This article is a continuation of thought and we pick up with Ephesians 2:8-9.   It reads, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.  The statement, “not of works” is Paul’s theme found in Galatians and Romans concerning justification by faith without the works of the law.  What is Paul’s subject matter, here?   Is it faith or salvation?  Any grammarian could parse this sentence or diagram it like we used to in High School English class and know that “through faith”  is a prepositional phrase that modifies “saved.”  We could say it this way, “Salvation is “by grace,” “through faith”.  Agreed?   Ok, If it’s through faith, it is not of yourselves (i.e., works done by merit).  What is “not of yourselves?”   Answer: Salvation is not of yourselves just as Paul uses the word “justification” as being by faith and not of yourselves.

Thirdly, what is the gift of God?  Faith or salvation?   Salvation is by grace through faith.  It is not of yourselves.  It is the gift of God.   God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son (John 3:16).  He is the gift to the world because He is the Savior.   Faith, according to Hebrews 11:1, is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.  It offers not so much a working definition of faith as much as it explains how it is developed.  There can be no hope without faith and there can be no faith without evidence.  Also, Paul explains in Romans 10:17, “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.”  John wrote in chapter twenty that the things he wrote were for the purpose of producing faith that Jesus is the Son of God that ultimately ends in eternal life.  Humans are not waiting for God to give them faith.  When an individual reads His revelation and the Words of life that provide all the evidence needed to produce faith, that individual has a choice concerning what they will do with the evidence.  Like any court of law in which one weighs the evidence that leads to a certain conclusion, one can choose to accept the evidence or ignore it.  Will they be true to the evidence?  Or, due to relationships, political or economical advantage, will they ignore it?   Indeed, many refuse to acknowledge it and reject the evidence because to accept it is to condemn a dear loved one who has preceded them in death, cause the disfellowship of their church, loss of job, or income.

Returning to Ephesians 2, some speak of this faith being the gift because they believe that a sinner because he is dead, must have the enabling Spirit to come into their hearts.  Without this miracle of saving grace that grants to them faith, they could not possibly be saved.  However, the Bible speaks of faith being a personal choice of the individual soul in response to God’s grace which is expressed through Christ.   The fact that Paul explains that “we are His workmanship created for good works” does not mean that God gave us personal faith.  He gave us Christ, who in turn shed his life’s blood to atone for the sins of the world and then resurrected three days later.  That gospel is God’s gift to us and is, therefore, the gift of which Paul speaks in Ephesians 2:8-9.  It’s true that He provides the means, but we must apply the condition of our faith.  This is no cause for boating, because God’s unconditional love made the initial sacrifice and provided the means by which all can be saved.  That’s grace!  Consequently, in looking at the new creation, the spiritual body of Christ, no one can say, “I did that.”  We are His workmanship, His creation because even faith is by its very nature a dependency and trust in Him and His promises.