The Measure of Faith

For I say, through the grace given to me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God has dealt to every man the measure of faith.
—Romans 12:3 KJV

In this verse, Paul is addressing believers, urging them to live out the gospel he had just shared. Paul declares that God has already dealt to every believer “the” measure of faith. The usage of the definitive article, “the,” is significant to our understanding.


God didn’t give some Christians a lot of faith and others just a little. We all have the same amount of faith in Christ. The Apostle Paul said that the faith he lived by was “the” faith of Christ (Galatians 2:20, KJV). It’s possible for Christians to only use a small part of what God has given them or even none of the faith the Lord has given them. But it’s there. It’s a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22). We first have to acknowledge what we have received (Philemon 1:6) and then learn how to use it.

Paul starts his sentence with “for.” This means that what he is saying in Romans 12:3 is a logical conclusion to what he has already said in Romans 12:2. Paul had just reminded them that being a “living sacrifice” (being humble and submissive) was the key to true success. He then added another reason why they should be humble: everyone has been given the same amount of faith. 

We all have perfect plans for our lives that we can “prove” if we will totally surrender ourselves to God (Romans 12:2). We may have different gifts, but they are not better than anyone else’s. The point Paul was making is that we shouldn’t regard ourselves as higher or lower than we ought to. We need to remember that any good thing we have is a gift from God (1 Corinthians 4:7). Paul instructs us to have neither a demeaning nor a puffed-up way of thinking, but to “think soberly, according as God has dealt to every man the measure of faith.” When we recognize that what we have is a gift from God that each of us possesses, this “sobers” us. Some of us live up to more of our potential than others, but it’s only God’s mercy that makes it possible for any of us to accomplish anything.

We have faith, but because many of us lack the renewal of our minds (Romans 12:2), we don’t know how to effectively use our faith. Peter said we had “like precious faith” with him (2 Peter 1:1). The same faith that Peter used to heal the lame man at the Gate Beautiful (Acts 3:6-9) and raise Dorcas from the dead (Acts 9:36-41) is the same faith that we have. 

“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by ‘the’ faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20, KJV).

Paul said he was living his Christian life by the faith of the Son of God. Since we’ve all been given “the” measure of faith, it follows that we all possess the faith of the Son of God within us. Our faith is sufficient. As Christ is, so are we in this world (1 John 4:17).

However, many of us don’t acknowledge the faith we have received. In the same way that power flows from a power source through a cable to charge a cell phone, so our minds are what allow the faith of God in our born-again spirits to flow into our souls and bodies, transforming and conforming us to His image. If our minds aren't renewed, then it’s like having a faulty and insufficient cable. The power is there, but the power won’t flow. As believers, we have the same faith that Jesus has, but it won’t flow through us until we renew our minds through the Word of God.

“And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; and that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness” (Ephesians 4:23-24).