Ephesians 2:8 – God’s Gracious Gift
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
Truth to Learn
Salvation by grace, through faith, is God’s gift.
Behind the Words
“Saved” is translated from the Greek verb sōdzō, meaning “to save, deliver, protect, or preserve from danger.” It is expressed here in the perfect tense which indicates past, completed action with an ongoing effect, where the emphasis is on the ongoing effect. Therefore this word means “in the past you were saved and as a result you are now saved.”
The word “through” is from the Greek preposition dia. This word indicates either “motion through” or “through the instrumentality of something.”
“Faith” is translated from pistis, meaning “faith or belief.” It is based on the verb peithō, which means “to persuade or to win over.” Hence, pistis is the condition of having been convinced of a truth so that the person now believes the truth.
The word translated “gift” is doron, which is derived from the verb didōmi, meaning “to give.” Thus, doron refers to “a gift,” specifically “a sacrificial gift.”
Meaning Explained
This is a very important verse with regard to our salvation, but there are some details that we need to investigate completely. Biblical scholars and commentators make a strong statement about the pronoun “that.” Some make the assertion that it is a direct reference to “faith.” Others claim that it is a direct reference to “saved.” Still others say that it is a direct reference to “grace.” Here’s the problem with all those claims. In Greek, any word modifying or referencing another word must agree in number and gender with the word it modifies or references.
The word “that” is translated from the Greek word touto, which is a neuter form of houtos. The nouns translated “grace” and “faith” are both feminine nouns, and the word translated “have been saved” is a participle (a verbal adjective) which is masculine. Therefore, by standard rules of Greek grammar, the word “that” cannot specifically reference any of these three words. It must, therefore, be a reference to all three. In other words, Paul is saying “that which I have just described is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.” This seems to corroborate what our Lord said in John’s Gospel:
And He said, “Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father.” (John 6:65)
And, he told his twelve disciples:
You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, (John 15:16)
This is in keeping with how Paul started out this letter:
just as He [the Father] chose us in Him [Christ] before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:3)
Application
This precious salvation is not something that we have earned. We did not do anything in and of ourselves to obtain it. Salvation and the faith that procured it are a gift of God’s grace. They are a gift which He freely gave to us, simply because He decided to give it. Thank you, God, for our salvation through faith by your grace!
In God’s service, for His glory,
Copyright © 2011 Will Krause. All rights reserved.
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