Romans 12:3: “For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.” Knowing the Lord by now far better than ever before, years ago, knowing His Grace, knowing His Mind, knowing His intentions, I would even dare to say: God has dealt to every man the same measure of faith. So nobody can say, “I have five times more”; but the same measure of faith, so that this would even typify His sense of justice and righteousness. At the point of birth, He is giving to “every man” what he needs to be saved. This is right here (in Rom.12:3), it doesn’t say to “every believer”. A believer doesn’t need this faith because he already believes. The fact of believing presupposes that there is faith already, but He gives the definite measure of faith to every man.
Now we know from Hebrews 11:1 what faith is. “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, [and it is also] the evidence of things not seen.” Evidence of things not seen. A few years ago I received from the Lord a very clear Word: faith equals reality. Which means: reality equals faith. It works both ways, as all mathematicians would agree. But if faith equals reality, it means very simply that God gives to every human being the basic reality about Himself (and we still talk about Christ) — Christ gives to every human being the basic reality about Himself, so no man has any excuse.
So the question is not “Do I have faith?” or “Do I not have faith?” The question is “Who has found it? Who was searching for it? Who cared about it? Who used it?” That is the question. That is why there are verses that “the light [grace] of salvation appeared to all men” (Tit.2:11). Well, how else could it be possible? The light of salvation is part of the reality of Christ, which He gave to every man. But faith, being spiritual substance and evidence, is spiritual evidence of things not seen. Nobody could see salvation; could we when we were saved? No. We saw nothing, yet we had evidence of that which we could not see, so we used that reality of Christ’s death and resurrection and salvation and we just proclaimed it. So we were saved by that evidence which was in us, by that reality which was in us. So by faith we are saved.
There is written another thing; the Lord speaks Himself that: “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him:” (John 6:44). Now how is the Father drawing? How can the Father draw me when I am a pagan, drunken in a ditch? Or having a party in a palace, knowing nothing? How can the Father draw me? Well, the Father, in fact, has only one way to draw any human being. And when you go back to your beginnings you might be able to see the hand of the Father. He draws us to that faith, to that reality, which Christ put within us!
It is not the Lord Who draws us, it is the Father, and Christ put it there as a testimony about Himself. The reality about His Salvation is put within every human being, but it is the Father Who originated this plan. It is the Father Who sent the Son. It is the Father Who preconceived the plan. It is the Father who told the Son, “You know, Son, it would be wise if you put this reality into everyone who is born.” This did not originate in the Son. It originated in the Father, but the Son executed that. He performed that just as He created the sun and the moon; so He created this reality within us.
It is also in Hebrews, where it says that the Lord is the author and finisher of our faith. Hebrews 12:2: “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith;”. This verse suggests also, and it just comes to me now, in fact, that there is not one part of faith, one “smithereen” of our faith, which we could have authored or tried to build up ourselves. He authors all of it, and He finishes it, too. And rightly so, because we cannot produce faith. It is being produced in us through His Spirit.
Now just as there are three lights, there are three faiths. The faith from the Book of Romans which we just read, is the initial grace of God by the granting to every human being this reality, this precious spiritual reality, within the spirit of every man and woman. Then when you use that, there is another gift of faith which comes from 1Corinthians 12:8–10; and when you use that, then you produce the fruit of faith from Galatians 5:22. And this is the highest type of faith, because then, this is your cooperation with God.
Every fruit is the highest type because it is produced by the cooperation of us with God Himself. Everything before was a gift, grace, gift, grace, gift. But, despite the cooperation, it is still authored by Christ; the origin is still spiritual, heavenly. We are not producing it through our soul, and it has no earthly connection whatsoever.
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To be continued next week
brother Hanola
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