Spiritual Service in Christ’s Body (Romans 12:3-8): Part 1 of 2

“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. For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith …” (Rom. 12:3-6, ESV).

The Same Measure of Faith

“For” [γάρ], continuing to confirm the good, acceptable, and perfect will of God (v. 2b), divine “grace” [χάρις] through which Paul speaks (cf. 1:5; 15:15-16)¹ admonishes readers to be humble and “to think” (and act) [φρονεῖν]² to “sober judgment” [σωφρονεῖν]³ or “sound judgement” (NASB) or “sensibly” (CSB), characteristic of the renewed mind (v. 2a).

As part of a collective whole, “each” member of the Christian community has an active role to play according to individual capacity, ability, and opportunity. For some interpreters, a “measure of faith” might suggest different levels of faith. After all, Jesus spoke of “no faith” (Mark 4:40), “little faith” (Matt. 6:30; 8:26; 14:31; 16:8; Luke 7:9; 12:28), and “great faith” (Matt. 8:10; 15:10). Paul goes on to speak of the gift of “prophecy, in proportion to our faith” (v. 6), although this is actually “in proportion to the faith.”⁴

What Paul says applies to “everyone among you.” Seeing that “God shows no partiality” (2:11), “God has assigned” the same “measure” [μέτρον] or “standard”⁵ of faith to everyone, facilitating a “mutual faith” (1:12). This standard of faith is none other than Jesus Christ as revealed through the gospel,⁶ “the standard [τύπος] of teaching to which you were committed” (6:17; cf. 10:17). With a renewed mind, each is “to think with sober judgment” ὡς (an adverb of comparison), “according to” or “as” or “in line with” the divinely-assigned model of faith.

The Christian Community

Paul uses the imagery of a “body” [σῶμα] and its “members” [μέλη], with no explicit allusion here to the “head,” similar to 1 Cor. 12:12-27, where he argues for the unity of a local “church” [ἐκκλησία] (1 Cor. 1:2; 6:4-5; 11:18; 14:23) – a diversity of members functioning as a unit. Later, in reference to the universal “church” [ἐκκλησία], Paul speaks of Christ as the emblematic “head” [κεφαλή] of the emblematic “body” [σῶμα].⁷ In Romans, however, the apostle is addressing all the “saints” [ἅγιοι] in Rome (1:7) among multiple churches [ἐκκλησίαι] (16:5, 14, 15), inclusive of “everyone among you.” His aim, therefore, seems to be interpersonal as well as intercongregational relationships and unified activity, perhaps a prelude to chaps. 14–15. There is no practical distinction between being “in Christ” and being in his “body” (cp. Rom. 6:3-4; 1 Cor. 12:13), so “we are one body in Christ.” 

The Gift of Prophecy

The word “gifts” [χαρίσματα] applies to whatever God has provided for the benefit of his church and for accomplishing his purpose (cf. 1:11; 5:15-16; 6:23; 12:6). The gifts listed here include “prophecy” [προφητεία], the only miraculous gift to be mentioned, the proclamation or forthtelling of divine revelation. In the absence of the complete NT, prophesying in the fledgling Christian movement was a necessary component of revealing and communicating the divine will.⁸

Not everyone in the early church had the gift of prophecy (1 Cor. 12:10b, 28), and this was probably the “spiritual” [πνευματικός] “gift” [χάρισμα] that Paul wanted to “impart” to the Roman brethren (cf. 1:11). This gift is in “proportion” [ἀναλογία],⁹ not to “our” faith (ASV, ESV, NKJV) or “one’s” faith (CSB, NASB) but “the faith” [τῆς πίστεως], in line with the measure or standard of faith divinely revealed (v. 3). It is “the word of the faith [τῆς πίστεως] that we proclaim” (10:8). Accordingly, in the early developmental stages of Christianity, “the one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation…. the one who prophesies builds up the church” (1 Cor. 14:3-4).

--Kevin L. Moore

Endnotes:

     ¹ See also 1 Cor. 3:10; 15:10; Eph. 3:7-8. 

     ² On the thinking-feeling-doing connotations of the φρονέω word group, see K. L. Moore, “Lost in Translation: A Closer Look at the NT Greek Term PHRONÉŌ,” Moore Perspective (15 April 2020), <Link>.

     ³ Elsewhere in the NT: Mark 5:15; Luke 8:35; 2 Cor. 5:13; Tit. 2:6; 1 Pet. 4:7. 

     ⁴ In 1 Cor. 12:7-11, as Paul discusses the diversity of spiritual gifts in the Corinth church, he notes that “to each is given [δίδοται] the manifestation [φανέρωσις] of the Spirit for the common good” (v. 7), including “faith” [πίστις] (v. 9a) among the nine spiritual gifts listed. In the context of the miraculous, this appears to be more than ordinary faith, rather a special faith that accompanies miraculous activity (cf. 1 Cor. 13:2; Matt. 17:19-20; Acts 3:16).

     ⁵ Compare Matt. 7:2; Mark 4:24; Luke 6:38b; Rev. 21:15, 17.

     ⁶ Rom. 1:5-6, 12, 16-17; 2:16; 3:21-22; 5:1-2, 17; 6:5-13, 16-18; 7:4; 8:1-3, 9b-10, 14-15, 29; 10:4-17; cf. Eph. 4:7, 13, 16.

     ⁷ Eph. 1:22-23; 4:12-16; 5:23, 30; Col. 1:18, 24; 2:10, 19. G. Workman comments, “… it is apparent that the headship of Jesus refers not only to his position as Lord, but also speaks of the vital union that exists between him and his people” (“Paul’s Prayer,” in Book of Ephesians 24). Also included would be “the body’s dependence on the head as the source of its life (cf. Col. 2:19)” (M. R. Weed, Colossians, Ephesians, Philemon 11:133).

     ⁸ Acts 13:1; 1 Cor. 12:28-29; 14:29-32, 37; cf. Matt. 7:6; Acts 2:17-18; 11:27; 13:1; 15:32; 19:6; 21:9-10; 1 Cor. 11:4-5; 12:10, 28-29; 14:3; Eph. 2:20; 3:5; 4:11; 1 Tim. 1:18; 4:14; Rev. 1:3; 10:7, 11; 11:3, 6, 10, 18.

     ⁹ The only occurrence of this word in the NT, typically rendered “proportion,” alternately “accordance” (NIV) or “standard” (HCSB).

Related Posts: Rom 12:1-2, Rom 12:3-8 (Part 2)

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