God's Gift Of Faith: Available To Every Man

The Bible states that God has given every man a measure of faith. This is interpreted by some to mean that God has given all Christians varying measures of faith. This faith is a gift from God, and it is the faith with which we receive and use our varying gifts. It is the ordinary daily faith by which we live and minister.

The measure of faith is the standard by which we correctly appraise ourselves. It is meted out by God and given to all believers. This faith is the gift from which all the other gifts flow. It is the first gift we receive and the gift that brings the other gifts of the Spirit into our lives.

However, the Bible also states that not all receive all the gifts, nor is the same gift given to everyone in the same measure.

Faith is a gift from God

> "By grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast."

Paul's emphasis in Ephesians 2:8 is that even faith does not come from us apart from God's giving it. Human effort has nothing to do with it. This is also seen in Romans 3:20 and Galatians 2:16.

Spiritually dead, we were helpless until God intervened to quicken us: "Even when we were dead in our transgressions, [God] made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)" (Ephesians 2:5). Faith is an integral part of the gift His grace bestowed on us.

Scripture consistently teaches that faith is not conjured up by the human will but is a sovereignly granted gift of God. Jesus said, "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him" (John 6:44). Acts 3:16 speaks of "the faith which comes through Him."

Moreover, God would not want us to rely on our own power or resources, even if we had them. Otherwise, salvation would be in part by our own works, and we would have some ground to boast in ourselves.

God draws the sinner to Christ and gives the ability to believe. Without that divinely generated faith, one cannot understand and approach the Saviour. "A natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised" (1 Corinthians 2:14).

That is why, when Peter affirmed his faith in Christ as the Son of God, Jesus told him, "Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 16:17). Faith is graciously given to believers by God Himself.

As a divine gift, faith is neither transient nor impotent. It has an abiding quality that guarantees that it will endure until the end. The familiar words of Habakkuk 2:4, "The righteous will live by his faith" (cf. Romans 1:17; Galatians 3:11; Hebrews 10:38), speak not of a momentary act of believing, but of a living, enduring trust in God.

The faith God gives can never evaporate. And the work of salvation cannot ultimately be thwarted (cf. John 10:27–29). In Philippians 1:6, Paul wrote, "I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus" (cf. 1 Corinthians 1:8; Colossians 1:22–23).

Saving faith is distinct from every works-righteous system because it isn't the result of human effort. In the same way that repentance is granted by God (Acts 11:18; 2 Tim. 2:25), faith is also a supernatural gift of God.

Paul knew that the abundant grace of God was the source of his own faith. He said in 1 Timothy 1:13-14,

> "I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor. Yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief; but the grace of our Lord overflowed [for me] with the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus."

He was an unbeliever. But then grace overflowed to him with faith.

So he knew this was the case with every other believer too. He said to the Philippians,

> "To you it has been given for Christ's sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake" (Philippians 1:29).

This is why he thanked God and not human resourcefulness for the faith he saw in his churches:

> "We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brethren, as is fitting, because your faith is greatly enlarged" (2 Thessalonians 1:3).

We thank God for the enlargement of faith because "God has allotted to each [his own] measure of faith" (Romans 12:3).

Faith is for Christians

Faith is a gift from God, and it is available only to believers. Romans 12:3 states that God has given every believer "the measure of faith". This means that faith is not available to everyone in the world but only to those who have accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour.

The New International Version of the Bible translates "the measure of faith" as "the faith God has distributed to each of you". This faith is the gift from which all other gifts flow. It is the first gift we receive, and it brings the other gifts of the Spirit into our lives.

The measure of faith is the same for every believer, and it is the same faith that Jesus possessed. It is developed and strengthened over time through the Word of God. Romans 10:17 tells us, "Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God".

Faith is an integral part of the gift of grace bestowed on us by God. Ephesians 2:8-9 affirms, "By grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast".

Our response to salvation is faith, but even that is "not of [ourselves], it is the gift of God". We do not have the power or resources to conjure up faith on our own, and God would not want us to rely on our own efforts even if we could. If faith were something we could achieve through our own works, we would have grounds to boast about our own accomplishments. Instead, Paul emphasises in Ephesians 2:8 that even faith is a gift from God.

Spiritually, we were helpless until God intervened and made us alive together with Christ. Faith is a supernatural gift that is sovereignly granted by God. It is not something that is conjured up by the human will. Jesus said, "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him" (John 6:44). Acts 3:16 speaks of "the faith which comes through Him".

The faith that God gives can never evaporate. It has an abiding quality that guarantees that it will endure until the end. Hebrews 3:14 emphasises the permanence of genuine faith: "We have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast to the beginning of our assurance firm until the end".

In conclusion, faith is a gift from God that is available only to believers. It is the same faith that Jesus possessed, and it is developed and strengthened over time through the Word of God. This faith is an integral part of the gift of grace, and it is a supernatural gift that is sovereignly granted by God. It is enduring and unchanging, and it guarantees our salvation.

Faith is the same for every believer

Faith is a gift from God, and it is the same for every believer.

In Romans 12:3, Paul writes:

> "For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned."

Here, Paul is emphasising the importance of humility. He is saying that we should not think too highly of ourselves because our faith is a gift from God, and it is God who determines the measure of faith that each of us receives.

This idea is echoed in Ephesians 2:8-9:

> "By grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast."

And again in 2 Peter 1:1:

> "Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ."

The Greek word "isotimos" in this verse means "of equal value or honour". So, while our faith may develop and strengthen over time, the initial gift of faith is the same for every believer.

Faith is what brings the other gifts of the Spirit into our lives. It is the first gift we receive, and it is through faith that we are justified and born again. As Romans 12:6 says:

> "We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us."

So, while our faith may manifest in different ways and be expressed through different spiritual gifts, the faith itself is the same for every believer. It is a gift from God, and it is through faith that we are able to trust in Him and receive His other gifts.

Faith is developed through the Word of God

Faith is a gift from God, and it is the same for all believers. It is developed through the Word of God, which is the only way to achieve strong, world-changing faith. Romans 12:3 says, "For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned."

The measure of faith is meted out by God, and it is the standard by which we correctly appraise ourselves. It is the gift from which all other gifts flow. Faith is the first gift we receive, and it is the gift that brings the other gifts of the Spirit into our lives.

We receive the gifts according to the measure that God has given us, and we exercise these gifts according to the same measure of faith. This is why faith is so important in God's eyes. It is the foundation of our relationship with Him, and it is what allows us to receive and use our varying gifts.

The Bible says in Ephesians 2:8-9, "By grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not of works, so that no one may boast." This means that even faith does not come from us apart from God's giving it. It is not conjured up by the human will but is a sovereignly granted gift of God.

Jesus said, "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him" (John 6:44). Acts 3:16 speaks of "the faith that comes through Him." Faith is developed through the Word of God, and it is what allows us to understand and approach the Savior.

The more we know, the more we see, and the more faith we have. This is why studying the Word of God is so important. It is through His Word that we receive the gift of faith, and it is through our continued exposure to His Word that our faith grows and is strengthened.

Faith is a supernatural gift

Faith is a gift from God, and not something that humans can generate on their own. This is an important belief in Christianity, as it means that no one can boast about their faith or their proximity to God, as it is God who has granted them their faith.

The Bible states in Ephesians 2:8–9: "By grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast." This means that even faith is a gift from God, and not something that humans can conjure up on their own.

The Bible also says in Romans 12:3: "For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned." This is interpreted to mean that God has given all Christians varying measures of faith, and that this faith is a gift from God.

In addition, 2 Peter 1:1 states: "Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ." Here, the word "like" indicates that the faith of believers is the same as that of Jesus Christ.

Faith is a gift from God, and it is through this gift that all other gifts from the Holy Spirit flow. It is the first gift we receive, and it is what brings the other gifts of the Spirit into our lives.

Faith is not something that humans can generate on their own, but it is a supernatural gift from God, and it is through this gift that we are able to believe in Him and receive His other gifts.

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