<p>12:3 <i>For I say, through the grace that was given me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, accordingly as God has dealt to each man a measure of faith</i>- This continues the reference to God's will in :2. Faith is given, in the same way as we are called, predestined and moved towards salvation by the work and gift of the Spirit. This should humble us; in the same way as in the preceding chapter, Paul has urged Gentile believers to be humbled by the process of predestination, and not think highly of themselves because it is all of grace. And it was even of grace that Paul was reminding them of this. The awesome depth of this grace leads us to &quot;think soberly&quot;, a word play in Greek: <i>phroneo sophroneo</i>. It elicits from us deep thinking- that God should give us faith, as Jacob was loved and Esau hated, quite apart from our works.</p><p>The next verses go on to speak of the manifestation of the gifts in a practical form, which in the first century included miraculous works. There was exhortation to &ldquo;seek the best gifts&rdquo;; and yet they were distributed &ldquo;according as God hath dealt to every man according to the measure of faith&rdquo; (Rom. 12:3 and context). He gave to each of them in the early church gifts which reflected the measure of faith shown by the individual believer. How much they could achieve for their Lord was limited by their faith.</p>