What does “measure of faith” mean?
The term “measure of faith” is found in Romans 12:3. This measure of faith is the measure that God gives to each individual believer. The moment we hear the Gospel to get saved, we receive this measure of faith.
Many people believe that when the apostle Paul talks about us receiving “a measure of faith” they immediately assume that this means everyone is receiving different amounts of faith.
But we know that this isn’t the case because in 2 Peter 1:1 Peter says that we have received the same amount of faith as he did.
“To those who have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ.”
Another translation for “like precious faith” is “faith of the same value,” or “faith of the same kind as ours.”
In other words, when we receive the “measure of faith” we are receiving the same measure that the Apostle Peter had! We are not receiving a small amount and Peter received a big amount. No, God is no respecter of persons. He gave each one of us the same amount of faith.
Another point to keep in mind is the letter “a” is not in the original greek. So when Paul says, “God has dealt to each a measure of faith.” The letter “a” was added for us to better understand what he was trying to say, but in reality, it just confused many of us.
In fact, if we compare that verse to 2 Peter 1:1 we see that a more correct translation would be to say “the measure of faith,” as the King James Version says.
God does not give “a” measure, He gives “the” measure of faith, for He is no respecter of persons.
How much faith is the measure of faith?
The measure of faith is the same measure that Jesus said we would receive; a mustard seed. When we receive the Word of God, it acts as a seed for faith, and as long as it is allowed to grow, it grows to be the biggest tree in the garden.
The Bible says that the Word of God is a seed.
“Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. And it happened, as he sowed, that some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds of the air came and devoured it…The sower sows the word. And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown. (Mark 4:3-4,14-15)
The Bible also says that “faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17).
So when we hear or read the word of God, faith is being sown into our life. This means that when we receive the measure of faith, we are receiving the seed from the word of God, which has the potential to become mighty faith.
This is why Jesus compared faith to a grain of mustard seed in Matthew 17.
“Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.” (Matthew 17:20)
Jesus was not saying that we should have faith the size of a mustard seed because He rebuked the disciples multiple times for having small faith. Instead, Jesus was saying that we should have faith like a mustard seed.
A mustard seed may be small in the beginning but it grows up to become the biggest tree in the garden.
Jesus didn’t only compare faith to a mustard seed, He compared the Word of God to a mustard seed as well.
“The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches” (Matthew 13:31-32)
The above passage is in the same context as the parable of the sower when He told His disciples that the word is the seed. So in the above passage, Christ is still talking about the word of God because the context of the word being the seed is continued through Matthew 13.
So if we put these passages of scripture together we find that we receive faith by receiving the Word of God and that the faith we receive is in seed form that is able to grow into mighty faith when allowed to grow. (Related article: How to grow in faith).
Do unbelievers have a measure of faith?
Unbelievers do not have a measure of faith. The measure of faith talked about in the Bible is only for those who have decided to make Jesus their Lord. However, the moment an unbeliever hears the Gospel faith is made available to them so that they can choose to accept salvation or reject it.
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)
This verse reveals that the grace of God, salvation, and faith are not of ourselves, but a gift from God. And remember, faith comes by hearing the Word of God (Romans 10:17), so the moment we hear the Word of God we received this gift of faith so that we can have the chance to receive salvation through grace.
The truth is every single person, when they hear the Gospel, will receive the seed of faith. However, not everyone will respond in faith to the Gospel and the reason is found in the parable of the sower.
The parable of the sower is found in Mark 4 and Matthew 13. In this parable, Jesus says that the sower is sowing the word of God but only those that receive the word with the right heart will allow the seed to grow.
Jesus gave three categories of heart conditions of those that reject the Word of God: (1) the person who didn’t understand, (2) the person who had no root in themselves, meaning no commitment, and (3) the person who is consumed with the worries and thoughts of this life.
All of these choke out the Word of God and don’t allow it to grow which in turn stops unbelievers from ever being able to truly act in faith so that they can be saved.
I hope this article assisted you in your walk with the Lord. If you enjoyed this article, please consider giving a donation of any amount by clicking the button below. The support we receive from you enables The Biblical Foundation to keep all of the resources free and to reach more people with the teachings of the Word of God.
