According to 2 Peter 1:1, such a linking faith is the God-allotted faith. No doubt, Peter said this in light of the Old Testament type of the good land. In the Old Testament, when the children of Israel entered into the good land, Joshua allotted the good land under God’s leading (Josh. 13:6). One lot was designated to one person, and another lot was designated to another person. God allotted the good land to each of the Israelites. That was a type. Now in the New Testament God has allotted faith to us. The good land in the Old Testament typifies Christ. Christ is our good land. But here in 2 Peter 1:1 it says that God allotted faith to us. This is because faith, God, and Christ are one. God’s allotting faith to us means that He allotted Himself to us. It also means He allotted Christ to us. Colossians 1:12 says that Christ is the God-allotted portion, the lot, allotted to us by God. Christ is our lot, and faith is also our lot. It seems God has allotted to us two things: faith and Christ. But faith and Christ are one thing.
To say God has allotted Christ to you is somewhat shallow. Even the new beginners can know this. But to say God has allotted faith to us is deeper. To say that God has allotted Christ to us is a kind of objective teaching, without experience. But God’s allotting faith to us is not just an objective teaching, but a subjective experience. This God-allotted faith links us with Christ. So when you have faith, you have Christ. This is why such a faith is the faith of Jesus Christ the Son of God. Jesus the Son of God becomes the Author and the Perfecter of this faith (Heb. 12:2).
To say that faith is Christ Himself may be an objective doctrine. No experience is needed. But to say that faith is allotted by God to us implies that this faith right now links you to the allotted Christ. So these two things are one. In 2 Peter 1:1 we are told that God has allotted to us such a faith. Then verse 3 says that the divine power has granted to us all things which relate to life and godliness. Faith as God’s lot to us is all the things which relate to life and godliness.
We realize that we need to grow in life, but how can we grow in life? We grow by faith linking us to Christ. We can have the linking faith not just by hearing the word but by contacting the very Triune God who is faith to us. This faith is not the faith in the initial stage but the faith in the second, linking stage. Today’s revival and the new revival is just to stir people up to contact the Triune God so that this faith in the second stage may work in the linking way. When you contact the living God, right away you are revived. This is the effectiveness of the linking faith.
God has allotted to us equally precious faith. It is equally precious to all the believers. Let us again use the illustration of electricity. Electricity is allotted to this building, and it links all the lamps together. This electricity in all the lamps is the same in quality and in quantity because the size of the lamps is the same. But the very faith in us, while being the same in quality, is not the same in quantity. We cannot compare with the apostle Paul. His linking faith may be like a big mountain, while ours may be like a small stone. But you have to realize that the stone grows! In the Bible the stones are living (1 Pet. 2:5). If you contact God, faith grows in you. This means that God increases in you. When God increases in you, faith in the second stage grows in you to get bigger and bigger. We all have the same faith in quality, but the quantity of faith we have depends upon how much we contact the living God so that we may have Him increased in us. When God increases in you, this faith in the second stage also grows in you.
God has allotted to us such a faith “in the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ” (2 Pet. 1:1). God allotted this equal faith to us according to God’s righteousness, in a judicial way. Suppose God had not become our Savior, and we did not have a Redeemer. How could God have allotted faith to us? Because God became a man and died on the cross to be our Savior judicially, He can allot Himself into our being as the linking faith.