Hebrews 11:6
“Without faith it is impossible to be well pleasing to him, for he who comes to God must believe that he exists, and that he is a rewarder of those who seek him.”
Where this sits
Following the mention of Enoch, who was taken and did not see death, and who had the testimony that he pleased God.
Reflection
The definition given here is unusually minimal, and the minimalism is the point.
He who comes to God must believe two things. That he exists — the barest possible proposition. And that he is a rewarder of those who seek him. Nothing else is specified. No doctrinal system, no list of positions, no level of certainty.
And the second item is more interesting than the first. Plenty of people believe God exists and derive nothing from it, because existence alone tells you nothing about disposition. A God who exists but is indifferent would not be worth crossing a room for. The second clause is what converts a fact into a reason to move.
Rewarder is a commercial word again — one who pays out. It does not describe someone who tolerates seekers or permits them. It describes someone who responds, and responds in their favour.
Which makes the whole verse an argument about motive rather than about intellectual assent. The person described here is not the one who has concluded God exists. It is the one who has concluded he is worth looking for.
And it follows immediately after Enoch, whose entire biography in Genesis is four words long: he walked with God. The chapter's first illustration of pleasing God is not an achievement. It is a habit of company.
- Theme:
- Faith
- Book:
- Hebrews