Last time, Dr. Whitlark asked after the meaning of faith, particularly with reference to it being "the substance of things hoped for."

First off, I figured I'd start with the the Greek word for faith, both in its noun and in its verb form, that is, "pistis" and "pisteuo." The definitions offered in the glossary to my edition of the Greek New Testament are as follows:

pistis - faith, trust, belief; the Christian faith; conviction, good conscience; body of faith, doctrine; assurance, proof; promise

pisteuo - believe (in), have faith (in); believe, believe in; have confidence in, entrust

For now, I'll just leave this as a reference and move on to reflection on what it means for faith to be the "substance of things hoped for." On this subject, Chrysostom says, "For since the objects of hope seem to be unsubstantial, Faith gives them substantiality, or rather, does not give it, but is itself their substance. For instance, the Resurrection has not come, nor does it exist substantially, but hope makes it substantial in our soul."

I think this may mean that faith is instrumental in making the objects of faith real for us. That is, he says that the "objects of hope seem to be unsubstantial" and at the same time "faith [...] is itself their substance." By this, we understand that the objects of hope have an element not only of future promised thing, but also of intangibility. That is, "The Resurrection" is an idea (and a future event) which does not exist as a thing, but our faith makes the Resurrection substantial in our soul. By this, I think he means that we are formed to the Resurrection, that our souls are oriented or imprinted with the Resurrection. For us, the Resurrection does not, and will not, exist for us without faith. That is not to say that it will not happen for those who have faith, but that we will not be resurrected if we have no faith. Our faith is what makes the Resurrection real in us.

Does that make sense Dr. Whitlark?