Although Faith has been considered to be a "thing" ((Charles Spurgeon compared faith to an aqueduct), there are many instances in the Bible where Faith is assigned attributes that elsewhere describe Christ. This question introduces some of these parallels.
Christ is the Substance of things hoped for.
BDAG might be helpful here. That lexicon gives this meaning and comment:
(1) the essential or basic structure/nature of an entity, substantial nature, essence, actual being, reality ... (b) of things: among the meanings that can be authenticated for Heb 11:1 a strong claim can be made for realization ... in faith hoped for become realized, or things hoped for take on (see 3, and 4 below in BDAG) reality.
The above was taken from Dottard's BH comment on the post, "What is the "substance" of things hoped for?"
What is the "substance" of things hoped for?
In Him, all things (all other substances) hold together.
By Him all things (all other substances) were created.
Through Him all things (all other substances) were created.
For Him all things (all other substances) were created.
Christ is the Substance (Creator), capital S; any other thing is substance (creation), lower case s.
AMP Colossians 1:16-17 For by Him all things were created in heaven and on earth, [things] visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities; all things were created and exist through Him [that is, by His activity] and for Him. And He Himself existed and is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. [His is the controlling, cohesive force of the universe.]
He is our Hope.
He is all that we hope for.
ESV I Peter 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
Christ is the Evidence of things not seen.
Christ is the only Evidence of things not seen.
Thomas demanded evidence because he had not yet seen Jesus.
KJV John 20:24-29 24 But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe. 26 And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. 27 Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. 28 And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God. 29 Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.
Since Christ is the Substance of things hoped for and the Evidence of things not seen, He fits the description of Faith in Hebrews 11:1.
Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen
(In addition, the word ὑπόστασι hupostasis "substance" can be translated to mean a "Person". In fact, hupostasis is translated that way in Hebrews 1:3 in some versions. It is my opinion that Hebrews 1:3 and 11:1 are both talking about Christ.
There are also other parallels between Christ and Faith, too many to discuss here.)
