Our Faith Potential

So much of what we hear about faith today is designed to motivate us to pursue faith for ourselves and the things we desire. And because of a “me first” attitude, many in the Church are not walking in their faith potential. They don’t understand the purpose of faith and what they can do to help their faith grow. Why is this?

The Church is not being taught to pursue faith because it pleases our Father.

Hebrews 11:6 says, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.”

Now, let’s read how our Father responds when we please Him with our faith. “Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” (Luke 12:32) We must pursue faith, ladies and gentlemen, to partner with our Father in building His kingdom.

The Bible provides an analogy to help us understand why God equipped us with faith and what’s required of us to increase our faith. But first, what is our “faith potential”? We find out in Romans 12:3. It says, “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.”

When we are born again, we receive “the measure of faith” we need to fulfill the calling God places on our lives. When we are born again, we receive “the measure of faith” we need to fulfill God’s plan for our lives. In the context of this verse, “measure” (Gk., metron) is “the portion, required measure, the due, fit, measure.” As I read this definition, I could see God measuring each of us with the amount of faith He knows we will need to serve Him.

Now notice that the verse says we receive “the” measure of faith, not “a” measure of faith. Faith is not something you can divvy up and distribute. For example, if the total percentage of faith is 100%, my measure may be 2% and someone else’s may be 5% and so on. It wouldn’t take long to get to 100%.

But this is not what this verse is saying.

The “measure” our Father gives us is 100% of the faith we will need to serve Him. Colossians 2:10 says, “And ye are complete (Gk. pleroo, filled to capacity) in Him, which is the head of all principality and power.” Everything Jesus had when He was on earth now lives in us.

Do you remember the story in Matthew 17 about the father who brings his son to the disciples so they can cast a devil out of him? They couldn’t, and Jesus tells them why – “because of your unbelief” (verse 20). This is a “teaching moment.” Jesus tells them that any unbelief, any doubt, will derail their faith. The “teaching moment” continues in verse 21 where Jesus says, “Howbeit, this kind (of faith, not devil) goeth out not but by prayer and fasting.” Why is Jesus teaching us that we must pray and fast to grow our faith?

The Schoolmaster Analogy

Earlier, I mentioned an analogy that exemplifies how our Father equips us with faith and what we must do to grow that faith. In the book of Galatians, the Apostle Paul is writing to Gentile believers who are being told by Jewish Christians that, in addition to grace, they need to keep the law. In essence, the epistle is Paul teaching them again why they are no longer under the law.

In Galatians 3:16-19, Paul says the law had come 430 years after God’s promise to Abraham and his seed. The Children of Israel had a sinful nature, and the law provided guardrails for them until the promised seed, Jesus, could be born, crucified, and resurrected.

Now let’s go to verses 23 and 24. “But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. (24) Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.”

In the Hebrew culture, the master’s most trusted and faithful slave was the heir’s schoolmaster (paidagogos). From the time the heir was 3 or 4 years old, the slave watched over him and was by his side whenever he left the house. The title originally identified him as a guardian. It was later used to describe the slave as a teacher or educator.

The schoolmaster had three principal responsibilities:

1) To help the heir begin to know his father.

2) To help the heir begin to learn how to be a son in his father’s house.