”By faith we understand...”
Not the other way around. Not by understanding we have faith so much as that when God unites us to Jesus by faith, he begins to let us see both his glory and everything else in the light of his glory.
But that’s not to say that faith and understanding are not mutually informing realities. Why else would God teach us, than to increase our understanding, and thereby fan the flame of love, hope, and faith? It seems though that it must begin with Spirit-wrought faith, if we are to have the kind of understanding that really matters and lasts.
Hebrews 11:3Nestle-Aland Greek New Testament, 27th Edition with GRAMCORD(™) Greek New Testament Alpha Morphological Database and McReynolds English Interlinear
Πίστει νοοῦμεν κατηρτίσθαι τοὺς αἰῶνας ῥήματι θεοῦ, εἰς τὸ μὴ ἐκ φαινομένων τὸ βλεπόμενον γεγονέναι.
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- If it were not for God First predestining us unto Himself, and God first loving us, and God first awakening our minds and hearts to be able to hear Him, and then creating faith in the first place, in that we might know Him and understanding what He has revealed about Himself through His word and by His Spirit, we would never ever have the ability to have Belief and faith in God Christ Jesus and the Heavenly Father, nor the ability to be born again if it were not for Christ Jesus and the Spirit of God.