“And all these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised, because God had provided something better for us, so that apart from us they would not be made perfect.” — Hebrews 11:39–40
At first glance, this seems rather strange. Earlier in the same chapter, Hebrews 11:33 explicitly says that some of these people “obtained promises.” Abraham received Isaac, Sarah conceived, Israel entered the land, and many others witnessed God’s promises fulfilled in their lifetimes.
How, then, could the writer say that they did not receive what was promised?
They Received Promises, but Not the Promise
There is an interesting distinction in the original Greek.
Hebrews 11:33 speaks of people who obtained promises, using the plural word epangeliōn. But Hebrews 11:39 uses the singular expression tēn epangelian, meaning “the promise.”
This distinction helps us understand the writer’s argument. These believers had received particular promises from God, sometimes in extraordinary ways, but they had not yet experienced the ultimate fulfillment of God’s redemptive purpose.
Throughout Hebrews, the writer has been speaking about something greater than the temporary blessings and deliverances experienced under the old covenant. Hebrews 9:15 speaks about the promise of an eternal inheritance. Hebrews 11:13 describes the patriarchs dying in faith without receiving the promises in their ultimate fulfillment, while verses 13–16 show them looking forward to a heavenly homeland.
Even Abraham, who received Isaac exactly as God had promised, continued looking beyond his immediate circumstances. Hebrews 11:10 tells us that he was waiting for the city whose architect and builder is God.
The promises he received during his lifetime were real, but they were not the end of the story.
The writer is showing us that all these individual accounts belonged to a much greater story of redemption. The fulfillment would come through Jesus Christ, whose sacrifice would accomplish what the old covenant could never accomplish.
This also explains why Hebrews 11 is not simply a collection of stories about people who had extraordinary faith and consequently experienced extraordinary results. Some of them suffered terribly, and others died without seeing the things they had hoped for. Their faith was directed toward the God who had promised something greater than their immediate circumstances.
God Had Provided Something Better for Us
Hebrews 11:40 continues:
“Because God had provided something better for us, so that apart from us they would not be made perfect.”
The word “better” should be familiar to anyone who has been reading Hebrews from the beginning. It is one of the central themes of the entire letter.
Jesus is superior to the angels. He is the mediator of a better covenant, established upon better promises (Hebrews 8:6). We have a better hope through which we draw near to God (Hebrews 7:19), and Christ has entered the heavenly sanctuary through His own blood, having obtained eternal redemption (Hebrews 9:12).
The old covenant was never intended to be the final arrangement between God and humanity. Its priesthood, sacrifices and regulations pointed forward to what Christ would accomplish.
This becomes especially important when we consider the word “perfect” in Hebrews 11:40.
The Greek word comes from teleioō, which carries the idea of bringing something to completion or accomplishing its intended purpose. Hebrews has already used this language repeatedly when discussing the limitations of the old covenant.
Hebrews 7:19 says:
“For the Law made nothing perfect.”
Hebrews 10:1 explains that the sacrifices offered continually under the law could never make the worshippers perfect. The priests stood daily ministering and offering the same sacrifices, which could never take away sins.
Then the writer tells us what Jesus accomplished:
“For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.” — Hebrews 10:14
That is an extraordinary statement.
What generations of sacrifices could never accomplish, Jesus accomplished through His one offering. The old covenant could point toward the removal of sin, but Christ actually dealt with sin through His sacrifice. The repeated offerings demonstrated the incompleteness of that system, while Jesus sat down at the right hand of God because His sacrificial work was finished.
The Old Testament believers trusted God’s promises, but they lived before the historical accomplishment of Christ’s death and resurrection. Their hope was ultimately fulfilled through the same Savior in whom we now place our confidence.
There is also a future dimension to this perfection. Hebrews 11 has spoken about a heavenly homeland and a better resurrection, and Hebrews 12:23 describes the spirits of the righteous made perfect. The completed sacrifice of Jesus has secured redemption, while God’s people still await the final resurrection and the fullness of their inheritance.
The writer’s point in Hebrews 11:40 is that God has brought His people into one redemptive purpose. Those who trusted Him before Christ and those who believe after His coming do not have separate ways of obtaining salvation. The fulfillment comes through Jesus, and the final completion of God’s people belongs to all who are His.
Jesus, the Author and Finisher of Faith
This brings us into Hebrews 12.
After describing all these people who lived by faith, the writer says:
“Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” — Hebrews 12:2
This is a remarkable transition. The writer has spent an entire chapter describing the faith of people who lived before Christ, and now he directs our attention to Jesus Himself.
The Greek words translated “author” and “finisher” are archēgos and teleiōtēs. The first can mean pioneer, founder or originator, while the second refers to one who brings something to completion or perfection.
The Greek expression does not explicitly include the word “our,” although many English translations supply it for clarity. It also does not explicitly say “the faith of Jesus.” The description presents Christ as the pioneer and perfecter of faith, and the verses that follow show Him enduring the cross with His attention on the joy set before Him.
In the context of Hebrews, Jesus is both the supreme example of faithful endurance and the One through whom God’s saving purpose reaches its fulfillment.
The believers in Hebrews 11 trusted God concerning things they had not yet seen. Jesus came and accomplished the redemption toward which God’s promises had been pointing. His death, resurrection and exaltation provide the foundation for our confidence.
That is why the Christian life cannot be understood merely as an attempt to imitate the extraordinary faith of Abraham or Moses. Their lives encourage us, but our confidence ultimately rests upon Jesus Christ.
Whose Faith Makes Us Righteous?
This raises an important question. When we speak about being justified by faith, are we depending upon the strength of our own believing, or upon the faithfulness and finished work of Jesus?
Paul writes in Galatians 2:20:
“I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”
The expression commonly translated “faith in the Son of God” can also be understood as referring to the faithfulness of the Son of God. There is considerable discussion among scholars about this construction, and the translation cannot be settled simply by appealing to the Greek genitive.
What is clear from the passage is that Paul’s new life rests upon his union with Christ, who loved him and gave Himself for him. His confidence is grounded in what Jesus has accomplished.
Romans 12:3 also tells us that God has allotted to each a measure of faith. In that passage, Paul is encouraging humility among believers as they exercise their different functions within the body of Christ. Faith is therefore never presented as a reason for personal boasting.
We should be careful, however, about concluding that every believer possesses Jesus’ own personal faith in an identical measure, or that believers do not themselves exercise faith. Hebrews 11 repeatedly describes people who believed God, and Hebrews 12 calls us to continue running with endurance while looking to Jesus.
The important truth is that our righteousness does not come from the strength or quality of our believing. It comes from Christ and His finished work, and we receive it by faith.
A person with weak faith does not have a weaker Savior. The value of faith lies in the One upon whom it rests.
This is consistent with Paul’s argument in Romans 4, where Abraham is declared righteous through faith rather than through works. Paul goes on to say:
“For this reason it is by faith, in order that it may be in accordance with grace, so that the promise will be guaranteed to all the descendants.” — Romans 4:16
The promise is secure because salvation rests upon God’s grace rather than human achievement.
The Righteousness of God Revealed in the Gospel
Paul introduces his letter to the Romans with this declaration:
“For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written: ‘But the righteous one will live by faith.’” — Romans 1:17
The expression “from faith to faith” has been understood in different ways. One common interpretation is that God’s righteousness is revealed and received by faith from beginning to end. Others understand it in relation to God’s faithfulness and the believer’s response of faith.
Whatever interpretation one adopts, Paul’s larger argument becomes clear as Romans develops. Human righteousness cannot be established through keeping the law, because all have sinned and fall short of God’s glory. God has revealed His righteousness through Jesus Christ, and justification is given freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus (Romans 3:21–26).
Paul later writes:
“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” — Romans 5:1
This is the wonderful reality of the gospel. Our standing before God has been established through Jesus. His sacrifice has dealt with our sins, and His righteousness is the basis of our acceptance before God.
The believers described in Hebrews 11 looked forward in faith to the fulfillment of God’s promises. We now look to the Christ who has come, died, risen and sat down at the right hand of God.
The historical accomplishment of redemption changes everything.
Do We Already Have All the Promises?
Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 1:20:
“For as many as are the promises of God, in Him they are yes.”
This gives us tremendous confidence. God’s promises find their fulfillment and certainty in Jesus Christ.
Through Him, we have been justified and reconciled to God. We have received the Holy Spirit, become children of God and obtained access to the Father. We possess eternal life in Christ, and our inheritance is secure in Him.
Yet Scripture also speaks about aspects of our salvation that remain future. Romans 8:23 says that we eagerly await the redemption of our bodies. Ephesians 1:13–14 describes the Holy Spirit as the guarantee of our inheritance until its final redemption.
The promises are secure in Christ, but we have not yet experienced every aspect of their fulfillment.
This is particularly important when reading Hebrews 11. The believers described there were looking toward something beyond their earthly circumstances. Their hope included the better resurrection and the heavenly city. Through Christ, the foundation of that hope has been accomplished, and its final fulfillment remains certain.
We can therefore live with confidence without pretending that every promise has already reached its final visible expression.
Looking to Jesus
Hebrews 12:1 begins with the instruction to lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily entangles us, and to run with endurance the race set before us. Verse 2 then tells us where to direct our attention.
The people in Hebrews 11 provide remarkable testimony to God’s faithfulness. Their lives encourage us to trust Him, especially when circumstances become difficult. Yet the writer does not leave us studying their accomplishments or comparing the strength of our faith with theirs.
He brings us to Jesus.
This is particularly meaningful in a letter written to Christians who were under pressure and tempted to retreat from their confidence in Christ. The writer has already explained that Jesus offered the perfect sacrifice, obtained eternal redemption and opened the way into God’s presence. Now he reminds them that the same Jesus endured hostility, suffering and shame before sitting down at God’s right hand.
Their endurance was to be sustained by considering Him.
There is considerable freedom in understanding this. We do not have to spend our Christian lives attempting to establish a righteousness that Christ has already secured. Our failures do not make His sacrifice incomplete, and our achievements cannot improve upon what He accomplished.
We still have a race to run, and Hebrews takes that responsibility seriously. Faith expresses itself through endurance, obedience and trust in God. But the foundation beneath the entire Christian life is the finished work of Jesus.
The Old Testament believers received many promises, but they awaited the greater fulfillment of God’s saving purpose. We now live on this side of the cross, knowing that Christ has accomplished the sacrifice that perfects His people before God. Together with all who belong to Him, we await the final resurrection and the heavenly inheritance.
That is why Hebrews directs our eyes to Jesus, the author and finisher of faith. The great witnesses of chapter 11 testify that God is faithful, and in Christ we see how completely faithful He has been.
Our confidence is in Him.
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