What does 'the things which are seen were not made of things which appear' mean?
The visible, tangible creation was not made from pre-existing visible materials. It was framed by the Word of God; He spoke, and it came into being. Everything we can now see and handle came out of nothing. Creation did not arise from things that appear.
Les explains that the verse 3 statement follows the definition of faith—faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. By faith, taking God at His Word, believers understand that the worlds and universe were framed by the Word of God. He spoke, and it all came into being. The visible, tangible creation was not made out of things that appear; rather, everything created that we can see and handle came out of nothing. Les notes Paul always deals in the realm of the believer, and the unbeliever cannot comprehend this, but believers can. He also points out that if astronomers are right that creation is still being created and expanding, that is believable because God is infinite and there is no outer shell on God's creation.