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SAVED BY GRACE THROUGH FAITH
Since all passages are worthy for instruction and perfectly inspired by God unto righteousness then there are no contradictions in God's Word and the truths that are relayed in each passage are incontrovertible, absolutely trustworthy - irrefutable. They are therefore not ever contradicted, changed or modified into something different elsewhere in Scripture or outside of Scripture.
Objectors to this principle state that one cannot just take a particular passage to teach some Biblical truth such as the one which is contained in Ephesians 2:8-10 or John 3:16, both of which teach faith alone in Christ alone unto eternal life. Objectors state that there are other passages throughout the Bible that teach on salvation and add to what Paul and John say a man must do to be saved, (creating the inference that the passages in Ephesians and John are contradictory or incomplete with error of omission). But this is an approach to Scripture which would make the understanding of any passage in the Bible unreachable until one had completely mastered every passage and allowed for passages to be changed or modified into their 'final' meaning. And this would take more than a lifetime of careful consideration and study to arrive at any kind of determination, something which is beyond the capacity of any individual. Furthermore, what could the saints of old do before there was a completed Bible with the 27 books of the New Testament? Have Abraham, Isaac and Jacob perished into Hades since they were not provided with New Testament revelation? If this approach is valid, then Ephesians and the Gospel of John are wrong by leaving important information out - God is wrong by allowing His Word to be so indeterminate and contradictory, the Bible is untrustworthy and no one can truly know what Scripture teaches on any subject.
The truth of the matter is that just as a cook can follow the directions of a recipe in order to produce the stated result of, for example, an angel food cake, without having to go to another recipe like one for roast beef; so an individual can follow the direction of faith alone in Christ alone as enunciated in Ephesians 2:8-9 and John 3:16 in order to produce the stated result of eternal life without having to go to other passages which add corrections and/or directions, (even if there were any in the Bible, and there are not). Furthermore, just as adding roast beef will ruin an angel food cake; so adding anything that an individual must do to faith alone in Christ alone unto eternal life will utterly destroy one's chances for going to heaven. The truth of the matter is that one can quickly and easily discern the teachings and build an understanding of God's Word by studying one passage at a time, following the built-in rules of interpretation and without years of agonizing examination of the entire Bible and thereby determine what God is saying in His Word. Most passages in the Bible declare a clear message of what they mean by themselves or at times with the use of a few parallel passages. Further investigation of parallel passages often provides the same message without additional information to be gleaned for the understanding of the original passage; or those parallel passages may provide more information on the same or related subjects, but that information came from those parallel passages and offers no further help in the interpretation of the original passage. Furthermore, when properly analyzed in detail in accordance with the 'normative' method, there simply are no contradictory passages anywhere in God's Word, especially verses which contradict what is taught in Ephesians chapters one & two and John chapter 3.
(v. 8) "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God -"
A) THE TOTAL & EXCLUSIVE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD IN A PERSON'S SALVATION
This verse is part of a passage which emphasizes the total & exclusive sovereignty of God in a person's salvation. The emphasis of God's exclusive and total sovereignty in a person's salvation is so strong that before one looks at these two well quoted verses one must read the entire section (Eph 1:3-2:10) in order to verify that it is indeed true that God and God alone has anything to do with a person's salvation unto eternal life.
1) GOD'S WORK TOWARD A PERSON'S SALVATION IS ABSOLUTELY COMPLETE
Eph 1:3-2:9 clearly describes the absolutely complete work that God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit did in order that a man could believe in that work and be saved.
"Absolutely complete" means that nothing needs to be added - nothing can be permitted to be added.
2) NOTHING NEED OR CAN BE CONTRIBUTED BY MAN TOWARD HIS SALVATION
a) ANYTHING THAT MAN CONTRIBUTES CANCELS OUT GOD'S GRACE CANCELING THE SALVATION ENTIRELY
Other Scripture passages verify that NOTHING from the individual can be permitted by God to contribute toward his salvation which God offers on a free grace basis only:
"And if by grace, then it is no longer by works, if it were [by works] grace would no longer be grace"
[Verse 6 is a general statement about grace vs works being mutually exclusive being applied to the remnant of Israelite believers being preserved throughout history. It indicates that you cannot have anything which is by grace and also by works - all or in part. The clear definition of grace demands this mutual exclusivity: unmerited favor!!! In other words, in order for God to provide unmerited favor/blessings to someone, that someone cannot have done anything to receive that favor/blessings in any way. Otherwise some or all of it is merited. Therefore salvation or anything cannot be by grace and works at the same time. Notice the 'if' is not qualified which points to anything not just limited to a remnant of Israelite believers being preserved throughout history. Notice that "by works" is also not qualified, such that works which are considered works of faith are excluded as well from anything that has to do with grace.
So if an individual were to trust in Christ as Savior with the mental attitude that he must provide something himself in addition to that trust in order to gain entrance or to earn entrance into heaven, (water baptism, no more serious sinning, taking the Lord's Supper, i.e. the mass; going to church, making Jesus the Lord of his life, etc., etc.), then the grace basis - the gift basis - of his salvation would "no longer be grace" as Ro 11:6 says above. And his salvation would not be salvation at all, for God saves on a grace - a gift - basis only. One can neither pay for nor do something to deserve a gift. A gift by definition is something that is freely given and freely received - without strings - without attachments. Hence grace and works are mutually exclusive]
b) SALVATION IS A FREE GRACE GIFT - NO STRINGS ATTACHED
[Ro 3:22-24]:
(v. 22) "This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference,
(v. 23) for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
(v. 24) and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus."
[Notice that the redemption - the salvation - came FREELY by Christ Jesus. There is no mention of any other agent such as the individual and a contribution he might make. And the expression of faith alone in Christ alone is stated as resulting in justification unto eternal life. So this verse is saying that eternal life comes by faith alone in Christ alone. Eternal life is not through anything one might contribute himself as this would cancel God's free grace gift, (Ro 11:6).
c) MAN IS UNABLE TO CONTRIBUTE ANYTHING ACCEPTABLE TOWARD HIS SALVATION
And to make matters worse, one must be mindful that unbelievers are totally depraved and unable to contribute anything acceptable to their salvation anyway:
"And those who are in the flesh [unbelievers or carnal believers] cannot please God." [with their deeds. Therefore anything done toward salvation would not be effectual]
"For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment, and all of us wither like a leaf, And our iniquities, like wind, take us away."
[Compare Ro 6:20; Job 14:1-4; Jer 17:9; Ps 51:5]
iii) [Compare Gal 3:21b-22]:
(v. 21b) "For if a law.."
[Notice: if a law. In the original Greek Bible there is no article before "law" in Gal 3:21b. When the article is omitted in the Greek it signifies the quality of the noun rather than a specific concept of law like the Mosaic Law when a definite article is then used. Here at the beginning of the last part of Galatians 3:21, the quality of law is being referred to meaning any kind of law or rules of human conduct. Therefore the word "law" in verse 21b refers to the behavior of men - laws of moral conduct, codes and acts of moral behavior, etc. It is therefore a general statement referring to any set of deeds which an individual must perform, (not just the Law of Moses); for example, water baptism, repentant behavior, good deeds, church going, giving, etc.
Compare Romans 3:21: same grammatical construction and context]
[Gal 3:21b-22 cont.]:
(v. 21b) "For if a law [i.e., rules of human conduct] had been given which was able to impart life, then righteousness would indeed have been based on law"
[For if any kind of rules of human conduct could result in salvation then certainly the Mosaic Law would have been able to do the same. But God's Word is saying here that righteousness and eternal life are not based on any set of rules of conduct]
(v. 22) But the Scripture declares that the whole world is a prisoner of sin, [i.e., totally depraved and unable to contribute anything toward salvation] so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe."
A) THE TOTAL & EXCLUSIVE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD IN A PERSON'S SALVATION, cont.
So Paul's answer to the question of what one must do to be saved is not as a result of anything man can do but simply by faith alone in Christ alone:
"Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved...."
Therefore, one must be mindful of the fact that any action on the part of the unsaved such as water baptism would be contaminated and motivated by the indwelling sin nature of the unbeliever and thereby unacceptable by God toward his salvation.
So once Ephesians 1:1 through 2:10 have been read carefully and understood then the full impact of verses 2:8-10 will be clear. Assuming that you have read these verses we will now move to two of the last three verses which cap the passage off so well:
II) [Eph 2:8 cont.]:
(v. 8) "For it is by grace you have been saved through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God -"
"For" = because. "For" connects to the previous two verses which sum up the previous passage on the details of God's sovereign work in the believer's salvation:
(v. 6) "And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus"
[God immediately views the individual who has just trusted alone in Christ alone as Savior as having already been raised up in perfection and seated in heaven - even before anything else is done by that individual! This is called positional truth. Once an individual has trusted alone in Christ alone as Savior, (ref. Eph 1:13-14); even before he dies; he receives the position of being seated with God in heaven and then awaits to take that position in actuality when he is finished with his earthly, mortal life]
[Eph 2:6-7 cont]:
(v. 6) "And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,
(v. 7) in order that in the coming ages He might show the incomparable riches of His grace, expressed in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus."
[Verses 6 & 7 state that God immediately raised all believers up and seated them positionally in heaven in order that in the coming ages: the millennium, the tribulation period and on into eternity-future God might show how inestimable, how incomparable - nothing compares - to the riches of His grace in the working of a believer's salvation. Notice - it is ALL HIS GRACE - not a hint that there is permitted a participation by any individual person or ANY contribution toward his own salvation. God is emphasizing here in this passage that He is to get ALL THE GLORY. Just to bring home this point, God inspired the Apostle Paul to cap off this passage with verses 8-10.
II) [Eph 2:8 cont]:
(v. 8) "For it is by grace you have been saved through faith.."
C) SALVATION IS BY GRACE WHICH MEANS MAN DOES NOTHING CONTRIBUTORY TO RECEIVE IT
"It is by grace" = "grace" = "charti"
The grace of God = any blessing or favor that God bestows and which is totally without regard for anything man does or is, requiring nothing in return.
[Compare Ro 4:4-5]:
(v. 4) "Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation.
(v. 5) However, to the man who does not work but trusts God Who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness."
[Ro 11:6]:
"And if by grace, then it is no longer by works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace."
[Notice that if you insert works into a grace operation it cancels the grace entirely]
So salvation is by grace, "chariti", unrecompensed and unmerited favor', i.e., you did - NOTHING - to deserve your salvation and have nothing to offer to recompense God for it at anytime. This PRECLUDES - EXCLUDES - PROHIBITS - any contribution on your part for any reason for that would lead to a meritorious situation canceling the grace basis.
But grace = unrecompensed, unmerited favor cannot by definition include anything that man contributes such that if he does not contribute it he will not be saved. Salvation by virtue of it being by the grace of God cannot be conditional upon anything man does.
E) SALVATION IS BY GRACE THROUGH FAITH =
SAVED BY GRACE THROUGH FAITH, cont. -
II) [Eph 2:8 cont.]:
(v. 8) "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God -"
F) SALVATION IS ETERNALLY SECURE = ONCE SAVED ALWAYS SAVED = ETERNAL SECURITY
1) "you have been saved.." = "este sesosmenoi..."
"este" = "are", 2 pers. pl. pres., active voice, indicative mood = statement of fact
"sesosmenoi" = saved, participle, perfect tense passive voice.
[SYNTAX OF NEW TESTAMENT GREEK, James A. Brooks, Carlton L. Winbery, University Press of America, Lanham, Md., 1988, pp. 104-5]:
"The perfect tense expresses perfective action. Perfective action involves a present state which has resulted from a past action. The present state is a continuing state; the past action is a completed action.
Intensive Perfect
Remember that the perfect conveys the idea of a present state resulting from a past action. This use of the perfect emphasizes the present state of being, the continuing result, the finished product, the fact that a thing is..."
[The Language of the New Testament, Eugene Van Ness Goetchius, Chas. Scribner's Sons, N.Y., 1965, p. 293]:
"The Greek perfect differs from the Greek aorist in that it emphasizes the continuing result of the action which was completed in past time...
"...He [Christ] as been raised" = "egegertai", perfect, passive, lit., "he has been raised" which points to the results of the resurrection which were completed in past time with continuing results.]
...Paul says (1 Corinthians 9:1), "Iesoun...eoraka" = "I have seen....Jesus" ("eoraka" is perfect active of "orao"); hence he [Paul] is an Apostle [having seen Jesus as a requirement for being an Apostle], as a continuing result..."
Notice that if objectors insist on one not being permanently saved as a result of the perfect tense in Eph 2:8 then Christ could not have been permanently resurrected from the dead nor Paul permanently an Apostle as a result of the perfect tenses in either of those passages.
Furthermore, the additional verb form "este" of the verb to be in the present tense is added to the perfect participle "sesosmenoi" = "you have been saved" to doubly emphasize ongoing present results of being completely saved in the past.
Objectors who insist that this passage does not guarantee future results must override the context of such emphasis in the text on continuing and permanent results of eternal life by the Holy Spirit's choice of verb forms and furthermore they must contradict the concept in reality that the experiencing of ongoing results of eternal life in the present secures eternal life into the future otherwise it could not be ongoing in the present - which the present tense of the additional verb "este" and the force of the perfect tense combine emphatically to portray. In other words since according to Eph 2:8 we are completely saved unto eternal life in the past, which by its very nature is eternal; and since we are to expect ongoing results of being saved in the present, and since we always live in the present; then we can assuredly know that salvation is guaranteed for the future. If not then there will be moments of not having an ongoing experience of salvation in the present sooner or later which would contradict what God the Holy Spirit inspired the Apostle Paul to say in Eph 2:8.
[Kenneth S. Wuest, 'Ephesians and Colossians in the Greek New Testament', Wm B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. Grand Rapids, Mich, 1963, 66-67]:
"Now comes the interjection...
["by grace you have been saved:]
...We have here in the Greek what is called a periphrastic construction...
[Paul deliberately uses a periphrastic construction, lit. in English: you are saved having been completely saved in the past with ongoing results in the present. Paul uses an auxiliary verb = "este" = "you are saved, 2nd pers., plur., pres. active voice, indicative mood, (statement of fact) along with "sesosmenoi" = saved, participle, perfect tense passive voice rather than the normative inflected form of the verb to be saved in the past tense in order to stress the point of permanency]
..This [periphrastic construction] is used when the writer cannot get all of the details of action from one verbal form. So he uses two, a finite verb ("este" are saved) and a participle. The participle here is in the perfect tense, which tense speaks of an action that took place in past time and was completed in past time, having results existent in present time.
The translation reads [more accurately] 'By grace have you been completely saved, with the present result that you are in a saved state of being'. The perfect tense speaks of the existence of finished results in present time. But Paul is not satisfied with showing the existence of finished results in present time. He wants to show the persistence of results through present time. So he uses the verb 'to be' in the present tense ["este"] which gives durative force to the finished results. Thus, the full translation is, "By grace you have been saved in past time completely, with the result that you are in a state of salvation which persists through present time.' The unending state of the believer in salvation could not have been put in stronger or clearer language. The finished results of the past act of salvation are always present with the reader. His present state of salvation is dependent upon one thing and one thing only, his past appropriation of the Lord Jesus as Saviour. His initial act of faith brought him salvation in its three aspects, justification, the removal of the guilt and penalty of sin and the impartation of a positive righteousness, Jesus Christ Himself, an act which occurs at the moment of believing, and a position that remains static for time and eternity [cp. Ro 3:21-28]; sanctification, positional, the act of the Holy Spirit taking the believing sinner out of the first Adam with his (Adam's) sin and death, and placing him in the Last Adam (Jesus Christ) with His righteousness and life, an act that occurs at the moment of believing [cp. Ro 5:15-19]; [and sanctification] progressive, the process by which the Holy Spirit eliminates sin from the experience of the believer and produces His fruit, gradually conforming him into the image of the Lord Jesus [cp. Ro 8:29], a process that goes on all through the life of a Christian and continues all through eternity, and which never is completed, for a finite creature can never equal an infinite one in any quality; and glorification, the act of the Holy Spirit, transforming the mortal bodies of believers into glorified, perfect bodies at the Rapture of the Church [cp. 1 Thess 4:13-18; 1 Cor 15:52-53]. The believer has had his justification, he is having his sanctification, and he is yet to have his glorification. The earnest of the Spirit guarantees to him his glorification [cp. Eph 1:13-14]."
Just to make sure that it is clear that a person is to do nothing to contribute toward his salvation the next phrase in Eph 2:8-9, "and this not of yourselves", nails home this point:
G) ...SALVATION IS IRREVOCABLE AND GUARANTEED
Loss of salvation cannot happen since it is a gift and God's sovereign calling. So since God already unconditionally promised salvation to the newborn believer as a gift:
"For God's gifts and His call are irrevocable."
When God calls you to be saved, you will be saved and you will stay saved, Amen!
H) ONCE SAVED ONE IS GUARANTEED REDEMPTION BY THE INDWELLING AND SEALING MINISTRY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
Furthermore, God the Holy Spirit permanently indwells the believer at the point of that believer's trusting in Christ as his Personal Savior:
(v. 13) "And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed you were marked in Him with a seal
'Seal" = A seal means something which is permanently affixed, not to be broken until the final act of salvation is accomplished - that of going to be with the Lord in heaven in a perfect state of righteousness - a perfect body.
Notice that at the point of believing the gospel of salvation, i.e., of faith alone in Christ alone unto eternal life, (Jn 3:16; Eph 2:8-9), the Holy Spirit "included" the believer "in Christ" (i.e., into His Body, the Church, (1 Cor 12:12-13). The Holy Spirit Himself thus became the Mark of a Seal in the believer by actually indwelling the believer with His Personal Presence, i.e., Holy Spirit baptism. This action signifies God's absolute guarantee of the believer's inheritance of eternal life - his final stage of redemption into His perfect and eternal body, (1 Cor 15:51-54) and such action establishes that all believers are God's possession forever!!, (2 Cor 5:5; Eph 4:30)]
Notice that all sins past, present and future have been forgiven at the point of "Having believed" in "the gospel of your salvation" because at that point the individual is "marked in Him [Jesus Christ] with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit Who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption [i.e., the forgiveness of sins, Col 1:13-14)"
So all sins are redeemed, i.e., forgiven at the point of believing not just some - otherwise there could be no guarantee by the Holy Spirit of our eternal inheritance.
"And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God with Whom you were sealed for the day of redemption."
1 cont.) [Eph 1:13-14 cont.]:
(v. 13) "And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed you were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit,
(v. 14) Who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession to the praise of His glory."
"Having believed you were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, Who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession ....." =
God Himself seals the believer's eternal destiny with Him in heaven at the moment that that person trusts in Christ as his Personal Savior. He seals each believer "until the redemption of those who are God's possession...." = until the experiential redemption of all believers when they finally receive their perfect bodies.
All believers are promised by God to be redeemed at the point of their trusting in Christ as Savior - this is called positional redemption: believers are permanently placed by God in the legal position of already having been saved. After this, in God's time, according to His plan of the ages, each believer will receive his resurrection body.
(v. 4) "But because of His great love for us, God, Who is rich in mercy,
(v. 5) made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions - it is by grace you have been saved.
(v. 6) And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus."
[i.e., God judicially and positionally placed the believer with Christ in heaven at the point that that believer trusted in Christ as Savior]
1 cont.) [Eph 1:13-14 cont.]:
"And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed you were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, Who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession to the praise of His glory."
"....until the redemption of those who are God's possession..." =
"God's possession" = that's you & I - as believers.
(v. 12) "Yet to all who received Him, to those Who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God
"The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children."
Ck
out this complete study on Eternal Security: 
I) THE PHRASE 'WERE YOU SAVED THROUGH FAITH' PRECLUDES WORKS OF ANY KIND
As discussed earlier, the phrase 'were you saved through faith' meaning 'saved completely in the past through a moment of faith alone in Christ alone' completely precludes works of any kind because one is saved completely before any work is done to be saved. There is no chance to participate in one's salvation once one places one's faith alone in Christ alone as Savior. So actions such as water baptism, repentant behavior, etc. cannot play a part in one's salvation.
If such were the case, that actions by the individual do play some part in determining whether or not the individual is saved unto eternal life, then the verb forms used in all of the salvation passages would have to allow for that. They could not stipulate present possession of eternal life upon trusting alone in Christ alone as Savior as so many of them do; or a completed action of being totally saved in the past as do many more. A conditional verb or a future verb allowing for the works to enter into the action would be required but such is never the case.
II) [Eph 2:8 cont.]:
(v. 8) "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God."
J) SALVATION IS NOT ANYTHING THAT COMES FROM THE INDIVIDUAL
"and this not from yourselves" - and this salvation is not from yourselves. "this" - "touto" - refers grammatically by gender back to "sesosmenoi" - that of "being saved" - "salvation"
Harold W Hoehner in "The Bible Knowledge Commentary", Victor Books, 1988, p. 624, states: "The demonstrative pronoun ["touto"] is neuter whereas "grace" and "faith" are feminine. Also, to refer back to either of these words specifically seems to be redundant. Rather the neuter "touto", as is common, refers to the preceding phrase or clause. (In Eph. 1:15 and 3:1 "touto", "this", refers back to the preceding section.) Thus it refers back to the concept of salvation (2:4-8a), whose basis is grace and means is faith [indicating that not a single thing comes from the individual - even the faith being provided as a gift from God]."
"and this [salvation is] not from yourselves...(cont.) =
Notice that Scripture emphasizes that salvation is not from yourself . No contribution is allowed for any reason. It is all from God!
Just as your being conceived in the womb to be physically born is not of yourself meaning that you provided no contribution of any kind toward being conceived, so being saved to be born again as not of yourself has the same meaning, i.e., you provide no contribution of any kind toward that either.
1) FAITH IS NON CONTRIBUTORY TOWARD ONES SALVATION
Since salvation is stipulated in Eph 2:8-9 as being 'by grace', i.e., unmerited favor and 'not of works' and 'not of yourselves' = 3 ways of saying non contributory indicating that a man contributes nothing to receive salvation, then the faith itself that a man exercises to be saved must also be non-contributory toward salvation.
The faith therefore must be
passive and not active in the sense that it simply causes an individual to
receive the results of what God has already done - this acceptance of a
free gift of all that God has already done relative to the matter of
salvation. So one trusts in God doing it all for him in order to be saved:
he contributes nothing and trusts in God to do it all.
Objectors to free grace salvation falsely maintain that 'not of yourselves' means that 'you did not originate your salvation, it comes from God'. They then draw the false conclusion that contributions from yourself are not excluded but required.
This contrived and false interpretation that man must still participate in obtaining salvation violates the context by ignoring chapter one which indicates that God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit provided everything you need to receive salvation unto eternal life. It also ignores the words and phrases in 2:8 of 'gift', 'not of works so that no one can boast' and 'by grace'. Salvation is a 'gift' = it is free; 'not of works so that no one can boast' = because there is no possibility to boast since man contributes nothing, and salvation is 'by grace' = unrecompensed, unmerited favor - no contribution permitted. All of these are parallel concepts to 'not of yourselves' which stipulate that you do not contribute anything at all toward your salvation.
So the phrase 'not from yourselves' according to the normative rules of language, context and logic means that nothing from yourself can have anything to do with your salvation - not only the plan, purpose, means and ability which Ephesians chapter one stipulate has been taken care of exclusively by God, but anything of yourself is excluded.
Furthermore, if man contributes something to be saved or maintain his salvation and even though God might be the Originator of that contribution, one could not then honestly say that the salvation was 'not of yourselves' for it would still be in part of yourselves. If a contribution from yourself which contribution originated and emanated from God was to be permitted then there would still have to have been a specific qualification referring to this instead of the unqualified 'not of yourselves' which means not anything contributory coming from yourselves at all.
(v. 5) He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit."
[Notice that God saved us not because of righteous things we had done, thus ruling out works coming out of faithfulness too!]
II) [Eph 2:8 cont.]:
(v. 8) "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God"
L) SALVATION IS A GIFT FROM GOD
"It is the gift of God" =
"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
"and [all men through faith in Jesus Christ, (v. 22)] are justified freely [i.e., as a free gift] by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus."
How marvelous Scripture is - it repeats itself here in Eph 2:8-9 and elsewhere relative to the concept of man not contributing anything toward his salvation:
"it is the gift of God..."
In order to drive home the point that salvation is solely of God, solely by His grace God inspired the writer Paul to add the phrase, "it is the gift of God...".
A gift is not given in exchange for any payment or promised actions in order to deserve it later on. A gift is not given in exchange for a promise - say to behave better or to make Jesus the Lord of your life or to be water baptized or to go to church, or to take the Lord's Supper, or to do some sort of penance, etc., etc., (compare Titus 3:5). A gift is not given under the condition of good behavior or it will be taken away.
The gift of eternal life would then not be a gift at all. It would be called something else... something with the word conditional in it perhaps, or the word agreement, or the phrase 'contract with God'; and God then would not have inspired all of the authors of Scripture to describe salvation as His grace-gift operation.
Objectors to the concept of salvation being a true gift - not requiring any works for the reception of it at all, insert the false concepts that one must open up a gift in order for it to be truly received and then use it in order for it to be effective as a gift, thus inserting works into the mix of what it takes to be saved.
But there is no such stipulation relative to the word gift in the bible or elsewhere in any dictionary that one is not truly in receipt of a gift if one receives it but one does not open it or use it.
Secondly, the gift of salvation is not stipulated in any passage as something that the believer is required to open up or use in order for it to be effective. It is simply described as something he immediately possesses at the point of faith alone in Christ alone as a result of what God alone has done.
Finally, the gift of eternal life is stipulated as automatically bestowed and exercised upon the individual believer by God Himself at the moment if faith alone in Christ alone, (Jn 3:16, 1:13-14, Ro 3:21-24). So the gift of salvation does not need to be opened or exercised to be effective as a gift or to be effective in providing eternal life to the individual - that is the promise, the guarantee of God - His work alone.
(v. 8) "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this [salvation] not from yourselves, it is the gift of God -
(v. 9) not by works, so that no one can boast."
A) SALVATION IS NOT AS A RESULT OF ANY WORKS
"not by works" =
Salvation is received by an individual NOT AS A RESULT OF ANY WORKS whether meritorious or not. No works means no works!
Contrary to objectors to free grace/free gift salvation who maintain that "not of works" is limited to "not of works of the Law" thus opening the door for some other kind of work they term "works of faith"; the context of the Law or any law is not present in Ephesians 1:1-2:9. Only until we get to v. 2:13 is there any reference to the Law. But there in 2:13 the context refers to an entirely different matter which cannot be imposed on the phrase "not of works" in the previous verse 2:8. Verse 13 refers to bringing Jews and Gentiles together.
(v. 11) '''Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called "uncircumcised" by those who call themselves "the circumcision" (that done in the body by the hands of men)--
(v. 12) remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world.
(v. 14) "For he Himself is our peace, Who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility,
(v. 15) by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace,
(v. 16) and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.'''
[Notice that Gentiles are no longer separate from Christ excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covvenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world... But now were reconciled as a result of [Christ] abolishing the Law with its commandments and regulations." This context cannot be moved backwards and twisted into the different context of 1:3-2:10 which the latter is about God's plan of salvation and how it is to be executed. So 2:11-22 cannot be foreced into 2:9 such that "not of works" means not of works of the Law]
(v. 5) He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit."
[Notice that God saved us not because of righteous things we had done, thus ruling out works coming out of faithfulness too!]
Furthermore, the idea "saved through faith" refers to some concept they call 'faith works' in order to insert human doing based on faithfulness into what it takes to be saved has no support. There is no dictionary that carries such a concept, nor does it fit into the normative rules of language, context and logic, nor does the term appear in Scripture. As a matter of fact James chapter 2 distinguishes faith and works as two separate concepts. Consider that if faith were a kind of work, then James 2:17, "Faith without works is dead" deteriorates to nonsense. How can faith if it were a work be without works???? That's like saying daisies without flowers are dead.
"For we [believers] are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."
Notice that what God has prepared for the believer to do once he is saved is called "works" which are ruled out in becoming a believer but ruled in once one is saved unto eternal life.
So any "good works" such as the ritual of water baptism or taking the Lord's Supper or any effort such as that resulting from a commitment to behave better or not sin any more or not commit the unpardonable sin (if that were possible - which for the believer it is not), etc., is a work and cannot be permitted as part of one's salvation whether meritorious or not.
Any work which an individual contributes toward his salvation cancels God's grace-gift of salvation and that individual remains under condemnation:
"And if by grace, then it is no longer by works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace."
[Notice that grace and any kind of works are mutually exclusive - one cancels out the other]
If this were the case, the original Eph 2:8-9 would then deteriorate into self-contradicting nonsense:
'For by grace were you be saved through faith and that salvation is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God and not by works only(???)
Notice it begins by stating that one's salvation was absolutely completed in the past by non-meritorious 'grace' [no works permissible] and it was thus completely accomplished in a moment in the past 'through faith' alone [alone = nothing else stipulated with it] and that it was 'not of yourselves' [nothing of yourself contributed toward it], then 'it was the gift of God' [you don't contribute to a gift you receive] and then the doctored phrase 'not by works alone' [totally contradicting everything said before which ruled works out entirely]
So major surgery must be done on the passage to make it read that salvation will be by faith and works and not as it actually reads:
[Eph 2:8-9 FALSELY MODIFIED]:
'For you will be saved through faith as demonstrated by your works and that salvation did not originate from yourself but from God although it is in part from yourself relative to the works that demonstrate your faith; it on the other hand is not by works alone, the faith being required and thus demonstrated by those works which must be by works commanded and originated by God so that you cannot boast having done such works since although you are indeed performing such works they are actually being performed by God and not by you at all.'
1) "By Grace" is stricken out: Notice that 'grace' must be stricken out since grace means unmerited favor which excludes anything man does in a contributory manner toward his salvation regardless if it is commanded and originated by God - it is still performed by the individual.
(Ref. http://www.biblestudymanuals.com/grace.htm)
2) "were you" is changed to "you will be" in order to include an ongoing obedience of works in the present and future otherwise the original specially constructed verb: saved completely in the past with ongoing results forever would rule out any present or future contribution as it does in the original.
3) "Through faith" is modified with 'as demonstrated by your works' in order to include works otherwise salvation is declared by faith alone in the absence of stipulating anything else as it does in the original verse.
4) "and that salvation is not from yourself" must be changed to "and that salvation did not originate from yourself but from God (although it is in part from yourself relative to the works that demonstrate your faith)". This is cumbersome but necessary to avoid the plain meaning of excluding any contribution toward one's salvation by man as it indicates in the original text.
5) "not by works" must be changed to "not by works alone, the faith being required and thus demonstrated by those works" in order to say just the opposite of "not by works" as it does in the original being consistent with the preceding phrase in the original "saved by faith".
6) "(not by works) lest anyone should boast" must be changed to "which must be by works commanded and originated by God so that you cannot boast having done such works since, although you are indeed performing such works, they are actually being performed by God and not by you at all.'
Actually this was the most difficult concept to word properly - there being no proper way to completely disassociate man from the possibility of being held as a participant in his salvation if he does perform works to receive it thus qualifying himself as a possible candidate to boast anyway.
C) SALVATION IS NOT OF ANY WORKS SO THAT NO ONE CAN BOAST THAT THEY EARNED IT
"[not of works] so that no one CAN boast" =
The words "so that no one CAN boast" , (KJV: "lest any man should boast.") nails shut the door on man's contribution to his own salvation because it clearly says that an individual must be in a position relative to his salvation such that he cannot boast about it even if he was not likely to even consider boasting. If any works of any kind whether God directed or not were permitted of an individual in order to be saved the individual would be in a position to boast, whether falsely or not. But with the phrase "[salvation is] ...not of works so that no one CAN boast" that situation is not permitted and any kind of works are thus ruled out.
"For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them."
"lest at any time" = So that there is no possibility that this people "should be converted":
Mt 13:15 further defines what "lest" means in Scripture: since "this people's heart is waxed", i.e., callused; and their ears "are dull of hearing" and their eyes "have closed" then there is by definition no possibility that they "should... see... hear.. and understand...and ...be converted.." And so the KJV and the NAS translated this verse using the word "lest". The NIV translated this verse using the word "Otherwise" which serves the same purpose in conveying the absence of possibility of seeing, hearing and understanding and thus being converted to a believer in Christ Jesus. The key word from the Greek Bible which is translated "lest" or "Otherwise" = "hina" which is defined in the Greek dictionary of the New Testament, (word # 2443), by James Strong to mean, "in order that (denoting the purpose or the result): - albeit, because, to the intent (that), lest, so as, (so) that, (for) to."
Objectors to free grace salvation claim that actions performed in order to be saved such as water baptism, repentant behavior, confession of Jesus Christ as Lord, etc., cannot be classified as works since they are obedient acts commanded by God. But the very next verse, verse 10, in Eph 2 which we are examining defines such actions as works, thus disqualifying such actions being performed in order to be saved:
(v. 10) "For we [believers] are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."]
Notice tasks performed in obedience to God are indeed classified as works and are not acceptable as contributory towards salvation unto eternal life according to the previous verses 8 & 9.
Furthermore, the bible never commands one to perform any work in order to be saved. As a matter of fact, any works performed to be saved cancels out God's offer of free grace salvation making salvation impossible for it then must be solely on the basis of works:
(v. 4) Now to the one who works, his wage is not reckoned as a favor but as what is due.
(v. 5) But to the one who does not work, [for salvation unto eternal life] but believes in Him Who justifies the ungodly, his faith is reckoned as righteousness."
"Now to the one who works [for salvation], his wage is not reckoned as a favor but as what is due." = Now to the one who works to achieve his own salvation, what he receives is not accounted to him as a free gift but as a payment due for his efforts. For salvation is either all of God - all free grace - or it is all by human effort - all by works. Grace and works, therefore, are mutually exclusive.
Verse four establishes God's sovereign inviolable principle: that a benefit cannot be received both, (i.e., partially), as a gift and a wage. It must be received completely as a gift, otherwise completely as wages due.
"But if [salvation, (v. 5)] is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace."
(v. 8) "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God
(v. 9) not by works, so that no one can boast.
(v. 10) For we [believers] are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."
"What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe - as the Lord has assigned to each [believer] His task."
[Kenneth S. Wuest states, (Wuest's Word Studies, From the Greek New Testament, Vol. 1, Ephesians And Colossians, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1973), p. 70]:
'''Commenting on the words, "For we are His workmanship," Vincent says: 'A reason why no man should glory. If we are God's workmanship, our salvation cannot be of ourselves.' Expositors comments: 'We ourselves are at work, the handiwork of God, made anew by Him, and our salvation, therefore, is due to Him, not to ourselves.'''...
...We are God's spiritual handiwork in the sense that we were created by Him, made a new spiritual creature by Him when His grace made us Christians. [2 Cor 5:17] This new creation was in Christ so that except by union between Him and us it could not have taken place (Eph. 2:15, 4:24, 2 Cor. 5:17; Gal. 6:15; Col. 3:10). Also it was with a view to good works... We ourselves then having been created anew by God, and good works being the object to which that new creation looked, not the cause that led to it [underlining mine] all must be of grace - not of deeds, and there can be no room for boasting.' '''
2) [Compare Titus 3:5 and 2:14]:
We were saved solely by the mercy of God and not by any good works such as water baptism, church going, repentance, from an unfaithful lifestyle, etc:
[Titus 3:5]:
"He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit" And God saved us so that we could THEN be enabled by His grace to perform His preordained good works:
"Who [Jesus Christ] gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed...
[i.e., first comes salvation and then come the good works]:
...and purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds."
So what an individual is to do once he does get saved is to move on into a life of study, acceptance and obedience to God's Word - a life which is controlled more and more by God the Holy Spirit unto good works resulting in rewards in heaven.
Rewards
then are the result of faithfulness:
