Romans 12:3 says, “Not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think, but to think so as to be sober-minded, as God has apportioned to each a measure of faith.” If you think you are bigger than Paul in the quantity of faith, you are crazy. You are not sober-minded. If you are really sober-minded, you will say, “Brother Paul was a big mountain. I am just a small stone.” Some of the saints may think that they are bigger than the elders. This is not sober-minded. At least the elders are “two inches” bigger than you. They are at least a little bigger, a little older spiritually, than you. To think more highly of ourselves than we ought to think without a sober mind is to annul the proper order of the Body life.
In Romans 12 Paul dealt with the practice of the Body life. In the crystallization of the Body there is one crucial point, that is, not to think more highly of ourselves than we ought to think, but to think so as to be sober-minded, as God has apportioned to each a measure of faith. God has not only allotted but also apportioned faith to us. He gave us the same faith in quality but not in quantity. The matter of quantity depends upon how you grow. If you grow today as the apostle Paul grew, the portion of faith you receive will be greatly enlarged. God first allotted faith to us in quality, and then He apportioned it in quantity. What kind of faith you have depends upon God’s allotment. How much faith you have depends upon God’s apportioning. God’s apportioning depends upon your attitude. If you are not sober-minded, God would not increase His apportioning of faith to you, and He probably would even decrease it.
Ephesians 2:8 says, “By grace you have been saved through faith, and this not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.” Both salvation and faith are the gift of God. God gave us salvation freely. He also gives us faith freely to receive His free salvation. Both are God’s gift.
In Romans 1:12 Paul said, “I with you may be encouraged among you through the faith which is in one another, both yours and mine.” This is the mutual faith in one another. When you meet an unbeliever, right away you can realize you have something which he does not have. This is like the lamps in a building all being bright except one that is dark. The electricity is not in that one. Sometimes you may meet some brothers who really respond to your fellowship concerning Christ. This is because they are in the apportioning of faith as you are, so you can react to one another. But you may meet some other brothers who are dull or who do not care much for Christ. They have faith, but they are short of the apportioning of faith. The only way to have this apportioning is by contacting the Lord.
Christianity has made itself in every way and in every thing a religion without the real contact with the Lord. They say they worship God, but actually they do not have the real worship. Their worship is only a kind of formality. In the Catholic Church they perform many rituals, but what the Bible shows us is a living Spirit. God is Spirit (John 4:24), and the last Person of the Godhead is Spirit (Matt. 28:19). The second Person of the Godhead became a man (John 1:14). Eventually, He was also pneumatized to become the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45b). Thus, God is Spirit, the third Person is Spirit, and the second Person is pneumatized. So the Triune God is totally experienced and enjoyed through the Spirit. We must contact the Spirit day by day.
In these days the Lord has shown us the high peak of His revelation. But if we only see this high peak and do not touch the very God, the Triune, as the consummated Spirit, we are in doctrine. So day and night, every day, we have to contact the consummated Triune God as the compound, all-inclusive, indwelling Spirit. We must contact Him. When we contact Him, He is overflowing within us, and there is a mutuality of faith among us. Sometimes when we are enjoying the Lord in a meeting, we sing crazily in a living way. We sing this way because we have tasted and touched the living Lord. The religious people like to maintain their formality with everything in good order, but everyone who meets God becomes “crazy.” When the Lord Jesus entered into Jerusalem for the last time, the people became crazy in their praising, saying, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” (Matt. 21:9). When the chief priests and scribes heard this, they were indignant. “They said to Him, Do you hear what these are saying? And Jesus said to them, Yes. Have you never read, ‘Out of the mouth of infants and sucklings You have perfected praise’?” (v. 16). This shows that when we contact God, we will be excited and joyful in the Spirit in a living way. About thirty years ago, I saw an electrical toy boy who jumped when the electricity was turned on. Without the current of electricity, this toy was still, but when it was turned on, it became active. We should be such “jumping toys,” who are enjoying the divine electricity.
First Corinthians 13:13 says, “Now there abide faith, hope, love, these three.” The top spiritual virtues are faith, hope, and love. Paul says the greatest one is love, but the first one is faith.