nothing was made that has been made.
- 2 Peter 3:5 But they deliberately overlook the fact that long ago by God’s word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by water,
- Romans 4:17 As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations.” He is our father in the presence of God, in whom he believed, the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being what does not yet exist.
- Acts 17:24 The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples made by human hands.
- Revelation 4:11 “Worthy are You, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for You created all things; by Your will they exist and were created.”
- Hebrews 1:2 But in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, and through whom He made the universe.
- Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
- Jeremiah 10:11 Thus you are to tell them: “These gods, who have made neither the heavens nor the earth, will perish from this earth and from under these heavens.”
- Romans 1:19 For what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.