God's Gift of Grace Ephesians 2:8

Paul the apostle told the Ephesian church members God has “raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:” so ”in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.” In chapter two and verse eight of his letter, Paul shared how “by grace are” we “saved through faith” where we read:

For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

The verse begins, “For by grace are you saved through faith;” Paul began with the phrase, “For by grace” which means “that which affords joy, pleasure, delight, sweetness, charm, loveliness, goodwill, lovingkindness and unmerited favor” “are you saved” or “kept safe and sound and rescued from danger or destruction” “through faith” which means “the conviction that God exists and is the creator and ruler of all things and provider and bestower of eternal salvation through Christ”. God's “grace” or “unmerited favor” was the stimulating and satisfying appeasement by which we are “saved”, and this is provided through the ability to “believe” in Jesus Christ.

The verse goes on to say, “and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:” Paul added, “and that not of yourselves” which means “the faith was not by the Ephesians”: “it is the gift” or “present, expression of honor and offering” “of God” which refers to “the Godhead bodily and trinity which is comprised of God the Father, Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit”. Even the “faith” to believe in Jesus unto our salvation was provided by God. This did not come through our own efforts, but is the generous “gift of God”.

When we think through these words of Paul, we understand the means by which we are “saved”. God Almighty through Jesus Christ His Son has provided all the necessary implements for our “salvation”. “Grace” is God's unmerited favor toward us, and we obtain God's free “gift” of “faith” by which we obtain that “faith”. In other words, God is for us, for us, for us, and all that is necessary is for us to submit to and receive His free gift.

Next time Paul shares how we are not saved by “works”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.