Ministry of Grace Church

not of works, that no one may boast.

Truth to Learn

We didn’t do anything to earn our salvation.

 

Behind the Words

“Not” is translated from the Greek particle ou, meaning “no or not.” It expresses direct and full negation, independently and absolutely.

The word translated “works” is ergon, from which we get our English word ergonomics. Ergon refers to “any work, deed, act, or action;” that is, it refers to “something done.” It is expressed here in the genitive case, which implies “of” or “from.” But here it is coupled with ou by means of the preposition ek, which means “out of” or “from.” Thus we could translate the first part of this verse as “not as a result of something you do.”

“That” is from the Greek conjunction hina, meaning “to the end that” or “in order that.”

 “No one” is translated from two Greek words, mē, which indicates a conditional negation and tis, which is an indefinite pronoun meaning “something” or “anything.” It is variously translated as “anyone, someone, or a certain one.” The combination of these two words can be translated as “not anyone” or “no one.”

The words “may boast” are from the verb kauchaomai, meaning “to boast, glory, or exalt, either in a good or a bad sense.” It is expressed in the subjunctive mood, indicating something that is not happening but has the possibility or probability of happening.

 

Meaning Explained

In order to get the full meaning of today’s verse, let’s look at it along with yesterday’s verse.

For by grace you are saved through faith, and this not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, that no one may boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)

In the preceding verses Paul has been talking about the incredible value of God’s grace. We saw in verse seven that God’s purpose in salvation is to shine the spotlight on His marvelous grace. Paul went on to point out in yesterday’s verse that our salvation is the result of this grace of God. We also learned that His grace and our faith unto salvation are a gift to us from God. Now he completes that thought.

Paul tells us that salvation is not the result of any action or actions taken on our part. If we did something to gain this salvation, then it is not a gift; instead, it would be something that we earned. Here’s what Paul says in the book of Romans about earning something as opposed to receiving it as a gift:

Now to him who is working, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt. But to him who is not working but believing on Him justifying the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness, (Romans 4:4-5)

This is a clear statement of the doctrine of election which goes hand-in-hand with the doctrine of eternal security. If we did not do anything to earn this salvation which we count so precious, then we cannot “un-earn” it. That is to say that if we didn’t do anything to earn it, we can’t do anything to lose it, and God does not take away the gift of salvation.

 

Application

The precious truth which we see in this verse is that we didn’t earn salvation, so we can’t lose it once we have it – ever!