The Measure of Faith
By Ryan Bridgeo
Avery County
We sometimes hear people say, I wish I had more faith, or I wish I had his faith or her faith. For some reason, they believe that their faith isn’t good enough or that they don’t have enough. Therefore, when they pray, they don’t expect anything to happen and unfortunately, that is what often happens. We see this in James 1:6-7 (NIV) which says, “But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.” To receive anything from the Lord, we must ask in faith and believe.
People often think that this person was blessed with great faith or that pastor or leader was gifted with great faith but they only have a little bit of faith. But is this Biblically accurate? Romans 12:3 (KJV) says that “God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.” God didn’t give this person a large amount and another person a tiny portion. We all receive THE measure of faith.
If I were serving soup to a group of people, and I used the same ladle to serve each person, then that ladle would be the measure. Everyone would receive the same amount of soup because I used the same measure each time. That’s the way it is with faith. God used the same measure with each of us. All believers receive the same amount of faith.
Apostle Peter confirmed this in 2 Peter 1:1, “Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Savior Jesus Christ.” The Greek word for “like precious” in this verse is “isotimos,” which means “of equal value or honor.” Now since the group of people Peter was addressing had an equal value or amount of faith as he had, and since we have all been given the same measure of faith, we can conclude that we have an equal amount of faith as Peter. That means we have the same faith that Peter had when he raised Dorcas from the dead. We would also have the same measure of faith that Paul had when he healed the crippled man. The measure of faith that Peter and Paul had, was the same measure that Jesus had because there is only one measure of faith. Therefore, we also have the faith of Jesus. Since we have the same measure of faith that Jesus has, we can do the same works that Jesus did.
Paul said in Galatians 2:20 (KJV), “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.” Paul said that he is spiritually alive because of the faith of the Son of God that now lives inside of him. Paul did not say that he lived by faith in the Son of God but by the faith of the Son of God.
Ephesians 2:8 Paul says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.” Our faith we have received is a gift from God and we have all been given the same measure of faith. The measure of the faith of the Son of God.
Many Christians have not understood this, and as a result, have spent a lot of time asking God for more faith. We do not need to pray and ask God for more faith. We already have enough. We have been given the measure of faith. It would be like praying and asking God for more muscles. He has already given us muscles. If we want our muscles to be stronger, we must exercise them. We must put them to work. We must stretch them and push them to new limits.
Now Jesus did say that He had not seen such great faith as the centurion, and He also spoke about the disciple’s little faith in Matthew 8:26. Andrew Wommack says in reference to this, that Jesus was speaking about how much faith He saw them expressing. And that none of us use all the faith we’ve been given all the time. So, in that sense, some of us do have more or less faith than others, but technically, it is more faith that is being expressed or exercised in our lives.
It is like the parable of the talents; they were to manage the talents to see that they increased. Or the parable of the soil. Only the good soil produced a harvest, even though the same seed was sown in all four. We are responsible for stewarding the faith that God has given us. We have been given the same seed, the same talent, and the same measure of faith, but now we have to weed the garden of our hearts so that His faith that He has given to us will grow and be more effective.
The more we weed our garden, the more we pull out the weeds of doubt and unbelief, and the more we agree with God and His Word, the more fruit we are going to see. The more we renounce lies and agree with God’s Word, the more effective His faith will be in us and through us.
That is what Paul said in Philemon 1:6 (KJV) which says, “That the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.” The truth is, that the Lord has given us everything we need for life and godliness, including all the faith we need. But it will become more effective as we acknowledge what we already have.
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Ryan Bridgeo is the Pastor of Plumtree Church in Avery County, NC. If you would like to know more or how you might become involved in this ministry please reach out to Pastor Ryan at pastor@plumtreechurch.com or call 828-765-6919.
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