«　WEEK 6　DAY 5　»

　　Rom. 12:3 For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, 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.

　　1:8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all because your faith is proclaimed throughout the whole world.

　　If you think you are bigger than Paul in the quantity of faith, you are crazy. You are not sober-minded… Some of the saints may think that they are bigger than the elders. This is not sober-minded… [The elders] 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 deals 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. (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 1, “Crystallization-study of the Epistle to the Romans,” pp. 311-312)

　　We may say that we enjoy Christ and enjoy the Divine Trinity, but what kind of indication can people see in us of this enjoyment? Faith is the indicator of the believers’ life in the enjoyment of the Divine Trinity (1 Thes. 1:3, 5, 7-8; Rom. 1:8). Paul wrote a letter to the saints in Thessalonica, and he said that he remembered their work of faith. Their work of faith became such a strong factor in their lives that people everywhere were talking about their faith. This means that faith became a strong indicator of the Thessalonians’ enjoyment of the Divine Trinity. Paul said that they became a pattern to all the ones who believe in Christ. Their faith became such an indicator of their life in the enjoyment of Christ that they became a pattern to all the believing ones.

　　Faith is to live God and to annul yourself. You have to be annulled… Paul in 1 Corinthians 13 says, “If I have all faith so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing” (v. 2). Strictly speaking, with us, the believing ones, faith is not for us to accomplish careers, to accomplish a big work… Do not think that faith is for us to accomplish big things. Faith is for us to live God, to express God, and to minister God to people.

　　Do not think that you can do something, so you are somebody. You should say, “Lord, I don’t want to be anybody, to be anything; You be my everything. You are, but I am not.” This is faith. Within you there must be the indicator of this linking faith. When people contact you, they should see that there is a strong factor indicating that you are linked with God. Your faith must be an indicator to make you a pattern. Do not learn from anyone how to do things. That means nothing. But you have to learn from someone how to live God, how to live Christ, how to magnify Christ, and how to minister Christ to others… Wherever we go and wherever we are, we should bear an indication that we are nothing, but God in Christ is everything to us. We should live such a life. (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 1, “Crystallization-study of the Epistle to the Romans,” pp. 319-320, 322)

　　Further Reading: Watchman Nee—a Seer of the Divine Revelation in the Present Age, ch. 11