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Romans 12 · a question people ask

"not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think" (12:3). Does that mean thinking little of yourself?

In the text

The verse goes on: "but to think reasonably, as God has apportioned to each person a measure of faith" (12:3) (tap reasonably). Then it gives a picture: "For even as we have many members in one body, and all the members don’t have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another" (12:4-5). The verse doesn't say to think little of yourself; it says to think reasonably. These notes say no more about it than the verses do.

The verses

“For I say through the grace that was given me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think; but to think reasonably, as God has apportioned to each person a measure of faith. For even as we have many members in one body, and all the members don’t have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another,”
Romans 12:3-5 · World English Bible

From Favor's study of Romans 12

Romans 12: A living sacrifice

After the praise that closes chapter 11, Romans 12 urges "by the mercies of God" (12:1). The whole chapter names Christ in one verse: "we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another" (12:5). And it speaks twice of "the grace that was given" (12:3, 12:6).

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Last reviewed October 7, 2026. Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Every answer cites the verses it rests on. What we believe · All Bible questions