Prayer and Faith (Part 4): Faith, The Title Deed

Photo by .A.A.

In my previous post, I talked about how the Greek word assurance in Hebrews 11:1 conveys the idea of a title deed:

The word “assurance” in this verse is the Greek word hypostasis. It commonly appears in ancient papyrus business documents, conveying the idea that a covenant is an exchange of assurances which guarantees the future transfer of possessions described in the contract. Moulton and Milligan suggest rendering this verse as: “Faith is the title deed of things hoped for.” (Vocabulary of the Greek Testament, 1963, p. 660).

Wikipedia defines title deed as “documents showing ownership, as well as rights, obligations, or mortgages on the property,” and “a formal document that serves as evidence of ownership.”

Title deeds do not necessarily imply possession. Possession is a right that accompanies ownership, but just because you possess it does not necessarily prove that you actually own it. In other words, possession is the actual holding of a thing, whether or not one has any right to do so.

For example, if you buy a car, your name is on the title, but if you give that car for your teenage son to use, then he has possession.If you bought the car with a loan, then the bank holds the title as security, but you possess the car. If the car gets stolen, the thief now has possession (albeit illegally). In these examples, the rightful owner of the property could retake possession, using the title deed to enforce his or her rights.

Does that sound familiar? In my earlier post, I quoted Greg Boyd saying that “prayer is not just a two-way transaction – it also involves the principalities and powers that hinder what God is able to do on the earth.”

When Satan enticed Adam and Eve to sin, he usurped the legal authority of the planet. But when Jesus died on the cross, he returned the title deed of the earth back to us. So anything Satan possesses, he does so illegally. He may possess something, but that does not signify ownership. According to the definition of possession, he may hold a thing without any right to do so.

So title deed suggests that, even though you are the legal owner or have legal rights to a thing, you may not acutally possess it. When you look at it that way, it puts prayer in a whole new perspective, doesn’t it?

In 2005, we moved from California to Ohio. Now, escrow closed on our old house on the Friday that we left town to head for Ohio. But escrow on our new house didn’t close until Monday. So from that Friday to the following Monday, we were officially homeless, but we didn't fret and agonize whether we were going to have a home to come to. Even though we couldn’t see the new house and we didn’t posses it yet, we knew that we had “the assurance (i.e., title deed) of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”

But here’s the other thing: we never would have taken complete ownership of the house had we not showed up to sign the final papers in the escrow office on Monday morning. Rememebr the “blank check” analogy that has been used by both Boyd and Sittser? Doesn’t the legal aspect of a title deed described by hypostasis more closely fit Boyd’s view than Sitter’s?

I believe it does.

Incidentally, after we signed the paperwork, they gave us the keys to the house.

I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. -Matthew 16:18-20